Description
Following is a sample of the information contained on this CD: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an automotive vehicle body structure for improving the crash safety of the vehicle. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It has been proposed to control the deceleration of the passenger compartment of a vehicle by appropriately selecting the deformation mode of the part of the vehicle body other than the passenger compartment at the time of a vehicle crash, and prevent the deformation of the vehicle body from reaching the passenger compartment as a part of efforts to increase the protection of the vehicle occupants at the time of a vehicle crash (see Japanese patent laid open publication No. 7-101354 and others). In view of reducing the injury to the vehicle occupant at the time of a vehicle crash, it is important to note that there is a delay in the deceleration of the vehicle occupant with respect to the deceleration of the vehicle body because the passenger restraint system such as a seat belt acts like a spring at the time of a vehicle crash, and the peak of the vehicle occupant deceleration occurs at the time of the maximum elongation of the spring although the vehicle body deceleration remains constant. Furthermore, this peak is significantly greater than the average deceleration of the vehicle body because the vehicle occupant reduces its speed in a shorter period of time than the main part of the vehicle body. Therefore, to reduce the maximum level of the vehicle occupant deceleration, it is necessary not only to reduce the average deceleration of the vehicle body but also to reduce the overshoot of the vehicle occupant deceleration due to the action of the restraint system as a spring. In view of reducing the injury to the vehicle occupant, the waveform of the vehicle body deceleration is highly important. FIG. 14 shows a waveform of the vehicle body deceleration G2 which can minimize the vehicle occupant deceleration G1 according
