Deformable suspension and for automotive vehicle

Abstract

A suspension arm adapted for use in a suspension system of an automotive vehicle, the suspension arm being in the form of a single structure made of sheet metal pressed in an approximately L-shape and having a rear arm portion formed at one end thereof with a rear mounting portion mounted on a vehicle body structure and at the other end thereof with a support portion supporting a road wheel mounted thereon and a front arm portion bifurcated from an intermediate portion of the rear arm portion and formed at a distal end thereof with a front mounting portion mounted on the vehicle body structure at a position spaced from the rear mounting portion in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, wherein a crotched portion between the front and rear arm portions is in the form of a lower stiffness portion to be buckled or deformed when applied with an impact force in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, and wherein the front and rear arm portions are reinforced at their outer peripheries except for a region of the low stiffness portion to provide enhanced transverse stiffness of the suspension arm in a lateral direction of the vehicle.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.