Patent ID: 7699383
Filing Date: 2010-04-20
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
1. A pedestrian protection apparatus for a vehicle, comprising a plate member which is disposed at a lower part of a front face of the vehicle so as to extend in a frontward and backward direction of the vehicle with a predetermined width, which is made of a synthetic resin, which includes a front portion and a rear portion, and which is fixed at the rear portion to the vehicle with at least a leading end part of the front portion protruded from the front face of the vehicle, the apparatus being arranged to sweep a leg portion of a pedestrian that has collided with the front face of the vehicle by contact of the leading end part of the front portion of the plate member with the leg portion of the pedestrian, thereby protecting the leg portion of the pedestrian, wherein the plate member includes: a horizontally extending portion which is located at the leading end part of the front portion of the plate member so as to horizontally extend over an entire width of the plate member; a front-side vertically extending portion which is formed integrally with a front end of the horizontally extending portion so as to extend in a vertical direction, said front-side vertically extending portion being continuous and free of any discontinuities in its surface; a rear-side vertically extending portion which is formed integrally with a rear end of the horizontally extending portion so as to extend in the vertical direction such that the rear-side vertically extending portion is opposed to the front-side vertically extending portion with a predetermined distance interposed therebetween; and a connecting portion which is constituted by a proximal end part of the front portion of the plate member that extends in the frontward and backward direction on a back side of the rear-side vertically extending portion and which connects, integrally to the rear portion of the plate member, a posterior surface of the rear-side vertically extending portion at a point thereof having a height position different from a height position of a connecting point of an anterior surface of the rear-side vertically extending portion at which the rear-side vertically extending portion is connected to the horizontally extending portion, and wherein the front portion of the plate member is constituted by including, at the leading end part thereof, a U-shaped portion having a U-shaped configuration in vertical cross section.