Nissan North America, Inc.

Tadahiro Kawano

Kaoru Kobayashi

Jason Lyman

Naoya Kodama

Masaya Innami

A vehicle front end structure includes an engine cradle and a force receiving structure. The engine cradle has a front corner and an engine mounted to the engine cradle. The force receiving structure has a force receiving surface extending laterally outboard from proximate the front corner of the engine cradle and a force directing section located rearward of the force receiving surface. The force receiving structure is installed to the engine cradle by a vertically oriented first mechanical fastener designed and structured such that during an impact event where an impacting force is applied to the force receiving surface, the force receiving structure pivots about the first mechanical fastener with an outboard portion of the force receiving surface initially moving rearward relative to the engine cradle and the force directing section initially moving laterally inboard contacting the engine and imparting a portion of the impacting force thereto.

Growing community of inventors

Farmington Hills, MI, United States of America

Tadahiro Kawano