Patent ID: 7506716

Claim:
An automotive hood hinge assembly adapted to act as a safety device in the event of a collision with a pedestrian, comprising: a) A hood component adapted to be mounted to a vehicle hood; b) A body component adapted to be mounted to a vehicle body structure; c) A main link component adapted to be connected between the hood component and the body component via a first rotatable joint on the hood component and a second rotatable joint guided by a slot on the body component; d) A control link adapted to be connected between the body component and the main link component via third and fourth rotatable joints; e) A moving element of an energy storage actuator adapted to be rotatably attached to the main link component adjacent the hood component first rotatable joint; such that in the event of a collision with a pedestrian, a sensor and control system provide a trigger signal to the energy storage actuator which deploys the moving element and translates the main link component and hood component in a primarily vertical motion dictated by the control link and body component slot geometry so that when a pedestrian's head and upper body strike the raised vehicle hood the energy storage actuator provides a resistive force capable of effectively dissipating the pedestrian's energy in a controlled manner so that trauma levels are significantly lowered.