Patent ID: 7614687

Claim:
A pillar construction for a vehicle, comprising: a pillar which is a part of a body of the vehicle, the pillar including an upper member and a lower member made of diecast aluminum alloy, wherein the upper member has a substantially U-shaped cross section, and includes first side walls extending substantially in a transverse direction of the vehicle at least at a lower portion thereof, and the upper member further includes a connecting plate at a lower end thereof while keeping the U-shaped cross section, the lower member includes a mounting plate, opposed to the connecting plate, at a lower portion thereof which is lower than an upper end thereof, and the lower member includes second side walls at both end portions of the mounting plate in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the second side walls extend substantially in the transverse direction of the vehicle the second side walls defining a substantially U-shaped cross section having an open portion facing outward of the vehicle, and the connecting plate and the mounting plate are welded to each other in a state that the connecting plate and the mounting plate are in abutment with each other, and the first side walls and the second side walls or the first and second side walls and wall members attached to the first and second side walls, are joined to each other, such that the upper member and the lower member are integrally fixed to each other.