Impact energy absorbing structure in upper vehicle body portion, and impact energy absorbing component

摘要

A structure absorbs impact energy in an upper vehicle body portion provided with a vehicle body structural member and an interior trim spaced inward from the structural member. The structure includes an energy absorbing member disposed in the interval between the structural member and the interior trim and extending along the structural member in a lengthwise direction of the structural member, and a spacer substantially filling a gap formed between the energy absorbing member and the interior trim. The energy absorbing member is formed so that a section thereof taken on an imaginary plane perpendicular to the lengthwise direction has a substantially uniform shape along the lengthwise direction. The energy absorbing member may be an extended pipe or a hybrid pipe including a core member formed from a metal foil, and sheets of a different material laminated on opposite surfaces of the core member. The hybrid pipe may be twisted about its longitudinal axis, and/or a shape of a cross section of the hybrid pipe may gradually change in a direction of the longitudinal axis.