Patent ID: 9598033
Date: 2017-03-21
CPC Classifications: B60R

Claim:
1. A front bumper beam and crush can (FBCC) system for a vehicle, the FBCC system comprising: a continuous fiber composite bumper beam having a longitudinal outer shell having a front member, a top member, and a bottom member that collectively define a convex outer surface and a concave inner surface; a plurality of chopped fiber composite ribs extending from the inner surface along a length of the bumper beam, wherein the ribs and the inner surface of the bumper beam cooperate to define a pocket having a first plurality of chopped fiber composite mating surfaces; and a crush can having a continuous fiber composite tubular body that defines a second plurality of mating surfaces engaged with the first plurality of mating surfaces, wherein the crush can has an inwardly-extending flange at a forward end of the tubular body that engages the inner surface of the bumper beam within the pocket, and an outwardly-extending flange at a rear end of the tubular body that engages a frame of the vehicle, the outwardly-extending flange including a layer of a chopped fiber composite to reinforce a joint between the outwardly-extending flange and the vehicle frame.