Patents & patents
pending.
Existing embedded technology
is employed within the current product
ranges supplied to vehicle manufacturers
frontal protection systems.
New intellectual property
innovations regarding various manufacturing
methods and processes have been registered,
thus allowing this technology to be
integrated into the product for both
a separate technical unit or into the
base vehicle for Frontal Protection
Systems which are subject to patent
applications for Europe, USA, Far East
and beyond.
Current FPS systems are “passive” safety devices, but future development of the FPS concept may include “active” technology, integrating with other safety enhancing products e.g. airbags.
Air bag deployment from the frontal protection system can further the advancement of pedestrian safety and minimise the cost of vehicle re-design in order to meet the requirements of the 2003/102 EC Part1 2005 and Part 2 2012 vehicle directive for pedestrian safety.
As active safety technologies are advancing capability to protect vulnerable road users this pre-crash system technology enables detection of a possible crash condition, thus warning the driver of a possible impact with a pedestrian, cyclist, etc. In an inevitable crash condition, the FPS air bags would simultaneously deploy over the bonnet and below the vehicle, thus preventing head / abdominal injuries against the vehicle, and minimising the risk of the pedestrian being dragged under the vehicle.
Taking this approach to the directive could help OEM vehicle manufactures to reduce the cost of base vehicle re-design in order to meet the directive requirements.
Concept Mouldings which recently launched a range of energy absorbing aftermarket frontal protection systems has shown how this technology could be integrated to sit passively on the vehicle, without effecting current vehicle designs. Thus, requiring the minimum of customer acceptance, and would only be activated during a possible crash situation.
The basis of the new system is a plastic, energy absorbing barrier between the pedestrian and hard parts at the front of the vehicle such as the bonnet leading edge, the radiator and the engine. Tests on the aftermarket Endura Frontal Protection System conducted at MIRA have already shown that the risk of pedestrian injury can be reduced by up to fifty times on many large vehicles.
While the aftermarket product is an immediate solution for vehicle owners who want to make their vehicles safer, Concept Mouldings sees that its products could also become integrated into some vehicles within the next year or two. The company holds world patents and patents pending on a number of such integrated solutions and is actively seeking joint ventures with research, technology and manufacturing partners to assist in integrating passive and active pedestrian safety solutions.
The system presented at Automechanika shows how in the event of a front end collision with a pedestrian the built in Endura FPS could automatically move to an active pre-collision position above the bonnet leading edge passively protecting the pedestrian from this hard area.
The intelligent sensor system could then activate another pre-impact change lowering the bonnet leading edge even further behind the Endure FPS. As a result, this will increase the energy absorbing space between the pedestrian and other hard parts such as the radiator and engine. The simultaneous deployment of airbags could then act as a barrier between the pedestrian and vehicle engine hard parts and the windscreen.
The dipping of vehicle front and deployment of airbags encourages the pedestrian over the vehicle bonnet onto a safer cushioned surface. It also reduces the chances of a pedestrian falling under the wheels of the vehicle but the risk can be reduced even more by the deployment of airbags to fill the remaining gap.
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