Patent ID: 7857349

Claim:
A suspension member for connecting a suspension device to a vehicle body, comprising: a pair of side members extending longitudinally with respect to the vehicle body and positioned symmetrically with respect to a center of the vehicle body in a transverse direction thereof; at least one cross member interconnecting said side members and extending transversely with respect to the vehicle body, upper portions of said side members and said at least one cross member being formed from flat plates and welded and then pressed to provide an upper panel having a generally U-shaped cross section open at a lower side thereof; and a lower panel affixed to said upper panel and closing said lower side thereof, wherein lower portions of said side members and said at least one cross member are formed from flat plates and welded to provide said lower panel, welds joining the upper portion of said at least one cross member and the upper portions of said side members extending in a first direction, and welds joining the lower portion of said at least one cross member and the lower portions of said side members extending in a second direction different from the first direction.