Front vehicle body structure

• US 8,496,287 B2
• Filed: 09/23/2011
• Issued: 07/30/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 10/08/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yasuhara, Shigeto, Okabe, Kojiro, Abe, Ryota, Sato, Ken, Matsuura, Yuji
• Primary Examiner(s): Dayoan, Glenn
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLANKENSHIP, GREGORY A
• Application Number:
  US13/242,817
• Publication Number:
  US 20120086225A1
• Time in Patent Office: 676 Days
• Field of Search: 293/132, 293/133, 293/155, 296/187.09, 296/187.1, 296/193.09, 296/203.01, 296/203.02
• 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

Abstract

A front vehicle body structure includes, on each of left and right sides, a front side frame, an upper member, a frame connecting member, an impact absorbing mechanism. The impact absorbing mechanism has a closed cross-sectional shape in frontal view of a vehicle. The impact absorbing mechanism includes an external wall and an internal wall. The external wall is substantially straight with respect to an upper internal wall of the upper member such that the frame connecting member is disposed therebetween. The internal wall has a shape in which at least a front portion of the internal wall between a central portion of the internal wall in its longitudinal direction and the bumper beam is obliquely bent outward.

Claims

1. A front vehicle body structure comprising, on each of left and right sides:

a front side frame that extends toward a rear of a vehicle from a lower front of the vehicle to a lower portion of a front pillar;

an upper member that extends from the lower front to a central portion of the front pillar outwardly with respect to the front side frame;

a frame connecting member that couples an upper front end of the upper member to a front-frame front end of the front side frame; and

an impact absorbing mechanism coupled to the frame connecting member and coupled to an end of a bumper beam,

wherein the impact absorbing mechanism has a closed cross-sectional shape in frontal view of the vehicle,

the impact absorbing mechanism includes an external wall and an internal wall,

the external wall is substantially straight with respect to an upper internal wall of the upper member such that the frame connecting member is disposed therebetween,

the internal wall has a shape in which at least a front portion of the internal wall between a central portion of the internal wall in its longitudinal direction and the bumper beam is obliquely bent outward,

the impact absorbing mechanism includes an internal member including the internal wall, an external member including the external wall, and a partition between the internal member and the external member,

the internal wall of the internal member is substantially straight with respect to a front frame internal wall of the front side frame such that the frame connecting member is disposed therebetween, and

the external member and the partition are substantially parallel with a central axis of the vehicle in its width direction.

2. The front vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein each of the external member and the partition includes a first upper coupling section and a first lower coupling section,

each of the external member and the internal member includes a second upper coupling section and a second lower coupling section,

the first upper coupling section and the first lower coupling section are near to the second upper coupling section and the second lower coupling section, respectively,

the external member and the partition are coupled by coupling between the first upper coupling sections and coupling between the first lower coupling sections, and

the external member and the internal member are coupled by coupling between the second upper coupling sections and coupling between the second lower coupling sections.

3. The front vehicle body structure according to claim 2, wherein the first upper coupling sections and the first lower coupling sections are positioned outwardly of the second upper coupling sections and the second lower coupling sections.

4. The front vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein the impact absorbing mechanism further includes a coupling rear wall coupled to the frame connecting member,

the coupling rear wall and edges of the internal member and the external member are coupled by fillet welding applied on the edges and the coupling rear wall being in contact with each other.

5. The front vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein each of the external member and the internal member further includes a plurality of ridge sections bent at an obtuse angle to form a polygonal shape having a substantially U shape in frontal view of the vehicle, and

the ridge sections of the internal member have a shape in which at least a front ridge section in a front portion of the internal wall is obliquely bent outward.

6. The front vehicle body structure according to claim 3, wherein the external member further includes a guiding end, and the guiding end is continuous with each of the first upper coupling section and the first lower coupling section and is bent in a direction away from the internal member.

7. The front vehicle body structure according to claim 4, the coupling rear wall is plate-like in shape and includes a first end projecting inwardly of the front frame internal wall of the front side frame and a second end overlapping the upper internal wall of the upper member in frontal view of the vehicle.