Nissan Technical Center North America, Inc.

Other

John S Latimer, Iii

Robert R Blanchard

Dennis F Stedman

Mark D Snyder

Erik Anderson

Gary R Osterberg

Stuart A Ehrhardt

Jonathan Zischke

Raymond N Kreucher, Jr

Roy A Carlstrom

Robert A Choinard

Gerald H Gillett

Yasuyuki Mitsuhashi

An access assembly for a vehicle body. The access assembly includes a body panel movably mounted to the vehicle body for movement between an open position and a closed position and defining an access opening. A door assembly is provided on the body panel and has a cover that is movable between an open position and a closed position. A vehicle component is disposed in a substantially fixed position with respect to the vehicle body, the vehicle component having a receptacle that is substantially aligned with the access opening when the body panel is in the closed position. The access opening is exposed when the cover is in the open position, and the access opening is concealed when the cover is in the closed position.

Vehicle access assembly

A vehicle body structure includes longitudinally extending elements such as roof side rail outer and inner members, a reinforcement member and a gusset that are part of a side impact energy management system for vehicles that include a sunroof. A laterally extending cross member is connected to the roof side rail members, and the roof side rail members are connected to an upper portion of an approximately vertical B-pillar. The cross-member is connected to the roof side rail members approximately perpendicular to the B-pillar, but longitudinally offset from the B-pillar. The reinforcement member extends between the roof side rail members to the cross-member.

Vehicle body structure

A unitized vehicle rear body structure is disclosed that includes a vehicle floor and a structural support member. The structural support member is fixed to the vehicle floor and extends longitudinally within the vehicle rear body structure. The structural support member includes a generally U-shaped support element and an upper brace. The generally U-shaped support element has a lower wall portion and a pair of generally vertical side wall portions with laterally spaced apart upper edges and lower edges coupled to lateral sides of the lower wall portion. The upper brace is fixedly attached between the side wall portions. Further, the upper brace is spaced apart upwardly from the lower wall portion and spaced below the upper edges.

Unitized vehicle rear body structure

An add-on structural support arrangement for a convertible-type vehicle rear passenger shoulder belt system comprising a pair of mirror image composite pillars fixedly disposed at each rear corner of the rear seat compartment. Each pillar includes three vertically elongated sheet metal members, i.e. a forward seat attaching panel member, an intermediate anchor panel member, and an aft channel member, substantially coextensive in length and welded in flatwise abutment. A horizontal tie bar interconnects the upper ends of the forward panel members, while lower oblique wing of each anchor panel member is bolted to an associated portion of the body floor pan. A shoulder belt retractor is mounted on a lower rear face of each pillar while each aft channel member provides a vertically extending guideway for passage for its associated shoulder belt. The anchor panel is formed with a U-section in cross-sectional view defining a pair of side flanges each provided with a midpoint attachment ear. A trailing V-shaped brace, comprising a pair of inboard and outboard rearwardly convergent straps, has each of its forward laterally spaced strap ends secured to an associated anchor panel member ear while the strap mating aft portions are attached to an associated rear wheelhouse inner panel.

Add-on structure for vehicle shoulder belt

Growing community of inventors

West Bloomfield, MI, United States of America

John S Latimer, Iii