Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Youichirou Suzuki

Yutaka Kanaguchi

Yoshikatsu Ohta

Tadashi Naito

In a vehicle body side portion structure, a center pillar includes an upper pillar section joined to a roof side rail and a lower pillar section joined to a side sill, the upper pillar section including a metallic pipe having a high-strength steel plate, has a substantially constant cross-sectional shape, and is convexly curved outwardly in a vehicle width direction, the lower pillar section is formed by two pressed components including a steel plate having lower strength than the steel plate of the hollow metallic pipe of the upper pillar section and are joined to each other into a closed cross-sectional shape, and the upper pillar section is joined to the two pressed components such that the lower edge part of the upper pillar section is inserted within a section configured by the two pressed components of the lower pillar section and having the closed cross-sectional shape.

Vehicle body side portion structure

A first and second pipe materials forming a front side frame are arranged in an up-and-down direction in a first horizontal portion, in a left-and-right direction in a second horizontal portion, and replaced from the up-and-down direction to the left-and-right direction in an inclined portion between the first horizontal portion and the second horizontal portion, and at least in the first horizontal portion and the second horizontal portion, the first and second pipe materials are welded to each other by welds, and therefore, it becomes possible to change in the longitudinal direction the cross-sectional shape or bending stiffness of the front side frame formed by joining the first and second pipe materials without changing the cross-sectional shapes thereof in the longitudinal direction, thus providing the front side frame that has a light weight but has excellent impact absorption performance at the time of a collision.

Automobile chassis frame structure

A structure for a front portion of an automobile body includes a bulkhead side, which is joined to a front portion of a front side frame extending in the fore-and-aft direction extends in the vertical direction, and a side frame gusset, which provides a connection between the front portions of the front side frame and a wheel house upper member. The bulkhead side and the side frame gusset are joined by a linking panel having a right-angled triangle shape when viewed from the front within a plane perpendicular to an axis in the fore-and-aft direction. When a load is applied for relatively moving the front side frame, the side frame gusset and the wheel house upper member supporting the load by a shear force of the linking panel disposed within the plane enhance the rigidity of a front portion of a vehicle body and minimize any increase in weight.

Growing community of inventors

Kawachi-gun, Japan

Youichirou Suzuki