Front Rail Reinforcement System
First Claim
1. A front structure of a vehicle comprising:
- a pair of front rails, wherein said pair of front rails are spaced apart in a widthwise direction relative to said vehicle, wherein each of said pair of front rails extend in a lengthwise direction relative to said vehicle, wherein said pair of front rails comprise a front left hand rail and a front right hand rail, wherein a first end portion of said front left hand rail is mechanically coupled to a left portion of a vehicle bumper and a first end portion of said front right hand rail is mechanically coupled to a right portion of said vehicle bumper, wherein a second end portion of said front left hand rail distal from said first end portion of said front left hand rail is mechanically coupled to a left hand torque box, wherein a second end portion of said front right hand rail distal from said first end portion of said front right hand rail is mechanically coupled to a right hand torque box, wherein each of said pair of front rails is comprised of a polygonal-shaped upper hollow channel and a polygonal-shaped lower hollow channel, and wherein said polygonal-shaped upper hollow channel and said polygonal-shaped lower hollow channel share a common wall; and
a pair of rail reinforcement members, wherein a first rail reinforcement member of said pair of rail reinforcement members is mechanically mounted within said front left hand rail and a second rail reinforcement member of said pair of rail reinforcement members is mechanically mounted within said front right hand rail, wherein said first rail reinforcement member is comprised of a first plurality of features that determine front left hand rail reactions to front impact loads, and wherein said second rail reinforcement member is comprised of a second plurality of features that determine front right hand rail reactions to front impact loads.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A front structure for a vehicle is provided, the structure including (i) a pair of front rails (i.e., front left hand rail and front right hand rail) spaced apart in a widthwise direction with each rail extending lengthwise, where one end portion of each rail is mechanically coupled to the vehicle'"'"'s bumper and the other end portion of each rail is mechanically coupled to a torque box, and where each rail is comprised of a polygonal-shaped upper hollow channel and a polygonal-shaped lower hollow channel, and where the upper and lower channels share a common wall; and (ii) a pair of rail reinforcement members, where one rail reinforcement member is mechanically mounted within each front rail, and where a plurality of features corresponding to each reinforcement member determines how the rails react to front impact loads.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A front structure of a vehicle comprising:
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a pair of front rails, wherein said pair of front rails are spaced apart in a widthwise direction relative to said vehicle, wherein each of said pair of front rails extend in a lengthwise direction relative to said vehicle, wherein said pair of front rails comprise a front left hand rail and a front right hand rail, wherein a first end portion of said front left hand rail is mechanically coupled to a left portion of a vehicle bumper and a first end portion of said front right hand rail is mechanically coupled to a right portion of said vehicle bumper, wherein a second end portion of said front left hand rail distal from said first end portion of said front left hand rail is mechanically coupled to a left hand torque box, wherein a second end portion of said front right hand rail distal from said first end portion of said front right hand rail is mechanically coupled to a right hand torque box, wherein each of said pair of front rails is comprised of a polygonal-shaped upper hollow channel and a polygonal-shaped lower hollow channel, and wherein said polygonal-shaped upper hollow channel and said polygonal-shaped lower hollow channel share a common wall; and a pair of rail reinforcement members, wherein a first rail reinforcement member of said pair of rail reinforcement members is mechanically mounted within said front left hand rail and a second rail reinforcement member of said pair of rail reinforcement members is mechanically mounted within said front right hand rail, wherein said first rail reinforcement member is comprised of a first plurality of features that determine front left hand rail reactions to front impact loads, and wherein said second rail reinforcement member is comprised of a second plurality of features that determine front right hand rail reactions to front impact loads. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification