Land vehicles: bodies and tops – Bodies – Body shell
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-10
2001-04-03
Pape, Joseph D. (Department: 3612)
Land vehicles: bodies and tops
Bodies
Body shell
C296S204000, C296S182100, C296S190050
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209948
ABSTRACT:
This application is the national phase of international application PCT/JP96/03509, filed Nov. 29, 1996 which designated the U.S.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
The structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 60-15510 is known as an example of a conventional vehicle body front structure at rear portions of front side members.
As illustrated in
FIG. 29
, in this vehicle body front structure, a cowl
70
of a vehicle body is locally expanded in a truncated pyramid shape to thereby form a base body
72
having a stable configuration and a large supporting capacity. Further, a front side member
74
is bifurcated by a bifurcating beam
76
fitted thereon before contacting the base body
72
having a stable configuration. At this time, a total of three arms
78
,
80
,
82
are formed. These arms surround at least one portion of the base body
72
having a stable configuration, so as to introduce the generated force proportionally. Further, the arm
78
ends in an inner tunnel wall
86
within the range of a longitudinal central axis
84
of the vehicle, and the arm
80
is supported on a front pillar
88
. Further, the other arm
82
is obtained by extending the front side member
74
, and is joined to a lower portion floor
92
and extends up to a sill
94
without interrupting transmission of a force.
Consequently, the impact force on the front side member
74
is supported by the inner tunnel wall
86
, the front pillar
88
and the sill
94
, which serve as frame members, via the three arms
78
,
80
,
82
.
However, in this vehicle body front structure, the front side member
74
is crushed to absorb the impact force at the time of a collision, while the three arms
78
,
80
,
82
suppress the deformation of the vehicle compartment without having the intended impact-absorbing function.
A technique relating to the present invention is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-170139 which discloses a vehicle body front structure in which, when a vehicle traveling forward collides, deformation proceeds successively from the front portion toward the rear portion of the vehicle body, and as the deformation proceeds toward the rear portion, the amount of impact energy absorbed increases.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above-mentioned facts, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle body front structure and a method of absorbing an impact by a vehicle body front structure, in which the impact force applied to a front side member is efficiently absorbed by intended deformation of a reinforcing member.
A first aspect of the present invention is a vehicle body front structure in which a plurality of reinforcing members supported at frame members having stable configurations are connected to rear portions of front side members extending substantially horizontally in a vehicle longitudinal direction and provided so as to be offset upwardly from a floor panel, and an impact force applied to said front side members from a front of a vehicle is supported by compressive forces in axial directions of said plurality of reinforcing members, wherein at least one of said reinforcing members has an impact force absorbing portion at a portion connected with said front side member, said impact force absorbing portion compressively deforming in the axial direction of said reinforcing member and absorbing the impact force applied to said front side members from the front of the vehicle, and said at least one of said reinforcing members is a supporting structure displaceable, in a direction of increasing an angle between said reinforcing members, in accordance with compressive deformation at said impact force absorbing portion.
A second aspect of the present invention is a method of absorbing an impact by a vehicle body front structure a plurality of reinforcing members supported at frame members having stable configurations are connected to rear portions of front side members extending substantially horizontally in a vehicle longitudinal direction and provided so as to be offset upwardly from a floor panel, and an impact force applied to said front side members from a front of a vehicle is received by compressive forces in axial directions of said plurality of reinforcing members, wherein, when an impact force is applied to said front side members from the front of the vehicle, at least one of said reinforcing members compressively deforms in an axial direction at a portion connected with said front side member, and along with this compressive deformation, said at least one of said reinforcing members is displaced in a direction of increasing an angle between said plurality of reinforcing members, such that the axial direction compressive deformation of said reinforcing member proceeds while sustaining a reaction load against the impact force applied from said front side members.
In accordance with the present invention, when an impact force is applied to the front side members and the rear portions of the front side members deform rearwardly, the reinforcing members can effectively absorb the applied impact force while sustaining a high reaction load on the basis of the compressive deformation in the axial direction at the impact force absorbing portion formed at the portion connected with the front side member and on the basis of the displacement in a direction of increasing the angle between the reinforcing members which displacement accompanies the compressive deformation. Therefore, the impact force applied to the front side members can be absorbed efficiently by intended axial direction deformation of the reinforcing members.
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patent: 2856226 (1958-10-01), Purdy
patent: 2883232 (1959-04-01), Olley et al.
patent: 2954998 (1960-10-01), Kushler et al.
patent: 3108836 (1963-10-01), Deckert
patent: 3110518 (1963-11-01), Wessells, III
patent: 3162478 (1964-12-01), Richards
patent: 3202451 (1965-08-01), Auger et al.
patent: 3279816 (1966-10-01), Issigonis
patent: 3321235 (1967-05-01), Muller et al.
patent: 3423122 (1969-01-01), Wessells, III
patent: 4129330 (1978-12-01), Schwuchow
patent: 4712829 (1987-12-01), Hurten et al.
patent: 4804222 (1989-02-01), Sakiyama et al.
patent: 4892350 (1990-01-01), Kijima
patent: 56-105483 (1981-08-01), None
patent: 60-15510 (1985-04-01), None
patent: 1-240383 (1989-09-01), None
patent: 3-38288 (1991-04-01), None
patent: 5-8763 (1993-01-01), None
patent: 5-105116 (1993-04-01), None
patent: 5-170139 (1993-07-01), None
patent: 5-294257 (1993-11-01), None
patent: 5573 (1995-06-01), None
Kitajima Toshiki
Mori Takeo
Pape Joseph D.
Patel Kiran
Pillsbury Madison & Sutro LLP
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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