Patent ID: 11884223
Assignee: GOOGLE LLC
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 9:
10. A bumper system for a vehicle, comprising:
a bumper assembly having a first outer periphery in a first horizontal plane;
a plurality of attachment points on the bumper assembly that are positioned to mount the bumper assembly to a vehicle body having a second outer periphery in a second horizontal plane that is parallel to the first horizontal plane, wherein the second horizontal plane is parallel to a surface on which the vehicle moves in a horizontal direction; and
a plurality of flexible couplings that are coupled to the attachment points and are configured to be attached to vehicle attachment points of the vehicle body to mount the bumper assembly to the vehicle body and allow for horizontal planar deflection of the bumper assembly relative to the vehicle body when the bumper assembly impacts an obstacle when the vehicle body is moving in the horizontal direction, wherein:
each of the plurality of flexible couplings comprises an extension spring, an axis in which the extension spring compresses extending in a direction orthogonal to the horizontal direction when the extension spring is in a neutral position, with a first end of the extension spring being coupled to the bumper assembly and a second end of the extension spring being coupled to the vehicle body,
when the bumper assembly is in horizontal planar deflection, the extension spring provides restorative force in the horizontal direction, and
the first outer periphery of the bumper assembly, when the bumper assembly is attached to the vehicle body by the flexible couplings, includes portions that extend beyond the second outer periphery in the horizontal direction.