US3753302A

US3753302A - Anthropomorphic test dummy torso

Info

Publication number: US3753302A
Application number: US00305621A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Daniel
Original assignee: Ford Motor Co
Current assignee: Ford Motor Co
Priority date: 1972-11-10
Filing date: 1972-11-10
Publication date: 1973-08-21
Anticipated expiration: 1990-08-21

Abstract

An anthropomorphic test dummy torso is provided with a spine mechanism extending from the pelvis upwardly to the chest. The spine mechanism comprises a plurality of vertically stacked pivot means mounted on a support platform located at the pelvis. The pivot means provide a pivot axis located at the waist line about which the torso is bendable in fore and aft directions, a vertical spinal axis about which the torso is twistable above its waist line, and an axis normal to the vertical spinal axis about which the torso is bendable sideways. An elastomeric isolation means above the stacked pivot means provides pelvis-to-chest shock and vibration isolation.

Description

United States Patent [1 9 Daniel Aug. 21, 1973 ANTHROPOMORPHIC TEST DUMMY TORSO Primary Examiner-l-lar1and S. Skogquist Attorney-Keith L. Zerschling et a1.

[5 7] ABSTRACT An anthropomorphic test dummy torso is provided with a spine mechanism extending from the pelvis upwardly to the chest. The spine mechanism comprises a plurality of vertically stacked pivot means mounted on a support platform located at the pelvis. The pivot means provide a pivot axis located at the waist line about which the torso is bendable in fore and aft directions, a vertical spinal axis about which the torso is twistable above its waist line, and an axis normal to the vertical spinal axis about which the torso is bendable sideways. An elastomeric isolation means above the stacked pivot means provides pelvis-to-chest shock and vibration isolation.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures Patented Aug. 21, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 Patented Aug. 21, 1973 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION During the crash testing of vehicles, anthropomorphic dummies are utilized in an attempt to forecast the survivability of human occupants of the vehicle under similar conditions. Reference may be made to US. Pat. No. 3,557,471 issued Jan. 26, 1971 to P. R. Payne et al. for an exemplification of an anthropomorphic dummy. I

It has been found that during crash tests current dummy torsos whip forward without any semblance of muscular control-as would be exhibited by a human body. It also is found that shock and vibration caused by metal parts can be transmitted through the spine from pelvis to chest, possibly causing spurious chest deceleration readings in the gages related to the dummy chest.

It is an object of the present invention to simulate human muscular control by including in the dummy spine mechanism a visuclar muscular" control that is also effective to isolate the chest from the pelvis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an anthropomorphic test dummy torso having a spine mechanism extending from the pelvis upwardly to the chest. The spine mechanism comprises a plurality of pivot means vertically stacked one above the other, the stacked pivot means being mounted on.a support platform at the pelvis.

A first one of the pivot means provides a first pivot axis located relative to the pelvis on a line corresponding generally to a torso waist line about which the torso is bendable in fore and aft directions. This pivot means includes viscous damping means to inhibit fore and aft whiplash movement of the torso about the waist line pivot axis. A second one of the pivot means provides a vertical spinal axis about which the torso is twistable above its waist line and a third one of the pivot means provides an axis normal to the vertical spinal axis about which the torso is bendable sideways.

An elastomeric isolation means above the-stacked pivot means provides pelvis-to-chest shock and vibration isolation.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Further features and advantages of the present invention will be made more apparent as this description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein: t FIG. 1 is a frontview of an anthropomorphic dummy with a portion of the center torso area surface removed in order to illustrate the environment in which the present invention is utilized;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the dummy also with a portion removed for clarity of illustration;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the vertically stacked swivel units on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section view of the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the upper portion of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the upper portion of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and-2 represent front and side views of an anthropomorphic dummy ll of a type generally used vehicle crash testing. The present invention is concerned with a spine mechanism, generally designated 12, extending between the pelvis 13 and the chest structure 14. This spine mechanism 12 structurally embodiesmany of the features of a neck swivel mechanismdisclosed in. I J.S. Pat. application Ser. No. 265,872 filed June 27,1972

' in the names of Roger P. Daniel and Robert E. Resh for Crash Dummy Viscous Neck." The. present invention utilizes the'features of the mechanism in a specific relationship to the pelvis and chest structures of the dummy torso. I 1 l The spine mechanism 12 comprises a plurality of pivot means or pivot units 15, I6 and 17 vertically stacked on support platform 18. Starting with the bottom unit 15, it comprises a bracket 19 the base flanges 21 of which are adapted to be bolted or welded to the support platform 18. This support platform as illustrated takes the form of a plate positioned at the center of the pelvic structure 22 of the dummy torso.

The bracket 19 has spaced upstanding legs 23. Each leg 23 has a square aperture 24 at its upper end which receives the square end 25 of a nonrotatable shaft 26. The shaft 26 is held in place by clamp screws 27, as best seen in FIG. 4.

A housing 28 having an elongated chamber 29 extending therethrough is swingably jo'urnalled on bearings 31 carried on shoulder portions 32 of the shaft 26. The housing 28 is shown as a two-piece structure having a main body portion 33 and a cap portion 34} bolted thereon by bolts 35. Suitable sealing rings 36 and 37 are strategically placed to make the chamber 29 leakproof.

The chamber 29 is filled with a viscous fluid. A braking or paddle member 38 welded to the nonrotatable shaft 26 projects into the chamber 29, see FIG. 4. The braking or paddle member 38 has a pair of spaced threaded inserts 39 each having an aperture 41 extending from one end to the other. The apertures Ml are calibrated orifices the size of which may be changed by changing the inserts. The function of the orifices is to regulate the flow of viscous fluid from one side to the other of the braking or paddle member 38. This fluid flow occurs as the housing swings about the pivot shaft 26, as will be explained.

The intermediate pivot unit 116 comprises a rectangular plate 42 bolted to the top of the housing 28. The plate 42 has an upstanding circular boss 43 which is a pilot for a friction washer 44 and a plate 45. The plate 45 is rectangular but has a circular recess 46 which fits over the friction washer The plate 45 is held in rotary relationship to the housing by a washer and bolt assembly 47.

Projecting upwardly from the plate 415 are a pair of spaced legs 48. Each leg 48 supports a pivot stud 49 which is threadedly engaged with threaded apertures SI in spaced legs 52 depending from a plate 53. The plate 53 is the base plate of the pivot unit 117.

Interposed between each contiguous pair of legs 48 and 52 is a friction washer 54. The pivot joint provided by the foregoing structure comprises a controllable friction joint by which the resistance of swiveling movement of the upper pivot unit 17 about the pivot studs 49 may be controlled.

In addition to the plate 53, the upper pivot unit 17 comprises a plate 55 separated from and bonded to the plate 53 by rubber isolation material 56. The upper plate 55 is provided with bolt receiving holes 57 to which the chest structure 14 of the dummy torso is bolted. Because of the isolation material 56, there is no metal to metal contact between the pelvis structure and chest structure of the dummy.

The plurality of pivot units l5, l6 and 17 as correlated with the pelvis and chest structures of the dummy torso accommodate various bending and twisting movements and combinations of such bending and twisting movements. The pivot axis defined by the pivot shaft 26 is located on a line corresponding generally to a torso waist line about which the torso is bendable in fore and aft directions.

When a test vehicle is subjected to a barrier crash or head on collision, for example, the test dummy upper torso is whipped voilently forward and backwards, especially since the dummy usually is belted into the vehicle seat by a lap belt. As the pivot unit housing 28 swings about the shaft 26, the viscous fluid in the chamber 29 acts to dampen any whiplash effect on the upper torso of the dummy. The rate of deceleration is controlled by the flow of viscous fluid through the orifices 41 in the paddle member 38. It is thus possible to simulate to a greater degree of accuracy the reaction of the upper portion of the human torso as it bends at the waist under crash conditions.

There are, of course, other forces acting on the upper torso structure during the deceleration resulting from a crash. There may be a force couple tending to twist the upper torso about the vertical spine axis. The intermediate pivot unit 16 provides for such twisting or rotary movement about a vertical axis defined by the pivot stud 47. The resistance to rotary movement about this vertical axis is controlled by the friction washer 44 and also by the degree of torque that had been applied to the pivot stud 47 in tightening the intermediate pivot unit base plate 45 to the plate 42 carried by the base pivot unit 15.

There may also be forces acting on the torso structure tending to tilt the latter laterally or sideways. This is accommodated by the upper pivotunit 17 which is supported on the pivot studs 49 which define a pivot axis that is normal to the vertical plane of the pivot axis of the stud 47. This pivot axis lies in a plane which is parallel to the plane of the axis defined by the shaft 26. Although in the at rest position shown in the drawing the pivot axis defined by the studs 49 is normal to the pivot axis defined by the shaft 26, it will be understood that this relationship may not be maintained as the intermediate swivel unit permits the head structure to rotate above the vertical axis 47. The pivot studs 49 provided a friction joint the resistance of which to lateral movement of the chest or upper torso structure may be controlled by the degree of tightness in the joint. That is, by tightening the bolts 49 the pressure on the friction disk 54 may be increased or decreased thereby increasing or decreasing the frictional resistance of the pivot unit 17 to lateral movement of the chest or upper torso structure 12.

It is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the exact construction illustrated and described above, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims:

I claim:

1. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso having a spine mechanism extending from the pelvis upwardly to the chest,

the spine mechanism comprising a plurality of pivot means vertically stacked one above the other,

the stacked pivot means being mounted on a support platform at the pelvis,

a first one of the pivot means providing a first pivot axis located relative to the pelvis on a line corresponding generally to a torso waist line about which the torso is bendable in fore and aft directions,

the first one of the pivot means includes viscous damping means to inhibit fore and aft whiplash movement of the torso about the 'waist line pivot axis,

a second one of the pivot means providing a vertical spinal axis about which the torso is twistable above its waist line,

and a third one of the pivot means providing an axis normal to the vertical spinal axis about which the torso is bendable sideways,

and elastomeric isolation means above the stacked pivot means providing pelvis-to-chest shock and vibration isolation.

2. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso according to claim 1, in which:

the viscous damping means comprises a housing having a fluid filled chamber,

the housing being pivotally supported on the support platform for swinging movement about the first pivot axis,

a braking member within the-chamber immovable relative to the support platform,

and orifice means in the braking member metering flow of fluid from one side of the braking member to the other side as the housing swings about the first pivot axis as the torso undergoes fore and aft movement,

the second and third pivot means being stacked on top of the housing. I

3. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso according to claim 1, in which:

the first one of the pivot means comprises a pivot shaft fixedly supported on the support platform,

and a housing for a viscous fluid used in the viscous damping means,

the housing being swingable in a fore and aft direction about the pivot shaft.

4. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso according to claim 3, in which:

the second pivot means is supported on the housing,

and the third pivot means comprises pivot studs journalled on the second pivot means and a support plate frictionally coupled-to the pivot studs.

5. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso according to claim 4, in which:

the elastomeric isolation means is interposed between the support plate and a connecting member for connecting the spine mechanism to the dummy torso chest.

i 4 t i

Claims

1. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso having a spine mechanism extending from the pelvis upwardly to the chest, the spine mechanism comprising a plurality of pivot means vertically stacked one above the other, the stacked pivot means being mounted on a support platform at the pelvis, a first one of the pivot means providing a first pivot axis located relative to the pelvis on a line corresponding generally to a torso waist line about which the torso is bendable in fore and aft directions, the first one of the pivot means includes viscous damping means to inhibit fore and aft whiplash movement of the torso about the waist line pivot axis, a second one of the pivot means providing a vertical spinal axis about which the torso is twistable above its waist line, and a third one of the pivot means providing an axis normal to the vertical spinal axis about which the torso is bendable sideways, and elastomeric isolation means above the stacked pivot means providing pelvis-to-chest shock and vibration isolation.

2. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso accordIng to claim 1, in which: the viscous damping means comprises a housing having a fluid filled chamber, the housing being pivotally supported on the support platform for swinging movement about the first pivot axis, a braking member within the chamber immovable relative to the support platform, and orifice means in the braking member metering flow of fluid from one side of the braking member to the other side as the housing swings about the first pivot axis as the torso undergoes fore and aft movement, the second and third pivot means being stacked on top of the housing.

3. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso according to claim 1, in which: the first one of the pivot means comprises a pivot shaft fixedly supported on the support platform, and a housing for a viscous fluid used in the viscous damping means, the housing being swingable in a fore and aft direction about the pivot shaft.

4. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso according to claim 3, in which: the second pivot means is supported on the housing, and the third pivot means comprises pivot studs journalled on the second pivot means and a support plate frictionally coupled to the pivot studs.

5. An anthropomorphic test dummy torso according to claim 4, in which: the elastomeric isolation means is interposed between the support plate and a connecting member for connecting the spine mechanism to the dummy torso chest.