Nissan Motor Company Limited

Tetsuo Maki

Akira Kawai

Kenichi Saito

Satoru Ichikawa

Hideo Tobata

Kouichi Oota

Motoru Komatsu

Daisuke Masuda

Hiroyuki Miyasaka

Masanobu Yoshioka

Satoru Yoshikawa

Yasuki Matsuura

Kazunori Tomimatsu

Gousuke Wakana

Shozo Suzuki

A vehicle occupant restraint system is provided with an air bag restraint device including a first deploying portion deploying between a vehicle occupant and a portion in a vehicle, and a second deploying portion deploying related to the first deploying portion. The second deploying portion providing a support for the first deploying portion to receive at least a part of a load acting on the first deploying portion from a head of the vehicle occupant.

Vehicle occupant restraint system and method

A vehicle occupant restraint system of the present invention has: a seat belt restraint device () including a shoulder belt () which restrains the body of a vehicle occupant (C) diagonally from one of the shoulders (Cs) to the chest (Cc), and a lap belt () which restrains the waist (Cw) of the vehicle occupant (C); an upper air bag () supported by an upper support point () provided on the shoulder belt (); a lower air bag () supported by a lower support point () provided on the lap belt () and coming into contact with the upper air bag () in a vertical direction when being inflated and extended; and an air bag movement inhibiting structure (H&#x2013;H). The air bag movement inhibiting structure (H&#x2013;H) applies, to at least one of the upper support point () and the lower support point (), a moment (M&#x2013;M) in a direction of canceling movements of contact surfaces of the upper and lower air bags () toward a side in the vehicle width direction, where a part of the shoulder belt () is located above the shoulder (Cs) of the vehicle occupant (C), when the upper air bag () and the lower air bag () receive inertial force of the vehicle occupant (C) toward a front of a vehicle.

Vehicle occupant restraint system and vehicle occupant restraint method

A vehicle air bag system is provided with an air bag that inflates and unfolds to cover the entire front surface of a front pillar . When it is judged based on the detection operation of a collision detection device that there is a risk of colliding with a pedestrian, a hood pop-up device is actuated and the rear end part of the engine hood moves up, widening the gap between the rear end part and the front windshield . Simultaneously, the air bag module is actuated and the air bag expands out from the gap. The air bag inflates and unfolds so as to cover the entire front surface of the front pillar from the base to the upper end thereof.

Vehicle air bag system

A device for reducing impact to a pedestrian involved in a collision with a motor vehicle includes a displacement mechanism to raise a hood from a rest position to an impact position elevated relative to the rest position, and an air bag module including an air bag. The air bag module is operative to inflate the air bag after displacement of the hood from the rest position to the impact position has begun. When inflated, the air bag has its first cushion portion extending beneath the hood and its second cushion portion extending out from the rear of the hood. The second cushion portion extends over a lower portion of a windshield of the vehicle.

Device for reducing the impact of pedestrians

A bumper structure for a vehicle comprises a first cross member, a bumper stay, a reinforcement, and a front bumper facsia. The bumper stay is connected with the first cross member to extend forward. The reinforcement is arranged in front of the bumper stay to be connected with the bumper stay. The bumper facsia is arranged in front of the reinforcement. The bumper stay includes a first portion being dispose on its front side and a second portion, which is different in strength from the first portion, being disposed on its rear side. The bumper facsia pushes backward the reinforcement with a front portion of the vehicle colliding with an obstacle. At that time, the reinforcement functions as a mass while one of the first portion and the second portion, which is low in strength, functions as a spring and is then crushed. Hence, a deceleration rises sharply relative to a moving stroke of the bumper facsia. Then, a remaining of the first portion and the second portion, which is high in strength, is crushed so that the deceleration relative to the moving stroke of the bumper facsia is maintained. Accordingly, the deceleration relative to the moving stroke has a substantially rectangular profile which rises sharply at a leading edge and does not have an excessive peak value, so that a collision energy is absorbed efficiently. As a result, a resistance performance of the body at the vehicle collision and a pedestrian effect performance are improved. In this manner, according to the above bumper structure, a resistance performance of the body at the vehicle collision and a pedestrian effect performance are improved. In addition, since the above performances are given even though the reinforcement is disposed in the close vicinity of the bumper facsia, a length of the bumper structure along the longitudinal direction of the body is shortened.

Bumper structure for a vehicle

A car body structure comprises a pillar panel, and a pillar garnish molding made of synthetic resin and fitted to the pillar panel on the cabin side. The pillar garnish molding has a closed section which is enclosed by a base portion facing the pillar panel, a plurality of ribs formed upright on the surface of the base portion and formed at a distance along the longitudinal direction of the pillar panel, and a cover member formed to cover the ribs. Therefore the car body structure is capable of achieving good energy absorption efficiency of head impact deceleration even if the width of the pillar panel is small.

Car body structure

A car body structure comprises a pillar panel, and a pillar garnish molding made of synthetic resin and fitted to the pillar panel on the cabin side. The pillar garnish molding has a closed section which is enclosed by a base portion facing the pillar panel a plurality of ribs formed upright on the surface of the base portion and formed at a distance along the longitudinal direction of the pillar panel, and a cover member formed to cover the ribs. Therefore the car body structure is capable of achieving good energy absorption efficiency of head impact deceleration even if the width of the pillar panel is small.

A protector cap for covering a mounting bolt head has a spacer interposed between the cap and the bolt to position the cap with respect to the bolt head and to isolate the cap from the bolt head. The cap is made of a resin. The spacer is a separate member engaged with the inner surface of the cap.

Protector cap for use in automotive vehicle

A nut member, which is arranged in a pillar panel and to which a bolt for supporting a seat belt anchor plate is fixed, comprises a nut main body to which the bolt is fixed and a nut holder supported to the pillar panel to hold the nut main body. The nut holder has a holder portion formed to support a tensile load applied to the nut main body, and engaging means for holding a state in which the nut main body is held in the holder portion and for supporting the nut main body until a compressive load applied to the nut main body is increased up to a predetermined value are provided to at least one of the nut main body and the nut holder. Accordingly, a car body structure can be achieved which can control an allowable value against a compressive load applied to the seat belt anchor plate and support a large tensile load sufficiently.

A pillar construction for a vehicle body includes a steel pad formed from a resilient sheet steel and disposed between a pillar inner panel of a pillar main body and a pillar trim. In a secondary collision in which the pillar trim is subjected to a force directed outward of a vehicle body and deformed thereby, the steel pad produces a reaction force against deformation of the pillar trim at the initial stage of the secondary collision and substantially no reaction force at the final stage of the secondary collision.

Pillar construction for vehicle bodies

A novel vehicle energy absorbing structure is disclosed, in which a hard member has a portion facing the compartment, a cover having a substantially U-shaped section is provided to cover the compartment side of the hard member, and an energy absorbing member is interposed between the cover and the hard member to absorb energy by plastic deformation. At the time of deformation of the cover caused under a pressure load not less than a predetermined value, at least a trigger portion formed in the cover provides a momentum for plastic deformation of the energy absorbing member. Thus a compact vehicle energy absorbing structure is provided which can absorb a sufficient amount of load.

Vehicle energy absorbing structure

A framework of a vehicle body structure comprises an outer panel and an inner panel. These outer and inner panels are joined to constitute a longitudinally extending hollow structure. The inner panel includes a center panel part facing toward the interior of the vehicle body, and first and second side panel parts extending obliquely outward from laterally opposed edges of the center panel part. The center panel part has a rigidity higher than each of the first and second side panel parts.

Framework of vehicle body structure

A bracket is provided with a projection having its tip displaced from a rear panel of a pillar inner panel toward the rear end of the automobile and the projection is provided with a through bore and that the garnish main body has its inner surface held in linear contact with the tip of the projection of the bracket and includes a boss inserted into the through bore of the projection of the bracket and supported by the projection.

Growing community of inventors

Yokosuka, Japan

Tetsuo Maki