Patents Represented by Attorney, Agent or Law Firm Cary A. Smith
  • Motor vehicle body with wheelhouse/underbody reinforcement
    Patent number: 6648401
    Abstract: A motor vehicle body has an underbody and a wheelhouse at an outboard edge of the underbody, and a longitudinal member beneath the underbody and adjacent to the wheelhouse, the wheelhouse having an inboard surface spaced outboard from the longitudinal member, and a reinforcement extending between and secured to the inboard surface and the longitudinal member. The reinforcement increases the torsional stiffness of the body in the vicinity of the wheelhouse without intruding into the interior of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 3, 2002
    Date of Patent: November 18, 2003
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Guenter Behnke, Thomas Doerfler