Vehicle front body structure

• US 7,828,330 B2
• Filed: 02/03/2009
• Issued: 11/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Ellison, Patrick, Tamura, Naoyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Ilan; Ruth
• Application Number:
  US12/322,516
• Publication Number:
  US 20090230665A1
• Time in Patent Office: 644 Days
• Field of Search: 296/187.09, 296/187.1, 296/193.09, 296/193.07, 296/204, 296/203.02, 280/784, 280/781, 280/788, 280/124.109, 180/274
• US Class Current: 280/788
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/088 Details of structures as upper supports for springs or dampers

Abstract

Vehicle front body structure includes, in each of its left and right sections, a damper housing having mounted thereon an upper portion of a suspension damper; a front side frame having the housing attached thereto; a damper housing connection bracket inserted in an opening of the frame; a welding section formed on the housing and fixed to the bracket; a lid fitted in the opening to form the frame as a closed-sectional-shape structure. The body structure also includes a collar nut provided within the side frame and supporting a sub frame, and each of the housings has a lower section connected to the collar nut.

Claims

1. A vehicle front body structure comprising:

left and right damper housings having mounted thereto respective upper portions of left and right front suspension dampers;

left and right front side frames having respective ones of the left and right damper housings attached thereto, each of the left and right front side frames having a side frame body of a substantially U sectional shape with an upwardly oriented opening;

left and right damper housing connection brackets each inserted in the opening of the side frame body of a corresponding one of the left and right front side frames and thereby fixed to the side frame body of the corresponding left or right front side frame;

left and right welding connection sections each formed on the corresponding left or right damper housing in such a shape as to be fixed to a corresponding one of the damper housing connection brackets;

left and right lid members each fitted in the opening of the side frame body of the corresponding left or right front side frame to thereby form the front side frame as a structure of a closed sectional shape; and

wherein each of the damper housing connection brackets comprises a corner member formed by bending a steel plate and having a rib section partitioning an inside space of the corresponding left or right front side frame, and corner portions of the left and right damper housings are lapped over the corner members of respective ones of the left and right damper housing connection brackets.

2. A vehicle front body structure comprising:

left and right damper housings having mounted thereto respective upper portions of left and right front suspension dampers;

left and right front side frames having respective ones of the left and right damper housings attached thereto, each of the left and right front side frames having a side frame body of a substantially U sectional shape with an upwardly oriented opening;

left and right damper housing connection brackets each inserted in the opening of the side frame body of a corresponding one of the left and right front side frames and thereby fixed to the side frame body of the corresponding left or right front side frame;

left and right welding connection sections each formed on the corresponding left or right damper housing in such a shape as to be fixed to a corresponding one of the damper housing connection brackets;

left and right lid members each fitted in the opening of the side frame body of the corresponding left or right front side frame to thereby form the front side frame as a structure of a closed sectional shape; and

a sub frame connected from below to the left and right front side frames; and

collar nuts provided within respective ones of the left and right front side frames and projecting upward from the front side frames to support the sub frame; and

wherein each of the damper housings has a lower section connected to a corresponding one of the collar nuts.

3. The vehicle front body structure according to claim 2, wherein the lower section of each of the left and right damper housings is provided as a wall-shaped bulkhead structure that partitions an inside space of a corresponding one of the left and right front side frames in a width direction of the vehicle.

4. The vehicle front body structure according to claim 3, further comprising brackets connecting the collar nuts to the bulkhead structures of the left and right damper housings.

5. The vehicle front body structure according to claim 2, wherein the lower section of each of the damper housings is fixed to the corresponding collar nut by welding at a welding portion, and the welding portion has a welding axis parallel to an axis of the collar nut.