DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a vehicle body structure embodying the present invention. The main frame 1 of the vehicle body comprises a floor member 2 defining a floor of a passenger compartment, a dashboard panel 3 extending upright from the front end of the floor member 2 , and a pair of front side beams 4 extending from the dashboard panel 3 to the front end of the vehicle body on either side of thereof. The dashboard panel 3 defines a rear end of an engine room and a front end of the passenger compartment. As best shown in FIG. 2, a sub frame 5 is provided in a lower part of the engine room, and a front end of the sub frame 5 is joined to the front end of the front side beams 4 by a front member 13 including a pair of lateral members 13 a and 13 b and a vertical member 13 c while the rear end of the sub frame 5 is integrally connected to a pair of connecting members 6 which extend rearward under the floor member 2 although only one of them is shown in FIG. 1 . In this embodiment, the sub frame 5 forms a crash load transmitting member jointly with the connecting members 6 as described hereinafter.

[0034] An intermediate part of each of the connecting members 6 is integrally provided with an upright member 6 a which is passed into the passenger compartment through a hole formed in the floor member 2 . The upper end of the upright member 6 a is attached to a seat base 7 supporting the lower surface of a seat 8 . The two connecting members 6 having an identical structures are disposed on either side of the vehicle body, but only one of them is described in the following for the convenience of description. The seat 8 is slidably supported by the seat base 7 via guide rails (not shown in the drawings) fixedly attached to the seat base 7 so that the seat 8 can move in the fore-and-aft direction relative to the seat base 7 and the floor member 2 for adjustment. The seat 8 is incorporated with a seat belt 10 having three ends which are all anchored to the seat 8 so as to effectively restrain a vehicle occupant 9 in the seat 8 without regard to the fore-and-aft position of the seat 8 . The seat belt may also consist of a more conventional seat belt having one or two of the anchor points which are attached to the vehicle body.

[0035] A pair of floor frame members 11 are fixedly attached to the lower surface of a corner defined between the floor member 2 and the front dashboard panel 3 on either side of the vehicle body to reinforce the part connecting the front side beams 4 with the front dashboard panel 3 . A holder 12 made of stamp formed sheet metal having a rectangular cross section in the shape of letter C is fixedly attached to the lower surface of each of the floor frame members 11 by using threaded bolts 15 as shown in FIG. 3 . The end of the sub frame 5 facing the passenger compartment is retained by the holders 12 which are fixedly attached to the lower surfaces of the corresponding floor frame members 11 .

[0036] The sub frame 5 is integrally provided with a bracket 5 a on each side for supporting a wheel suspension system (not shown in the drawing), in particular a base end of a major lower arm thereof. A cross member 5 c extends laterally across the sub frame 5 . The sub frame 5 also supports an engine via brackets 5 b of which only one of them is shown in FIG. 3 . The sub frame 5 of this embodiment is used not only for supporting the engine and wheel suspension systems but also for absorbing the impact of a vehicle crash as described hereinafter.

[0037] The shape of the inner recess defined by the holder 12 closely conforms to the outer circumferential surface of the corresponding part of the sub frame 5 so that the sub frame 5 can be frictionally retained by the holder 12 by suitably selecting the fastening force of the threaded bolts 15 . It is preferable to interpose a lubricating plastic member between the inner surface of the holder 12 and the part of the sub frame 5 frictionally retained by the holder 12 , and fasten the threaded bolts 15 so that the sub frame 5 may be retained by a prescribed retaining force. This retaining force is selected to be smaller than the load that will cause a buckling deformation of the sub frame 5 when it is applied to the front end of the sub frame 5 . In other words, the sub frame 5 is adapted to move rearward with respect to the vehicle body when subjected to a load resulting from a frontal vehicle crash, instead of undergoing a buckling deformation, until the sub frame 5 or the connecting member 6 collides with a member which is capable of withstanding the reaction from the buckling deformation of the sub frame 5 .

[0038] For this purpose, a stopper 14 is fixedly attached to the floor member 2 at a certain distance from the rear end of the connecting member 6 so that the connecting member 6 collides with the stopper 14 when the connecting member 6 has moved rearward by a prescribed distance in an intermediate phase of a frontal vehicle crash. The collision of the connecting member 6 with the stopper 14 creates a reverse deceleration to the connecting member 6 and the seat 8 attached to it.

[0039] The action of the present invention is described in the following by taking an exemplary case of a frontal crash of the vehicle onto an object on the road with reference to FIG. 4 .

[0040] Immediately following a vehicle crash, the front ends of the front side beams 4 and sub frame 5 are both subjected to an impulsive load. Because the rear end of the sub frame 5 is only frictionally engaged by the holders 12 as mentioned earlier, input of a large crash load causes the sub frame 5 to slide rearward relative to the holders 12 while the front side beams 4 undergo a compressive or buckling deformation. Thus, the seat 8 which is fixedly attached to the sub frame 5 via the connecting member 6 decelerates more sharply and strongly (interval a in FIG. 14 ) than the main frame 1 which is directly connected to the front side beams 4 . At this time, in appearance, the seat 8 moves rearward relative to the floor member 2 which continues to move forward owing to the compressive deformation of the front side beams 4 .

[0041] The occupant tends to move forward under the inertia force during this phase, but the restraint of the seat belt 10 prevents the forward movement of the vehicle occupant 9 .

[0042] In an intermediate phase of the vehicle crash, the sub frame 5 having a front end which has been relatively intact in spite of the relatively high deceleration acting thereon eventually collides with the stopper 14 via the rear end of the connecting member 6 . This causes a force opposing the crash load acting on the sub frame 5 to be transmitted to the seat 8 via the connecting member 6 . The forward acceleration resulting from this collision cancels the forward inertia force acting on the vehicle occupant 9 (first half of interval b in FIG. 14 ). Also, the stopper 14 is firm enough to withstand the impulsive load which will cause a compressive or collapsing deformation of the sub frame 5 .

[0043] In a final phase of the crash, as soon as the deformation stress of the sub frame 5 is added to the deformation stress of the front side beams 4 , the deceleration acting on the vehicle body suddenly increases (second half of interval b in FIG. 14 ), and, thereafter, the floor member 2 and seat 8 decelerate in a single body, and the relative speed between the floor member 2 and seat 8 reduces to zero. At this time point, because the restraining load of the seat belt 10 balances with the deceleration in the final phase of the crash, the vehicle occupant 9 continues to decelerate in a single body with the floor member 2 and seat 8 until the vehicle body comes to a complete stop (interval c of FIG. 14 ).

[0044] Thus, the crash load at the time of a frontal vehicle crash is transmitted to the sub frame 5 in the early phase of the crash, but not so much to the floor member 2 which is part of the vehicle body. Therefore, the sub frame 5 simply moves rearward, instead of undergoing a buckling deformation. Only after the connecting member 6 has collided with the stopper 14 and subjected to the resulting forward acceleration, the seat 8 is allowed to decelerate in a single body with the vehicle body main frame 1 .

[0045] According to the present invention, the mode of guiding the rearward movement of the crash load transmitting member (sub frame 5 and connecting member 6 in the foregoing embodiment) relative to the main frame 1 is not limited by the above illustrated embodiment, but may consist of any other structure which joins the crash load transmitting member to the main frame so as to allow a relative displacement between them to take place at a crash load which is lower than that would cause a buckling or compressive deformation of the crash load transmitting member.

[0046] A second embodiment of the present invention is described in the following with reference to FIG. 5 . The parts corresponding to those of the previous embodiment are denoted with like numerals.

[0047] In the second embodiment of the present invention, the guide member consists of a part of the sub frame 5 having a guide slot 21 formed therein. The guide slot 21 extends in the fore-and-aft direction. The sub frame 5 is mounted on the under surface of the floor frame member 11 by a threaded bolt 22 passed through the slot 21 . To control the friction between the bolt 22 and the inner surface of the slot 21 , a collar 23 is fitted onto the threaded bolt 22 . Preferably, the inner surface of the slot 21 and/or the upper surface of the sub frame 5 which abuts the lower surface of the floor frame member 11 may be lined with a suitable friction material to control the friction with the corresponding parts. At any even, the sub frame 5 is retained by the floor frame member 11 with a retaining force which is less than that required for supporting the bucking or compressive deformation of the sub frame 5 , and the rearward movement of the sub frame 5 is guided by the cooperation between the slot 21 and the threaded bolt 22 . This embodiment provides similar advantages as those provided by the previous embodiment, and produces a deceleration time history at the time of a vehicle crash similar to that of the previous embodiment.

[0048] A third embodiment is described in the following with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 , and the parts corresponding to those of the previous embodiments are denoted with like numerals. In the third embodiment, a pin 24 integrally extends from the sub frame 5 in the forward direction. A hollow holder 25 is fixedly attached to the under side of the floor frame member 11 . The free end of the pin 24 is provided with an enlarged head 24 a . The holder 25 is provided with a funnel shaped insertion hole 25 a which is adapted to resiliently expand when the head 24 a is pushed thereinto and retain the head 24 a therein with a certain retaining force which opposes the effort to pull the head 24 a rearward as indicated by the arrow in the drawing. This retaining force is again smaller than the force that will be required to cause a buckling or compressive deformation of the sub frame 5 . This embodiment also provides similar advantages, and a similar deceleration waveform at the time of a vehicle crash.

[0049] FIGS. 8 and 9 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The parts corresponding to those of the previous embodiments are denoted with like numerals. This embodiment is similar to the first embodiment, but the connecting member 6 extends only to a middle part of the passenger compartment. In this case, the holder 26 frictionally engages the sub frame 5 in a similar manner as the first embodiment, but additionally serves as a stopper in cooperation with a bulge member 28 attached to a part of the sub frame 5 which is located ahead of the holder 26 by a prescribed distance. The bulge member may consist of any unitary or separate enlarged part of the sub frame 5 . The holder 26 is provided with a front end 26 a which is adapted to undergo a compressive or buckling deformation as the sub frame 5 moves rearward under an impulsive load resulting from a vehicle crash before holding the sub frame 5 stationary with respect to the main frame 1 . The front end 26 a of the holder 26 a serves as a cushioning member which prevents a sharp change in the deceleration of the sub frame 5 . In this case also, the frictional retaining force and the reaction force resulting from the compressive or buckling deformation of the front end 26 a of the holder 26 are each lower than the force that is required to cause a buckling or compressive deformation of the sub frame 5 .

[0050] The action of the present invention is described in the following by taking an exemplary case of a frontal crash of the vehicle onto an object on the road with reference to FIG. 10 .

[0051] Immediately following a vehicle crash, both the front side beams 4 and sub frame 5 are subjected to an impulsive load, and start deformation. Because the sub frame 5 remains relatively intact as opposed to the front side beams 4 which undergoes a buckling or compressive deformation to a more significant extent. As a result, the seat 8 which is fixedly attached to the sub frame 5 via the connecting member 6 decelerates more sharply and strongly than the vehicle body main frame 1 (interval a of FIG. 14 ). As a result, the seat 8 , in appearance, moves rearward relative to the floor member 2 which continues to move forward as the front side beams 4 undergo a bucking or compressive deformation.

[0052] At this time, the vehicle occupant 9 tends to move forward under the inertia force, but the restraining force of the seat belt 10 acting on the vehicle occupant 9 increases and prevents the occupant 9 from moving forward.

[0053] In an intermediate phase of the crash, the bulge member 28 which is fixedly attached to the sub frame 5 collides with the holder 26 , the former being subjected to a high deceleration with its front end withstanding the load. The inertia force of the main frame 1 is eventually transmitted to the bulge member 28 , and the resulting impulsive load causes a buckling deformation of the front end 26 a of the holder 26 . The relative movement between the main frame 1 (including the front side beams 4 and floor member 2 ) and the connecting member 6 (including the seat 8 ) continues until the holder 26 has completed its buckling deformation. As a result, the reaction force to the crash load acting on the front side beams 4 is applied to the seat 8 via the connecting member 6 and with a certain cushioning effect, and the resulting forward acceleration partly cancels the forward inertia force acting on the vehicle occupant 9 (first half of interval b in FIG. 14 ).

[0054] In a final phase of the crash, as soon as the deformation stress of the sub frame 5 is added to the deformation stress of the front side beams 4 , the deceleration of the vehicle body suddenly increases (second half of interval b in FIG. 14 ), and, thereafter, the floor member 2 and seat 8 decelerate in a single body, and the relative speed between the floor member 2 and seat 8 reduces to zero. At this time point, because the restraining load of the seat belt 10 balances with the deceleration of the vehicle occupant in the final phase of the crash, the vehicle occupant 9 continues to decelerate in a single body with the floor member 2 and seat 8 until the vehicle body comes to a complete stop (interval c of FIG. 14 ).

[0055] According to this structure, because the stopper (holder 26 and bulge member 28 ) for the crash load transmitting member (the sub frame 5 and connecting member 6 ) is provided in a part of the vehicle body which can readily provide an adequate rigidity such as the engine room (of a front engine vehicle), the restriction on the design of the passenger compartment can be minimized, and the freedom in the design of the vehicle body can be increased with the added advantage of optimizing the distribution of the vehicle body rigidity. As compared to the arrangement in which the colliding parts are provided in a rear end of the vehicle body, and are suitably reinforced for a higher rigidity as was the case with the first to third embodiments, the arrangement for the stopper can be made both compact and light-weight.

[0056] FIG. 11 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and the parts corresponding to those of the previous embodiments are denoted with like numerals. In this embodiment, a pair of lower front side beams 35 are provided under the engine room on either side of the vehicle body, instead of a sub frame. Each lower front side beam 35 is passed through an inner bore 29 a defined by a holder 29 which is made of a relatively solid member and firmly attached to the floor frame member 11 by threaded bolts 30 . A collar 31 is fitted onto the lower front side beam 35 at a point which is located ahead of the holder 29 by a prescribed distance. The collar 31 includes a relatively solid base end 31 a which is firmly secured to the lower front side beam 35 , and an extension 31 b which extends from the base end 31 a toward the holder 29 , and is adapted to undergo a compressive or buckling deformation when it is pushed onto the holder 29 .

[0057] According to this embodiment, at the time of a frontal vehicle crash, the lower front side beam 35 initially moves rearward along with the connecting member 6 and the seat 8 which are integral with the lower front side beam 35 in the same way as in the previous embodiment while the upper front side beams 4 undergo a compressive or buckling deformation. As the lower front side beams 35 have moved rearward by the prescribed distance, the extension 31 b abuts the holder 29 , and collapses by undergoing a compressive or buckling deformation as illustrated in FIG. 12 . As soon as the extension 31 b has entirely collapsed, the base end 31 a abuts the holder 29 , and this causes the lower front side beams 35 to move jointly with the main frame 1 . The action and effect of this embodiment are similar to those of the previous embodiments, and a similar deceleration time history can be achieved at the time of a vehicle crash as the previous embodiments.

[0058] FIG. 13 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention which is similar to the previous embodiment, but lacks the extension 31 b extending from the base end 31 a of the collar 31 . Therefore, as the lower front side beams 35 move rearward and cause a sharp rise in the deceleration of the seat 8 which is attached to the front side beams 35 via a connecting member 6 , it simply abuts the holder 29 , and causes the lower front side beams 35 to move in a single body with the vehicle body main frame 1 . The action and effect of this embodiment are similar to those of the previous embodiments, and a similar deceleration waveform can be achieved at the time of a vehicle crash as the previous embodiments.

[0059] Although the present invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments thereof, it is obvious to a person skilled in the art that various alterations and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention which is set forth in the appended claims.