A chassis for a vehicle has a locally narrower portion within which is mounted a wheel, and a rigid member extending from the chassis toward the quiescent position of the wheel and ending at a point which is spaced radially from the outer profile and located axially within the thickness of the wheel. Under an impact, the wheel itself will be crushed against the rigid member, absorbing some of the impact energy. The impact energy can also be transmitted via the rigid member to the remainder of the chassis, providing a load path to major mass concentrations elsewhere in the vehicle and allowing energy to be dissipated by the deformation of other structures elsewhere. This can then limit frontal damage to the vehicle and hence reduce the risk of intrusions into the passenger cell. The rigid member can be a column extending towards the wheel, and can end with a flat plate that is positioned tangentially to a local portion of the outer profile. It preferably extends from a point on the chassis outside the locally narrower portion. Oriented in this direction, the rigid member is more able to transfer the impact forces from the crushing wheel to the remainder of the chassis.


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    Title :

    Vehicle crashworthiness


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    2016-05-17


    Type of media :

    Patent


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English


    Classification :

    IPC:    B62D MOTOR VEHICLES , Motorfahrzeuge / B60R Fahrzeuge, Fahrzeugausstattung oder Fahrzeugteile, soweit nicht anderweitig vorgesehen , VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR



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