This invention pertains to a cushioning barrier that has shielding mounted closely in front of an operator or a passenger of an automobile or the like, to furnish a high degree of cushioning to the occupant when momentum forces him against the barrier during an accident. The barrier has upper shielding that includes head and torso or chest shields that can easily and rapidly be folded and be moved laterally, then be moved downwardly to inconspicuous positions against a door, so they cannot obscure or obstruct the occupant while they are retracted. Controls that are simple to operate allow the shields to be retracted with motor power operated means or by means to amplify manual force. The head and chest shields can be triggered to cause power means to quickly move them into protective positions in front of the occupant when a dangerous highway condition develops. The present invention does not have the objectionable characteristics of having retraction means that are difficult to retract, and require much time and manual strength to retract, as does the barrier of my U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,789.
This invention is a continuation-in-part of my co-pending application Ser. No. 709,999, filed Mar. 4, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,545,789 entitled VEHICLE OCCUPANT SAFETY BARRIER.
Applicant also claims rights to earlier filing date to common subjectmatter that is described in the present application, which was also described in his applications Ser. No. 549,835, filed May 13, 1966, entitled VEHICLE OCCUPANT SAFETY BARRIER, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,392,989; Ser. No. 462,993, filed June 10, 1965, entitled VEHICLE OCCUPANT SAFETY BARRIER, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,262,716; Ser. No. 355,568, which has been abandoned, filed Mar. 30, 1964, entitled VEHICLE OCCUPANT SAFETY BARRIER; Ser. No. 97,658, filed Mar. 22, 1961, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,129,017, entitled VEHICLE OCCUPANT SAFETY BARRIER; Ser. No. 662,770, filed May 31, 157, entitled VEHICLE OCCUPANT SAFETY BARRIER, now U.S. Pat. No. 2,977,135. The co-pending application Ser. No. 709,999 is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 549,835; application Ser. No. 549,835 is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 462,993; application Ser. No. 462,993, is continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 355,568; application Ser. No. 355,568 is a division of application Ser. No. 97,658 and application Ser. No. 97,658 is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 662,770. The present application also describes improvements over the safety barriers of my U.S. Pat. No. 2,827,305.
A motorcycle of standard configuration, having a number of cooperating protective features to protect riders against injury having a pair of wheels in tandem with a motor therebetween connected by a basic frame which supports at least one rider's seat assembly and a steering assembly and surrounded by body covered cage assembly of high strength, light-weight tubing fastened to the frame and forming part of the frame. A door is provided at the side of the rider extending outwardly when open in a manner such that the lower outer end of the door can engage the ground with the motorcycle tilted slightly in that direction to function as a side stand. A padded "bucket" type seat assembly with sides that extends partially around the rider's sides. A padded body restraint surrounds the front of the rider's torso and includes side portions which extend around into contact with the seat sides surrounding the rider's torso. Adjustable, padded headrest and collar devices are provided to limit head movement in an accident. A shock absorber with return retrieval means is provided to absorb impact energy causing the seat and body restraint to move forwardly upon frontal collision. The steering assembly includes handlebars which are padded and mounted on a folding mechanism to move forwardly as the seat moves forwardly upon front impact. An anti-somersault extension on the front of the cage is provided to prevent the motorcycle somersaulting after a frontal impact.
A vehicle structure is provided for absorbing energy caused by a front end collision. An energy dissipating bracket is mounted to the torque box and engages a wedge member which is attached to a front suspension cross member. Rearward movement of the front suspension cross member relative to the vehicle passenger compartment causes engagement of the wedge member with the energy dissipating bracket. The energy dissipating bracket absorbs the energy from the cross member and deflects the cross member downward underneath the passenger compartment.
