Abstract A vehicle chassis formed in two parts subject to being separated in the event of collision to displace the passengers from the line of collision and acting to dissipate the energy of collision and prevent such energy from being transmitted to the passengers. The novel chassis is formed with a passenger supporting portion separable from the rest of the vehicle and arranged to ride upwardly over inclined planes in the event of collision of the vehicle. This is accomplished by forming the passenger supporting portion of the chassis, separate from the engine supporting chassis portion, and coupling the passenger supporting chassis portion to the engine supporting portion along an inclined plane, and arranging wedges along the side of the passenger supporting chassis, so that upon impact, the energy of impact will be taken up by one chassis portion moving relative to the other chassis portion along said inclined plane, or said wedges with the passenger supporting chassis portion moved upwardly away from the rest of the vehicle thus minimizing the likelihood of the passenger colliding with any part of the vehicle.
Inventors
👤 B Shaw
Bibliographic Details
Application Number—
JurisdictionUS
Data Sourcegoogle_patents
Last Synchronized2026-10-25 11:54
CPC Classifications
B; B62; B62D; B62D39/00
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 5
Claim 1
Independent Claim
160 words
A vehicle safety chassis insuring the displacement of passengers in a vehicle from the line of collision in the event of collision of the vehicle, said safety chassis comprising two separable longitudinally extending chassis portions, a first of said two chassis portions underlying the passenger compartment of the vehicle, said passenger compartment supporting chassis portion formed with an inclined plane portion extending upwardly and away from the passenger occupying areas of the vehicle; and a second of said two chassis portions comprising an engine supporting chassis portion; a mating inclined plane portion on said engine supporting chassis portion against which said passenger supporting inclined plane portion abuts during normal operation of the vehicle; and a vacuum chamber connecting said inclined plane portion of said first and second chassis portions, said vacuum chamber subject to separation under shock load to permit said first chassis portion to ride over said mating plane portion, raising the passengers out of the line of collision.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
160 words
A vehicle safety chassis insuring the displacement of passengers in a vehicle from the line of collision in the event of collision of the vehicle, said safety chassis comprising two separable longitudinally extending chassis portions, a first of said two chassis portions underlying the passenger compartment of the vehicle, said passenger compartment supporting chassis portion formed with an inclined plane portion extending upwardly and away from the passenger occupying areas of the vehicle; and a second of said two chassis portions comprising an engine supporting chassis portion; a mating inclined plane portion on said engine supporting chassis portion against which said passenger supporting inclined plane portion abuts during normal operation of the vehicle; and a vacuum chamber connecting said inclined plane portion of said first and second chassis portions, said vacuum chamber subject to separation under shock load to permit said first chassis portion to ride over said mating plane portion, raising the passengers out of the line of collision.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
A vehicle safety chassis as in claim 1 in which shear pins extend between said inclined plane portions, said shear pins subject to separation under shock load.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
39 words
A vehicle safety chassis as in claim 1 in which wedges are arranged along the side of said passenger supporting chassis portion to move against a lower surface of said chassis portion in the event of a lateral collision.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
A vehicle safety chassis as in claim 1 in which a pivotally mounted steering column extends into the passenger compartment, pivoted at a point outside said passenger compartment to move away from the compartment in the event of collision.