JP3309607B2 - Battery frame structure for electric vehicles - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery frame structure for an electric vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electric vehicle, a vehicle-mounted battery occupies a considerable weight and a mounting space. Therefore, conventionally, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. A battery frame having a dedicated rigid structure is provided, a plurality of batteries are mounted on the battery frame, and the batteries are hermetically stored between the vehicle body floor and the battery frame.

[0003]

In the battery frame, the rigidity of the outer frame composed of the front, rear, left and right frames is increased by using a closed cross-section structural material, and the inner bottom portion of the outer frame is closed by a bottom plate. Are mounted with a plurality of batteries.

[0004] Further, among such battery frames, there is a battery frame in which the inside of the outer frame is partitioned in a grid by an intermediate frame, and a battery is mounted on the partitioned portion.

However, in any case, since the bottom surface and the bottom plate of the outer frame of the battery frame are substantially flush with each other, the bottom surface of the outer frame and the bottom plate substantially simultaneously interfere with each other at the time of road surface interference. The battery on the bottom plate may be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery frame structure of an electric vehicle which can avoid road surface interference of a bottom plate of a battery frame and prevent damage to a mounted battery.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, an outer frame including front and rear, left and right frames, a center frame extending between the front and rear frames inside the outer frame, and an inner bottom of the outer frame. A bottom plate to be closed, and an intermediate frame that partitions the outer frame and the central frame into a lattice shape, wherein the intermediate frame has a vehicle width direction frame,
Partitioned into the vehicle width direction frame and the outer frame
In the battery frame so as to mount the battery on the inside part, the bottom plate of at least the outer frame and a portion surrounded by the center frame bottom plate road clearance the outer frame and set higher than the bottom surface of the central frame Then co
A flange extending from the lower edge of the vehicle width direction frame
The flange is superimposed on the raised central portion of the bottom plate,
The battery is mounted on the flange .

According to a second aspect, the intermediate frame according to the first aspect is formed of a vehicle width direction frame and a front-rear direction frame, and the front-rear direction frame is disposed on an upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame. And

According to a third aspect of the present invention, at least the lower front edge of the front frame and the lower rear edge of the rear frame of the outer frame according to the first and second aspects have a rounded chamfer. It is characterized by:

[0010] In the fourth aspect, is characterized in that the outer frame according to claims 1 to 3 were formed on square planar rectangular

[0011]

According to the first aspect, the ground height of the bottom plate is set higher than the bottom surfaces of the outer frame and the center frame. Alternatively, since the bottom of the central frame hits the road surface side, the driver can clearly sense the road surface interference, prompting the emergency stop of the vehicle, avoiding the road surface interference of the bottom plate and damaging the mounted battery. It can be prevented beforehand.

According to the second aspect, since the front-rear direction frame of the intermediate frame is disposed on the upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame, a vertical gap is generated between the vehicle width direction frame and the front-rear direction frame, Normally, the flow of cooling air introduced from the front of the battery frame for cooling the battery can be promoted, and the cooling air can be smoothly circulated rearward along the front-rear frame, so that the cooling effect of the battery is improved. Can be significantly increased.

Further, since the front-rear direction frame is disposed on the upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame as described above, the welding length of the joint between the front-rear direction frame and the vehicle width direction frame can be reduced as much as possible. , The twisting of the intermediate frame due to welding distortion can be suppressed, the accuracy of forming the battery frame can be increased, the matching between the upper surface of the battery frame and the battery cover or the lower surface of the vehicle body floor can be improved, and the sealing between them can be improved. Can be.

According to the third aspect, since the lower front edge of the front frame and the lower rear edge of the rear frame of the outer frame are formed with rounded chamfers, the vehicle can travel forward on the flooded waterway. When the vehicle travels backward, these chamfers can prevent the water from being rolled up, thereby avoiding the battery frame from being wet and improving the sealing performance.

Further, at the time of road surface interference, the chamfered portion allows the bottom edge of the front frame or the bottom edge of the rear frame to smoothly ride on obstacles on the road surface to reduce the degree of damage to these frames.

According to claim 4, since the outer frame is formed in the square planar <br/> square, and it is possible to reduce the joint between the right and left frame and subsequent frames as much as possible the outer frame Twisting due to welding distortion of the frame can be suppressed, and the molding accuracy of the battery frame can be further improved.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a bottomed battery frame on which a plurality of batteries B are mounted. An outer frame 2 comprising front and rear frames 3, 4 and left and right frames 5, 6; 2, a central frame 7 straddling the front and rear frames 5, 6, a bottom plate 8 for closing an inner bottom portion of the outer frame 2, and a vehicle width direction separating the outer frame 2 and the central frame 7 in a grid pattern An intermediate frame 9 including a frame 10 and a front-rear direction frame 11 is provided.

Front and rear frames 3, 4 and left and right frames 5,
6, the center frame 7, the vehicle width direction frame 10, and the front-rear direction frame 11 are all formed by extruding a lightweight metal material such as an aluminum alloy into a square closed cross section.

[0020] In this embodiment is formed with outer frame 2 to the square planar square by welding their rims butted end faces of the front and rear frames 3 and 4 to the side of the right and left frames 5,6.

Battery mounting shelves 3a, 4a having a closed cross section extend in the longitudinal direction at the lower edges of the inner walls of the front and rear frames 3, 4, and flanges 3b, 4b are provided at the lower edges of the frame. It extends on the same plane as the bottom.

At the lower edge of each of the inner walls of the left and right frames 5, 6, frame mounting shelves 5a, 6a having a closed cross section lower than the battery mounting shelves 3a, 4a extend in the longitudinal direction. Flanges 5b and 6b are provided on the lower edges thereof so as to extend in the same plane as the frame bottom surface.

The center frame 7 is formed lower than the outer frame 2 and its end faces are abutted against the side faces of the front and rear frames 3 and 4 and the peripheral edges thereof are welded.
4 are connected.

At the lower edge of both side walls of the central frame 7, frame mounting shelves 7a having the same height as the frame mounting shelves 5a and 6a of the left and right frames 5 and 6 and having a closed cross section are extended in the longitudinal direction. In addition, a flange 7b is provided on the lower edge thereof so as to be flush with the bottom surface of the frame. In this embodiment, the bottom plate 8 is divided into two parts at the left and right at the center frame 7, and its peripheral edge is overlapped with the flanges 3 b, 4 b, 5 b, 6 b of the outer frame 2 and the lower surface of the flange 7 b of the center frame 7. It is fixed by mechanical clinch means 12 such as caulking fixing and bolt / nut fixing.

The bottom plate 8 is formed by stepping its central portion one step higher than the fixed portion of the peripheral edge at an appropriate height, and the bottom plate ground height H is set higher than the bottom surfaces of the outer frame 2 and the central frame 7. It is.

The frame 10 in the vehicle width direction of the intermediate frame 9 has its respective ends mounted on the frame mounting shelves 7a of the central frame 7 and the frame mounting shelves 5a, 6a of the left and right frames 5, 6, and the end faces thereof. The side surfaces of the central frame 7 and the side surfaces of the left and right frames 5 and 6 are joined by welding the peripheral edges thereof.

The battery mounting shelves 3a, 4 of the front and rear frames 3, 4 are provided on the lower edges of both side walls of the vehicle width direction frame 10, respectively.
The battery mounting shelf 1 having a closed cross section so as to have the same height as
0a are extended in the length direction, and a flange 10b is provided on the lower edge thereof so as to extend on the same plane as the frame bottom surface. Are connected by the same mechanical clinch means 12. The front-rear direction frame 11 of the intermediate frame 9 is disposed orthogonal to the upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame 10, and its end face is abutted against the side surfaces of the front and rear frames 3 and 4, and the periphery thereof is welded. The two side edges are welded to the upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame 10 at the overlapped portion.

The battery B is connected to the intermediate frame 9.
The front and rear frames 3,
4 and the battery mounting shelves 3a and 4a of the front and rear frames 3 and 4 and the battery mounting shelf 10a of the frame 10 in the vehicle width direction frame. Are mounted across the battery mounting shelves 10a, 10a of the vehicle width direction frames 10, 10 adjacent to the vehicle, and are fixed to the battery mounting shelves 3a, 4a, 10a by clamp means (not shown).

On the other hand, the lower front edge of the front frame 3 of the outer frame 2 and the lower rear edge of the rear frame 4 are formed with rounded chamfers R.

In this embodiment, the ends of the left and right frames 5, 6 are closed by end plates 13, and the lower edges of the front and rear ends of the left and right frames 5, 6 are also rounded. In addition to forming the portion R, a rounded chamfered portion R is also formed on the lower edges of the outer walls of these left and right frames.

According to the above embodiment, the flanges 3b, 4b, 5b, 6b of the outer frame 2 and the central frame 7
The bottom plate 8 having its peripheral edge fixed to the lower surface of the flange 7b by superimposing the central portion one step higher at an appropriate height than the fixed portion of the peripheral edge so as to form the bottom plate ground height H to the outer frame 2
When the battery frame 1 interferes with the road surface during running of the vehicle, the bottom surface of the outer frame 2 or the center frame 7 is set higher than the bottom surface of the center frame 7.
When the bottom of the vehicle hits the road surface side, the driver can feel the road surface interference and can prompt the emergency stop of the vehicle. Therefore, the battery B mounted to avoid the road surface interference of the bottom plate 8 can be damaged. Can be prevented beforehand.

On the other hand, the intermediate frame 9, which partitions the outer frame 2 and the center frame 7 in a grid pattern, has its front-rear direction frame 11 disposed on the upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame 10, so that these intermediate frames 9 A gap is formed in the vertical direction between the frame 10 and the front-rear frame 11 so that the cooling air that is normally introduced from the front of the battery frame 1 for cooling the battery can be promoted. 11 can be smoothly circulated rearward, and the cooling effect of the battery B can be significantly increased.

Further, since the front and rear direction frame 11 is joined by welding the lower edges on both sides to the upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame 10 at the intersection with the vehicle width direction frame 10, the end face of the front and rear direction frame 11 is connected. The front surface of the vehicle width direction frame 10 is abutted, or the end face of the vehicle width direction frame 10 is abutted against the side surface of the front-rear direction frame 11, and the butting edges are welded to form a grid of the same height. As compared with the configuration, the welding length of the joint portion can be shortened as much as possible. As a result, the twisting of the intermediate frame 9 due to welding distortion can be suppressed, and the molding accuracy of the battery frame 1 can be increased. The matching between the upper surface of the frame 1 and the battery cover (not shown) or the lower surface of the vehicle body floor is improved, and the sealing between them can be improved.

According to the present embodiment, the end faces of the front and rear frames 3 and 4 of the outer frame 2 are
The combined perpendicularly butt the sixth aspect of joining by welding their rims, the outer frame 2 by each other to form the square planar square, allowed the joint between the front and rear frames 3 and 4 and the left and right frame 5,6 As much as possible, the twisting of the outer frame 2 due to welding distortion can be suppressed, so that the molding accuracy of the battery frame 1 can be further improved.

Further, the lower peripheral edge of the outer frame 2, in particular, the front lower edge of the front frame 3 and the rear frame 4
Since the rounded chamfered portion R is formed at the rear lower edge, the water can be guided downward by the chamfered portion R when traveling forward or backward through the flood channel to prevent the water from winding up. Thus, the battery frame 1 can be prevented from being wet, and the sealing performance can be further improved.

Since the rounded chamfer R is provided at the front lower edge of the front frame 3 as described above, the flow of the air flow under the floor of the vehicle body particularly during high-speed running is reduced by the chamfer R.
Accordingly, the battery can be smoothly circulated along the lower surface of the battery frame 1, and the aerodynamic characteristics of the lower surface of the vehicle body floor can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the bottom plate 8 is divided into right and left portions at the center frame 7 portion. However, the center frame 7 may be fixed on the bottom plate 8 as a single panel.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the first aspect, the ground height of the bottom plate of the portion of the battery frame on which the battery is mounted is set higher than the bottom surfaces of the outer frame and the center frame. In this case, the bottom surface of the outer frame or the bottom surface of the center frame hits the road surface first, so that the driver can clearly experience the road surface interference, and can prompt the emergency stop of the vehicle. Interference can be avoided to prevent damage to the mounted battery.

According to the second aspect, the front-rear direction frame of the intermediate frame that partitions the outer frame frame and the center frame in a grid pattern is disposed on the upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame. A gap is formed in the vertical direction between the front and rear frames, so that the flow of the cooling air normally introduced from the front of the battery frame can be promoted, and the cooling air can smoothly flow backward along the front and rear frames. Therefore, the cooling effect of the battery can be significantly improved.

Also, since the front and rear frames may be joined at their intersections with the vehicle width direction frame, the lower edges on both sides may be joined to the upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame. The length can be as short as possible,
It is possible to improve the molding accuracy of the battery frame by suppressing the torsion caused by the welding distortion of the intermediate frame, to improve the matching between the upper surface of the battery frame and the battery cover or the lower surface of the vehicle body floor, and to improve the sealing performance between the two. it can.

According to the third aspect, the lower front edge of the front frame and the lower rear edge of the rear frame of the outer frame are formed with rounded chamfers, so that the vehicle can travel forward on the flooded waterway. When the vehicle travels backward, these chamfers can prevent the water from being rolled up, thereby avoiding the battery frame from being wet and improving the sealing performance.

Also, since the front lower edge of the front frame is provided with a rounded chamfered portion, especially under high speed traveling, the airflow under the vehicle body smoothly flows along the lower surface of the battery frame by the chamfered portion. And the aerodynamic characteristics of the lower surface of the vehicle body floor can be improved.

[0044] According to claim 4, since the outer frame is formed in the square planar <br/> square, and it is possible to reduce the joint between the right and left frame and subsequent frames as much as possible the outer frame Twisting due to welding distortion of the frame can be suppressed, and the molding accuracy of the battery frame can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 3, showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 3;

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a half part of one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a joint between a front frame and a center frame according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the vicinity of a joint between a front frame and a right frame according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow C in FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Battery frame 2 Outer frame 3 Front frame 4 Rear frame 5 Left frame 6 Right frame 7 Center frame 8 Bottom plate 9 Intermediate frame B Battery H Bottom height above ground

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An outer frame including front, rear, left and right frames, a center frame extending between the front and rear frames inside the outer frame, a bottom plate closing an inner bottom of the outer frame, an outer frame and the center frame. And an intermediate frame that partitions the space between the vehicles into a grid.
A frame in the vehicle width direction and the outer frame frame.
In the battery frame in which the battery is mounted inside the part partitioned by the outer frame and the center frame, the height of the bottom plate above at least the part of the bottom plate surrounded by the outer frame and the center frame is determined by the outer frame and the center frame. Set it higher than the bottom and place a flange on the lower edge of the frame in the vehicle width direction.
And extend the flange to the raised center of the bottom plate.
A battery frame structure for an electric vehicle , wherein a battery is mounted on the flange by overlapping the parts . 2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate frame is formed of a vehicle width direction frame and a front-rear direction frame, and the front-rear direction frame is disposed on an upper surface of the vehicle width direction frame.
The battery frame structure of the electric vehicle according to the above description. 3. A rounded chamfer at least at a lower front edge of a front frame and a lower rear edge of a rear frame of the outer frame.
The battery frame structure of the electric vehicle according to the above description. 4. A battery frame structure for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that the outer frame is formed in square planar shape.