Patent ID: 11945364
Assignee: TOYOTA MOTOR ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING NORTH AMERICA, INC.
Field: Transport (Mechanical engineering)
Classification: CPC B | IPC B

Claim 15:
16. A system for distributing crash energy within a vehicle, comprising:
the vehicle;
a hood outer panel of the vehicle;
a hood inner panel of the vehicle;
a fender attachment bracket disposed within an engine compartment of the vehicle; and
a headlight assembly of the vehicle comprising:
an attachment portion coupling the headlight assembly to the fender attachment bracket,
wherein the attachment portion is coupled only to the headlight assembly and the fender attachment bracket,
wherein the fender attachment bracket is coupled only to the attachment portion and the fender, and
wherein the headlight assembly is coupled to the fender attachment bracket by the attachment portion; and
a load block coupled only to the attachment portion and configured such that when an impact of a pedestrian headform deforms the hood outer panel and hood inner panel, the hood inner panel contacts the load block to shorten a time between the impact and a loading of at least one load path comprising the headlight assembly and the fender attachment bracket, and
wherein the load block is configured to reduce at least one of a peak acceleration, a total acceleration, or a head impact criterion (HIC) experienced by the headform as a result of the impact.