JPH06270693A - Energy absorbing structure for electric automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the setting of a load with which a battery carrier comes off from a vehicle body. CONSTITUTION:A coupling part P1 of a battery carrier 12 coupled with a locker through a breakaway capsule while a coupling part P2 thereof is directly coupled to a flower under reinforcement without a breakaway capsule. Further, the comming-off load of the coupling part P2 is set to be smaller than that of the coupling part P1, and accordingly, if a pin in the breakaway capsule is broken, a battery carrier 12 slips so that it is released from the vehicle body and is moved forward.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle in which a battery carrier accommodating a battery is mounted on a vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Electric vehicles, which are pollution-free vehicles that emit neither exhaust gas nor noise, often use an AC motor or a DC motor and a battery as a power source. Usually, this battery is housed in a battery carrier. A battery carrier is mounted under the floor of the vehicle body or the like.

By the way, generally, in an automobile, a vehicle body frame member such as a front side member is deformed in order to reduce an impact force applied from the front of the vehicle body.

However, since an electric vehicle equipped with a battery has a larger vehicle body weight than an ordinary vehicle, it is necessary to increase the strength of a vehicle body frame member such as a front side member in order to absorb kinetic energy. , This further increased the weight of the car body. Therefore, when an impact force is applied from the front of the vehicle body, the battery carrier accommodating the battery is separated from the vehicle body and relatively moved to the front of the vehicle body, thereby reducing the energy absorption burden on the front side member. Has been proposed (Japanese Patent Application No. 4-267265).

In this battery carrier supporting structure for an electric vehicle, as shown in FIG. 7, a battery carrier 72 in which the batteries 70 are mounted at regular intervals in the vehicle width direction.
Both end portions 72A of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction are detachably supported by the rocker 74 of the vehicle body when the vehicle body is rapidly decelerated, and the floor 7
The floor under-reinforce 78 that reinforces 6 is sized to fit between the batteries 70, and the floor under-reinforce 78 is provided with a vertical aggregate 80 provided at an intermediate portion in the vehicle width direction of the battery carrier 72 during sudden vehicle deceleration. It has a structure that is detachably supported.

[0006]

However, in the energy absorbing structure of this electric vehicle, the strength of the floor under reinforcement 78 is lower than the strength of the rocker 74, and due to this difference in strength, the rocker 7 of the battery carrier 72 is weakened.
4 is likely to occur between the separation load of the connection portion with 4 and the separation load of the connection portion with the floor under reinforcement 80 of the battery carrier 72. Therefore, it is difficult to set the detachment load of each joint.

In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to provide an energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle which can easily set a load for separating the battery carrier from the vehicle body.

[0008]

An energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle according to a first aspect of the present invention supports a battery carrier at a lower portion of a vehicle body, and the battery carrier moves forward relative to the vehicle when the vehicle body suddenly decelerates. An energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle including a mechanism, comprising a pair of rockers arranged along the vehicle front-rear direction at the lower ends of the vehicle width direction, and a pair of rockers disposed along the vehicle front-rear direction between the pair of rockers. The floor pan reinforcing member having lower strength than the pair of rockers, and the concentrated portion is arranged in the joint portion between the battery carrier and the pair of rockers as compared with the joint portion between the battery carrier and the floor pan reinforcing member. And a battery carrier detachment load setting means.

[0009]

In the energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle according to the present invention as defined in claim 1, the battery carrier release load setting means has a higher strength than the floor pan reinforcing member as compared with the connecting portion between the battery carrier and the floor pan reinforcing member. It is arranged centrally at the joint between the pair of rockers and the battery carrier. Therefore, the battery carrier release load when the vehicle suddenly decelerates and the battery carrier starts to move forward relative to the vehicle is determined by the battery carrier release load setting means arranged at the joint between the battery carrier and the pair of rockers. I can decide. Furthermore, the variation in strength between these joints is extremely small. Therefore, the load for separating the battery carrier from the vehicle body can be easily set without being affected by the variation in strength between the coupling portions.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the figure, an arrow FR indicates the front direction of the vehicle body, an arrow IN indicates the inner side direction of the vehicle, and an arrow UP indicates the upper direction of the vehicle body.

As shown in FIG. 5, a vehicle body 1 of an electric vehicle.
A battery carrier 12 is attached to the lower part of 0, and a plurality of batteries 11 are housed in the battery carrier 12.

As shown in FIG. 3, the battery carrier 1
2 has a plurality of transverse aggregates 40 having a rectangular cross section arranged along the vehicle width direction, and both end portions of these transverse aggregates 40 in the vehicle width direction of the side wall portion 12A of the battery carrier 12. It is connected to the reinforcement 42 welded to the outer portion.
Further, a vertical aggregate 44 having a hat-shaped cross-section that is crossed over and crossed over the horizontal aggregates 40 is arranged at an intermediate portion in the vehicle width direction of the horizontal aggregates 40. And vertical aggregate 44
Are arranged in a grid pattern as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the battery carrier 1
The flange 12B of No. 2 is provided with a plurality of rectangular elongated holes 26 along the vehicle body front-rear direction.
6A is wide. Also, the front portion 26B of the long hole 26
A pair of through holes 28 are formed on both the left and right edges of the with a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction.

A breakaway capsule 30 as a battery carrier detachment load setting means is attached to the front portion 26B of the elongated hole 26. The breakaway capsule 30 has a block shape, and a guide groove 32 formed on a side surface on the vehicle width direction side is engaged with an edge portion of a front portion 26B of the elongated hole 26. As shown in FIG. 4, the breakaway capsule 30 has a rear portion 26A of the elongated hole 26.
It is engaged with the front portion 26B of the elongated hole 26 by inserting from the front and sliding forward (in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4). Also,
Through holes 34 are provided at the four corners of the breakaway capsule 30.
The breakaway capsule 30 has a through hole 35 at the center thereof.

Through hole 3 of breakaway capsule 30
4 and a through hole 28 of the flange 12B, a resin injection pin 38 is inserted respectively. In addition,
These pins 38 are designed to be broken by a predetermined shear stress, and when the pins 38 are broken, the battery carrier 12 is movable in the vehicle longitudinal direction with respect to the breakaway capsule 30.

As shown in FIG. 2, a bolt 37 is inserted into the through hole 35 of the breakaway capsule 30 from below the vehicle body.
Is inserted and fastened to the weld nut 41 welded to the inner plate 39A of the rocker 39. As a result, the battery carrier 12 is supported by the rocker 39 via the breakaway capsule 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, a work hole 46 is formed in the lower surface of the reinforcement 42, and the bolt 37 can be attached through the work hole 46.

Further, an elongated hole 48 elongated in the vehicle longitudinal direction is formed on the upper surface of the vertical aggregate 44 at the position where the horizontal aggregate 40 and the vertical aggregate 44 intersect. In this long hole 48,
Bolts 54 are inserted through work holes 50 and 52 provided on the upper and lower surfaces of the horizontal aggregate 40.
2 is fastened to a weld nut 58 welded to the lower surface of a floor under reinforcement 56 as a floor pan reinforcing member having a lower strength than the rocker 39, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, in the energy absorbing structure for the electric vehicle of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the connecting portion P1 of the battery carrier 12 with the rocker 39 (see FIG. 2) is connected with the breakaway capsule. And the floor under reinforcement 56 of the battery carrier 12
(See FIG. 2) The connection portion P2 with the breakaway capsule 30 is not connected.

The tightening force between the bolt 54 and the weld nut 58 is set to be smaller than the shearing stress of the pin 38 of the breakaway capsule 30, and if the pin 38 breaks during the rapid deceleration of the vehicle body, The carrier 12 slips, and the battery carrier 12 is separated from the vehicle body 10 and moves forward.

As shown in FIG. 2, the height H of the floor under reinforcement 56 from the bottom surface of the floor 60 is H.
When the lower surface of the floor under-reinforce 56 and the upper surface of the vertical aggregate 44 are in contact with each other, both ends of the battery 11 in the vehicle width direction are side wall portions of the battery carrier 12. 12A and the floor under reinforcement 56, and the upper surface is set to a size that is constrained by the floor 60.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In the energy absorption structure for the electric vehicle according to the present embodiment, the pair of rockers 39 and the battery carrier 12 having a higher strength than the floor under reinforcement 56 is higher than the coupling portion between the battery carrier 12 and the floor under reinforcement 56 (P2 in FIG. 1). The breakaway capsules 30 were arranged in a concentrated manner at the connecting portion (P1 in FIG. 1).

Therefore, when the vehicle suddenly decelerates and the battery carrier 12 starts to move forward relative to the vehicle, the battery carrier detachment load is the connecting portion between the battery carrier 12 and the pair of rockers 39 (see FIG. 1). It can be determined by the breakaway capsule 30 arranged in P1). Furthermore, the variation in strength between these joints (P1 in FIG. 1) is extremely small. Therefore, the pins 38 of each breakaway capsule 30 can be reliably broken by a predetermined shear stress without being affected by variations in strength between the joint portions. That is, the detachment load of the battery carrier 12 from the vehicle body 10 can be easily set.

Therefore, when the electric vehicle suddenly decelerates, the kinetic energy of the battery carrier 12 which tries to move forward due to the inertial force becomes larger than the shear stress of the pin 38 of the breakaway capsule 30.
8 breaks. At this time, the bolt 54 and the weld nut 5
The tightening force of 8 is the pin 3 of the breakaway capsule 30.
Since it is set smaller than the shear stress of 8, the battery carrier 12 slips, and the battery carrier 12 is separated from the vehicle body 10 and moves forward.

Further, in the present embodiment, the battery carrier 1
2 and the floor under reinforcement 56 (see FIG. 1).
P2) of the locker 39 and the battery carrier 12 (P1 in FIG. 1) and the breakaway capsules 30 are all arranged, the number of breakaway capsules 30 can be reduced and the cost increase can be minimized. You can hold it to the limit.

Although the breakaway capsule 30 is used as the battery carrier detachment load setting means in this embodiment, another battery carrier detachment load setting means may be used in place of the breakaway capsule 30, for example, It may be tightened with bolts and nuts.

Further, in the present embodiment, the breakaway capsule 30 is arranged only at the connecting portion (P1 in FIG. 1) between the rocker 39 and the battery carrier 12, but instead of this, the flange 12D of the battery carrier 12 is provided. 6 (A) to FIG. 6 when the floor under cross member is coupled to the floor under cross member and the floor under cross member is sufficiently reinforced in connection with the front side member.
As shown in (C), the joint portion P3 between the flange 12D of the battery carrier 12 and the floor under cross member.
The breakaway capsule 30 of the connecting portion P1 may be moved to the.

[0029]

The energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle according to the present invention has an energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle that is provided with a mechanism for supporting a battery carrier in the lower portion of the vehicle body and moving the battery carrier forward relative to the vehicle when the vehicle body suddenly decelerates. The structure is a pair of rockers arranged along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body at the lower ends of the vehicle width direction, and between the pair of rockers is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and has lower strength than the pair of rockers. Since the floor pan reinforcement member and the battery carrier detachment load setting means arranged in a concentrated manner at the joint portion between the battery carrier and the pair of rockers as compared with the joint portion between the battery carrier and the floor pan reinforcement member are provided. Therefore, it has an excellent effect that the separation load of the battery carrier from the vehicle body can be easily set.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an energy absorption structure of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the energy absorbing structure of the electric vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the front of the vehicle body.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the battery carrier of the energy absorbing structure for the electric vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the diagonally front side of the vehicle body.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a breakaway capsule of an energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from diagonally front of the vehicle body.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a vehicle body to which the energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied, as seen from a diagonally lower rear side of the vehicle body.

6A to 6C are schematic plan views showing an energy absorption structure of an electric vehicle according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing an energy absorbing structure of an electric vehicle according to a conventional example as seen from the front of the vehicle body.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Car Body 11 Battery 12 Battery Carrier 12A Side Wall 12B Flange 26 Long Hole 30 Breakaway Capsule (Battery Carrier Release Load Setting Means) 37 Bolt 38 Pin 39 Rocker 41 Weld Nut 44 Vertical Aggregate 48 Long Hole 54 Bolt 58 Weld Nut 56 Floor Under reinforcement (floor pan reinforcement member) 60 floors

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Keiji Kunikita Muban, Tauraminato-cho, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Kanto Automotive Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle, comprising a mechanism for supporting a battery carrier at a lower portion of a vehicle body and moving the battery carrier forward relative to the vehicle at the time of sudden deceleration of the vehicle body. A pair of rockers arranged along the front-rear direction, a floor pan reinforcing member arranged between the pair of rockers along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and having a lower strength than the pair of rockers, the battery carrier, and the An energy absorbing structure for an electric vehicle, comprising: a battery carrier detachment load setting means arranged in a concentrated manner in a joint portion between the battery carrier and the pair of rockers as compared with a joint portion with a floor pan reinforcing member. .