Nissan Technical Center North America, Inc.

Nissan North America, Inc.

Robert R Blanchard

Dan Hustyi

Jeffrey Pencak

Matthew Mollick

Gary R Osterberg

Thomas Mally

Christopher Hartley

Erik Anderson

Brian Shepard

Richard Miller

Daniel Moll

John S Latimer, Iii

Thomas Domlovil

Emily Hospodar

Douglas D Dawe

A front end structure includes a hinge having a body attachment part fixed to a hood ledge at a first location, a hood attachment part attached to a hood, and a connecting part hingedly connecting the body attachment part and the hood attachment part. A restraining member is attached to one of the hood ledge and the hood, and a contact portion is formed on the other of the hood ledge and the hood. The restraining member is located adjacent the contact portion while the hood is in the closed position. The contact portion engages the restraining member at a second location forward of the first location to restrain movement of a rear corner of the hood upon application of a prescribed force on a front corner of the hood that deforms the hood in a rearward direction and an inboard direction while the hood is in the closed position.

Vehicle front end structure

A reinforced vehicle structure includes a vehicle floor, a reinforcement member, an accessory attachment member and a plurality of mounting structures. The vehicle floor has an underbody floor surface facing an underbody of the vehicle and an interior floor surface facing an interior of the vehicle. The reinforcement member is mounted to the underbody floor surface. The accessory attachment member is mounted to the interior floor surface. The plurality of mounting structures is spaced along the reinforcement member and extends through the vehicle floor to couple the accessory attachment member to the reinforcement member.

Reinforced vehicle structure

A reinforced vehicle structure includes a vehicle wall, a reinforcement member, an accessory attachment member and a plurality of mounting structures. The vehicle wall includes an outer wall surface facing an outboard direction of the vehicle and an inner wall surface facing an inboard direction of the vehicle. The reinforcement member is mounted to the outer wall surface. The accessory attachment member is mounted to the inner wall surface. In addition, the plurality of mounting structures is spaced along the reinforcement member and extends through the vehicle wall to couple the accessory attachment member to the reinforcement member.

A reinforced vehicle structure includes a vehicle panel, an elongated structural support member, and a support structure. The vehicle panel includes a first panel surface and a second panel surface, and defines a first opening that extends through the vehicle panel between the first and second panel surfaces. The elongated structural support member supports a portion of the first panel surface of the vehicle panel, and defines a first channel extending along the vehicle panel. The support structure is coupled to the structural support member at least partially within the first channel, includes a mounting structure that is aligned with the first opening in the vehicle panel, and defines a second channel extending transversely to the first channel of the structural support member.

A reinforced vehicle structure includes a first vehicle wall, a second vehicle wall, an accessory attachment member and a reinforcement member. The first vehicle wall has a first outer wall surface facing an outboard direction and a first inner wall surface facing an inboard direction. The second vehicle wall extends transverse to the first vehicle wall, and has a second outer wall surface facing a first direction and a second inner wall surface facing an opposite direction. The accessory attachment member is mounted to the first inner wall surface. The reinforcement member has a first end mounted to the accessory attachment member and a second end mounted to the second inner wall surface with the reinforcement member spanning the first and second vehicle walls such that the reinforcement member does not extend parallel to either of the first and second vehicle walls.

A vehicle cargo sidewall structure includes a vertical inboard wall panel, a vertical outboard wall panel, door panel and a storage bin. The inboard wall panel includes an access opening. The outboard wall panel extends along side the inboard wall panel to define a side wall structure with a concealed storage space located between the inboard and outboard wall panels. The storage space is accessible via the access opening. The door panel moves between a closed position overlaying the access opening concealing the storage space and an opened position exposing the storage space. The storage bin is coupled to the door panel for movement therewith such that with the door panel in the closed position the storage bin is disposed within the storage space and with the door panel in the opened position the storage bin at least partially extends out of the storage space.

Vehicle cargo sidewall structure

A vehicle cabin power transfer arrangement that includes a vehicle cabin structure, a primary inductor power transfer unit and a vehicle power source is provided. The vehicle cabin structure has an exposed surface accessible from a vehicle cabin. The primary inductor power transfer unit is disposed in the vehicle cabin structure such that induction current produced by the primary inductor power transfer unit emits through the exposed power transfer surface to create an induction field above exposed surface. The vehicle power source is electrically coupled to the primary inductor power transfer unit.

Vehicle cabin power transfer arrangement

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

A vehicle roof structure is disclosed that includes a front roof rail, a pair of front roof rail braces and a pair of A-pillars. First ends of the front roof rail braces are fixedly coupled to opposite ends of the front roof rail. The pair of A-pillars each has an inner A-pillar panel. Second ends of the front roof rail braces are bonded to a connection area of a respective one of the inner A-pillar panels such that the opposite ends of the front roof rail are spaced inwardly from the inner A-pillar panels by the front roof rail braces. The front roof rail extends perpendicularly from the A-pillars via the front roof rail braces. Further, each of the inner A-pillar panels has a generally constant overall transverse cross sectional shape across the connection areas of the inner A-pillar panels.

Vehicle roof structure

A vehicle roof structure is disclosed that includes a center roof rail, a pair of center roof rail braces and a pair of inner side roof rail panels. The center roof rail supports a mid-portion of a vehicle roof. The pair of center roof rail braces has first and second ends with the first end of the center roof rail braces being directly bonded to opposite free ends of the center roof rail. The pair of inner side roof rail panels is each configured to form a portion of a vehicle side roof rail on opposite lateral sides of the vehicle roof structure. An inboard side of each of the inner side roof rail panels is directly bonded to the second ends of the center roof rail braces, respectively, without bonding the center roof rail to the inner side roof rail panels.

Basically, a vehicle body structure is configured to reduce the rotation of a side roof rail that may occur during a side collision that deforms the center pillar inwardly of the vehicle body. The vehicle body structure basically includes a side rail reinforcement member located in the area where the center pillar is attached to the roof side rail. The reinforcement member can basically be divided into a first side rail reinforcement section that extends in a forward to aft direction along the roof side rail and a second side rail reinforcement section that extends in an inward direction relative to the longitudinal axis of the roof side rail. The second section of the roof side rail overlies a portion of the sliding door pocket structure that is located just rearwardly of the center pillar.

Growing community of inventors

Fenton, MI, United States of America

Robert R Blanchard