JP7831382B2 - Vehicle battery mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a vehicle battery mounting structure, and more particularly to a structure for mounting a battery under the floor of a vehicle.

Electric vehicles are equipped with batteries that supply power to the drive motors. The batteries are typically located, for example, under the vehicle floor. Some electric vehicles have batteries that are detachable from the vehicle body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-90014

In vehicles, there is a need to make it easier to remove and install batteries.

The objective of this invention is to provide a battery mounting structure that facilitates the attachment and detachment of batteries in a vehicle.

The battery mounting structure for a vehicle according to the present invention is a structure for mounting a battery under the floor of a vehicle, comprising a battery support member for supporting the battery, wherein the battery support member includes an inclined upper surface on which the battery is placed, a V-shaped groove provided on a part of the upper surface to receive the corners of the battery so that the battery can be temporarily placed when the battery is attached or detached, and an inwardly recessed recess provided on the lower surface to receive a plurality of wires.

According to this invention, the upper surface of the battery support member is inclined, causing a portion of the battery to be raised. This allows a worker to easily grasp the battery at this point, facilitating its removal and installation. Furthermore, during battery removal and installation, the worker can temporarily place the battery in the V-shaped groove on the upper surface of the battery support member, facilitating its removal and installation. Additionally, multiple wires can be routed in the recess on the lower surface of the battery support member.

This is a perspective view of the vehicle according to the embodiment. This is a perspective view showing the undercarriage of the vehicle. This is a cross-sectional view along line A-A in Figure 2.

The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein. In all drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations are omitted. In each figure, the arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle, the arrow UP indicates the top of the vehicle, and the arrow LH indicates the left side of the vehicle.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of vehicle 10 according to an embodiment. Vehicle 10 is an automated vehicle (cart) for transporting people. Vehicle 10 can operate automatically without driver operation. Vehicle 10 may be a small mobility vehicle for transporting people, for example, in urban areas, on sidewalks, indoors, etc., and is designed for standing passengers. Such a vehicle 10 is configured to have a relatively small body size for operation in urban areas, etc.

Vehicle 10 is equipped with a deck 38 where the occupants stand. Vehicle 10 is a low-floor vehicle, with the deck 38 being only a few tens of centimeters (approximately 30 cm for example) above the ground. The underside of vehicle 10 is provided with front wheels 52F and rear wheels 52R. Vehicle 10 is equipped with motors (not shown) that drive the front wheels 52F and rear wheels 52R, and a battery 12 (see Figure 2) that supplies power to the motors.

On deck 38, support columns 60 are erected on both the front and rear left and right sides. A beam 62 spans between the front left and right support columns 60. Similarly, a beam 62 spans between the rear left and right support columns 60. Since the space between the front and rear support columns 60 is open, crew members can freely board and disembark from deck 38 from there. A small table 64, supported by a single leg, is provided near the center of deck 38.

Vehicle 10 is equipped with various sensors (e.g., LiDAR, cameras, etc., not shown). Vehicle 10 performs automatic driving based on the detection results from these sensors and information received via wireless communication from a control server (not shown).

Vehicle 10 is equipped with a floor panel 40 and a battery cover 42. Beneath the floor panel 40 is a metal frame 30, which serves as the framework for supporting the occupant's weight. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the understructure of vehicle 10, with the floor panel 40 and battery cover 42 removed. Below the battery cover 42 (see Figure 1) (under the floor) is the battery 12. The battery 12 is mounted in a position enclosed by the metal frame 30. The battery 12 has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape.

Vehicle 10 is configured to allow for battery replacement. That is, when the battery 12's remaining charge (charge level) is depleted or decreases, a worker can open (for example, remove) the battery cover 42 and remove the battery 12 from the vehicle. The worker then installs a new battery 12 (a fully charged battery 12) into the vehicle and closes the battery cover 42. This configuration prevents the vehicle from being stopped for battery charging, thereby improving the vehicle 10's operational efficiency.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view along line A-A in Figure 2. Figure 3 shows the floor panel 40, battery cover 42, and cover 50 (a cover positioned around the metal frame 30), which are not shown in Figure 2. The metal frame 30 forms a closed cross-section on the left and right sides of the vehicle 10 and extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The metal frame 30 is also located below the battery support member 14, and this metal frame 30 also extends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The battery support member 14 and the battery 12 are located between the left and right metal frames 30.

The vehicle 10 is equipped with a battery support member 14 that supports the battery 12. The battery support member 14 is, for example, a battery fixing component for securing the battery 12. The battery support member 14 has a fixed cross-sectional shape in the vehicle's longitudinal direction (the direction extending through the plane of the paper in Figure 3).

The battery support member 14 has a sloped shape. Specifically, the battery support member 14 has an inclined upper surface 16 on which the battery 12 rests. Furthermore, the battery support member 14 has a V-shaped groove 18 provided on a portion of the upper surface 16. The groove 18 is configured to receive the corners of the battery 12, allowing the battery 12 to be temporarily placed when attaching or detaching it. The dashed line in Figure 3 shows the outer casing position of the battery 12 when it is temporarily placed in the groove 18.

Furthermore, the battery support member 14 has a recess 22 provided on its lower surface 20. The recess 22 is recessed inward to accommodate a wire harness 24 (multiple wires). The wire harness 24, for example, includes wiring (multiple wires for power supply and signal communication) connecting electrical equipment mounted on the vehicle 10.

Next, the effects and advantages of the battery mounting structure in this embodiment will be described.

According to the embodiment described above, since the battery support member 14 has a slope shape, workers can easily remove and install (replace) the heavy battery 12. Specifically, because the upper surface 16 of the battery support member 14 is inclined, a portion of the battery 12 (the left side of the battery 12 in Figure 3) is lifted, allowing workers to easily remove and install the battery 12 by, for example, gripping that portion.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, when attaching or detaching the battery 12 (when replacing the battery), the worker can temporarily place the heavy battery 12 in the V-shaped groove 18 on the upper surface 16 of the battery support member 14, making it easy to remove and assemble the battery 12.

Furthermore, according to the embodiment described above, since a recess 22 is provided on the lower surface 20 of the battery support member 14, space can be secured below the battery support member 14 for passing the wire harness 24. That is, the wire harness 24 can be routed through the recess 22. For example, if the recess 22 were absent, the wire harness 24 would need to be routed to bypass the battery 12, but according to the embodiment described above, such a situation can be avoided.

The vehicle 10 described above was configured to allow for the replacement of the battery 12 with a new one when its charge level decreased. However, the vehicle 10 may also be configured such that the battery 12 is charged while it remains mounted on the vehicle body. Even in such a vehicle 10, if the battery 12 malfunctions or deteriorates and requires replacement, the battery support member 14 can easily perform the battery replacement.

Furthermore, the vehicle 10 described above was a small mobility vehicle for passenger transport. However, the embodiment described above can also be applied to other vehicles (such as automobiles).

10 Vehicle, 12 Battery, 14 Battery support member, 16 Top surface, 18 Groove, 20 Bottom surface, 22 Recess, 24 Wire (wire harness), 30 Metal frame, 38 Deck, 40 Floor panel, 42 Battery cover, 50 Cover, 52F Front wheel, 52R Rear wheel, 60 Support column, 62 Beam, 64 Table.

Claims (1)

The vehicle has a structure in which the battery is mounted under the floor,
The battery is provided with a battery support member that supports the aforementioned battery,
The aforementioned battery support member is
The inclined upper surface on which the aforementioned battery is mounted,
A V-shaped groove is provided on a part of the upper surface to receive the corners of the battery so that the battery can be temporarily placed when the battery is being attached or detached,
The lower surface includes an inwardly recessed area that receives multiple wires,
A vehicle battery mounting structure characterized by the following features.