Unisocket construction for front compartment of a unitized automobile body

Claim 1

A unitized automobile body having a driver compartment and a front compartment, a pair of front side pillars at the forward end of the driver compartment and a transverse dash panel between the pillars separating said compartments; a pair of removable inner side panel assemblies extending forwardly from the dash panel defining the inner side walls of the front compartment and providing front wheel housings; a lower socket member with a forwardly open socket fastened to the bottom of the driver compartment along each side thereof; an upper socket member with a forwardly open socket fastened to the front pillar at each side of the driver compartment; each inner side panel assembly including a panel formed with pockets for front wheel supporting means and headlamp means; means for supporting and removably connecting each inner side panel assembly to the driver compartment with controlled rigidity providing sacrificial collapsibility of the front compartment in event of a head-on collision including upper and lower horizontal rails and flange means; each lower rail being connected along the lower margin of the inner side panel assembly and having a horizontal rearwardly extending portion telescopically connectible with the respective lower socket member, a horizontal front portion being disposed at a higher level than said rearwardly extending portion and having a forwardly open socket, and a diagonal intermediate, connecting portion capable of bending under backward, collision-magnitude force transmitted through said horizontal front portion; each upper rail being connected along the rear portion of the upper margin of the inner side panel assembly and having a horizontal rearwardly extending portion telescopically connectible with the respective upper socket member; said flange means extending along the rear margin of the inner side panel assembly and being connectible by first fastener means to the forward face of the dash panel; second fastener means holding said rearwardly extending portions of the lower and upper rails removably mounted within the respective socket members; shoulder means acting between the rails and respective socket members to relieve said second fastener means of stress caused by backward thrust through the rails; a front cross panel and radiator support member connected between the front ends of the inner side panel assemblies and defining the inner front wall of the front compartment; and energy absorbing means fitted within each of the forwardly open sockets in the front portions of the lower rails and connected to front bumper means.