A member for a car body in which concave and convex beads can be positioned appropriately regardless of a complexity of a shape of the member, and the efficiency of energy absorption can be improved. The member includes side faces having concave beads provided on the side faces at positions corresponding to dip portions of a buckling waveform produced by an initial buckling load applied to the member in a state of having no bead; convex beads provided on the side faces at positions corresponding to peak portions of the buckling waveform; and flat portions without any bead, formed between each adjacent concave bead and convex bead. The side faces may also have edge beads provided on edges of the side faces at positions corresponding to a dip portion of the buckling waveform which is closest to a front end to be subjected to a crushing load.
A rear body structure of a vehicle body has a crushable reinforcement disposed inside a rear fender panel and extending in a lengthwise direction for structurally reinforcing a rear body portion of the vertical body. The crushable reinforcement is controlled so as to crush in an intended pattern during a rear-end collision. Consequently, the impact energy generated during the rear-end collision and applied to the automotive vehicle body is absorbed.
A bumper reinforcement has a reinforcement main body (2) made of a long panel (3) having a trough-shaped cross-section along its whole length, a plurality of ridges (6) each expanding toward an open longitudinal side of the panel (3) are made on opposing faces of end portions of the reinforcement main body (2), resulting in curved end portions (5) of the reinforcement main body (2). Parallel beads (12) for controlling anti-buckling strength of the reinforcement are formed on opposing faces of an intermediate portion of the reinforcement main body except for its end portions.
An arrangement for absorbing collision energy in a vehicle, preferably a passenger car, incorporating a framework and a forward portion with a wheel housing (24) on each side. A first elongated force-transmitting device (2) with a first end portion (2a), a second end portion (2b) and an intermediate portion (2c) which is arranged between these latter. The first end portion (2a) is connected to the framework and the second end portion (2b)is connected to a bumper element at the forward end of the vehicle. The intermediate portion (2c) extends past the pertinent wheel housing (24). The second end portion (2b) is at the same time designed with a greater width than the intermediate portion (2c) and covers the greater part of the width of the vehicle wheel arranged in the wheel housing (24).
The invention comprises a bearing structure for the bodywork of a passenger car wherein front suspension strut mounts are arranged above front longitudinal bearers running down both sides of the vehicle body and are supported by vertical connecting members thereon. A hollow section bearer, acting as a suspension strut bearer, connects the suspension strut mount to a joining element (node) at the middle region of the forward doorpost. According to the invention, the suspension strut bearer is curved such that it will buckle due to a reduction in the radius of curvature in the event of a head-on collision. The buckling action of the suspension strut bearer reduces the force acting on the doorpost, thereby counteracting any possible stressing of the vehicle door. In a further embodiment of the invention, slots and/or notched grooves are provided in the side walls of hollow section bearer to promote the buckling process. In another alternate embodiment, the upper and lower walls of the hollow section bearer are configured as outwardly or inwardly pointed roof structures which act as hinge axes to collapsed the hollow section bearer inward onto itself during the buckling process.
A body structure of a vehicle having a cabin C and a compartment F.C, R.C is provided. The body structure includes a pair of laterally spaced side frame members 13,14 extending forwardly of the cabin at sides of the compartment. The side frame members 13,14 include widthwise rigidity lowering sections 21,52, respectively, to allow inward bending of a rear section 13R, 14R of each side frame member in a widthwise direction to provide an increased collapsible stroke for thereby effectively absorbing an energy in a wide range typically in a frontal impact.
