Nissan North America, Inc.

Nissan Motor Company Limited

Hideo Aimoto

Perry McConnell

Takao Tani

Takemi Nishikawa

Kazunori Iimi

Naoki Kamizawa

Patrick Grattan

Michael J McGory

Joseph Buratto

Kenji Kawagoe

Takuya Murakami

Takaaki Uno

Christopher Hartley

Masaharu Satou

Tamiyoshi Kasahara

David James Wozniak

Hiroshi Nagaoka

Gunnar Mason

Matthew Michael Gapinski

Tamaki Horiuchi

A vehicle structure includes a vehicle frame with a first side member, a front suspension structure and a stop structure. The stop structure is installed to a first side member rearward of the front suspension structure. The stop structure extends outboard from the first side member and includes an upper surface, a lower surface and a main surface. The upper surface and the lower surface are horizontally oriented. The main surface is vertically oriented and includes a first section, a second section and a third section. The first section is attached to the first side member. The second section extends outboard from the first section defining a forward-facing stop surface that extends to a distal outboard end of the stop structure. The third section extends rearward from the second section, with the first section, the second section and the third section defining vertically oriented exterior surfaces.

Vehicle structure

A push arm is coupled to a vehicle frame proximate an intersection of a first side member and a first cross-member. A rear surface of the push arm is located adjacent to a front suspension structure with a gap defined therebetween. The push arm extends forward and laterally outward such that a front surface of the push arm is located outboard of and spaced apart from a front end of the first side member. An energy absorbing structure is positioned within the gap and is attached to the rear surface of the push arm and is spaced apart from the front suspension structure in a non-impacted state. The energy absorbing structure is configured such that in response to an off-center impact event, impact force to the energy absorbing structure pushes the energy absorbing structure into contact with the front suspension structure.

An off-center impact reinforcement structure includes a push arm proximate rearward of a front portion of the vehicle frame. The push arm extends in a forward and laterally outboard direction from a front side member. A rear surface of the push arm is located below the first side member. During an initial stage of an off-center impact event in which a stationary barrier directly impacts a front surface of the push arm, impacting forces from the off-center impact event move the rear surface of the push arm into contact with brackets that extend downward from the front side member and transfer through the push arm to brackets and to the vehicle frame. In a second stage, a rear surface of the push arm contacts the vehicle frame as the push arm pivots with the front surface of the push arm moving in a laterally outboard direction.

A front suspension structure has a front portion on a first side member of a vehicle frame and a rear portion on the first side member rearward of the front portion. A front wheel is supported by a wheel support structure that is pivotally mounted to a front suspension structure of the first side member. A stop structure is installed to the first side member at the rear portion of the front suspension structure. The stop structure extends in an outboard direction of the first side member. The stop structure has a stop surface that defines an angle relative to the vehicle longitudinal direction between 110 and 130 degrees. In response to an impact event to a front area of the front wheel, the front wheel pivots relative to the wheel support structure moving a rear area of the front wheel into contact with the stop surface.

A vehicle structure includes a frame and a push arm. The push arm is coupled to a first side member of the frame proximate an intersection of the first side member and a first cross-member. The push arm has a main body, a rear surface, and a front surface. The rear surface faces and is adjacent to the intersection. The main body extends forward and laterally in an outboard direction from the rear surface such that the front surface of the push arm is located laterally outboard of and spaced apart from a front end of the first side member of the frame. The front surface has a first section and a second section both facing forward relative to the frame. The second section is angularly offset from the first section such that the second section and the first section define an obtuse angle therebetween.

A push arm is coupled to a vehicle frame proximate an intersection of a first side member and a first cross-member. A rear surface of the push arm is located adjacent to a front suspension structure with a gap defined therebetween. The push arm extends forward and laterally outward such that a front surface of the push arm is located outboard of and spaced apart from a front end of the first side member. A energy absorbing structure is positioned within the gap and is attached to the rear surface of the push arm. The energy absorbing structure is spaced apart from the front suspension structure in a non-impacted state. The energy absorbing structure is configured such that in response to an off-center impact event, impact force to the energy absorbing structure pushes the energy absorbing structure into contact with the front suspension structure, such that the energy absorbing structure deforms and absorbs impact energy.

An off-center impact reinforcement structure includes a push arm and a first diagonals structure installed to elements of a frame of a vehicle structure. The push arm is coupled to the frame proximate an intersection of a first side member and a first cross-member and extends in a forward and laterally outboard direction from the intersection. The first diagonal structure extends rearward and laterally inboard from proximate the intersection toward a section of a second side member rearward of the first cross-member. The off-center impact reinforcement structure is configured such that during an off-center impact event in which a stationary barrier impacts against a front surface of the push arm during forward movement of the vehicle frame, impacting forces from the impact event are transferred through the push arm to the vehicle frame at the intersection and from the intersection to the first diagonal structure.

A wheel suspension for rear wheels of an automotive vehicle, comprises a coil spring on a rear lateral link having an articulation point on an axle housing, a front lateral link, a radius rod and an upper arm having an articulation point on the axle housing at a position higher than a wheel center. A shock absorber is arranged such that its longitudinal axis crosses the wheel center as viewed the axle housing in a transverse direction with respect to a normal forward driving direction. The upper arm is connected to a suspension member via a forward pivot and a rearward pivot. The arrangement is such that loading the axle housing at the connection point with the upper arm in a rearward direction with respect to the normal forward direction causes the upper arm to position the connection point inwardly with respect to the vehicle body, and loading the axle housing at the connection point in the normal forward direction causes the upper arm to position the connection point outwardly with respect to the vehicle body.

Rear wheel suspension

A rear wheel suspension arrangement for an automotive vehicle provides an axle housing rotatably mounting rear vehicular road wheels, each of the wheels having a wheel center. At each wheel, a radius rod which extends forwardly and inwardly, as viewed in a normal forward direction of the vehicle, is connected to the axle housing at a first articulated connection at a position lower than the wheel center. Further, a front lateral link, extending generally transversely to the forward direction of the vehicle is connected to the axle housing at a second articulated connection also located below the wheel center. In addition, a rear lateral link, positioned rearwardly of the front lateral link and extending in the traverse direction of the vehicle, is connected to the axle housing at a third articulated connection also located below the wheel center. The suspension structure also includes an upper arm having an articulated connection to the axle housing at a position above the wheel center. A coil spring is disposed between a lower side of a vehicle body and an upper surface of the rear lateral link, while a shock absorber having a coaxially mounted bump rubber provided at an upper side thereof is connected at an upper end thereof to the vehicle body and at a lower end thereof to a fourth articulated connection at an upper side of the axle housing.

Wheel suspension for rear wheels

An axle supporting member for a rear wheel is suspended to a suspension member by an upper link system which includes an A-arm and a side rod. The forward lower link member and the side rod are respectively arranged in front and rear of a vertical plane passing through a rotary axis of the rear wheel, while a suspension spring and a shock absorber are seated on the forward lower link member positioned in front of the above-mentioned vertical plane with respect to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Accordingly, an initial load transmitted from the suspension spring is mainly borne by the front end part of the suspension member, so that an initial load exerted to the rear end part of the suspension member becomes smaller. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the resilient deformation of bushings in the front and rear parts of the suspension member upon application of a wind-up input force.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Hideo Aimoto