FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
(39 of 1970)
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
(See Section 10; rule 13)
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
An arrangement for protection of firewall structure of a vehicle
APPLICANTS
TATA MOTORS LIMITED, an Indian company
having its registered office at Bombay House,
24 Homi Mody Street, Hutatma Chowk,
Mumbai 400 001 Maharashtra, India

INVENTORS
Pooja Dwivedi Sujith Chalipat
of TATA MOTORS LIMITED an Indian company
having its registered office at Bombay House,
24 Homi Mody Street, Hutatma Chowk,
Mumbai 400 001 Maharashtra, India
PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in
which it is to be performed.
Field of invention:
This invention relates to the protection of firewall structure in the event of frontal impact forces on a commercial vehicle.
Background of invention
Vehicle with driver cabin which have a flat front end & which do not have bonnet are called as forward control vehicles. Commercial vehicles, such as goods carrier or buses, generally exhibit such flat front end. The front boundary of the driver compartment is called as firewall. In subject vehicles, An outer flap is provided below the windshield to cover the firewall and small fitments on it. Neither the centre flap nor the firewall has a strong structure. In the event of collision of the driver cabin against a rigid flat barrier, none of them withstand high impact forces and deform inwards leading to excessive intrusions inside the driver compartment leading to severe occupant injuries.
Objects of the invention
The main objective of the present invention is to provide a stopper bracket on the firewall structure for a commercial vehicle to prevent a rigid crash object contact with the firewall structure in the event of crash.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a stopper bracket on the firewall structure for a commercial vehicle to prevent a rigid crash object contact with the firewall structure such that the impact forces are directed to the floor long members.
Yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a stopper bracket on the firewall structure for a commercial vehicle to prevent a crash object contact with the firewall structure which is simple in construction and cost effective. According to the present invention an arrangement for protection of firewall structure of a vehicle comprising at least a protective bracket located in front of. said firewall structure, said bracket rigidly connected to said firewall structure and a floor long member of said vehicle in such a way that during impact of said vehicle with a barrier said protective bracket come into contact with the barrier,
distribute the loads to the floor long members & prevent deformation of the firewall structure.
Brief description of the invention
For a commercial vehicle, additional brackets are provided on the firewall from outer side such that in event of the vehicle impact against the rigid barrier, these brackets will interact with the impacting barrier & prevent the firewall from contacting the impacting rigid barrier. Further these brackets are also connected to the floor long members so that the impact forces are directed to them. With these provisions, the harmful intrusions of the firewall into the cabin are reduced which will enhance the occupant safety.
According to the present invention an arrangement for protection of firewall structure of a vehicle comprising at least a protective bracket located in front of said firewall structure, said bracket rigidly connected to said firewall structure and a floor long member of said vehicle in such way that during impact of said vehicle with a barrier said protective bracket come into contact with said barrier.
Detail description of the invention
Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for the purpose of illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention only, and not for the purpose of limiting the same.
Figure - 01 shows side view of a prior art commercial vehicle cabin installed on a
chassis frame,
Figure - 02 shows top view of a prior art commercial vehicle cabin,
Figure - 03 shows top view of a prior art commercial vehicle cabin in event of its
impact with rigid barrier and the structural deformations,
Figure - 04 shows top view of a commercial vehicle cabin provided with the
firewall protection brackets in accordance with this invention.
Figure — 05 shows side view of a commercial vehicle cabin provided with the
firewall protection brackets in accordance with this invention.3
BSIFBB
Figure - 06 shows front view of a commercial vehicle cabin provided with the firewall protection brackets in accordance with this invention
Figure 01 shows side view of a prior art commercial vehicle showing the drivers cabin (1) attached to the chassis frame (2). The cabin has firewall structure (3), central flap (4) and windshield (5) at its front end. The central flap is used to cover the front side of the vehicle for aesthetic reasons. The cabin floor structure has also been provided with floor long members (6) for additional strength & rigidity. The firewall structure is connected to the floor long members (6). Figure 02 shows top view of a prior art commercial vehicle driver's cabin showing the firewall structure (3), central flap (4) and floor long members (6). Figure 03 shows top view of a prior art commercial vehicle driver cabin when impacted by a rigid barrier (7) showing structural deformations of the firewall and the centre flap.
Figure 04, 05 & 06 show top, side & front views of commercial vehicle driver cabin provided with the firewall protection brackets (8) in accordance with this invention. The firewall protection brackets are also attached to the floor long members (6) by extending the floor long members appropriately. The protection brackets are located at the front side of the firewall in the vehicle direction and rigidly connected. The firewall protection brackets are attached to the firewall and to the floor long members by appropriate process such as welding. The brackets protect the firewall during impact with a barrier. It avoids direct contact of firewall with the barrier during impact and also transfers the impact forces to the floor long members. The firewall protection brackets can be connected to the chassis long member as an alternative embodiment.
In the event of frontal impact of a commercial vehicle with a rigid barrier, particularly with forward control execution, the impacting barrier pushes the driver's cabin rearwards. In this process the barrier interacts with the firewall structure. The firewall structure is not strong enough to react to the impact forces & it deforms under influence of these forces. The firewall intrudes inside the
driver's cabin reducing the space around the driver and other passengers leading to bodily injuries. In presence of the protection brackets on the firewall, the impacting barrier does not enter into contact with the firewall structure. All the impact forces are passed on to the protective brackets. Since the protective brackets are connected with the floor long members, the impact forces are transferred further to these members. Thus the protection brackets provide alternate load path for the impact forces & maximizes the space availability inside the passenger compartment and provides higher level of safety. The foregoing description is a specific embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that this embodiment is described for purpose of illustration only, and that numerous alterations and modifications may be practiced by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. It is intended that all such modifications and alterations be included insofar as they come within the scope of the invention as claimed or the equivalents thereof.

We claim
1. An arrangement for protection of firewall structure of a vehicle comprising at least a protective bracket located in front of said firewall structure, said bracket rigidly connected to said firewall structure and a floor long member of said vehicle in such way that during impact of said vehicle with a barrier said protective bracket come into contact with said barrier.
2. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bracket avoids direct contact of firewall structure with the barrier during the impact.
3. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein the impact forces acting on said bracket directly transfer to the floor long member.
4. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bracket welded to the firewall structure and floor long member,
5. An arrangement for protection of firewall structure of a vehicle comprising at least a protective bracket located in front of said firewall structure, said bracket rigidly connected to said firewall structure and a chassis long member of said vehicle in such way that during impact of said vehicle with a barrier said protective bracket come into contact with said barrier.
6. An arrangement for protection of firewall structure of a vehicle as herein described with reference to accompanying drawings.