Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Hirokazu Matsuura

Edward William Bach

Adam J Rompage

Kurtis Ray Horner

Fabian J Vigil

Takashi Yamada

Aron K Madsen

Masahiro Ishikawa

Brian E Dressel

Matthew Weyand Schmitt

Hirotomo Yamada

Kenneth M Hartlaub

Jason T Hardesty

Jason S Borland

Teruo Yamazaki

Makoto Miyamoto

Masami Yaguchi

Koji Nozoe

Nagender Reddy Kasarla

A vehicle frame structure includes a front pillar having an internal space defined by a forward wall, a rear wall, an outer lateral side wall, and an inner lateral side wall. The internal space is partitioned by longitudinally extending first and second ribs connecting inside faces of the forward and rear walls and a laterally extending third rib connecting an inside face of the inner side wall and the first rib. The first, second and third ribs separate the front pillar into a plurality of interior hollow portions. Two laterally adjacent hollow portions define an outer lateral portion of the front pillar and two longitudinally adjacent hollow portions define an inner lateral portion of the front pillar.

Front pillar for a vehicle body

A frame assembly of a vehicle front portion includes a windshield lower beam. A damper mount is disposed on the front portion and deforms when subjected to an impact energy. An A-pillar includes upper and lower pillar portions, the upper pillar portion having a lower end disposed adjacent the windshield lower beam, and the lower pillar portion having an upper end disposed adjacent to the windshield lower beam. A joint includes first and second joint members, the first joint member connecting the windshield lower beam to the lower and upper pillar portions and being connected to the damper mount, the second joint member contained within the first joint member and connected to the windshield lower beam, and upper and lower pillar portions. The joint is configured to resist deformation due to the impact energy such that the damper mount deforms and dissipates the impact energy.

Vehicle front frame assembly, and methods of use and manufacture thereof

A multi-panel joint assembly, joint and method for a vehicle includes a first panel forming an outer skin on the vehicle, a second panel having a second panel flange portion overlapping the first panel, a third panel having a third panel flange portion overlapping the second panel flange portion, throughholes in registry with one another defined respectively in the first panel, the second panel flange portion, and the third panel flange portion, a rivet nut received through the throughole of the first panel, a fastener received through the throughholes of the second and third panels and threadedly secured to the rivet nut for securing the second and third panels to the first panel, and a washer interposed between the first panel and a deformed portion of the rivet nut for protecting the first panel from being damaged by the deformed portion.

Multi-material joint assembly, joint and method for a vehicle

An air and water management system for a motor vehicle is disclosed. The system includes an air opening allowing air to enter the engine room on a side of the motor vehicle, an engine cover covering at least one component associated with the engine of the motor vehicle, a rib extending from a top side of the engine cover creating a gutter on the engine cover between the rib and a side of the engine room, a water channel formed integrally in the engine cover adjacent and laterally inward of and parallel to the rib and including a drain longitudinally to the rear of the motor vehicle at a rearward portion of the water channel. Air entering the air opening flows over the rib and into the engine room of the motor vehicle. The rib blocks debris that enters the air opening from flowing into the engine room.

Motor vehicle engine room air and water management system

A vehicle frame structure includes a side sill having an internal space partitioned by a vertical rib and a horizontal rib intersecting the vertical rib. The vertical rib separates the side sill into an outer lateral portion and an inner lateral portion. The inner lateral side sill portion includes a cutout extending vertically therethrough. A pillar has an internal space partitioned by a longitudinally extending first rib and a laterally extending second rib intersecting the first rib. The first rib separates the pillar into an outer lateral portion and an inner lateral portion. The inner lateral pillar portion is disposed through and secured in the cutout of the portion, and an axial end face of the outer lateral pillar portion is in abutment with the outer lateral side sill portion. The side sill and the pillar are welded to each other along an interface between the two components.

Body frame structure for a vehicle

Some embodiments are directed to a support structure for use with a vehicle, the vehicle having a frame to which the support structure is attached. The support structure can include an elongated pillar defining a hollow portion extending therethrough. The elongated pillar can also define at least two rectangular channels approximately rectangular in cross-section extending through the hollow portion along a direction of elongation of the pillar. The elongated pillar can also define one other channel having a non-parallelogram cross-section extending through the hollow portion along a direction of elongation of the pillar.

Vehicle support structure pillar and method of manufacturing the same

A vehicle body assembly includes a front pillar which at least partially defines a roof side rail. The front pillar includes a unitary, one-piece tubular structural member having a first end portion and an opposite second end portion. A roof side rail extension is secured to the structural member. A windshield has a lateral edge portion, a forward part of the lateral edge portion is secured directly to the first end portion of the structural member and a rearward part of the lateral edge portion is secured directly to the roof side rail extension. The structural member is adapted to curve away from the rearward part of the windshield lateral edge portion and the roof side rail extension is adapted to maintain a substantially constant gap between the structural member and the lateral edge portion of the windshield.

Vehicle body assembly

A vehicle frame structure includes a front pillar having an internal space defined by a forward wall, a rear wall, an outer lateral side wall, and an inner lateral side wall. The internal space is partitioned by a longitudinally extending first rib and a laterally extending second rib interconnecting the first rib and the inner side wall. The first rib separates the front pillar into an outer lateral portion and an inner lateral portion. The outer lateral portion is defined by an outer lateral section of each of the front and rear walls and the outer side wall. The inner lateral portion is defined by an inner lateral section of each of the front and rear walls and the inner side wall. The inner lateral portion of the front pillar has a length greater than a length of the outer lateral portion of the front pillar.

A vehicle sashless door sealing assembly, fastening assembly and method include an elongated structural member, a garnish member, and a door seal retainer disposed below the garnish assembly for holding a window pane door seal. The fastening assembly, which secures the garnish member and the door seal retainer to the elongated structural member, includes a collar having a radial flange portion interposed between the door seal retainer and an exterior surface of the garnish member and having an axial neck portion extending from the radial flange portion into a garnish aperture defined in the garnish member. The fastening assembly further includes a fastener received through a fastener aperture defined in the door seal retainer, through a fastener aperture defined in the collar and through a fastener aperture defined in the elongated structural member to thereby secure the garnish member and the door seal retainer to the elongated structural member.

Sashless door sealing assembly, fastening assembly and method

A vehicle body superstructure includes a roof side rail having a rail flange upon which a roof panel is mounted, a vertical rail wall that hangs down from the outer end of the rail flange in the vehicle width direction, a bottom rail wall that extends from the lower end of the vertical rail wall to the outside in the vehicle width direction, and a bulging section formed by allowing the bottom rail wall and the vertical rail wall to bulge toward the center in the vehicle width direction, in order to accommodate a slide rail for a sliding door. The outer end of a roof arch in the vehicle width direction is joined to the bulging section. First arch flanges are joined on the lower surface side of the rail flange. Second arch flanges are joined to the lower surface side of the of the bottom rail wall.

Vehicle body superstructure

A vehicle body side structure, which enables the rigidity of a bottom section to be ensured through the reinforcement of a bottom section of a pillar. The vehicle body side structure has a closed cross section, which continues over a side sill and the front pillar, separated into a plurality of sections by a bulkhead. The bulkhead includes a rear end flange that joins to a sill top wall, a front end flange that joins to a pillar outer front wall, and a partition wall. The partition wall is formed into a cross-sectional U shape together with a sill outer side wall and a sill outer bottom wall, forming a third U-shaped cross section that leads to the pillar outer front wall. The third U-shaped cross section forms, together with an inner side sill, a closed cross section extension section that leads to the pillar outer front wall.

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Dublin, OH, United States of America

Hirokazu Matsuura