Roof structure for a vehicle with no center pillar
US8439432B2 · kind B2 · utility
6Cited by
6References
19Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 19, 2011 |
| Grant date | May 14, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 19, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB62D33/06
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A vehicle roof system enabling elimination of the B-pillar is disclosed. A particular aspect of the invention is to transfer vertical roof loads onto an enhanced rear structure of the vehicle. An additional aspect of the invention is to employ a rear upper cap reinforcement to directly assume roof crush loads applied at front of the vehicle during testing. A specific load transfer mechanism is disclosed. Vertical roof crush force applied near the front of the vehicle is transferred into both a torsional load upon a rear header of the vehicle, and a bending moment upon the C-pillar of the vehicle.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.