Bumper fascia and process to bond ionomers to metal

Claim 2

A light weight, corrosion resistant, rigid bumper for an automotive vehicle comprising: a thin, substantially rigid, high tensile metal outer shell having an inner and an outer surface, a substantially rigid but resilient foamed plastic core, said shell and core bonded together over substantially the entirety of the inner surface of the shell via a thin, intermediate primer layer between the shell and core, wherein said bumper is made by a process comprising steps of bonding the intermediate primer layer to the inner surface of the shell and then foam injection molding the core thereonto.

Claim 3

The bumper of claim 1 wherein the intermediate layer bonds the shell and core together with bonds of sufficient strength that the bonds do not fail under forces experienced in low speed collisions of automotive vehicles.

Claim 4

The bumper of claim 2 wherein the outer surface of the shell provides a decorative surface comprising substantially the entirety of outwardly disposed bumper surfaces on said bumper.

Claim 5

The bumper of claim 2 wherein said shell comprises stainless steel of approximately 0.03 inch thickness or greater and said bumper resists permanent deformation when subjected to impacts which would cause permanent deformation of the shell alone.

Claim 6

The bumper of claim 2 wherein the intermediate layer comprises substantially unneutralized carboxylic acid copolymer of ethylene, the core comprises foamed ethylene ionomer, and the shell comprises a metal selected from steel and aluminum.

Claim 7

A bumper as claimed in claim 2 wherein said core is foam injection moulded with the shell at relatively low temperatures.

Claim 8

In an automotive vehicle, the improvement comprising: a light weight, corrosion and impact resistant, rigid bumper supported on a frame of the vehicle, the bumper including: a thin, substantially rigid, high tensile metal outer shell having an inner and an outer surface, a substantially rigid but resilient foamed plastic core, the shell and core bonded together over substantially the entirety of the inner surface of the shell via a thin intermediate layer between the shell and core, wherein the bumper is made by a process comprising steps of bonding the intermediate layer to the inner surface of the shell and then foam injection moulding the core thereonto, the shell and core are bonded together by the intermediate layer with bonds of sufficient strength so as to not fail in low speed collisions of the vehicle, and the metal shell is coupled to the vehicle by the core with the metal shell isolated from contact with other metal components of the vehicle.

Claim 9

In an automotive vehicle, the improvement comprising: a light weight, corrosion and impact resistant, rigid bumper supported on a frame of the vehicle, the bumper including: a thin, substantially rigid, high tensile metal outer shell having an inner and an outer surface, a substantially rigid but resilient foamed plastic core, the shell and core bonded together over substantially the entirety of the inner surface of the shell via a thin intermediate layer between the shell and core, wherein the bumper is made by a process comprising steps of bonding the intermediate layer to the inner surface of the shell and then foam injection moulding the core thereonto, the shell and core are bonded together by the intermediate layer with bonds of sufficient strength so as to not fail in low speed collisions of the vehicle, and the metal shell is coupled to the vehicle by the core with the metal shell isolated from contact with other metal components of the vehicle.

Claim 10

The improvement of claim 7 wherein the shell is coupled to the vehicle solely by bonding between the shell, intermediate layer and core.

Claim 11

The improvement of claim 8 further comprising metal coupling means coupling the core to the frame and imbedded in said core during injection moulding with the metal coupling means not contacting the metal shell.

Claim 12

The improvement of claim 9 wherein the outer surface of the shell comprises substantially the entirety of bumper surfaces of the vehicle.

Claim 13

The improvement of claim 10 wherein the outer surface of the shell provides a decorative surface.

Claim 14

The improvement of claim 8 wherein the core is foam injection moulded with the shell at relatively low temperature.

Claim 15

The improvement of claim 12 wherein the intermediate layer comprises substantially unneutralized carboxylic acid copolymer of ethylene, the core comprises foamed ethylene ionomer, and the shell comprises a metal selected from steel and aluminum.

Claim 16

The improvement of claim 13 wherein said shell comprises stainless steel of approximately 0.03 inch thickness or greater.

Claim 17

A process for the manufacture of a light weight corrosion resistant, rigid automotive bumper which bumper includes: a thin, substantially rigid, high tensile strength metal outer shell having an inner and an outer surface, a substantially rigid but resilient foamed plastic core, said shell and core bonded together over substantially the entirety of the inner surface of the shell via a thin, intermediate primer layer between the shell and core, said process comprising: forming the shell with a shape which provides an inherent flexibility to assist in forming a seal with a mould, coating the inner surface of the shell with the intermediate primer layer to bond the intermediate layer to the shell, foam injection moulding the core directly to the intermediate layer with the shell carrying the intermediate layer received in a mould, marginally compressing the shell with the mould against the inherent flexibility of the shell during moulding to assist in forming a seal between the mould and shell to contain foamed plastic melt injected to form the core.

Claim 18

A process for the manufacture of a light weight corrosion resistant, rigid automotive bumper which bumper includes: a thin, substantially rigid, high tensile strength metal outer shell having an inner and an outer surface, a substantially rigid but resilient foamed plastic core, said shell and core bonded together over substantially the entirety of the inner surface of the shell via a thin, intermediate primer layer between the shell and core, said process comprising: forming the shell with a shape which provides an inherent flexibility to assist in forming a seal with a mould, coating the inner surface of the shell with the intermediate primer layer to bond the intermediate layer to the shell, foam injection moulding the core directly to the intermediate layer with the shell carrying the intermediate layer received in a mould, marginally compressing the shell with the mould against the inherent flexibility of the shell during moulding to assist in forming a seal between the mould and shell to contain foamed plastic melt injected to form the core.

Claim 19

The process of claim 15 wherein the foam injection moulding is carried out with the shell at a relatively low temperature.

Claim 20

The process of claim 16 wherein the shell comprises stainless steel of approximately 0.03 inch thickness or greater.

Claim 21

The process of claim 16 wherein the shell is formed to have a substantially C-shape in cross-section, and the process includes marginally compressing the C-shape of the shell to assist in forming said seal.

Claim 22

The process of claim 15 wherein the core comprises ethylene ionomer, the intermediate layer comprises carboxylic acid copolymer of ethylene, and the shell comprises a metal selected from steel and aluminum, the process including: applying a dispersion of carboxylic acid copolymer of ethylene in a volative solvent onto the inner surface of the shell, drying the dispersion to form the intermediate layer at a temperature not exceeding 130° F. thereby bonding the intermediate layer to the shell, placing the shell at a temperature not exceeding 130° F. into the mould and foam injection moulding ethylene ionomer melt thereonto.

Claim 23

The process of claim 19 wherein the carboxylic acid copolymer of ethylene is substantially unneutralized and the intermediate layer bonds the shell and core together with bonds of sufficient strength that the bonds do not fail under forces experienced in low speed collisions of automotive vehicles.