STRUCTURE OF FRONT SECTION OF VEHICLE BODY

• US 20130207417A1
• Filed: 08/25/2011
• Published: 08/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/14/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kihara, Makoto, Ichikawa, Shuji, Takeda, Tomoya
• Granted Patent: US 8,764,104 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 296/187.09
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 19/34 destroyed upon impact, e.g. one-shot type
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 21/152 Front or rear frames
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/08 Front or rear portions sub-frames for mounting engine or suspensions B62D21/11
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/082 Engine compartments
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/085 Front-end modules

Abstract

A structure of the front section of a vehicle body is disposed on the front end portion of a front side frame on the same position as the rear surface of a side stay in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body, and includes a first extending portion extending downward along the rear surface of the side stay. A lower stay is provided with a second extending portion extending outward in the vehicle width direction beyond the side stay to a position below the first extending portion. A joining section is formed so as to join the front surface of the first extending portion, the upper surface of the second extending portion, and outside surface of the side stay. The joining section defines an arrangement region for inner and outer shock absorbing members having a lower rigidity than the front side frame.

Claims

1. A vehicle front body structure comprising:

a front bulk head formed into a rectangular shape as viewed from a front side;

a pair of left and right front side frames extending longitudinally of a vehicle body at laterally outer sides of the front bulk head; and

impact-absorbing members, having less rigidity than the front side frames, for absorbing an impact of a forward collision load,

wherein the front bulk head comprises upper and lower stays extending laterally of the vehicle body, and a pair of left and right side stays extending vertically of the vehicle body,

front ends of the front side frames are disposed at same positions longitudinally of the vehicle body as rear surfaces of the side stays and have first extending parts extending downward along the rear surfaces of the side stays;

the lower stay having second extending parts extending laterally outward past the side stays to positions below the first extending parts, and

front surfaces of the first extending parts, top surfaces of the second extending parts and outside surfaces of the side stays are connected together to form connected sections, the connected sections forming areas for disposing the impact-absorbing members.

2. The vehicle front body structure of claim 1, wherein the impact-absorbing members are provided to the front ends of the front side frames so as to extend farther forward than the front bulk head.

3. The vehicle front body structure of claim 1, wherein the side stays have a closed cross section, and the front ends of the front side frames comprise flanges extending laterally inward and overlapping the closed cross sections of the side stays in the longitudinal and lateral directions of the vehicle body.

4. The vehicle front body structure of claim 1, further comprising:

front pillars provided rearwardly of the front side frames, and upper frames extending forward from a medial section of the front pillars and disposed on the outer sides of the front side frames, wherein the front ends of the front side frames and front ends of the upper frames are connected together so that front end surfaces thereof are coplanar, and attachment sections horizontally long and extending laterally are formed on the front end surfaces.

5. The vehicle front body structure of claim 4, wherein the impact-absorbing members are disposed on the horizontally long attachment sections so as to laterally overlap the front ends of the upper frames.

6. The vehicle front body structure of claim 1, wherein the front side frames are formed into closed cross sectional shapes having a top surface, a bottom surface, an outside surface, and an inside surface, and the first extending parts have a front surface, a rear surface, an outside surface, an inside surface, and a bottom surface, and are connected to the bottom surfaces of the front side frames, whereby a box-shaped section is formed.

7. The vehicle front body structure of claim 6, wherein a support member for supporting a sub frame is provided in an interior of the box-shaped section.

8. The vehicle front body structure of claim 6, wherein the lower stay is formed into a closed cross sectional shape, while the top surface of the second extending part is coplanar with the bottom surface of the first extending part.