Body structure for vehicles employing floor, roof, pillar and side sill reinforcements

• Main Authors: KADOYA; TOSHIMITSU, YAMAUCHI; MAKOTO, EJIMA; KATSUMI, NAKAGAMI; SHUICHI
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 13.06.2000
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS; MOTOR VEHICLES; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRAILERS; TRANSPORTING

The invention provides a body structure for vehicles which is capable of enhancing the passenger-protecting performance without much increasing the vehicle weight by enhancing the stiffness around the vehicle interior with high efficiency. A body roof is equipped with a closed-in-cross-section roof reinforcement extending widthwise of the vehicle body along a roof panel, right-and-left end portions of the roof reinforcement being coupled to upper end portions of a right-and-left pair of closed-in-cross-section center pillars extending in upper-and-lower direction in side portions of the vehicle body, respectively. Lower end portions of the center pillars are coupled to a pair of closed-in-cross-section side sills which extend longitudinally of the vehicle body to support right-and-left side edge portions of a floor panel, respectively, so that the roof reinforcement, the right-and-left center pillars and the right-and-left side sills form a continuous closed cross section with which an upper portion and right-and-left side portions of the vehicle interior, as viewed from the front of the vehicle, are covered.