Title of Invention

PORTABLE DEVICE FOR MEASUREMENT OF HEAD IMPACT POINTS IN A VEHICLE

Abstract

A portable device (1) for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle comprising a base (2) comprising at least one mounting means (3), a L - shaped pedestal (6) whose horizontal limb (7) is supported on the base with the mounting means, a horizontally disposed hand (10) whose one end is pivoted (19) to the vertical limb (8) of the pedestal by a height adjustment means comprising a support plate (14) freely disposed against the vertical limb of the pedestal and a screw portion (15) up and down slidably disposed in an oblong slot (16) in the vertical limb of the pedestal and provided with a body portion (17) having a flange (18) at the outer end thereof, the screw portion being in thread engagement with the support plate and the inner end of the body portion of the screw portion bearing against the vertical limb of the pedestal and the pivot of the hand comprising a screw member (19) freely disposed in the oblong slot in the vertical limb of the pedestal and provided with a body portion (20) having a flange (21) at the outer end thereof, the screw member freely passing through a groove (22) in the support plate with 22

Full Text

FORM 2 THE PATENTS ACT 1970 (39 of 1970) COMPLETE SPECIFICATION (See Section 10; rule 13) TITLE Portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle APPLICANTS Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited, Bombay House, 24 Homi Mody Street, Hutatma Chowk, Mumbai 400001,Maharashtra, India, an Indian company INVENTOR Under Section 28(2) Gogate Vinayak Shankar, Vehicle Testing Department, Engineering Research Center, Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Limited, Pimpri, Pune - 411018, Maharashtra, India, an Indian national The following specification particularly describes the nature of this invention and the manner in which it is to be performed : ORIGINAL 453/MUM/03 GRANTED 9-12-2004 FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to a portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle. PRIOR ART Interiors of vehicles are to be so designed as to absorb the energy of impact of the occupants of the vehicles against the interiors in a controlled manner and thus to reduce severity of bodily injuries to the occupants in the event of accidents. This is done by first establishing the head impact zone or head contact point zone within the interiors of the vehicles which the occupants are likely to hit in the event of accidents. Presently, head impact zone in a vehicle is established by computer simulation for which purpose complete layout geometry data of the vehicle are required to be fed into the computer in advance. The layout geometry data vary from vehicle to vehicle. Therefore , each time the head impact zone of a different vehicle needs to be established, the 2 layout geometry data corresponding to that vehicle are to be generated and fed into the computer. This is inconvenient and troublesome and time consuming. A servohydraulically powdered device is known for carrying out head impact tests of components in the head impact zone in vehicles. It comprises an arm pivoted at its lower end constituting the hip pivot point of the occupant in the vehicle and provided with an instrumented head at its distal end representing the head of the occupant, impact resistance of the components is tested by placing the components in the proximity of the pivoted arm and impacting the instrumented head against them. The components are likely to be damaged while being impacted. The device is heavy and complex in construction and includes a rigid foundation for installation. It is not portable and cannot be positioned in a fully built vehicle for head impact tests. It requires energy input for its operation and periodic maintenance and is very expensive. It does not measure head impact points in a vehicle. 3 OBJECTS OF INVENTION An object of the invention is to provide a portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle which is compact and light weight and can be positioned within a fully built vehicle. Another object of the invention is to provide a portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle which is simple in construction and easy to operate. Another object of the invention is to provide a portable device for measurement of head points in a vehicle which does not require any energy input for its operation and which requires negligible maintenance. Another object of the invention is to provide a portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle which is economical. 4 Another object of the invention is to provide a portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle which is versatile. Another object of the invention is to provide a portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle which may be assembled and disassembled easily and is, therefore, easy to pack and transport or carry. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION According to the invention there is provided a portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle comprising a base comprising at least one mounting means, a L - shaped pedestal whose horizontal limb is supported on the base with the mounting means, a horizontally disposed hand whose one end is pivoted to the vertical limb of the pedestal by a height adjustment means comprising a support plate freely disposed against the vertical limb of the pedestal and a screw portion up and down slidably disposed in an oblong slot in the vertical limb of the pedestal and provided with a body portion having a flange at the outer end thereof, the screw portion being in thread engagement with the support plate and the inner end of the body portion of the screw portion bearing against the vertical limb of the pedestal and the pivot of the hand comprising a screw member freely disposed in the oblong slot in the vertical limb of the pedestal and provided with a body portion having a flange at the outer end thereof, the screw member freely passing through a groove in the support plate with the inner end of the body portion of the screw member in abutment with the vertical limb of the pedestal, 5 the one end of the hand being in thread engagement with the screw member loosely, a first circular scale graduated in degrees fitted at the pivoted end of the hand concentrically with the pivot and provided with an indicator supported on the vertical limb of the pedestal, a vertically disposed arm comprising an inner tube having a lower portion pivoted to the hand and an outer tube slidable on the inner tube fitted with a head, the arm being provided with a linear scale and a second circular scale graduated in degrees fitted at one side of the hand concentrically with the pivot of the lower portion of the arm and provided with a pointer supported at the lower portion of the arm. According to an embodiment of the invention the limbs of the L-shaped pedestal are channel shaped. According to an embodiment of the invention, the base is pan shaped. According to an embodiment of the invention, the mounting means comprises a pair of spaced upright studs fitted on the base and provided with narrow screws at the upper ends thereof and a locator plate positioned against the upper ends of the studs with the narrow screws passing therethrough and tightened against the horizontal limb of the pedestal disposed between the studs with nuts in thread engagement with the narrow screws. 6 According to an embodiment of the invention, the horizontally disposed hand is fork shaped and the lower portion of the arm is disposed in the space between the prongs of the hand and pivoted to the hand by a pivot pin passing through the hand and provided with a flange at one end thereof. According to an embodiment of the invention, the one end of the hand is pivoted to the vertical limb of the pedestal by height adjustment means. According to an embodiment of the invention, the height adjustment means comprises a support plate freely disposed against the vertical limb of the pedestal, and a screw portion up and down slidably disposed in an oblong slot in the vertical limb of the pedestal and provided with a body portion having a flange at the outer end thereof, the screw portion being in thread engagement with the support plate and the inner end of the body portion of the screw portion bearing against the vertical limb of the pedestal and 7 the pivot of the hand comprising a screw member freely disposed in the oblong slot in the vertical limb of the pedestal and provided with a body portion having a flange at the outer end thereof, the screw member freely passing through a groove in the support plate with the inner end of the body portion of the screw member in abutment with the vertical limb of the pedestal, the one end of the hand being in thread engagement with the screw member loosely. According to an embodiment of the invention, the vertically disposed arm comprises an inner tube comprising an upper portion and a lower portion fitted together and an outer tube slidable on the inner tube and provided with locking means, the inner tube being provided with the linear scale. According to an embodiment of the invention, the locking means comprises a hard material sleeve spacer internally tapered and disposed over the lower portion of the inner tube, a soft material slit tubular washer externally tapered corresponding to the internal taper in the spacer and disposed below the spacer and a lock nut 8 disposed over the lower portion of the outer tube in thread engagement therewith, the lock nut being provided with an internal step at the upper portion thereof at the start of the internal threading therein and knurls at the outer side thereof. The slit washer may be made of soft material such as rubber or teflon, preferably teflon. The spacer may be made of hard material such as steel or copper, preferably steel. The following is a detailed description of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig 1 is side view of a portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle according to an embodiment of the invention; Fig 2 is elevation of the portable device of Fig 1; Fig 3 is side view of the L- shaped pedestal of the portable device of Fig 1 including the support plate and screw portion: 9 Fig 4 is elevation of the L- shaped pedestal of Fig 3; Fig 5 is crosssection at 0-0 in Fig 3; Fig 6 is enlarged view at 'B' in Fig 1 without the second jlar scale and lower portion of the arm; Fig 7 is elevation of Fig 6; Fig 8 is plan of Fig 6; Fig 9 is enlarged view at 'F in Fig 1; Fig 10 is plan view of Fig 9; Fig 11 is enlarged view at 'G' in Fig 2; 10 Fig 12 is scrap view at 'Q' in Fig 11 shown exploded in section; and Fig 13 is geometrical representation of a typical head impact point in space. The portable device 1 as illustrated in Figs 1 to 12 of the accompanying drawings comprises a pan shaped base 2 comprising a pair of spaced upright studs 3 fitted on the base and provided with narrow screws 4 at the upper ends thereof. 5 is tocator plate positioned against the upper ends of the studs with the narrow screws passing through holes (not marked) in the locator plate. 6 is a L- shaped pedestal whose horizontal limb and vertical limb marked 7 and 8 respectively are channel shaped (Figs 5 and 8). The horizontal limb of the pedestal is supported on the base by placing it between the studs and tightening it against the horizontal limb with nuts 9 in thread engagement with the narrow screws, 10 is a horizontally disposed fork shaped hand whose prongs are marked 11 and 12 and the space between the two prongs is marked 13. 14 is a 11 support plate freely disposed against the vertical limb of the pedestal. 15 is a screw portion up and down slidably disposed in an oblong slot 16 in the vertical limb of the pedestal. The screw portion is provided with a body portion 17 having a flange 18 at the outer end thereof. The screw portion is in the thread engagement with the support plate. On turning and tightening the screw portion in the support plate the inner end of the body portion thereof bears against the vertical limb of the pedestal and holds the support plate in position against the vertical limb with the vertical limb sandwiched between them. On unscrewing and loosening the screw portion in the support plate, the body portion of the screw portion retracts from the vertical limb and the support plate is free to be moved up and down in the oblong slot in the vertical limb for height adjustment of the support plate. The flange 18 provides hand grip for turning the screw portion. One end of One hand is pivoted to the vertical limb of the pedestal by a screw member 19 freely disposed in the oblong slot 16 in the vertical limb and provided with a body portion 20 having a flange 21 at the outer end thereof. The screw member freely passes through a groove 22 in the support plate 12 with the inner end of the body portion of the screw member in abutment with the vertical limb of the pedestal. The one end of the hand is in thread engagement with the screw member loosely. Because the one end of the hand is in thread engagement with the screw member loosely, the hand rotates about the screw member in the vertical transverse plane and the screw member acts as the pivot. The height of the hand is adjusted by adjusting the height of the support plate on the vertical limb of the pedestal. During height adjustment of the hand, the body portion of the screw member is rotated and retracted from the vertical limb of the pedestal to facilitate movement of the support ptate with the hand and movement of the screw member in the oblong slot. On fixing the support plate against the vertical limb of the pedestal, the body portion of the screw member is rotated and advanced to enable its inner end to abut the vertical limb. The flange 21 of the body portion of the screw member provides handgrip for rotation thereof. 23 is a first circular scale graduated in degrees fitted at the pivoted end of the hand concentrically with the screw member and provided with an indicator 24 supported on the support plate. 25 is 13 a vertically disposed arm comprising an inner tube 26 comprising an upper portion 27 and a lower portion 28. 29 and 30 are flanges of the upper and lower portions of the inner tube respectively. The upper and lower portions of the inner tube are fitted together. The lower portion of the inner tube is disposed in the space between the prongs of the fork shaped hand and pivoted to the hand by a pivot pin 31 passing through the hand and provided with a flange 32 at one thereof. The flange of the pivot pin provides a hand grip for it. The arm also comprises an outer tube 33 slidabie on the upper portion of the inner tube. 35 is a hard material sleeve spacer internally tapered (internal taper marked 35a) and disposed below the lower end of the outer tube over the inner tube. 36 is a soft material slit washer (slit marked 37) externally tapered (external taper marked 36a) corresponding to the internal taper in the spacer and disposed below the spacer. 38 is a locknut disposed over the lower portion of the outer tube in thread engagement therewith. The lock nut is provided with an internal step 38a at the upper portion thereof at the start of the internal threading 39 therein. Knurls at the outer side of the lock nut are marked 40. On 14 turning and tightening the lock nut on the outer tube, the lock nut moves up on the outer tube and the step of the lock nut engages against the washer and pushes it up. The slit washer moves inside the spacer and radially collapses against the spacer and gets jammed against the inner tube. As a result the spacer also presses against the outer tube thereby holding the inner and outer tube together in place i.e. locking the outer tube onto the inner tube. On unscrewing and loosening the lock nut on the outer tube, the locknut moves down releasing the force on the slit washer and the spacer and the slit washer moves down to its original position and remains below the spacer. The outer tube is free to be slid up and down on the inner tube to adjust the length of the arm. The knurls on the lock nut provide a finger grip for its rotation. The upper end of the outer tube is provided with a flange 41. 42 is a head fitted on the flange 41. The head is usually made of materials such as wood or plastic or metal such as aluminium and is usually 165 mm diameter. The inner tube is provided with a linear scale marked 43. The length of the arm is adjustable by adjusting the outer tube on the inner tube. 44 is a second circular scale 15 graduated in degrees and fitted at the side of the hand concentrically with the pivot pin 31 at the lower portion of the arm. The circular scale 44 is provided with a pointer 45 supported at the lower portion of the arm. The arm is movable to and fro with respect to the vertical limb of the pedestal in the vertical longitudinal plane about the pivot pin 31 at the lower portion thereof. Due to the hand being rotatable about the screw member 19 in the vertical transverse plane, the arm also rotates with the hand in the vertical longitudinal plane. Due to the fork shape of the hand it is easy to locate and align the arm therein. The device is placed on the seat of an occupant in a vehicle and the arm with the head is tilted to touch a point on the interior of the vehicle, say P. The pivot of the arm forms the hip pivot point (H point) of the occupant. The linear scale on the arm gives the distance L between the hip pivot point of the occupant and the head impact point P. The first circular scale gives angle 0 subtended by the hand and arm with respect to the verticaHongitudinail plane i.e. the angle of displacement of the hand with the arm 16 sideways the vertical limb in the direction of arrows M-M shown in Fig 2. The second circular scale gives the angle subtended by the arm with respect to the vertical transverse place i.e. angle of displacement of the arm to and from the vertical limb in the direction of arrows N-N shown in Fig 1. Using the values of L, and a parallelepiped is constructed as shown in Fig 13 of the accompanying drawings as follows: Draw axes X, Y and Z perpendicular to one another. X axis is the horizontal axis parallel to the length of the hand of the device, Y axis is the horizontal axis across the width of the hand of the device and Z axis is the vertical axis. The point of intersection of the axes is the H point of the occupant. Using the values of and and L the point P in space with respect to the X, Y and Z axes is marked. Points P and H are joined together by line PH to give length L. Point D is the projection of point P on YZ plane and the points P and D are joined together by line DP. Point B is the projection of point P on XY plane and the points P and B are joined together by line PB. Line HD is the projection of line HP on the YZ plane. Points A, C and E are projections of point P on the X,Y and Z axes. Points DPBAHEC constitute the parallelepiped. t Cartesian co-ordinates of the point P are computed from the parallelepiped as follows x co-ordinate = HA = DP = HP sin = L sin y co-ordinate = HC = HD sir = HP cos sir = L cos sin z co-ordinate = HE = HD cos = HP cos cos = L cos :os All the head impact points in the vehicle and their location cordinates are thus determined. The head impact points are joined together to establish the head impact zone. According to the invention the location co-ordinates of all the head impact points in a head impact zone of a vehicle are precisely measured. Therefore, it is possible to calculate the impact resistance and 18 design the head impact zone in a vehicle accurately. This helps to minimise severity of bodily injuries to occupants of the vehicle in the event of accidents. Instead of one mounting means, the base may comprise a plurality of mounting means provided along the length thereof to facilitate supporting of the pedestal with the arm at different locations on the base. The pedestal may be easily mounted on the base by tightening the locator plate against the horizontal limb thereof or it may be easily dismantled from the base by loosening the locator plate on the horizontal limb thereof. The hand may be easily pivoted to the vertical limb of the pedestal by assembling the support plate and the screw portion and screw member. Similarly the hand may be easily dismantled by dismantfling the support plate and screw portion and screw member. The arm may be easily pivoted to the hand with the pivot pin 31 or easily dismantled by removing the pivot pin. The device is thus easy to assemble and disassemble. 19 The device of the invention is compact light weight and portable and can be positioned within a fully built vehicle to measure the head impact points which are joined together to establish the head impact zone easily. It is simple,in construction and easy to operate. It is very easy to assemble and disassemble and easy to pack and transport or carry. The length, height and location of the arm are adjustable. Therefore, the device can be used to measure head impact points of vehicles of different sizes to establish head impact zones thereof and is thus versatile. The device does not require any energy input for its operation. It requires negligible maintenance and is economical. Instead of being channel shaped, the horizontal and vertical limbs of the pedestal may be solid or hollow sections or other geometries. The mounting means may be of a different construction. There may be two or more mounting means to support the pedestal at different locations on the base. The base may not be pan shaped and instead may be a plain plate or block or other geometry. The 20 hand may be a solid or hollow section or other geometry instead of being fork shaped. The hand may be pivoted at one fixed position on the vertical limb of the pedestal instead of being height adjustable. The pivot of the hand may be of a different construction. The arm may be of a different construction or single piece construction and may not be length adjustable. The locking means of the arm may be of a different construction. such variations of the invention are to be construed and understood to be within the scope of the invention. 21 WE CLAIM 1. A portable device (1) for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle comprising a base (2) comprising at least one mounting means (3), a L - shaped pedestal (6) whose horizontal limb (7) is supported on the base with the mounting means, a horizontally disposed hand (10) whose one end is pivoted (19) to the vertical limb (8) of the pedestal by a height adjustment means comprising a support plate (14) freely disposed against the vertical limb of the pedestal and a screw portion (15) up and down slidably disposed in an oblong slot (16) in the vertical limb of the pedestal and provided with a body portion (17) having a flange (18) at the outer end thereof, the screw portion being in thread engagement with the support plate and the inner end of the body portion of the screw portion bearing against the vertical limb of the pedestal and the pivot of the hand comprising a screw member (19) freely disposed in the oblong slot in the vertical limb of the pedestal and provided with a body portion (20) having a flange (21) at the outer end thereof, the screw member freely passing through a groove (22) in the support plate with 22 the inner end of the body portion of the screw member in abutment with the vertical limb of the pedestal, the one end of the hand being in thread engagement with the screw member loosely, a first circular scale (23) graduated in degrees fitted at the pivoted end of the hand concentrically with the pivot and provided with an indicator (24) supported on the vertical limb of the pedestal, a vertically disposed arm (25) comprising an inner tube (26) having a lower portion (28) pivoted to the hand and an outer tube (33) slidable on the inner tube (26) fitted with a head (42), the arm being provided with a linear scale (43) and a second circular scale (44) graduated in degrees fitted at one side of the hand concentrically with the pivot of the lower portion of the arm and provided with a pointer (45) supported at the lower portion of the arm. 2. A portable device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the limbs of the L-shaped pedestal are channel shaped. 3. A portable device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the base is pan shaped. 23 4. A portable device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the mounting means comprises a pair of spaced upright studs fitted on the base and provided with narrow screws at the upper ends thereof and a locator plate positioned against the upper ends of the studs with the narrow screws passing therethrough and tightened against the horizontal limb of the pedestal disposed between the studs with nuts in thread engagement with the narrow screws. 5. A portable device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the horizontally disposed hand is fork shaped and the lower portion of the arm is disposed in the space between the prongs of the hand and pivoted to the hand by a pivot pin passing through the hand and provided with a flange at one end thereof. 6. A portable device as claimed in anyone of claims 1 to 5, wherein the one end of the said hand is pivoted to the vertical limb of the pedestal by height adjustment means . 24 7. A portable device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the upper portion and lower portion of the said vertically disposed arm is fitted together. 8. A portable device as claimed in claims 1 to 7, wherein the said locking means of the said arm comprises a hard material sleeve spacer internally tapered and disposed below the lower end of the outer tube over the inner tube, a soft material slit tubular washer externally tapered corresponding to the internal taper in the spacer and disposed below the spacer and a lock nut disposed over the lower portion of the outer tube in thread engagement therewith, the lock nut being provided with an internal step at the upper portion thereof at the start of the internal threading therein and knurls at the outer side thereof. 9. A portable device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the spacer and slit washer are made of steel and teflon, respectively. 10. A portable device for measurement of head impact points in a vehicle substantially as herein described particularly with 25 reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this 7th day of May 2003 ( Karuna Goleria) of DePENNING & DePENNING Agent for the Applicants

Documents:

453-mum-2003-cancelled pages(09-12-2004).pdf

453-mum-2003-claims(granted)-(09-12-2004).doc

453-mum-2003-claims(granted)-(09-12-2004).pdf

453-mum-2003-correspondence(09-12-2004).pdf

453-mum-2003-correspondence(ipo)-(20-02-2007).pdf

453-mum-2003-drwing(09-12-2004).pdf

453-mum-2003-form 1(08-05-2003).pdf

453-mum-2003-form 13(10-09-2004).pdf

453-mum-2003-form 13(15-09-2003).pdf

453-mum-2003-form 19(15-09-2003).pdf

453-mum-2003-form 2(granted)-(09-12-2004).doc

453-mum-2003-form 2(granted)-(09-12-2004).pdf

453-mum-2003-form 26(08-05-2003).pdf

453-mum-2003-form 3(08-05-2003).pdf

453-mum-2003-form 8(23-05-2007).pdf

453-mum-2003-form 8(23-06-2003).pdf

453-mum-2003-other document(10-09-2004).pdf

453-mum-2003-power of attorney(10-09-2004).pdf

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