Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
39 OF 1970
&
THE PATENT RULES 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(SEE SECTIONS 10 & RULE 13)
1. TITLE OF THE INVENTION

“A BUMPER MEMBER ASSEMBLY IN A TOW HOOK REGION OF A VEHICLE”
2. APPLICANTS (S)
NAME NATIONALITY ADDRESS

MARUTI SUZUKI INDIA LIMITED

Indian
1, Nelson Mandela Road, Vasant Kunj,
New Delhi - 110070
India
3. PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed.

A BUMPER MEMBER ASSEMBLY IN A TOW HOOK REGION OF A VEHICLE

TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure belongs to a tow hook region of a vehicle. In particular, the present disclosure relates to a bumper assembly in tow hook region of a vehicle such that a tow hook region is able to withstand adequate loads.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Towing a vehicle refers to coupling of two or more vehicles together so that they may be pulled and transported from one place to another by means of suitable power sources. Towing the vehicle is essential in case of breakdown of the vehicle such that the vehicle can be transported safely for repair into the service center. Therefore, the towing structure and the corresponding towing region of the vehicle is susceptible to withstanding a huge amount of load resulting due to pulling and pushing of the vehicle for the purpose of towing.
[0003] It is understood that combination of some additional supporting mechanism or structures may help to strengthen the tow hook region for shipping conditions, as per load requirement. However, since, in general, no such supporting mechanism or structure is present in the current designs of the vehicle, the towing hook region of such vehicles may fail to withstand the towing and shipping load. Consequently, strength and rigidity of the tow hook region is not achieved as per requirement.
[0004] Towards this direction, in order to circumvent the above-mentioned limitations, automobile manufacturers are coming with an improved structure in the current designs of the vehicle that is able to strengthen the tow hook region of the vehicle and withstand high amount of loads suitably.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0005] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfy, are listed herein below.
[0006] It is an object of the present subject matter to overcome the aforementioned and other drawbacks existing in the prior art systems and methods.
[0007] It is a significant object of the present disclosure to develop a bumper member assembly capable of providing strength to tow hook region of a vehicle.
[0008] It is an object of the present disclosure to develop the bumper member assembly that is capable of withstanding stress generated near tow hook region of the vehicle.
[0009] It is another object of the present disclosure to develop the bumper member assembly that is rigid in nature.
[0010] It is even another object of the present disclosure to design and develop the bumper assembly that contributes to aesthetics of the vehicle.
[0011] These and other objects and advantages of the present subject matter, will be apparent to a person skilled in the art after consideration of the following detailed description, taken into consideration with accompanied drawings in which preferred embodiments of the present subject matter are illustrated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] This summary is provided to introduce concepts related to a bumper member assembly in a tow hook region of a vehicle. The concepts are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
[0013] According to an embodiment of the present subject matter, the bumper member assembly comprises a bumper member having an outer bumper panel, an inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel, where a first end and a second end of the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel are connected to the outer bumper panel.
[0014] In an aspect, the bumper assembly further comprises a hat-shaped reinforcement bracket sandwiched in between the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel and the outer bumper panel, where the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket is having an upper portion connected to the outer bumper panel, a towing nut provided at a center of the upper portion in a towing nut region, a first lower portion and a second lower portion, where the first lower portion and the second lower portion is connected to the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel, a plurality of legs extending from two opposite ends of the upper portion towards the first lower portion and the second lower portion.
[0015] In an aspect, the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket is connected with the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel by means of spot welding on the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel.
[0016] In an aspect, the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket is connected with the outer bumper panel by means of arc welding on the outer bumper panel.
[0017] In an aspect, two bean shaped cutouts are provided at the outer bumper panel to facilitate arc welding of the hat shaped reinforcement bracket in bean shape with the outer bumper panel.
[0018] In an aspect, the bean shaped arc welding spots are provided longitudinally away from the center of the upper portion of the hat shaped reinforcement bracket such that the distance between the center portion and each of the bean shaped arc welding spots is at a maximum distance from the center.
[0019] In an aspect, the plurality of legs of the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket defines a U-shaped cutout between each of the plurality of legs.
[0020] In an aspect, the plurality of legs of the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket may also define a continuous profile.
[0021] In an aspect, the towing nut is arc welded with the outer bumper panel, the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel and the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket in the towing nut region.
[0022] To further understand the characteristics and technical contents of the present subject matter, a description relating thereto will be made with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are illustrative only but not used to limit the scope of the present subject matter.
[0023] Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures in which numerals represent like components.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWING(S)
[0024] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter and are therefore not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. A detailed description is given with reference to the accompanying figures. In the figures, a reference number identifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. The same numbers are used throughout the figures to refer like features and components. Some embodiments of system or methods or structure in accordance with embodiments of the present subject matter are now described, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying figures, in which
[0025] Figure 1 depicts a bumper assembly of a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0026] Figure 2 illustrates a side view of the bumper assembly of the vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0027] Figure 3 (a) depicts an outer bumper panel along with a reinforcement bracket in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0028] Figure 3 (b) depicts an inner bumper panel along with a reinforcement bracket in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0029] The figures depict embodiments of the present subject matter for the purposes of illustration only. A person skilled in the art will easily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] A few aspects of the present disclosure are explained in detail below with reference to the various figures. Example implementations are described to illustrate the disclosed subject matter, not to limit its scope, which is defined by the claims. Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize a number of equivalent variations of the various features provided in the description that follows.
[0031] While the embodiments of the disclosure are subject to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof have been shown by way of example in the figures and will be described below. It should be understood, however, that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the scope of the disclosure.
[0032] The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof used in the disclosure, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a device, system, assembly that comprises a list of components does not include only those components but may include other components not expressly listed or inherent to such system, or assembly, or device. In other words, one or more elements in a system or device proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or device.
[0033] The present disclosure is related to a bumper member assembly (100) in a tow hook region of a vehicle. The present disclosure intends to strengthen bumper member area in the tow hook region of the vehicle by providing a reinforcement bracket between an inner bumper panel and an outer bumper panel. The salient features of the present invention are discussed in detailed manner in the subsequent sections.
[0034] Figure 1 depicts the bumper assembly (100) of a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As can be observed from the figure, the bumper assembly (100) comprises of a bumper member having an outer bumper panel (102) and an inner bumper panel (104).
[0035] In an aspect, the inner bumper panel (104) resembles shape of an inverted ‘U’ having a first end (104-1) and a second end (104-2), where the first end (104-1) and the second end (104-2) is connected to the outer bumper panel (102), thus forming a loop like structure.
[0036] In an aspect, there is further provided a hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) sandwiched in between the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104) and the outer bumper panel (102).
[0037] In an aspect, as can be seen in Figure 1 and the corresponding side view as shown in Figure 2, the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) comprises of an upper portion (106-U), a first lower portion (106-L1), a second lower portion (106-L2) and a plurality of legs (110).
[0038] In an aspect, the upper portion (106-U) of the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) is connected to the outer bumper panel (102). Additionally, a towing nut (not shown in Figure 2) is also provided at a center (206) (shown in Figure 3) of the upper portion (106-U) in a towing nut region (108). Further, the first lower portion (106-L1) and the second lower portion (106-L2) are connected to the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104).
[0039] In an aspect, the plurality of legs (110) is extending from two opposite ends of the upper portion (106-U) towards the first lower portion (106-L1) and the second lower portion (106-L2).
[0040] In an aspect, moreover, the plurality of legs (110) of the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) may define a U-shaped cutout between each of the plurality of legs (110). Further, in another embodiment the plurality of legs (110) may also have a continuous profile without the presence of any cut out or like features.
[0041] In an aspect, the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) is connected with the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104) by means of spot welding on the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104). Moreover, the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) is also connected with the outer bumper panel (102) by means of arc welding on the outer bumper panel.
[0042] Figure 3 (a) depicts the outer bumper panel (102) along with the reinforcement bracket (106) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As can be observed in Figure 3 (a), two bean shaped cutouts are provided at the outer bumper panel (102) to facilitate arc welding of the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) in bean shape with the outer panel (102).
[0043] In an aspect, herein the bean shaped arc welding spots (202, 204) are provided longitudinally away from the center (206) of the upper portion (106-U) of the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) in a way such that the bean shaped arc welding spots (202, 204) are placed at a maximum distance (preferably at edges) or at equal distances from the center portion (206). This helps in distribution of stress generated in the center (206) of the upper portion (106-U), further strengthening the envelope formed around the towing nut region (108) accommodating placement of the towing nut and also helps in optimization of twisting in the outer bumper panel (102).
[0044] In an aspect, due to an enhanced area for effective joining, the bean shape of the arc welding spots (202, 204) provides an additional strength to the arc welding and also reduce strain at end points, thereby resulting in higher load capacity at the tow hook region.
[0045] In an aspect, further the bean shaped cut out provided at the outer bumper panel (102) also prevents the outer bumper panel (102) from twisting during towing and shipping of the vehicle.
[0046] Figure 3 (b) depicts the inner bumper panel (104) along with the reinforcement bracket (106) in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Herein, it may be seen that the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) is spot welded to the inner bumper panel (106), thus resulting in an enhanced strength of the overall structure.
[0047] In an aspect, there is further provided a plurality of strengthening beads (402) along longitudinal direction in the inner bumper panel (104), to increase bending stiffness, thereby contributing towards additional strength of the overall structure.
[0048] In an aspect, the towing nut, positioned in the towing nut region (108), is arc welded with the outer bumper panel (102), the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104) and the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106).
[0049] In this manner, the combination of the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) and the bean shaped arc welding provides adequate strength to the towing region in the bumper area of the vehicle.
[0050] Equivalents
[0051] It should be noted that the description and figures merely illustrate the principles of the present subject matter. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present subject matter. It should also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that by devising various systems that, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the present subject matter and are included within its spirit and scope. Furthermore, all examples recited herein are principally intended expressly to be for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principles of the present subject matter and the concepts contributed by the inventor(s) to furthering the art and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present subject matter, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the above-mentioned description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures.
[0052] Although embodiments for the present subject matter have been described in language specific to package features, it is to be understood that the present subject matter is not necessarily limited to the specific features described. Rather, the specific features and methods are disclosed as embodiments for the present subject matter. Numerous modifications and adaptations of the system/device of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and thus it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications and adaptations which fall within the scope of the present subject matter.
[0053] It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances, where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
[0054] It will be further appreciated that functions or structures of a plurality of components or steps may be combined into a single component or step, or the functions or structures of one-step or component may be split among plural steps or components. The present invention contemplates all these combinations. Unless stated otherwise, dimensions and geometries of the various structures depicted herein are not intended to be restrictive of the invention, and other dimensions or geometries are possible. In addition, while a feature of the present invention may have been described in the context of only one of the illustrated embodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more other features of other embodiments, for any given application. It will also be appreciated from the above that the fabrication of the unique structures herein and the operation thereof also constitute methods in accordance with the present invention. The present invention also encompasses intermediate and end products resulting from the practice of the methods herein. The use of “comprising” or “including” also contemplates embodiments that “consist essentially of” or “consist of” the recited feature.

, Claims:We Claim:

1. A bumper member assembly (100) in a tow hook region of a vehicle, the bumper member assembly (100) comprising:
a bumper member having
- an outer bumper panel (102);
- an inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104), wherein a first end (104-1) and a second end (104-2) of the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104) are connected to the outer bumper panel (102); and
- a hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) sandwiched in between the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104) and the outer bumper panel (102), wherein the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) is having
an upper portion (106-U) connected to the outer bumper panel (102),
a towing nut provided at a center (206) of the upper portion (106-U) in a towing nut region (108),
a first lower portion (106-L1) and a second lower portion (106-L2), wherein the first lower portion (106-L1) and the second lower portion (106-L2) is connected to the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104),
a plurality of legs (110) extending from two opposite ends of the upper portion (106-U) towards the first lower portion (106-L1) and the second lower portion (106-L2).

2. The bumper member assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) is connected with the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104) by means of spot welding on the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104).

3. The bumper member assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) is connected with the outer bumper panel (102) by means of arc welding on the outer bumper panel (102).

4. The bumper member assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1 and 3, wherein two bean shaped cutouts are provided at the outer bumper panel (102) to facilitate arc welding of the hat shaped reinforcement bracket (106) in bean shape with the outer bumper panel (102).

5. The bumper member assembly (100) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the bean shaped arc welding spots (202, 204) are provided longitudinally away from the center (206) of the upper portion (106-U) of the hat shaped reinforcement bracket (106) such that the distance between the center portion (206) and each of the bean shaped arc welding spots (202, 204) is at a maximum distance from the center (206).

6. The bumper member assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of legs (110) of the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) defines a U-shaped cutout between each of the plurality of legs (110).

7. The bumper member assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of legs (110) of the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) defines a continuous profile.

8. The bumper member assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the towing nut is arc welded with the outer bumper panel (102), the inverted U-shaped inner bumper panel (104) and the hat-shaped reinforcement bracket (106) in the towing nut region (108).
Dated this 22nd day of November, 2023

AMIT JAIN
PATENT AGENT
IN/PA – 2189
OF L. S. DAVAR & CO.