Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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The present invention relates to a shock absorber
for a car, and more specifically relates to a shock
absorber for a car in which e~ternal portions of the car
that may be contacted from the outside such as the roof,
the doors and the front and rear side panels, as well as
the front and rear bumpers, are formed with air sheets
filled with compressed air or helium gas, so that a shock
inflicted from outside at the time of a collision or
overturn of the car can remarkably be absorbed and
relieved.
Generally, in conventional cars, as is well known,
the front and rear bumpers using relief effect of spring or
oil pressure are mounted at both the front and rear of a
car for absorbing or relieving a shock at the time of
collision of the car. However, although the conventional
bumpers may be effective in event of a slight collision,
they are considerably insufficient for protecting the
occupants or the car body in case of a collision during
high speed driving. Further, in case that the car is hit
from a side or falls or is overturned, since a separate
apparatus for relieving or absorbing the shock is not
provided in the prior art, not only is the body of a car
easily damaged, but also the occupants get hurt and can
even be killed by the shock.
Therefore, a primary object of the present
invention is to provide a shock absorber for a car in which
the safety of the occupants is secured as far as possible
by allowing relief of shock inflicted to a car by absorbing
the shock, even in the case of overturn due to the
collision from a side, a fall, or front collision.
Another object of the present invention is to
provide a shock absorber for a car in which a shock is
absorbed in a step manner by constructing the front and
rear bumpers with a three stage structure for low, medium
and high pressure shock absorption, so that the shock
absorption effect is remarkably enhanced.
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A further object of the present invention is to
provide a shock absorber for a car in which the gas
circulation tubes are interconnected among the front and
rear bumpers and the right and left side in case that the
car is hit from the front or rear and from the right or
left, thereby a puncture caused by an instantaneous shock
is prevented and also the shock absorbing effect is
enhanced due to the dispersion of the gas.
The present invention also aims to use a helium
gas which is light in specific gravity and is non-explosive
in time of collision. The air sheet is filled with helium
gas and is formed with a tube like shape so that, in case
that a material of the air sheet is applied with a metal
plate having high strength, the shock can be absorbed.
The present invention also intends to provide a
shock absorber for a car in which almost the whole part of
the external covering portion of a car is structured with
the air sheets and thereby buoyancy occurs so that, in case
the car falls into water, drowning of the occupants is
prevented.
The present invention aims also to provide a shock
absorber for a car in which a mechanical noise or the like
of an engine is absorbed by the gas-filled air sheets.
In order to attain the above objects, the present
invention is comprised of front and rear bumpers which are
each made of a bumper member of low, medium and high
pressure shock absorption filled with an air or gas of
predetermined pressure and each having different
thicknesses and gas capacity. An air sheet filled with a
gas and conforming to the shape of and mounted to the front
and rear side panels, an air sheet filled with a gas of
predetermined pressure and conforming to the shape of and
mounted to the doors of a car, and an air sheet filled with
a gas of predetermined pressure conforming to the shape of
the roof are provided. A longitudinal gas circulation tube
is arranged longitudinally within the body of a car so that
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a front bumper member for the medium and high pressure
shock absorption and a rear bumper member for the medium
and high pressure shock absorption are interconnected to
allow communication of the gas. ~ lateral gas circulation
tube is arranged laterally within the body of a car to
intersect said longitudinal gas circulation tubes, and
which interconnects the air sheets for the right and ]eft
side panels. Gas circulation control means is arranged at
a point of intersection of said longitudinal gas
lo circulation tubes and said lateral gas circulation tubes so
that the circulation of gas is controlled.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a car showing an
embodiment of the present invention~
FIG. 2 is a side v ew of a car showing an
embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along
the lines III-III of FIG. 1.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along
lines IV-IV of ~IG. 2.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken along
lines V-V of FIG. 2.
Hereafter, the shock absorber for a car of the
present invention will be described in detail with
reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2
show an embodiment of the present invention, in which a
front bumper 10 is mounted at a front part of a car and
supported with a front bumper supporting plate 1~ which is
constructed with the bumper members 11, 12 and 13 for the
low, medium and high pressure shock absorption,
respectively. The bumper member 11, 12 and 13 are filled
in their interior with a gas o~ predetermined pressure and
have different thicknesses and gas capacity. Similarly, a
rear bumper 20 which is constructed with the bumper member
21, 22 and 23 for the low, medium and high pressure shock
absorption, respectively, is mounted at a rear part of the
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body of a car and supported wikh a rear bumper supporting
plate 24. The bumper members 11, 21 for low pressure shock
absorption of front and rear bumpers 10, 20 are made to
absorb a relatively light shock because their thicknesses
are thin and their qas pressure is low relative to the
other bumper members 12, 13 or 22, 23. The bumper members
12, 13 for the medium and high pressure shock absorption of
front bumper 10 and the bumper members 22, 23 for the
medium and high pressure shock absorption of rear bumper 20
are connected to each other by longitudinal gas circulation
tubes 30 to allow circulation oE the gasses. Further, air
sheets 41, 42, 43 and 44 conform to the shape of and are
mounted on the front and rear side panels of the car body.
The air sheets 41, 42 for the side panels of the right and
left at the front part are connected to each other by
lateral gas circulation tube 31 to allow circulation of the
gases.
At a location in which said longitudinal gas
circulation tubes 31 intersects said lateral gas
circulation tubes 30, a gas circulation control means 50 is
connected, so that the air circulation among the front and
rear bumpers 10, 20 and the air sheets 41, 42 for the right
and left side panels can be controlled or interrupted~
Aforesaid gas circulation control means 50 in usual
conditions is maintained in the opened position so that the
longitudinal and the lateral gas circulation tubes 30, 31
can communicate with each other; but in case that, for
example, an air sheet 41 for a side panel of one side were
punctured due to a shock Erom outside, then a valve for
automatic control, or other similar valve, could be
employed which functions to instantaneously prevent leakage
of the compressed gas within another side air sheet 42 or
the front and rear bumpers 10, 20 through the punctured
portion.
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In addition, air sheets 60 and 70 filled with gas
in its intarior conforms to the shape of and is mounted on
to the right and left doors and to the roof respectively.
As for the aforesaid front and rear bumpers 10,
20, a material is used in which the anti-pressure, anti-
heat and anti-shock characteristics are excellent and which
has a restoring force to the original state to enable
instant return to its former condition if a shock is
inflicted. Preferably a special engineering rubber,
laminated fiber or the like which has these characteristics
is utilized.
As for the air sheets for said side panels, doors
and roof, either the materials enumerated abo~e for the
aforesaid bumpers lO, 20 can be utilized, otherwise the
empty portions maintained gas-tight are formed at the
interior by utilizing a metal plate provided with the
external features of the car, to which empty portions the
gases are impregnated, thereby the effect of an air sheet
can be obtained. Particularly, as an example shown in FI~.
4, the air sheets ~0 for doors and air sheet 70 for the
roof, can have their strength enhanced by providing wire
nets 61 on the internal surface of the external covers. In
addition, an example of a method for mounting each air
sheet is shown in FIG. 5. The mounting hooks ~5 are formed
with the material of relatively high strength at the
peripheral portions of the sheet member, of which
corresponding portions at a car body are bentl and they are
meshed to each other and thereby mounted; otherwise a
mounting method utilizing the screws or bolts ~6 can be
utilized. In the case where the air sheets are formed with
an elastic material such as a rubber at the portions such
as the roof, the side panels or the doors, in order that a
central portion will expand by a high pressure gas filled
into the interior of said sheet, as an example, above the
roof shown in FIG. 1, seam lines 71 are formed for
prevention reinforcement. The gases which are filled into
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the interior of each air sheet includiny the front and rear
bumpers lO, 20 should be nonexplosive and it is preferable
that the specific gravity becomes lighterO Therefore,
though the filling of air is suitable, it is preferable to
fill it with a helium gas which possesses all of the
aforementioned conditions.
~ ccording to the present invention as
aforementioned, since the structure of a bumper is formed
with a triple structure for the low, medium and high
pressure shock absorption, a relatively light shock can be
ab~-orbed at a low pressure shock absorption bumper, and in
the event that a strong shock is inflicted, the stepped
shock absorption can be obtained by the low, medium and
high pressure shock absorption bumpers, at the same time.
At a moment inflicted with a shock, the gas of the portion
directly receiving the shock is dispersed respectively
through the lateral and longitudinal gas circulation tubes,
thereby the shock absorption effect is remarkably
increased.
Further, even if a car is inflicted with side
collision or overturned as a result of a fall, since the
shocks can be minimized by the air sheets which surround
the right and left side panels the doors and the roof etc.,
the safety of the occupants is improved. Additionally, the
riding feeling can be enhanced as a result of absorbing the
engine noise of a car by the air sheets surrounding the
body of a car. Moreover, by filling the air sheets with a
helium gas, which specific gravity is lighter, into the
interior of the air sheet, buoyancy is obtained in case
that the car falls into water, thereby preventing drowning
of the occupants.
