Patent ID: 9266569
Filing Date: 2016-02-23
CPC Classification: B62D

Claim Text:
1. A rear corner vehicle roof structure comprising: a rear pillar including a vertically elongated base portion transitioning into a bifurcated upper end portion, said upper end portion forming a longitudinally extending stub arm affixed to a side roof rail and a laterally extending stub arm affixed to a rear roof header, and comprising spaced opposed continuous flange portions intermediate said base portion and stub arms; and a reinforcement member including a central bridge portion trifurcated to form extensions conforming to said rear pillar base portion, said longitudinally extending stub arm and said laterally extending stub arm, said reinforcement member further including peripherally flanged web segments disposed intermediate circumferentially adjacent pairs of said rear pillar upper end portion and stub arms, said reinforcement member affixed to said rear pillar upper end portion only at discrete, circumferentially arranged attachment points between said flanged web segments and said rear pillar upper end portion continuous flange portions operative to direct roof crush induced loads at the reinforcement member radially inwardly, with said flanged web segments supporting said central bridge portion in a spaced relation from said upper end portion.