Abstract:
A vehicle floor having a structure capable of distributing an impact load imparted to the floor at the time of head-on vehicle collisions, thereby, greatly reducing the level of injuries in legs of drivers involved in the accidents.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application is based on, and claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 2004-79096, filed on Oct. 5, 2004, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.  
       TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention generally relates to a vehicle. More particularly, the floor has a structure capable of distributing an impact load imparted to the floor at the time of a head-on vehicle collision, thereby, greatly reducing the level of injuries to the legs of the driver.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     The percentage of leg injuries caused by head-on vehicle collisions is increasing and Underwriters Laboratories Inc. of the U.S. and Euro NCAP expect that a direct eccentric impact will increase the level of leg injuries. The impact-distributing structure of a vehicle floor is connected only in a fore-aft direction between a front side member and a center floor side member. This is because the conventional rear-wheel drive vehicle cannot have members at the lower part of the tunnel. Therefore, the connection of the impact-distributing structure with the side chamber box of the vehicle via a dash panel is compromised and, thus, experiences an enormous amount of change in vehicle body at the time of a head-on collision. As a result, the number and level of leg injuries to drivers is severe.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     According to an embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle floor is provided with a structure capable of distributing impact-loads imparted at the time of a head-on collision. A floor outer member of a box type is established that can be connected between a front side outer member and a front end of a side chamber. Thereby, significantly reducing the level of leg injuries of drivers involved in head-on vehicle collisions.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]     The aforementioned aspect and other features of the present invention will be explained in the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is an elevated view of a vehicle floor showing distribution of an impact load being imparted in the event of a head-on collision at a lower part of the vehicle floor according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is a partial perspective view of a vehicle floor showing distribution of an impact load being imparted in the event of a head-on collision at a lower part of the vehicle floor according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a joined state of a vehicle floor showing distribution of an impact load being imparted in the event of a head-on collision at a lower part of the vehicle floor according to an embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a combined perspective view of a vehicle floor showing distribution of an impact load being imparted in the event of a head-on collision at a lower part of the vehicle floor according to an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0010]     According to an embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the present invention provides a vehicle floor having a structure capable of distributing impact load being imparted in the event of a head-on vehicle collision at the lower floor sides of a vehicle body frame. The body frame is formed by assembly of members comprising a side outer panel  11 , an outer reinforcing member  12 , a side inner panel  13 , a side chamber inner panel  14 , a cowl side lower member  15 , a front side outer member  16 , a front side inner member  17 , a front side rear lower member  18 , a front side rear upper member  19 , a front side inner reinforcing member  20 , a frame mounting rear reinforcing member  21 , and a center floor side member  22 .  
         [0011]     According to another embodiment, the present invention provides a vehicle floor having a structure capable of distributing impact load being imparted in the event of a head-on vehicle collision at the lower floor sides of a vehicle body frame. A floor outer member  30 , which enables a box type connection, is provided at the front end of the front side outer member  16  and the side chamber inner panel  14  for distributing the impact load.  
         [0012]     According to yet another embodiment, the present invention provides a vehicle floor having a structure capable of distributing impact load being imparted in the event of a head-on vehicle collision at the lower floor sides of a vehicle body frame. Box-protruding structures for the front reinforcing member  41  and the front member  42  are formed in between the floor outer member  30  and the side chamber inner panel  14  for transferring the impact load being imparted to the floor outer member  30  into the center floor side member  22 .  
         [0013]     After the side outer panel  11  is connected to the outer reinforcing member  12 , the following members are connected to the outer reinforcing member  12  in the following order: the side inner panel  13 ; the side chamber inner panel  14 ; the cowl side lower member  15 ; the front side outer member  16 ; the front side inner member  17 ; the front side rear lower member  18 ; the front side rear upper member  19 ; the front side inner reinforcing member  20 ; the frame mounting rear reinforcing member  21 ; and the center floor side member  22 .  
         [0014]     The front reinforcing member  41  and the front member  42  in the form of box-protruding structures are provided at the front side of the front side outer member  16  and the side chamber inner panel  14  in between the floor outer member  30  and the side chamber inner panel  14  after the floor outer member  30  is connected. The above structure provides a reduction to the level of leg injuries of drivers involved in car accidents by distributing the impact load imparted form the car accident to the center floor side member  22 , in the direction of the arrows in  FIGS. 2-4 , via the front reinforcing member  41  and the front member  42 , both of which have box-protruding structures, while minimizing the change in a vehicle body resulted from a head-on car collision.  
         [0015]     Even though the present invention is described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto. It will be evident from the foregoing that many variations and modifications may be made by a person having an ordinary skill in the present field without departing from the essential concept and scope of the present invention defined by the appended claims.