Nissan Motor Company Limited

Ikeda Bussan Co. Ltd.

Kasai Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Nobuhiko Takahashi

Nobuyuki Nakano

Akira Kawai

Kazushi Yasue

Fumio Yagishita

A car trim including a plurality of ribs formed integrally and arranged vertically at a predetermined interval on a predetermined site of the rear face 1a of trim main body 1 for absorbing energy of collision, each rib being formed in a rectangular tube, each rib side wall 4a being tapared with thinning toward its distal end, and a rigidity changing portion P being disposed by integrally forming an auxiliary rib piece 5 on the rib side wall 4a for introducing buckling transformation of the rib 4 at a predetemined position in the rib side wall 4a. The rib also includes a first energy absorbing portion 5 and a second energy absorbing portion 6 formed in such a multi-stepped manner that the number of rib walls in the former step is different from that number in the latter step. Further, the rib also includes a first auxiliary rib piece 5 extending outside from each corner along one side wall 3, 4 of the rib and a second auxiliary rib piece 6 extending from the distal end of the first auxiliary rib piece 5 onto the other side wall 4, 3 vertically intersecting that first auxiliary rib piece.

Energy absorbing door panel

An automotive seat comprises a seat slide device mounted on a vehicle floor between a side sill and a tunnel portion. The seat slide device includes a movable rail which moves in a given direction along the side sill. A seat cushion frame is mounted on the movable rail to move therewith, and a seatback frame is pivotally connected to the seat cushion frame through paired pivot devices. A reinforcing structure is incorporated with at least one of the seat cushion frame and the paired pivot devices to provide the seat with a tough resistance against a side vehicle collision. The reinforcing structure includes a reinforcing beam secured to two mounting brackets secured by respective flange plates to the side sill and the tunnel portion. In another aspect of the invention, another bracket is secure to the top of the tunnel portion and also secured to the corresponding flange plate of the reinforcing beam.

Automotive seat having robust construction

In a motor vehicle, there are arranged abreast first and second seats. Each seat includes a seat cushion, a seatback pivotally connected to the seat cushion, and a power reclining device for pivoting the seatback to a desired angular position. A load transmitting center structure is mounted on the vehicle floor between the first and second seats. A manual switch is used which, when operated, pivots the seatback of the second seat to a desired angular position. At least the second seat has a reinforcing structure installed therein. The reinforcing structure exhibits the maximum performance in cooperation with the load transmitting center structure when the seatback of the second seat is within a given angular range. A computer-aided control device is used, which limits the angular position of the seatback of the second seat to the given angular range when the second seat carries thereon a seat occupant, and pivots the seatback of the second seat to an angular position coincident with that taken by the seatback of the first seat when the second seat carries thereon no seat occupant.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Nobuhiko Takahashi