Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Body shell
Patent
1999-03-23
2000-11-14
Pape, Joseph D.
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Body shell
29620301, 296205, 296 30, B60J 700
Patent
active
061459224
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a reinforcing construction for rear wheel housings in an automobile and to a restraint device for use in same, and more particularly, to those for an automobile called wagon or van in which rear wheel housings covering the rear wheels face a passenger compartment and the space between the right and left rear wheel housings is utilized as a space for accommodation or loading.
BACKGROUND ART
An automobile has suspension towers in rear wheel housings with which struts of the suspension or suspension arms supporting rear wheels are connected. As a result, since forward and backward force and lateral force act on the rear wheel housings while the automobile is running, a connection member is sometimes extended between the right and left wheel housings in a wagon or van-type automobile so as to enhance rigidity to the lateral force (Japanese Utility Model Appln. Public Disclosure No. 64-26582 Official Gazette).
In a wagon or van-type automobile, sometimes collapsible seats are installed in a space between the right and left rear wheel housings to be used as a space for accommodating passengers or for loading freight with the seats collapsed or moved. Therefore, in an automobile with a connection member extended between rear wheel housings, the connection member is often attached or removed. For this reason, it is preferable to connect a connection member and rear wheel housings by removable restraint means. Such restraint means is exemplified, for example, in FIGS. 15-18 of the above-mentioned Official Gazette.
According to the restraint means described in the Official Gazette, a bracket having a one-side open rectangle-shaped or U-shaped configuration in vertical section is attached to each suspension tower of rear wheel housings with its opening directed upward, a horizontal piece is extended outward from one side of the bracket opening, and a lever swingable about a horizontal axis is attached to the other side of the opening. Also, a pair of hooks having one-side open rectangle-shaped configuration in plane are attached horizontally to an end of a connection member in the directions opposite to each other. To connect the connection member, one of their hooks is inserted into the horizontal piece to hook, the lever is turned downward such that another hook is fitted into a recess in the lever. To disconnect, the lever is turned upward to release and remove the one hook from the horizontal piece of the bracket.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
Rigidity can be enhanced by connecting right and left rear wheel housings with the connection member because a load entering one of rear wheel housings is transmitted to the other rear wheel housing through the connection member to be shared by both rear wheel housings. However, according to the restraint means, when an error is caused in the length of the connection member and/or the distance between the rear wheel housings of the car body, the restraint means lacks measures to absorb the error, so that a clearance to displace the connection member in an axial direction is apt to be caused between the pair of hooks and the bracket. Once such a clearance is caused, a load entering one of the rear wheel housings cannot be transmitted to the other rear wheel housing through the connection member, so that sufficient rigidity cannot be ensured.
The present invention provides a reinforcing construction of rear wheel housings of an automobile capable of ensuring sufficient rigidity at any time even when an error occurs in the length of a connection member or in the distance between right and left rear wheel housings as well as a restraint device suitable for use in the reinforcing construction.
The present invention relates to a structure for reinforcing rear wheel housings of an automobile having suspension towers on the right and left sides of a car body. The reinforcing construction comprises a connection member having an engagement portion provided at each of two axial ends, the connection member being extended between the right
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Isaka Kenji
Kitagawa Junji
Mori Yasuhiko
Narusaka Kazuhiro
Shirahama Mitsuharu
Gifu Shatai Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
Pape Joseph D.
Patel Kiran
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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