SE539350C2 - A bumper assembly and use of a bumper assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

18 ABSTRACT A bumper assembly (1) for protecting an object (2) comprises aframe configured to be mounted on a said object (2), a bumpermember, and an arrangement configured to removably secure thebumper member to said frame in a use position of the bumper as-sembly. The arrangement comprises first engaging means andmeans connecting said first engaging means to the frame and thebumper member is provided with second engaging means config-ured to enter into mutual engagement with the first engagingmeans so as to hold the bumper member by the frame in said useposition. Said connecting means further comprises at least onespring member so as to allow said first engaging means and bythat the second engaging means and the bumper member to movewith respect to the frame by influence of an impact force on thebumper member. (Fig. 1)

Description

The present invention relates to a bumper assembly for protectingan object comprising a frame configured to be mounted on a saidobject, a bumper member, and an arrangement configured to re-movably secure the bumper member to said frame in a use positionof the bumper assembly, said arrangement comprising first engag-ing means and means connecting said first engaging means to theframe, wherein the bumper member is provided with second en-gaging means configured to enter into mutual engagement with thefirst engaging means so as to hold the bumper member by theframe in said use position.

The invention relates to such a bumper assembly of any conceiv-able type, which can be mounted on a pillar in a Warehouse, a wallin a garage etc., but a bumper assembly mounted on a loadingdock may be mentioned as a typical example without restrictingthe invention thereto.

Such a bumper assembly is used for protecting the object on whichit is mounted from outer impacts. Mounted on a loading dock thebumper assembly is used for protecting the dock against impactsthat may be caused by a van or the trailer of a truck backing towardthe dock for stopping close thereto or against it in order to beloaded or unloaded. Usually two such bumper assemblies aremounted on a loading dock at respective sides thereof so as toensure that no part of the truck may hit and consequently damagethe dock. As is easily understood, such a bumper assembly alsoprotects the back of the truck from damage due to a collision withthe dock.

BACKGROUND ART A bumper assembly of the type described in the introduction ispreviously known through the document US 2011/0254211 A1.

The bumper (fender) assembly described in said document com-prises a support configured to be mounted on a support structure,such as a loading dock, and a fender configured to be removablysecured to the support by an arrangement in the form of a platewhich is rigidly connected to sections of the support configured tobe mounted on said support structure and configured to engagewith parts of the fender so that this is held by the plate and by thatby the support.

The idea with bumper assemblies of this type is that the supportor frame holding the fender or bumper member is to be stationarymounted on a loading dock or the like for many years, and thefender or bumper member may be replaced when worn or dam-aged. A common problem by such bumper assemblies describedis that also parts of the support or frame or of said arrangement isworn or damaged after some time of use due to stress transferredthereto by impacts on the fender or bumper member and conse-quently that the complete assembly have to be replaced. This isassociated with a relatively high cost and is of course not environ-mentally friendly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a bumper assem-bly of the type defined in the introduction being improved in at leastsome aspect with respect to such bumper assemblies alreadyknown, through for example said document.

This object is according to the invention obtained by providingsuch a bumper assembly, which is characterized in that said con-necting means comprises at least one spring member so as to al-low said first engaging means and by that the second engagingmeans and the bumper member to move with respect to the frameby influence of an impact force on the bumper member. Said springmember provides a movable connection of the bumper member tothe frame in said use position which implies reduced stress in this connection when the bumper member is subjected to an impactforce and thereby a reduced risk that parts of the connectingmeans forming said connection is worn or damaged. Furthermore,such a movable connection provides the possibility of using abumper member made of a rigid material, such as a hard plastic,as the bumper member itself does not have to absorb the stress inthe bumper assembly caused by an impact force. This enables useof a bumper member made of an environmentally friendly material,which results in an environmentally friendly bumper assembly.

According to an embodiment of the invention one of said first andsecond engaging means comprises at least one recess and theother comprises at least one engaging element configured to en-gage with said recess by being received therein in said use posi-tion. Such engaging means provide a simple and reliable connec-tion of the bumper member to the frame in said use position.

According to another embodiment of the invention the engagingmeans comprising said recess is said second engaging means andthe engaging means comprising said engaging element is said firstengaging means.

According to another embodiment of the invention said recess isan elongated groove having at least one open end and configuredto extend in a plane parallel or at least substantially parallel to aplane in which a main part of the frame is configured to extend insaid use position, and the groove has a wide portion designed toallow said engaging element to be slidably received therein by in-serting the element through a said open end into the groove. Saidgroove and engaging element provide a simple and cost-effectiveconnection of the bumper member to the frame and enables thebumper member to be fastly and easily replaced by another.

According to another embodiment of the invention said recess fur-ther has a narrow portion which is open at one end and opens intothe wide portion at the other end, and the element is retained inthe groove by stop surfaces arranged at respective sides of the opening of said narrow portion into the wide portion. Such a grooveenables a simple and reliable connection of the bumper memberto the frame.

According to another embodiment of the invention parts of saidconnecting means project out of the groove to the frame when theelement is received in the groove.

According to another embodiment of the invention the bumper as-sembly further comprises a stop element attached to said frame atan outer edge thereof and configured to extend in a direction per-pendicular or at least substantially perpendicular to said plane inwhich a main part of the frame is configured to extend in said useposition, which stop element is configured to act as a stop for thebumper member by contacting an outer surface thereof so that thebumper member may not be moved past the stop element whensaid engaging element is received and slid in said groove therebydefining a determined position for the bumper member in said useposition, in which determined position said outer surface of thebumper member contacts the stop element. Such a stop elementprovide a simple and reliable way of holding the bumper memberin a suitable determined position in said use position.

According to another embodiment of the invention said connectingmeans comprises a plurality of spring members. A plurality ofspring members have a stabilizing effect on the connection of thebumper member to the frame and allow the stress transferred tothe bumper assembly by an impact force to be distributed over allthe spring members which reduces the risk that a spring memberis damaged by an overload, compared to if said connecting meanscomprises only one spring member.

According to another embodiment of the invention at least one saidengaging element is connected to the frame by a plurality of springmembers.

According to another embodiment of the invention said arrange-ment comprises a plurality of said recess and a plurality of saidengaging element. Such an arrangement may provide a very stableconnection of the bumper member to the frame thereby a durablebumper assembly.

According to another embodiment of the invention the bumper as-sembly further comprises at least one layer of an elastic materialarranged between at least part of the bumper member and theframe in said use position so as to be deformed by the bumpermember moving toward the frame by influence of a said impactforce thereby absorbing at least part of the stress transferred tothe bumper assembly by said impact force. Such an elastic layerfor instance substantially reduces the stress occurring in rigidparts of the bumper assembly and thereby the risk that such partsare worn and damaged which prolongs the life of the bumper as-sembly.

According to another embodiment of the invention said at least onelayer of an elastic material is arranged at the frame in such a way,so as to prevent any part of the bumper member from contactingthe frame when the bumper member is moved toward the frame byinfluence of a said impact force, said at least one layer is prefera-bly a plate of a rubber material.

According to another embodiment of the invention said at least onespring member is a compression spring. A compression spring issuitable to use as a said spring member.

According to another embodiment ofthe invention said at least onelayer of an elastic material has a thickness of between 10 and 150millimeters, between 10 and 100 millimeters, preferably between15 and 40 millimeters, more preferred between 20 and 25 millime-ters.

The invention also relates to use of a bumper assembly accordingto the independent use claim.

Further advantages as well as advantageous features of the in-vention will appear from the following description of embodimentsof the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS With reference to the appended drawings, below follows a specificdescription of two embodiments of the invention cited as exam- ples. ln the drawings: Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 is a side elevation view of a bumper assembly accord-ing to a first embodiment of the invention in the useposition mounted on a loading dock, with the bumpermember contacted by a truck, is a perspective view of the bumper assembly of Fig. 1, is a perspective view of the bumper assembly of Fig. 1with the bumper member removed from the frame, is a perspective view of a bumper assembly accordingto a second embodiment of the invention in the use po-sition, is a view from above of the bumper assembly of Fig. 1in a rest state, is a view corresponding to Fig. 5 showing the bumperassembly under influence of an impact force on oneside of the bumper member, is a view corresponding to Fig. 5 showing the bumperassembly under influence of an impact force on the cen-ter of the bumper member, and Fig. 8 is a sectional side elevation view of the bumper assem-bly of Fig. 1 showing the bumper assembly under influ-ence of an impact force on the upper area of the bumper member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THEINVENTION A bumper assembly according to a first embodiment of the inven-tion is illustrated in the appended figures 1-3 and 5-8 and a bumperassembly according to a second embodiment of the invention isillustrated in figure 4. These will hereinafter be described while atthe same time making reference to all these figures.

The bumper assembly 1 according to the first embodiment of theinvention is configured to be mounted on an object, here a loadingdock 2, so as to protect the loading dock from outer impactscaused by e.g. a backing truck 3 (see Fig. 1).

The bumper assembly 1 comprises a frame 4 in the form of a metalplate configured to be mounted on said loading dock 2 by meansof screws or the like. The frame could also be formed with anotherstructure than a plate, such as be formed by a framework of metalprofiles welded together. The bumper assembly 1 further com-prises a bumper member 5 and an arrangement configured to re-movably secure the bumper member to the frame 4 in a use posi-tion of the bumper assembly (see e.g. Fig. 2).

Said arrangement comprises first engaging means in the form ofan elongated engaging element 6, preferably made of metal, andconnecting means in the form of compression springs 7 connectingsaid engaging element to the frame 4.

The bumper member 5 is provided with second engaging means inthe form of an elongated groove 8 extending along a complete sidesurface 9 of the bumper member in the center thereof and having two open ends 11a, 11b at the top 12a and bottom 12b surfaces ofthe bumper member, respectively. Such an elongated groove mayas well be arranged along only a part of the side surface, and maybe arranged at some other location than in the center thereof, suchas along an edge of the side surface. Said side surface 9 of thebumper member 5 is facing the frame 4 in said use position andarranged opposite to an impact surface 10 of the bumper memberfacing away from the frame in said use position. The bumper mem-ber is preferably formed, e.g. by moulding, in one piece of a plasticor a hard rubber material, but may also have parts of differentmaterials, such as be constituted by a plurality of rubber layers,be provided with metal plates for stabilizing parts of the bumpermember or be made completely of metal.

The engaging element 6 is configured to enter into mutual engage-ment with the groove 8 of the bumper member 5 by inserting theelement through a said open end 11a, 11b into a wide portion 13of the groove 8 so that the element is slidably received therein andthe compression springs 7 project out of a narrow portion 14 of thegroove, which narrow portion is open at one end and opens intothe wide portion at the other end, to the frame 4 and so that theelement 6 is retained in the groove by stop surfaces 15a, 15b ar-ranged at respective sides of the opening of the narrow portion 14into the wide portion 13. That the stop surfaces are arranged atrespective sides of said opening is to be interpreted as said stopsurfaces are provided in the area of the opening on both sides ofthe groove 8 with respect to the opening. This means that the stopsurfaces 15a, 15b may have one end located at said opening andextend in any angle therefrom into the wide portion 13 of thegroove, so that the groove 8 has a funnel-shaped cross-section,as one example.

The bumper member 5 is thereby held by the engaging element 6and by that by the frame 4 in said use position of the bumper as-sembly 1 and the compression springs 7 connecting the engagingelement to the frame allows said element and thereby the bumpermember 5 to move with respect to the frame. As is understood from e.g. Fig. 5 the groove 8 is configured to extend in a plane parallelor at least substantially parallel to a plane in which a main part ofthe frame 4 is configured to extend in said use position. When thebumper member 5 is worn or damaged this is easily removed fromthe frame by lifting the bumper member so that the engaging ele-ment 6 slides out of the groove 8 and the bumper member is re-placed with a new.

The bumper assembly 1 further comprises a stop element 16 at-tached to the frame 4 at an outer edge thereof and configured toextend in a direction perpendicular or at least substantially per-pendicular to said plane in which a main part of the frame 4 isconfigured to extend in said use position. The stop element 16 isconfigured to act as a stop for the bumper member 5 by contactinga bottom surface 12b thereof so that the bumper member may notbe moved past the stop element 16 when the engaging element 6is received and slid in the groove 8. A suitable determined positionfor the bumper member 5 in said use position is defined thereby,in which determined position the bottom surface 12b of the bumpermember contacts the stop element 16 so that the bumper memberrests thereon. The stop element 16 may be attached to the frame4 by welding or by being formed in one piece with the frame, as afew examples.

The bumper assembly 1 further comprises a layer of an elasticmaterial in the form of a plate 18 of a rubber material arranged atthe frame 4 so as to be located between the bumper member 5and the frame in said use position. The plate 18 covers substan-tially the complete surface of the frame facing the bumper memberin said use position and is provided with through holes 19 allowingthe compression springs 7 to project therethrough. One importantfunction to be provided by said layer is to act as a spacer so as toprevent any part of the bumper member 5 to contact the frame 4,wherefore it is understood that the layer also could be constitutedby a plurality of smaller rubber plates separately arranged at theframe with respect to each other, such as along the outer edges ofthe frame, or by a net-like element arranged at the frame, as a few examples. The elastic layer could be as thin as between 1 and 10millimeters for providing this function. lt is also possible to provideonly the bumper member 5 with such a layer, e.g. a rubber plate,even though it is preferred to arrange such a layer at the frame 4.Even though rubber is a suitable and preferred material for saidlayer, this may also be made of another material with elastic prop-erties, such as a foam. The function of the rubber plate 18 will beclear from the description of the function of the bumper assembly1 during use below.

Fig. 5 shows the bumper assembly 1 from above in said use posi-tion and in a rest state, i.e. when not under influence of an outerforce, in which rest state no potential energy is stored in the com-pression springs 7.

Fig. 6 is a view corresponding to Fig. 5 which shows the bumperassembly 1 under influence of an outer force (indicated by the ar-row A), such as an impact force by the back of a truck 3, on oneside of the bumper member 5. The compression springs 7 are thenslightly bent and compressed thereby allowing the engaging ele-ment 6 and by that the bumper member to move in such a way thatthe side of the bumper member subjected to said impact force (theleft side as seen in Fig. 6) moves toward the frame 4 and theopposite (right) side of the bumper member moves away from theframe or does not move at all, while potential energy is stored inthe compression springs 7. This movement of the bumper member5 causes a deformation of the part of the rubber plate 18 locatedbetween said first mentioned (left) side of the bumper member andthe frame 4 so that the rubber plate absorbs part of the stresstransferred to the bumper assembly 1 by said impact force bystoring potential energy. The rubber plate has preferably athickness greater than 10 millimeters, such as 20-25 millimetersfor providing this function. However, it could also have asignificantly greater thickness depending on application. After theforce is removed from the bumper member 5 by the truck 3 drivingaway the compression springs 7 return to their rest state (see Fig. 11 5) by releasing the potential energy stored and the same appliesto the rubber plate 18.

The movable connection of the engaging element 6 to the frameprovided by the compression springs 7 and allowing the bumpermember to move with respect to the frame substantially reducesthe amount of and stress in critical points where shear stress oc-curs compared to if said connection were a rigid connection, as isthe case in bumper assemblies previously known. This is most ap-parent by impacts far out on one side of the bumper member 5 oron the upper or lower area thereof. The compression springs 7,preferably in combination with the rubber plate 18, thereby re-duces the risk that parts of the bumper assembly 1 is worn or dam-aged by outer impact forces and thereby substantially prolongs thelife of the bumper assembly.

Fig. 7 is a view corresponding to Fig. 5 which shows the bumperassembly 1 under influence of a said outer force (indicated by thearrow B) on the center of the bumper member 5 or evenly distrib-uted over the impact surface 10 thereof. This causes the springmembers 7 to be compressed straight toward the frame 4 and thecomplete rubber plate 18 to be deformed by pushing the bumpermember 5 against the engaging element 6 and the rubber member,respectively. The stress transferred to the bumper assembly 1 ishereby evenly distributed and absorbed by the rubber plate andthe compression springs.

Fig. 8 is a sectional side elevation view of the bumper assembly 1under influence of a said outer force (indicated by the arrow C) onthe upper area of the bumper member 5. As is understood fromthis figure in combination with Fig. 6 the bumper member 5 is mov-ably secured to the frame 4 in the use position in such a way thatthis may be moved in any direction with respect to the frame sothat the bumper assembly 1 may efficiently absorb any impact onthe bumper member so as to avoid being damaged. 12 Fig. 4 shows a bumper assembly 1b according to a second embod-iment of the invention. This bumper assembly 1b has the sameparts, which are configured in the same way and provide the samefunction, as the corresponding parts of the bumper assembly 1 de-scribed above, but comprises two said arrangements, i.e. two en-gaging elements 6b, each connected to the frame 4b by compres-sion springs (not shown) and two recesses 8b in the bumper mem-ber 5b. This structure of the bumper assembly 1b may be preferredfor use in special environments, such as where it may be hit byextremely heavy vehicles, as a more stable bumper assembly isprovided by providing this with two said arrangements. lt is alsopossible to provide a bumper assembly which has more than twoengaging elements and the engaging elements of a bumper as-sembly according to the invention may independently be con-nected to the frame by an arbitrary number of spring members,such as compression springs.

The invention is of course not in any way restricted to the embod-iments thereof described above, but many possibilities to modifi-cations thereof will be apparent to a person with ordinary skill inthe art without departing from the scope of the invention as definedin the appended claims.

The bumper assembly may be mounted on a said object with adifferent orientation than is shown in the figures, such as be tilted90° so that the engaging element extends horizontally.

The bumper assembly may also be mounted on other said objectsthan a loading dock, such as on a wall in a garage, on a pillar in awarehouse or the like. The pillar may in the latter case be providedwith one bumper assembly on each side surface thereof, so as toprotect the pillar from impacts coming from any direction. Thebumper assembly may also be used for marine applications, suchas for protecting a dock from impacts from a boat.

That an engaging element is slidably received in a groove is in thisdisclosure to be interpreted as that the element and the groove are 13 movable with respect to each other in such a way that the elementis slid in the groove by moving either one of the element and thegroove or both.

A spring member is in this disclosure to be interpreted as a mem-ber with the ability to be moved from its rest state while storingpotential energy and is configured to return to the rest state byreleasing the potential energy stored. Such a spring member mayin addition to a compression spring also be or comprise a rubbercylinder, a foam block, a tension spring or a leaf spring, as a fewexamples.

The narrow portion and the wide portion of a said groove in thebumper member may both have an arbitrary width, but are mutuallylimited in such a way, that the narrow portion has a smaller widththan the wide portion, i.e. said portions are narrow and wide withrespect to each other.

Claims (1)

1. 4 Claims 1 _ A bumper assembly (1, 1b) for protecting an object (2) com-prisingo a frame (4) configured to be mounted on a said object (2),o a bumper member (5), ando an arrangement configured to removably secure thebumper member (5) to said frame (4) in a use position ofthe bumper assembly (1), said arrangement comprisingfirst engaging means (6) and means connecting said firstengaging means (6) to the frame (4),wherein the bumper member (5) is provided with second en-gaging means (8) configured to enter into mutual engagementwith the first engaging means (6) so as to hold the bumpermember (5) by the frame (4) in said use position,characterized in that said connecting means comprises atleast one spring member (7) so as to allow said first engagingmeans (6) and by that the second engaging means (8) and thebumper member (5) to move with respect to the frame (4) byinfluence of an impact force on the bumper member (5). _ A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to claim 1, characterized in that one of said first (6) and second (8) engaging meanscomprises at least one recess (8) and the other comprises atleast one engaging element (6) configured to engage with saidrecess (8) by being received therein in said use position. A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to claim 2, characterized in that the engaging means comprising said recess (8) is saidsecond engaging means (8) and the engaging means compris-ing said engaging element (6) is said first engaging means (6). _ A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to claim 2 or 3, charac- terized in that said recess (8) is an elongated groove (8) havingat least one open end and configured to extend in a plane par-allel or at least substantially parallel to a plane in which a main 6. 7. part of the frame (4) is configured to extend in said use posi-tion, and that the groove (8) has a wide portion (13) designedto allow said engaging element (6) to be slidably receivedtherein by inserting the element (6) through a said open endinto the groove (8). A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to claim 4, characterizedin that said recess (8) further has a narrow portion (14) whichis open at one end and opens into the wide portion (13) at theother end, and that the element (6) is retained in the groove (8)by stop surfaces (15a,15b) arranged at respective sides of theopening of said narrow portion (14) into the wide portion (13). A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to claim 3 and 5, iacterized in that parts of said connecting means project out ofthe groove (8) to the frame (4) when the element (6) is receivedin the groove (8). A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to any of the claims 4-6,characterized in that the bumper assembly (1, 1b) further com-pnsesø a stop element (16) attached to said frame (4) at an outeredge thereof and configured to extend in a direction per-pendicular or at least substantially perpendicular to saidplane in which a main part of the frame (4) is configuredto extend in said use position, which stop element (16) isconfigured to act as a stop for the bumper member (5) bycontacting an outer surface (12b) thereof so that thebumper member (5) may not be moved past the stop ele-ment (16) when said engaging element (6) is received andslid in said groove (8) thereby defining a determined po-sition for the bumper member (5) in said use position, inwhich determined position said outer surface (12b) of thebumper member (5) contacts the stop element (16). 8. 10. 11 12. 13. 16 A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to any of the precedingclaims, characterized in that said connecting means com-prises a plurality of spring members (7). A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to claim 3 and 8, char- acterized in that at least one said engaging element (6) is con-nected to the frame (4) by a plurality of spring members (7). A bumper assembly (1b) according to any of the claims 2-9,characterized in that said arrangement comprises a pluralityof said recess (8b) and a plurality of said engaging element(6b). .A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bumper assembly (1) furthercomprisesø at least one layer (18) of an elastic material arranged be-tween at least part of the bumper member (5) and theframe (4) in said use position so as to be deformed by thebumper member (5) moving toward the frame (4) by influ-ence of a said impact force thereby absorbing at least partof the stress transferred to the bumper assembly (1) bysaid impact force. A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to claim 11, character- í in that said at least one layer (18) of an elastic material isarranged at the frame (4) in such a way, so as to prevent anypart of the bumper member (5) from contacting the frame (4)when the bumper member (5) is moved toward the frame (4) byinfluence of a said impact force, said at least one layer is pref-erably a plate (18) of a rubber material. A bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to any of the precedingclaims, characterized in that said at least one spring member(7) is a compression spring. 17 14.Use of a bumper assembly (1, 1b) according to any of theclaims 1-13 for protecting a loading dock (2), a pillar in a ware-house or the like.