WO2004000634A1

WO2004000634A1 - Body made of fiber reinforced plastic, mainly for bus

Info

Publication number: WO2004000634A1
Application number: PCT/HU2003/000046
Authority: WO
Inventors: Attila Kubanek-Goga; József PETROVICS; Ben Van Der Linden
Original assignee: NABI Autóbuszipari Rt.
Priority date: 2002-06-21
Filing date: 2003-06-19
Publication date: 2003-12-31
Also published as: HU225708B1; HU0202044D0; HUP0202044A2; AU2003244883A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a body (1) for large-volume enclosed vehicles, mainly a bus, which said body (1) is made of fiber reinforced hardening plastic in an integral design, which body (1) has enclosed load bearing members and frame structures, and is assembled by bonding together several prefabricated units. According to the invention the hollow enclosed load bearing support members are made of fiber reinforced fabric sheets and/or mats (16), a hardening plastic, which encapsulate a core (15, 21), and the units fixed to each other have adjoining members suitable for orienting and bonding, and they are matching members. The body (1) has the following units: the roof (3) with the upper window sash (20), the side window columns (5) and windscreen rail (9), up to the depth of the windscreen rail (9); platform (2) with a front rail and at least up to the same height as the front rail with a rear wall (74), using side walls (19) up to the lower edge (43) of the side windows or up to the lower line of the window rails, the platform (2) is fitted with axle fixing members (54, 55, 56) at the front wheel drums (27), and with axle fixing members (67, 70, 72) and transmission fixing members (75, 76) at the rear wheel drums (27); there is a side wall (28, 29) section separately on each side with a support bracket protruding backwards from a point in the vicinity of the rear axle/drum (27) plate, and the said side wall has an adjoining piece (30) matched and fixed to a counterpiece (31) on the platform (2).

Description

Body made of fiber reinforced plastic, mainly for buses

In the vehicle industry, modules made of glass fiber reinforced polyester resin has been used for decades in building bodies. These modules can be produced in very large sizes in relatively low priced quickly made molds. A great advantage of this approach is not having to worry about corrosion at all, the external surface or skin - at least one side - comes out of the mold in a status that it does not need any finishing operations, and can be finish-painted by spraying.

Bodies made of glass fiber polyester are generally used for caravans, mainly in the case of caravans designed as a towed trailer, where each side wall, the roof, and the front and rear walls represent body members combined by bonding. The plastic body of a caravan is not a load bearing or integral structure, but it is secured to a load bearing chassis by releasable joints.

In prior art, an integral body is built of fiber reinforced hardening plastic according to the patent specification US-3.989.562, where the external wall of a square cross section body is formed by an enclosed square tube, with the inner wall formed by an inner tube of the same material positioned therein, and the space between the two is filled with a hardening foamed plastic. The reinforcing fabric of the external and internal tubes is wound, and this approach is the best for making an enclosed superstructure for carrying goods, especially a large size semi-trailer fitted with a tail gate. This prior art invention is much less suitable for a bus, because the side windows and side doors excessively weaken the structure from the aspect of both bending strength and torsion strength, while production is a difficult and pamstøking process.

The proposal in patent specification EP-0102777 is based on the same technology regarding a tilting dump box for a dump truck, where the dump box has large walls - without apertures - and this is favorable from the aspect of the technology.

This prior art technology is not suitable for a low-floor bus, which has heavily divided walls and floor, due to design and production considerations.

In prior art, there are also experimental solutions for building fully integral design fiber reinforced plastic bodies, for large-size, large-volume vehicles, including buses, where the body comprises divided members and units similarly to those generally applied in welded metal bodies. In the trade, limited success was achieved by the bus design where fiber reinforced synthetic resin modules are combined by bonding to make a complete bus body. The body - in accordance with the approach generally used for metal body buses - consists of subassemblies, i.e. it has a 'bottom plate' to which right and left hand side walls, and to the said walls a roof is- adjoined, it has front and rear walls, and when these are combined by bonding, a load bearing body is created. The front and rear axles as well as the transmission are located separately on metal auxiliary frames, and adjoining members are available in the body for securing the said auxiliary frames. — there is a side wall section separately on each side with a support bracket protruding backwards from a point in the vicinity of the rear axle/drum plate, and the said side wall has an adjoining piece matched and fixed to a counterpiece on the platform.

In a preferential embodiment of the invention, the bottom side of the side window rail and the bottom section of the window columns are designed as parts of the platform, and there is a channel in the lower section of the window column into which the adjoining leg of the window column integral with the roof is received, and they are fixed to each other by bonding; the length of the adjoining leg is approximately one-fifth to one-tenth of the total length of the window column, and furthermore the bottom side of the windscreen rail is integral with the roof and its adjoining surface in its full length is combined by bonding with the upper front rail adjoining surface of the platform front side.

In a further preferential embodiment of the invention, there is a platform for securing the driver's seat, which platform is designed as a load bearing part of the body, and is fitted with fiber reinforced fabric sheets integral with the floor.

In a further preferential embodiment of the invention, to increase the stability of the body against overturning, there is a load bearing wall extending from the load bearing floor/platform to the roof behind the members designed for fixing the driver's seat, which load bearing wall is secured by bonding to the former members as well as to the side wall, and along the adjoining edges there is a reinforcing fabric strip bonded to the members ^lued to each other. A stiffening board is fitted on the opposite side of the members designed for securing the driver's seat, between the front wheel drum and the roof, with the said board bonded to the former items and along the adjoining edges there is a reinforcing fabric strip bonded to the members glued to each other and to the door column confining a passenger door between two wheel drums located on the same side and/or in their immediate vicinity a web plate extending from the load bearing floor to the roof is bonded to the former items and to the side walls or their door columns and along the adjoining edges there is a reinforcing fabric strip bonded to the members which are glued to each other.

In a further preferential embodiment of the invention, regarding a rear engine body, the reinforcing fabric sheet of the wall separating the passenger compartment and the engine compartment continuously passes to the engine compartment lid, which is advisably a flat plate, the engine compartment lid and the rear wall of the passenger compartment include an angle of approximately 90 degrees with each other, and they are secured to each other by bonding, along the adjoining edges a reinforcing fabric strip is bonded to the members glued to each other, and a strengthening overlay is located at the corner of the side wall, passenger compartment rear wall and engine compartment lid, and at least at the latter two items for holding the engine support member and there is a through-hole within the reinforcing overlay in the engine compartment lid.

In a further preferential embodiment of the invention, the side wall has a reinforcing rib located parallel with the floor, in order to secure the passenger seat bracket, and a cover sheet made of fiber reinforced fabric sheet, a hardening plastic, is bonded up to the height of the said bracket and at least up to the edge of the aisle, also covering the wheel drums.

Our invention is detailed by way of example on the basis of figures, which show the body of a low floor rear engine city bus, where Fig. 1 shows a view of the bus body,

Fig. 2 shows a view of the bottom of the bus body front part,

Fig. 3 shows a view of the bus body rear part from the bottom and rear,

Fig. 4 shows a view of combining the two parts of the window column, and

Fig. 5 shows the front and top views of a bus body fitted with the members securing the body against overturning.

The body 1 has a low floor design suitable for constructing a city bus, where the passenger enters the passenger compartment via the passenger door directly, without having to mount steps, both through the passenger door in front of the front wheel drum and through the wide passenger door located between two wheel drums on the same side. Classifying the bus in the low floor category is not hindered by the fact that the aisle does not have a step in the section extending from the front passenger door to the rear wheel drums, but at the rear wheel drum the rear section of the aisle is adjoining the front section with a step, and the back part is rising slightly.

Our invention relates to a body 1 without the fittings that can be installed thereon with releasable joints, therefore the figures do not show the windows, doors, the rear wall, its engine compartment door, and other lids and doors like for example the door of the battery compartment, the front wall lid etc.

The body 1 — as outlined above - does not include a metal part inherently and such metal items may only become parts of the body 1 by being bonded with an adhesive to a surface of the said body 1 or by being installed thereon with a releasable joint.

The construction material of the body 1 is fiber reinforced plastic, and several types of glass fiber mats and fabrics are installed, depending on the thickness and fiber arrangement of the fabric as well as on the different fabric surfaces, and at points subjected to high loads the reinforcing fabric sheets may also include carbon fiber layers. The applied synthetic resin is epoxy vinyl ester in a vacuum procedure, epoxy polyester in the no vacuum procedure; for bonding and combining the various members, methyl methacrylate can be applied. The various members can be made in a so-called negative mold, as a result of which the smoothness of the external mold side surfaces (skin) is of such an extent that it is suitable for prompt coating by a paint spraying technology. In a vacuum procedure, the fabric sheets are placed into a negative mold, a sealed vacuum bag is placed over it along the edges of the mold, which the vacuum sucks onto the fabric sheets and then through feeder channels the fabric sheets are filled up with the hardening plastic mentioned above. Such a building block is called composite material in trade literature, consequently it is laminated and mostly includes glass fiber layers. In the given case these sheets encapsulate a core which is mostly a polyurethane foam or balsa wood, and the laminated layers are impregnated with vinyl ester resin, which becomes hard within a short period and thereby turns into a solid building block.

As shown by Fig. 1 the body 1 has a platform 2 representing the bottom half and a roof part 3 representing the top half, and they are matched and bonded to each other at the adjoining surfaces 4, which are located close to the lower ends 6 of the window columns 5 of the roof section 3, around the center.8 of the door columns 7 and at the lower rail side 10 of the windscreen rail 9, while the adjoining surfaces 5 are situated on the lower window column stub 11 of the platform 2, on its door column stub 12 and at the upper edge 14 of the front side 13. The lower rail side 10 of the windscreen rail 9 sits on the said upper edge 14. The roof section 3 has reinforcing sheets 16 encapsulating the cores 15 arranged in longitudinal and transversal directions and made of balsa wood or foamed plastic, and these reinforcing sheets form with the roof plate 17 a continuous, integral, fiber reinforced hardening plastic roof panel 18, the fiber reinforcing fabric panel of which continuously expands to the upper window rail section 20 of the side walls 19, in which section there are sheets 22 encapsulating the longitudinal cores 21 in full length. The window columns 5 and the door columns 7 are also square-shaped fiber reinforced members 24 encapsulating the core 23, with a reinforcing fabric sheet running without interruption in the upper window sash 20 and between the window column 5 and the door column 7. Fig. 3 shows the adjoining surface 4 designed at the lower end 6 of the window column 5 of the roof section 3, while the adjoimng surface 5 is situated on the lower window column stub 11 of the platform 2. The channel 25 is located in the window column stub 11, and this said channel receives the leg 26 at the lower end 6 of the window column 5. This leg orients to each other the platform 2 and the roof section 3 when the assembly takes place and then the surfaces in contact are bonded by an adhesive to each other. The door column halves are also secured to each other in the same way.

Fig. 1 shows the load bearing integral part of the body 1 without the lower side wall section behind the rear wheel drum 27. Fig. 2 shows the body 1 with the side wall module 28 behind the rear wheel drums 27; the end 29 of this side wall component extends up to the roof plate 17 and along its adjoining surface 30 it is glued to the adjoining surface 31 of the platform 2.

In its preferential embodiment shown in Fig. 4, the body 1 is fitted with strengthening parts in order to improve security against overturning. In the front of the body 1, for fixing the driver's seat, the platform 32 made of fiber reinforced plastic is fitted as a load bearing element. This item features the support components 33 for fixing the seat, behind which the load bearing wall 34 is installed - extending from seat platform 32 to the roof plate 17 - and its width is expediently identical with that of the seat platform 32. The wall 34 is designed as a panel encapsulating balsa wood cores, and it is bonded to the roof plate 17, the side wall 19 and the seat platform 32. Along the bonding edges, a reinforcing fabric strip 35 is bonded to the members which are glued to each other. In the front part of the body 1, on the side opposite the seat platform 32, between the top 36 of the front wheel drum 27 and the roof plate 17, the load bearing wall 37 is fitted, designed as a panel encapsulating balsa wood cores, and its width is expediently one half of that of the front wheel drum 27, without exceeding this width. Along the bonding edges, a strengthening fabric strip 35 is bonded to the members which are glued to each other. To increase safety against overtiming, a web plate 40 is bonded from the floor 40 to the roof plate 17 on the door columns 39 confining the passenger door opening 38 which is situated between the front wheel drum 27 and the rear wheel drum 27 on the same side. The web plate 40 is designed as a panel encapsulating the balsa wood, cores, and its width may not be larger than the thickness of the door column 39.

The strengthening fabric strip 35 is bonded along the bonding edges to the members which are glued to each other.

In order to improve safety against overtoiling, in the case of the body 1 for a rear engine configuration, the passenger compartment 41 and the engine compartment 42 are separated up to the height of the lower window sash by a load bearing wall 44, designed as a panel encapsulating balsa wood cores, and along its periphery 45 it is bonded to the roof plate 17, to the side walls 19 and to the rear wall 46 of the platform 2, and also to the horizontal engine compartment lid 47 corjJBning the engine space 42 from the top. Along the periphery 45 that is along the adjoining edges, a strengthening fabric strip 35 is bonded to the members which are glued to each other. The engine compartment lid 47 is designed as a panel encapsulating balsa wood cores, in a finish that absorbs the loads, and its edges 48 are bonded to the side walls 19. At the adjoining corner 49 of the engine compartment lid 47, side wall 19, rear wall 46 of the platform 2 and rear wall 44 of the passenger compartment 41, in the engine compartment lid 47 and in the wall 44, reinforcing overlays 50 and 51 are fitted with cores in a size that they can hold an engine support member not shown. In the engine compartment lid 47 and in its reinforcing overlay 50, the opening 52 is available, through which a suspension rod can be guided from the engine support member to the engine support frame.

The rear wall 46 of the platform 2 encapsulates balsa wood and/or polyurethane cores, and its strengthening fabric sheets are integral with the engine compartment lid 47, i.e. the fabric sheets run continuously from one to the other. The fabric sheet between the rear wall 46 and the floor 53 of the platform 2 is similarly designed. In its full length and width, the floor 53 is a multilayer fiber reinforced plastic structure encapsulating balsa wood and/or polyurethane cores, with the wheel drums 27 of the said structure also designed as load bearing members of a structure identical with those mentioned before, and the arched surfaces are joined at the top by a short straight surface. In the front wheel drums 27, for joining certain structural parts of the axle, adjoining members are fitted, like the adjoining points 54 for the air springs, the adjoining points 55 for the shock absorbers and the adjoining points 56 for the radius rods. For the lower radius rods, the adjoining points 58 are available in the front section 57 of the floor 53, in front of the wheel drums 27. Except for the platform of passenger seats and the platform of the driver's seat, the floor 53 of the platform 2 is a single structural unit in its full length, and accordingly there is space in the section extending from the step 59 at the rear wheel drums 27 below the floor section 61 of the aisle 60 to house the stiffening rib 63 below the inner wall 62 of the wheel drums 27, which said stiffening rib is designed as a multilayer panel having cores, and it is bonded to the rear side 64 of the step 59 and also to a transversal rib 65, which is bonded right behind the rear wheel drums 27 to the floor section 61 and to the side walls 19. To both sides 66 of the transversal rib 65, the semi-cylindrical air spring supports 67 are bonded vis-a-vis the centerline and with their front edge 68 they are bonded to the floor section 61. The air spring supports 67 have a fully circular front panel 69 suitable for supporting the air springs and having orienting/fixing members for the latter. Similar air spring supports 70 are fitted and fixed by bonding below the front arch 71 of the rear wheel drum 27. In the step 59 and in the floor section 61, fixing joints 72 are available for the adjoining members of the radius rods that guide the rear axle, and these adjoining members are L-shaped fittings adjusted to the above mentioned fixing joints 72. At the end 73 of the floor section 61, the floor 53 and the front wall 74 of the engine compartment are adjoined, and fixing joints 75 are available for fixing the L-shaped engine support member, which is suitable for holding the front engine suspension located in front of the common center of gravity of the drive engine and the gearbox. Close to the fixing joints 75, the bonding surface 76 is located, the surface of which is suitably designed to make sure that the L-shaped engine support member not shown can be bonded to it, so that it is secured not only at the fixing joints 75 but also, as shown in the example, across through-holes with bolts going through the openings.

Beyond the security requirements of avoiding overturning, the body 1 must also meet the frontal impact, rear side impact, and rear wall underrun requirements as well as side impact regulations. In order to meet the impact requirements of the front wall, and for holding the front bumper not shown, the bearing surface 78 including the fixing members 77 - in this embodiment round holes by way of example - is available in the recess 79 of the front side 13. As the sides of the recesses 79, the bearing surfaces 78 include an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the geometrical centerline of the body 1, and this approach is aimed at the favorable introduction of the impact force to the front side 13 and to the floor sections 53.

In order to meet the impact and underrun prevention requirements at the rear wall, the end 73 of the floor section 61 of the platform 2 is designed with the fixing joints 75 available at the adjoining wall 74 to withstand an impact exerted on the transmission support frame not shown and on the bumper fitted at the rear end thereof. The said fixing joints 75 are suitable for holding an L-shape engine support member.

In a variant of the body 1 shown in Fig. 5, the strength and security of the roof section 3 against overturning are improved as against the previously described situation, because the high pressure gas fuel cylinders not shown are fitted in roof section 3, in which the roof tray 80 is located in a way that at its outline 81 adjoined to the roof panel 18, the loading capacity is substantially increased. In the roof tray 80, there are clamping members 82 with releasable couplings 83 for fixing the fuel cylinders.

The body 1 is of the low floor type, the aim of which is not only to make sure that the passenger can enter the bus without mounting steps, but also to enable the wheelchair of a disabled person to be rolled into the passenger compartment of the bus. To facilitate this process, a tilting panel retractable from the floor is used at the passenger door in the center, and for housing this said tilting panel, the recess 84 is located in the floor 53 of the body 1. In this area the floor 53 is thinner, and the fiber reinforced synthetic resin is not fitted with cores, but its thickness is selected in a way that it has an appropriate loading capacity.

seat platform 32. Along the bonding edges, a reinforcing fabric strip 35 is bonded to the members which are glued to each other. In the front part of the body 1, on the side opposite the seat platform 32, between the top 36 of the front wheel drum 27 and the roof plate 17, the load bearing wall 37 is fitted, designed as a panel encapsulating balsa wood cores, and its width is expediently one half of that of the front wheel drum 27, without exceeding this width. Along the bonding edges, a strengthening fabric strip 35 is bonded to the members which are glued to each other. To increase safety against overturning, a web plate 40 is bonded from the floor 40 to the roof plate 17 on the door columns 39 confining the passenger door opening 38 which is situated between the front wheel drum 27 and the rear wheel drum 27 on the same side. The web plate 40 is designed as a panel encapsulating the balsa wood cores, and its width may not be larger than the thickness of the door column 39.

In order to improve safety against overturning, in the case of the body 1 for a rear engine configuration, the passenger compartment 41 and the engine compartment 42 are separated up to the height of the lower window sash by a load bearing wall 44, designed as a panel encapsulating balsa wood cores, and along its periphery 45 it is bonded to the roof plate 17, to the side walls 19 and to the rear wall 46 of the platform 2, and also to the horizontal engine compartment lid 47 confining the engine space 42 from the top. Along the periphery 45 that is along the adjoining edges, a strengthening fabric strip 35 is bonded to the members which are glued to each other. The engine compartment lid 47 is designed as a panel encapsulating balsa wood cores, in a finish that absorbs the loads, and its edges 48 are bonded to the side walls 19. At the adjoining corner 49 of the engine compartment lid 47, side wall 19, rear wall 46 of the platform 2 and rear wall 44 of the passenger compartment 41, in the engine compartment lid 47 and in the wall 44, reinforcing overlays 50 and 51 are fitted with cores in a size that they can hold an engine support member not shown. In the engine compartment lid 47 and in its reinforcing overlay 50, the opening 52 is available, through which a suspension rod can be guided from the engine support member to the engine support frame.

The rear wall 46 of the platform 2 encapsulates balsa wood and/or polyurethane cores, and its strengthening fabric sheets are integral with the engine compartment lid 47, i.e. the fabric sheets run continuously from one to the other. The fabric sheet between the rear wall 46 and the floor 53 of the platform 2 is similarly designed. In its full length and width, the floor 53 is a multilayer fiber reinforced plastic structure encapsulating balsa wood and/or polyurethane cores, with the wheel drums 27 of the said structure also designed as load bearing members of a structure identical with those mentioned before, and the arched surfaces are joined at the top by a short straight surface. In the front wheel drums 27, for joining certain structural parts of the- axle, adjoining members are fitted, like the adjoining points 54 for the air springs, the adjoining points 55 for the shock absorbers and the adjoining points 56 for the radius rods. For the lower radius rods, the adjoining points 58 are available in the front section 57 of the floor 53, in front of the wheel drums 27. Except for the platform of passenger seats and the platform of the driver's seat, the floor 53 of the platform 2 is a single structural unit in its full length, and accordingly there is space in the section extending from the step 59 at the rear wheel drums 27 below the floor section 61 of the aisle 60 to house the stiffening rib 63 below the inner wall 62 of the wheel drums 27, which said stiffening rib is designed as a multilayer panel having cores, and it is bonded to the rear side 64 of the step 59 and also to a transversal rib 65, which is bonded right behind the rear wheel drums 27 to the floor section 61 and to the side walls 19. To both sides 66 of the transversal rib 65, the semi-cylindrical air spring supports 67 are bonded vis-a-vis the centerline and with their front edge 68 they are bonded to the floor section 61. The air spring supports 67 have a fully circular front panel 69 suitable for supporting the air springs and having orienting/fixing members for the latter. Similar air spring supports 70 are fitted and fixed by bonding below the front arch 71 of the rear wheel drum 27. In the step 59 and in the floor section 61, fixing joints 72 are available for the adjoining members of the radius rods that guide the rear axle, and these adjoining members are L-shaped fittings adjusted to the above mentioned fixing joints 72. At the end 73 of the floor section 61, the floor 53 and the front wall 74 of the engine compartment are adjoined, and fixing joints 75 are available for fixing the L-shaped engine support member, which is suitable for holding the front engine suspension located in front of the common center of gravity of the drive engine and the gearbox. Close to the fixing joints 75, the bonding surface 76 is located, the surface of which is suitably designed to make sure that the L-shaped engine support member not shown can be bonded to it, so that it is secured not only at the fixing joints 75 but also, as shown in the example, across through-holes with bolts going through the openings.

Beyond the security requirements of avoiding overturning, the body 1 must also meet the frontal impact, rear side impact, and rear wall underrun requirements as well as side impact regulations.

In order to meet the impact requirements of the front wall, and for holding the front bumper not shown, the bearing surface 78 including the fixing members 77 - in this embodiment round holes by way of example - is available in the recess 79 of the front side 13. As the sides of the recesses 79, the bearing surfaces 78 include an angle of approximately 45 degrees with the geometrical centerline of the body 1, and this approach is aimed at the favorable introduction of the impact force to the front side 13 and to the floor sections 53. In order to meet the impact and underrun prevention requirements at the rear wall, the end 73 of the floor section 61 of the platform 2 is designed with the fixing joints 75 available at the adjoining wall 74 to withstand an impact exerted on the transmission support frame not shown and on the bumper fitted at the rear end thereof. The said fixing joints 75 are suitable for holding an L-shape engine support member.

Claims

1. A body for large- volume enclosed vehicles, mainly a bus, which said body is made of fiber reinforced hardening plastic in an integral design, which body has enclosed load bearing members and frame structures, and is assembled by bonding together several prefabricated units, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t the hollow enclosed load bearing support members are made of fiber reinforced fabric sheets and/or mats /16/, a hardening plastic, which encapsulate a core /15, 21/, and the units fixed to each other have adjoining members suitable for orienting and bonding, and they are matching members, the body III has the following units:

- the roof 131 with the upper window sash /20/, the side window columns 151 and windscreen rail 191, up to the depth of the windscreen rail 191,

- platform 121 with a front rail and at least up to the same height as the front rail with a rear wall /74/, using side walls up to the lower edge /43/ of the side windows or up to the lower line of the window rails, the platform 121 is fitted with axle fixing members /54, 55, 56/ at the front wheel drums /27/, and with axle fixing members /67, 70, 72/ and transmission fixing members /75, 76/ at the rear wheel drums /27/,

- there is a side wall section /28, 29/ separately on each side with a support bracket protruding backwards from a point in the vicinity of the rear axle/drum /27/ plate, and the said side wall section /28, 29/ has an adjoining piece /30/ matched and fixed to a counterpiece 1 1/ on the platform 121.

2. The body defined in Claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n t h a t the lower side 1101 of the side window rail 191 and the lower section l ll of the window columns 151 are designed as parts of the platform 121, and there is a channel /25/ iii the lower section II 1/ of the window column 151 into which the lower adjoining leg /26/ of the window column 151 integral with the roof 131 is received, and they are fixed to each other by bonding; the length of the adjoining leg /26/ is approximately one-fifth to one-tenth of the total length of the window column 151.

3. The body defined in Claim 1, characterised in that the lower side 1101 of the windscreen rail 191 is integrated with the roof 131, and its adjoining surface is combined by bonding in its full length to the upper front rail /14/ adjoining surface /30/ of the platform front side /13/.

4. The body defined in Claim 1, characterised in that there is a driver's seat platform /32/ designed as a load bearing part of the body III and fitted with fiber reinforced fabric sheets which are integral with the floor /53/.

5. The body defined in Claim 1, characterised in that it has a load bearing wall /34/ extending from the load bearing floor/platform 121 to the roof 131 behind the members designed for securing the driver's seat, in order to improve the safety of the body III for the case of overturning, and the said load bearing wall /34/ is fixed by bonding to the members mentioned above and also to the side wall /19/, with a reinforcing fabric strip 35/ bonded along the adjoining edges to the members which are glued to each other.

6. The structure defined in Claim 5, ^•characterised in that a stiffening board /37/ is fitted on the opposite side of the members designed for securing the driver's seat, between the front wheel drum /27/ and the roof 131, with the said board /37/ bonded to the former items and to the side wall /19/ in order to improve the safety of the body III for the case of overturning, and along the adjoining edges there is a reinforcing fabric strip /35/ bonded to the members which are glued to each other.

7. The body defined in Claim 5 characterised in that to the door column 111 confining a passenger door between two wheel drums /27/ located on the same side and/or in their immediate vicinity a web plate /40/ extending from the load bearing floor /53/ to the roof 131 is bonded to the former items and to the side walls /19/ or their door columns 111 to improve the safety of the body III for the case of overturning, and along the adjoining edges there is a reinforcing fabric strip /35/ bonded to the members which are glued to each other.

8. The body defined in Claim 1 characterised in that in the case of a body III fitted with a rear engine, the reinforcing fabric sheet of the partition wall /46/ between the passenger compartment /41/ and the engine compartment /42/ passes continuously to the engine compartment lid /47/, which is expediently a flat panel in horizontal position.

9. The body defined in Claim 8 characterised in that the engine compartment lid /47/ and the rear wall /44/ of the passenger compartment /41/ include an angle of approximately 90 degrees with each other, and they are secured to each other by bonding, along the adjoining edges a reinforcing fabric strip /35/ is bonded to the members glued to each other, and a strengthening overlay is located at the corner of the side wall /19/, passenger compartment rear wall /44/and engine compartment lid /47/, and at least at the latter two items for holding the engine support member and there is a through-hole /52/ within the strengthening overlay /50/ in the engine compartment lid /47/.

10. The body defined in Claim 1 characterised in that the side wall /19/ has a reinforcing rib located parallel with the floor, in order to secure the passenger seat bracket, and a cover sheet made of fiber reinforced fabric sheet, a hardening plastic, is bonded up to the height of the said bracket and at least up to the edge of the aisle /60/, also covering the wheel drums /27/.