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US4940281A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Front body structure of vehicle

Assignee: Mazda Motor Corp
•
Filing: 1988-11-14
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Granted: 1990-07-10
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Expires: 2008-11-14
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Abstract

Abstract A front body structure of a vehicle includes a pair of retractable head lamps, a pair of retractable head lamp covers for covering the retractable head lamps, a pair of drive motors for driving the retractable head lamps and the retractable head lamp covers, a radiator shroud upper member disposed on a front side of an engine compartment and extending laterally with respect to a vehicle body, a cross member disposed below the radiator shroud upper member and extending laterally with respect to the vehicle body, and two side connecting members for connecting the radiator shroud upper member with the cross member, each of the drive motors being mounted on one of the side connecting members. The thus constructed front body structure has advantages in that it is possible to prevent the number of parts for mounting the drive motors from being increased and it is possible to markedly increase the rigidity of the portions on which the drive motors are mounted, since each of the drive motors is mounted on one of the side connecting members secured to the radiator shroud upper member and the cross member which are standard members for constructing the front body of a vehicle and have extremely high rigidity.

Inventors

  • 👤 Nobuhiro Komatsu

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-05 17:01
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60Q; B60Q1/00; B60Q1/02; B60Q1/04; B60Q1/05

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 11
Claim 1
Independent Claim 99 words
A front body structure of a vehicle comprising a pair of retractable head lamp members, a pair of drive means for driving said retractable head lamp members, a radiator shroud upper member disposed on a front side of an engine compartment and extending laterally with respect to a vehicle body, a cross member disposed below said radiator shroud upper member and extending laterally with respect to the vehicle body, and at least two connecting means for connecting said radiator shroud upper member with said cross member, each of said drive means being mounted on one of said connecting means.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 99 words
A front body structure of a vehicle comprising a pair of retractable head lamp members, a pair of drive means for driving said retractable head lamp members, a radiator shroud upper member disposed on a front side of an engine compartment and extending laterally with respect to a vehicle body, a cross member disposed below said radiator shroud upper member and extending laterally with respect to the vehicle body, and at least two connecting means for connecting said radiator shroud upper member with said cross member, each of said drive means being mounted on one of said connecting means.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 30 words
A front body structure of a vehicle in accordance with claim 1 in which two of said connecting means are disposed at the opposite side portions of the vehicle body.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 39 words
A front body structure of a vehicle in accordance with claim 2 in which each of said retractable head lamp members consists of a retractable head lamp and a retractable head lamp cover for covering said retractable head lamp.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 50 words
A front body structure of a vehicle in accordance with claim 3 in which each of said two connecting means extends in substantially the vertical direction and in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, whereby flanges are formed on each of which one of said drive means is mounted.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 23 words
A front body structure of a vehicle in accordance with claim 3 which further includes a body panel secured to said connecting means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 26 words
A front body structure of a vehicle in accordance with claim 5 in which said body panel is disposed between a bonnet and a front bumper.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 53 words
A front body structure of a vehicle in accordance with claim 6 in which each said retractable head lamp cover is arranged so that a smooth surface is formed by said retractable head lamp cover, said bonnet and said front bumper when said retractable head lamp member is retracted into said vehicle body.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 77 words
A front body structure of a vehicle in accordance with claim 3 in which radiator shroud side panels are provided at the opposite side portions of the vehicle body so as to extend in a direction laterally of the vehicle body, closed cross section portions are formed by radiator shroud upper member and said radiator shroud side panels and each of said retractable head lamp members is pivotably mounted on one of said closed cross section portions.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 60 words
A front body structure of a vehicle in accordance with claim 8 which further includes a pair of link means each connecting one of said drive means with one of said retractable head lamp members and in which openings are formed in each radiator shroud side panel each of said openings being able to accommodate one of said link means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 51 words
A front body structure of a vehicle in accordance with claim 3 which further includes a center connecting means for connecting said radiator shroud upper member and said cross member, said center connecting means being positioned at substantially the center portion with respect to the lateral direction of the vehicle body.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

JPS56163974A Cited
US4380789A Cited
US4432040A Cited
US4437143A Cited
US4542934A Cited
JPS60148775A Cited
JPS60163135A Cited
US4630179A Cited
JPS6141640A Cited
JPS6178045A Cited
JPS6291379A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1993-07-09 1994-01-08 1994-07-10 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1997-07-09 1998-01-08 1998-07-10 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 2001-07-09 2002-01-08 2002-07-10 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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