Last week we posted Apple's 15th Project Titan for 2019 that highlighted a next-gen inflatable bumper system. Today the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a second granted patent to Apple on an expandable bumper in grander fashion with over 60 detailed patent figures detailing various aspects and versions of future expandable bumper system.

Apple's patent covers an apparatus that includes a vehicle structure, a bumper, an elongate structural member, and an extension portion. The elongate structural member is able to crush longitudinally in response to application of force in a longitudinal direction. The extension portion is able to crush longitudinally in response to application of force in the longitudinal direction, is connected to the elongate structural member such that the elongate structural member and the extension portion support the bumper with respect to the vehicle structure, and is operable to move the bumper between an extended position and a retracted position with respect to the vehicle structure to change a distance between the bumper and the vehicle structure.

Another aspect of the disclosed embodiments is an apparatus that includes a vehicle structure, a bumper, a first side rail, and an extension assembly. The first side rail extends longitudinally and is located between the vehicle structure and the bumper. The extension assembly is connected to the first side rail to support the bumper with respect to the vehicle structure and is operable to move the bumper between an extended position and a retracted position with respect to the vehicle structure to change a distance between the bumper and the vehicle structure. The extension assembly includes a piston and a cylinder, and the cylinder is operable to move the piston with respect to the cylinder to cause movement of the bumper between the extended position and the retracted position.





Another aspect of the disclosed embodiments is an apparatus that includes a bumper, a vehicle structure that supports the bumper, a crush member that is configured to resist movement of the bumper toward the vehicle structure and absorb energy by crushing, and a connecting portion that connects the bumper to the crush member to allow transmission of force from the bumper to the crush member.





Another aspect of the disclosed embodiments is an apparatus that includes a vehicle structure, a bumper that is supported by the vehicle structure, and a crush member that is configured to absorb energy that is applied to the bumper by expelling a crush material from inside the crush member.

In Apple's patent figures below, the extendable bumper system #5000 is movable between a retracted position (FIG. 5) and an extended position (FIG. 6). During an impact, portions of the first side rail #5008, the second side rail #5010, the first extension portion #5012, and the second extension portion #5014 are crushable such that they collapse the overall length of the extendable bumper system.

Apple's patent FIG. 39 above is a top view illustration showing the extendable bumper system according to the tenth example in an extended position. FIG. 40 is a top view illustration showing the extendable bumper system according to the tenth example in a collapsed condition.

Apple's patent FIG. 52 above is a top view illustration showing an extendable bumper system according to a sixteenth example in a retracted position; FIG. 53 is a top view illustration showing the extendable bumper system according to the sixteenth example in an extended position.

Apple's granted patent 10,343,634 was originally filed in Q1 2017 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Apple's patent lists 19 Apple engineers credited for this invention.

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