JP7283006B2 - electric truck - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to electric trucks.

2. Description of the Related Art From the viewpoint of reducing environmental load, the development of electric vehicles, such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, which are equipped with a driving battery and driven by supplying electric power from the battery to a motor is progressing. In recent years, with regard to such electric vehicles, development of electric vehicles is also being carried out in the field of commercial vehicles such as trucks (see Patent Document 1).

In addition, in order to put into practical use an electric vehicle that can travel a sufficient distance in an electric truck, which is heavier than a passenger car, it is necessary to increase the capacity of a battery that can be mounted on the vehicle. Therefore, when such a battery is mounted on a truck, it is required to increase the battery capacity as an arrangement between frames.

JP 2016-113063 A

However, when arranging the battery in such a layout, due to the deformation of the frame due to a collision (side collision) from the side of the vehicle, the edge of the flange, which has a relatively small contact area, rather than the web surface of the frame, physically contacts the battery. It becomes a typical input point. When such a side collision occurs, a higher physical input is generated in the battery than in the case of surface contact, and there is a possibility that the safety of the battery in the event of a side collision cannot be ensured.

In view of the above, the problem to be solved by the present application is to provide an electric truck capable of ensuring the safety of a battery arranged between frames in a side collision.

The present invention has been made to solve at least part of the above problems, and can be implemented as the following aspects or application examples.

(1) An electric truck according to this application example is an electric truck having a ladder frame in which a pair of side rails each having a web surface and flanges provided at both ends of the web surface face each other in the vehicle width direction. , a battery unit including a battery disposed between the pair of side rails of the ladder frame; and a protector provided on the side frame and having a battery protection surface substantially parallel to the web surface, the protector comprising: At least one corner of the battery unit and the battery protection surface are arranged to face each other in the vehicle width direction.

In the electric truck according to the above application example, the corner of the battery unit and the battery protection surface of the protector are arranged so as to face each other in the vehicle width direction Y. part comes into surface contact with the battery protection surface. In other words, the physical input to the corners of the battery unit is distributed more than point contact, and the physical input to the battery unit can be reduced. Thereby, the side collision safety of the battery arranged between the frames can be ensured.

(2) Further, in the vehicle battery unit according to this application example, in (1) above, the protector has corner portions at both ends in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle front portion of the battery unit facing the battery protection surface. may be arranged as In other words, the protector is arranged in a range where the corner of the battery unit is likely to come into contact with the side frame in the event of a side collision. As a result, the battery unit can be more stably protected in the event of a side collision.

(3) Further, in the vehicle battery unit according to this application example, in the above (1) or (2), the protector is provided between the corner portions of the vehicle rear portion of the battery unit at both ends in the vehicle width direction and the battery protection surface. may be arranged to face each other. In other words, the protector is arranged in a range where the corner of the battery unit is likely to come into contact with the side frame in the event of a side collision. As a result, the battery unit can be more stably protected in the event of a side collision.

(4) Further, in the vehicle battery unit according to this application example, in (1) or (2) above, the protector is provided in the ladder frame with respect to the battery area in which the battery unit is provided in the vehicle front-rear direction. It may be arranged so as to intervene between the front area, which is the area on the front side, and the battery area. Since the protector is arranged between the battery area and the front area, the front right corner and the front left corner of the battery unit can be more reliably brought into surface contact with the battery protection surface in the event of a side collision.

(5) Further, in the electric vehicle according to this application example, in any one of (1) to (3) above, the battery protection surface of the protector is located further in the vehicle width direction than the end portion of the flange in the vehicle width direction. May be located inside. Since the battery protection surface is located inside the end of the flange of the side frame in the vehicle width direction, the corner of the battery unit contacts the battery protection surface before the side frame in the event of a side collision. be able to.

(6) Further, in the electric vehicle according to this application example, in any one of the above (1) to (3), the protector may be arranged such that the battery protection surface is positioned further in the vehicle width direction than the end portion of the flange in the vehicle width direction. May be located outside. As a result, even if the corner of the battery unit contacts the flange of the side frame first in the event of a side collision, the corner immediately comes into surface contact with the battery protection surface, easing physical input to the corner. can do.

(7) Further, in the electric vehicle according to this application example, in any one of (1) to (6) above, the battery unit includes a first battery housing section and a vehicle width direction extending from the first battery housing section. and a second battery housing portion connected to the first battery housing portion from below in the vertical direction of the vehicle, the first battery housing portion being positioned between the side frames, and the second battery housing portion 8b being located between the side frames. Even if the protector is mounted so as to be positioned below the side frame, and the protector is arranged such that at least one corner of the first battery housing portion faces the battery protection surface in the vehicle width direction. good. As a result, the space between the side frames and the space below the side frames is effectively used to increase the capacity of the battery, while the protector reduces the physical input to the corners of the first battery housing in the event of a side collision. can do.

1 is a top view showing a schematic configuration of an electric vehicle provided with a vehicle battery unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a perspective view showing the outline of a battery unit. FIG. 2 is a front view of a main portion of the vehicle as viewed from an arrow A in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a main part front view enlarging the right side frame and the protector part of FIG. 3 ; It is a perspective view showing the outline of a protector. FIG. 4 is a top view showing the positional relationship between the corners of the battery unit and the protector; FIG. 10 is a top view showing the state of the vicinity of the battery unit when the vehicle is hit from the left side; It is a modification of the protector.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a top view schematically showing the overall configuration of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle battery support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of this embodiment will be described below with reference to the same drawing. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the content described below, and can be arbitrarily changed and implemented without changing the gist of the present invention. In addition, all of the drawings used for describing the embodiments schematically show constituent members, and are partially emphasized, enlarged, reduced, or omitted for the purpose of deepening understanding. It may not represent the scale, shape, etc. accurately.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 includes a ladder frame 2, a cab 3, a luggage box 4, a wheel mechanism 5, a drive unit 6, a drive power supply section 7, a battery unit 8, and a support device for supporting the battery unit 8. 9. An electric truck equipped with a protector 10 that protects the battery unit 8. Note that FIG. 1 shows a top view of the cab 3 and the cargo box 4 as viewed from above the vehicle 1 so as to be seen through.

The vehicle 1 is assumed to be an electric vehicle that includes an electric motor (a motor 6a, which will be described later) as a drive source for running, but may be any electric vehicle, such as a hybrid vehicle that further includes an engine. Also, the vehicle 1 is not limited to an electric truck, and may be another commercial vehicle having a battery for driving the vehicle.

The ladder frame 2 has a pair of left and right side frames 20 and a plurality of cross members 21 . The side frame 20 extends along the vehicle front-rear direction X of the vehicle 1 and includes a left side frame 20L and a right side frame 20R arranged parallel to the vehicle width direction Y with each other. The plurality of cross members 21 has four cross members in order from the front in this embodiment: a first cross member 21a, a second cross member 21b, a third cross member 21c, and a fourth cross member 21d. It connects the side frame 2L and the right side frame 2R. The ladder frame 2 supports a cab 3 , a luggage box 4 , a drive unit 6 , a drive power supply section 7 , a battery unit 8 , and other heavy objects mounted on the vehicle 1 .

The cab 3 is a structure including a driver's seat (not shown) and is provided above the front portion of the ladder frame 2 . On the other hand, the cargo box 4 is a structure in which cargo and the like transported by the vehicle 1 are loaded, and is provided above the rear portion of the ladder frame 2 .

In this embodiment, the wheel mechanism 5 includes left and right front wheels 5a positioned in front of the vehicle, front axles 5b serving as axles for the two front wheels 5a, and two rear wheels 5c positioned in the rear of the vehicle and arranged on each side. , and a rear axle 5d as an axle for the rear wheels 5c. In the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment, the driving force is transmitted so that the rear wheels 5c function as drive wheels, and the vehicle 1 travels. The wheel mechanism 5 is suspended from the ladder frame 2 via a suspension mechanism (not shown) to support the weight of the vehicle 1 .

The drive unit 6 has a motor 6a, a reduction mechanism 6b, and a differential mechanism 6c. The motor 6a is supplied with AC power from a drive power supply unit 7, which will be described later, to generate a drive force necessary for the vehicle 1 to run. The deceleration mechanism 6b includes a plurality of gears (not shown), decelerates the rotational torque input from the motor 6a, and outputs the decelerated torque to the differential mechanism 6c. The differential mechanism 6c distributes the power input from the reduction mechanism 6b to the left and right rear wheels 5c. That is, the drive unit 6 reduces the drive torque of the motor 6a to a rotation speed suitable for running the vehicle 1 via the speed reduction mechanism 6b and the differential mechanism 6c, and transmits the drive force to the rear axle 5d. As a result, the drive unit 6 can rotate the rear wheel 5c via the rear axle 5d to cause the vehicle 1 to travel.

The drive power supply unit 7 is a PDU (power drive unit) including a so-called inverter, converts the DC power supplied from the battery unit 8 into AC power, supplies the AC power to the motor 6a, and responds to the accelerator operation of the vehicle 1. It controls the rotation speed of the motor 6a. The drive power supply unit 7 of this embodiment is arranged on the fourth cross member 21d.

Here, referring to FIGS. 2 to 6, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the general shape of the battery unit, FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view of the main parts of the right side frame and the protector part of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the outline of the protector, and FIG. 6 shows the positional relationship between the corners of the battery unit and the protector. A top view is shown, respectively. The battery unit 8 and the peripheral structure of the battery unit 8 will be described below with reference to these drawings.

The battery unit 8 is a secondary battery unit that supplies electric power to the motor 6a as an energy source for running the vehicle 1 . Specifically, the battery unit 8 includes a plurality of relatively large large-capacity battery modules (not shown) in a metal (for example, aluminum) housing forming an outer shell to store electric power required by the vehicle 1 . I have it. In addition, when a plurality of electric auxiliary machines and a power distribution unit for supplying power to them are mounted on the vehicle 1 (none of them are shown), the battery unit 8 can also supply power to the power distribution unit. It may be configured as

As shown in FIG. 2, the battery unit 8 has a first battery housing portion 8a and a second battery housing portion 8b which are substantially rectangular parallelepipeds having the same length in the longitudinal direction X of the vehicle. formed to be integrated. A recessed portion 8c extending in the vehicle width direction is formed in the upper portion of the first battery housing portion 8a so that the second cross member 21b can traverse it.

In the battery unit 8 having such a configuration, the first battery housing portion 8a has a right front corner portion 8aFR and a front left battery corner portion 8aFL extending in the vehicle vertical direction Z at both ends of the front portion. There are a battery right rear corner portion 8aRR and a battery left rear corner portion 8aRL extending in the Z direction. The recessed portion 8c has a recessed right front corner portion 8cFR and a recessed left front corner portion 8cFL extending in the vehicle vertical direction Z at both ends of the front portion, and a recessed portion right rear corner portion 8cRR extending in the vehicle vertical direction Z at both rear ends. There is a left rear corner 8cRL.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the first battery housing portion 8a is set to have a width in the vehicle width direction Y that can be accommodated between the left side frame 20L and the right side frame 20R. On the other hand, the second battery housing portion 8b has a width in the vehicle width direction Y set to be wider than that of the first battery housing portion 8a, and is connected to the first battery housing portion 8a from below in the vehicle vertical direction Z. .

That is, the battery unit 8 has an inverted T-shaped cross section in a plane perpendicular to the vehicle front-rear direction X. As shown in FIG. The battery unit 8 is arranged such that the side frame 20 passes through a stepped portion caused by the difference in width between the first battery housing portion 8a and the second battery housing portion 8b. Thereby, the battery unit 8 effectively utilizes the space between the left side frame 20L and the right side frame 20R and the space below the side frame 20 to increase the capacity of the battery.

The battery unit 8 is connected to the side frame 20 via the support device 9 on the battery side surface 8bS, which is the outer surface in the vehicle width direction Y of the second battery housing portion 8b. In the present embodiment, the support devices 9 are provided at three positions in the vehicle front-rear direction X with respect to one battery side surface 8bS, and at six positions in total on both sides. However, the number of supporting devices 9 can be appropriately changed according to the weight and dimensions of the battery unit 8 .

The support device 9 has a frame-side bracket 9a, an elastic connecting portion 9b, and a battery-side bracket 9c, and elastically suspends the battery unit 8 from the ladder frame 2. As shown in FIG.

The frame-side bracket 9a is a metal member connected to the side surface of the side frame 20 in the vehicle width direction Y, that is, the outer side surface of the side frame 20 with a plurality of bolts (not shown). Specifically, the frame-side bracket 9a has a rear surface that abuts the side frame 20, a bottom surface that protrudes outward in the vehicle width direction Y from a lower rear surface, and an elastic connecting portion 9b that is connected to the bottom surface. The frame-side bracket 9a has a pair of substantially right-angled triangular side surfaces that are perpendicular to and continuous with both the rear surface and the bottom surface.

The elastic connecting portion 9b is a connecting member that elastically connects the frame-side bracket 9a and the battery-side bracket 9c vertically in the vertical direction Z of the vehicle. For example, the elastic connecting portion 9b has a so-called rubber bush interposed between the frame-side bracket 9a and the battery-side bracket 9c, and is connected to the ladder frame 2 connected via the frame-side bracket 9a via the battery-side bracket 9c. absorbs the stress associated with the relative displacement with the battery unit 8.

The battery side bracket 9c is a metal member projecting outward in the vehicle width direction Y from the battery side surface 8bS, and suspends the battery unit 8 by being connected to the elastic connecting portion 9b.

Protector 10 is provided on side frame 20 . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the side frame 20 includes a web 20a extending in the vehicle vertical direction Z, an upper flange 20b extending inward in the vehicle width direction Y from the upper side of the web 20a, and a vehicle body extending from the lower side of the web 20a. and a lower flange 20c extending inward in the width direction Y. That is, the side frame 20 has a U-shaped cross section (substantially C-shaped cross section) that opens inward in the vehicle width direction Y. As shown in FIG.

The protector 10 has a cross-sectional shape as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, has a battery protection surface 11 parallel to the webs 20a of the side frames 20, and is made of metal (for example, aluminum). The battery protection surface 11 has a flat plate shape.

The protector 10 also includes a flat plate-shaped protector back portion 12 in contact with the web 20 a of the side frame 20 , and extends inward in the vehicle width direction Y from the upper side of the protector back portion 12 and contacts the upper flange 20 b of the side frame 20 . It has a protector upper surface portion 13a in contact with the protector upper surface portion 13a and a protector lower surface portion 13b extending inward in the vehicle width direction Y from the lower side of the protector rear surface portion 12 and in contact with the lower flange 20c of the side frame 20. A fastening hole (not shown) is formed in the protector back portion 12, and the protector 10 is attached to the web 20a of the side frame 20 using a fastening member such as a bolt in the fastening hole.

Further, in the protector 10, the battery protection surface 11 and the protector back surface 12 are connected by three parallel connecting portions 14 extending in the vehicle width direction Y. As shown in FIG. The ends of protector upper surface portion 13 a and protector lower surface portion 13 b are curved toward battery protection surface 11 so as to be positioned on the same plane as battery protection surface 11 .

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the protector 10 according to the present embodiment has a surface position Y1 of the battery protection surface 11 in the vehicle width direction Y, which is closer to the end position Y2 of the upper flange 20b and the lower flange 20c of the side frame 20. is also inside in the vehicle width direction Y. That is, the surface position Y1 of the battery protection surface 11 is closer to the battery unit 8 than the side frame 20 is.

As shown in FIG. 6, six protectors 10 are arranged corresponding to the corners of the battery unit 8 in the vehicle 1 of the present embodiment.

Specifically, a right front protector 10FR and a left front protector 10FL are arranged at positions facing the right front corner 8aFR and the left front corner 8aFL of the battery in the vehicle width direction Y, respectively. Further, a right rear protector 10RR and a left rear protector 10RL are arranged at positions facing the battery right rear corner 8aRR and battery left rear corner 8aRL in the vehicle width direction Y. As shown in FIG. Furthermore, a right central protector 10MR and a left central protector 10ML are arranged at positions facing the recessed right rear corner portion 8cRR and the recessed left rear corner portion 8cRL in the vehicle width direction Y. As shown in FIG.

That is, in the ladder frame 2 of the vehicle 1, with respect to the battery area BA in which the battery unit 8 is provided in the vehicle longitudinal direction X, the area on the front side is assumed to be the front area FA, and the area on the rear side is assumed to be the rear area RA. The right front protector 10FR and the left front protector 10FL are arranged so as to intervene between the battery area BA and the front area FA, and the right rear protector 10RR and the left rear protector 10RL are arranged so as to interpose between the battery area BA and the rear area RA.

In the vehicle 1 configured as described above, the protector 10 comes into contact with the corner of the battery unit 8 when the frame is deformed due to a collision from the side of the vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a side collision).

More specifically, FIG. 7 shows a top view showing the state of the vicinity of the battery unit when a collision occurs from the left side of the vehicle, and the operation and effects of the electric truck of this embodiment will be described below with reference to this figure.

As shown in FIG. 7 , when the vehicle 1 receives an impact from the left side, the side frame 20 is deformed in front of the second cross member, which has relatively low rigidity against side impact, and in the vicinity of the rear portion of the battery unit 8 .

Specifically, the left side frame 20L is deformed in a direction in which the left front protector 10FL and the battery unit 8's left front corner 8aFL are separated from each other. In addition, the left side frame 20L deforms in a direction in which the left rear protector 10RL and the left rear corner 8aRL of the battery unit 8 are also separated from each other.

On the other hand, the right side frame 20R is deformed so that the front right protector 10FR and the front right corner 8aFR of the battery unit 8 approach each other, and the battery protection surface 11 of the front right protector 10FR contacts the front right corner 8aFR of the battery. In addition, the right side frame 20R deforms so that the battery protection surface 11 of the right rear protector 10RR and the battery right rear corner 8aRR of the battery unit 8 approach each other, and the right rear protector 10RR and the battery right rear corner 8aRR come into contact with each other. .

In this manner, the corner of the battery unit 8 and the battery protection surface 11 of the protector 10 are arranged so as to face each other in the vehicle width direction Y. is in surface contact with the battery protection surface 11 . As a result, the physical input to the corners of the battery unit 8 is distributed more than point contact, and the physical input to the battery unit 8 can be reduced.

In addition, the protector 10 includes a battery right front corner portion 8aFR and a battery left front corner portion 8aFL at both vehicle width direction Y ends of the vehicle front portion of the battery unit 8, and a battery right rear corner portion 8aRR and a battery left corner portion 8aRR at both vehicle width direction Y ends of the vehicle rear portion. By arranging so as to face the rear corner 8aRL, the protector 10 is arranged in a range where the corner of the battery unit 8 is most likely to contact the side frame 20 in the event of a side collision. As a result, the battery unit 8 can be more stably protected in the event of a side collision.

When the battery unit 8 is formed with the recessed portion 8c crossed by the second cross member 21b as in the present embodiment, the recessed portion 8cRR and the recessed left rear corner portion 8cRL are also positioned facing each other. By providing the central right protector 10MR and the central left protector 10ML, the corners of the battery unit 8 can be protected even when the side frame 20 undergoes more complicated deformation.

Further, the protector 10 is arranged so as to intervene between the battery area BA and the front area FA, and between the battery area BA and the rear area RA. The corner portion 8aFL, the battery right rear corner portion 8aRR, and the battery left rear corner portion 8aRL can be brought into surface contact with the battery protection surface 11 more reliably.

Further, in the protector 10 of the present embodiment, the battery protection surface 11 is located inside the end portions of the upper flange 20b and the lower flange 20c of the side frame 20 in the vehicle width direction Y, thereby preventing the battery from being damaged in a side collision. The corners of the unit 8 can be brought into contact with the battery protection surface 11 before the side frames 20 do.

In addition, the battery unit 8 of the present embodiment is formed of the first battery housing portion 8a positioned between the side frames 20 and the second battery housing portion 8b positioned below the side frames 20. To reduce the physical input to the corners of a first battery housing part 8a at the time of a side collision by the protector 10 while increasing the capacity of the battery by effectively utilizing the space between and below the side frame 20. can be done.

As described above, the vehicle 1, which is an electric truck according to the present embodiment, can ensure safety against a side collision of the battery arranged between the frames.

This completes the description of the embodiment of the electric truck according to the present invention, but the aspect of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

In the protector 10 of the above embodiment, the surface position Y1 of the battery protection surface 11 in the vehicle width direction Y is inside the end position Y2 of the upper flange 20b and the lower flange 20c of the side frame 20. The positional relationship with the flange end portion of the side frame is not limited to this. For example, FIG. 8 shows a modified protector. In the same figure, configurations other than protectors such as side frames are the same as those of the above-described embodiment, and are denoted by the same reference numerals, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

In the protector 10' of the modified example shown in FIG. Outside Y.

With such a configuration, even if the corner of the battery unit 8 first contacts the upper flange 20b or the lower flange 20c of the side frame 20 in the event of a side collision, the corner immediately contacts the battery protection surface 11'. They come into contact with each other, and the physical input to the corners can be alleviated.

In addition to the battery protection surface 11, the protector 10 of the above-described embodiment includes a protector rear surface portion 12, a protector upper surface portion 13a, a protector lower surface portion 13b, and a connecting portion 14, but the shape of the protector is limited to this. It may have other shapes.

In addition, although the battery unit 8 and the drive power supply section 7 in the above embodiment are separately provided in the vehicle 1, the drive power supply section is integrally provided inside or outside the housing as the battery unit. There may be.

In addition, the battery unit 8 of the above embodiment has an inverted T-shaped cross section composed of the first battery housing portion 8a and the second battery housing portion 8b. can also apply the present invention.

1 vehicle (electric truck)
2 Ladder Frame 3 Cab 4 Packing Box 5 Wheel Mechanism 6 Drive Unit 7 Drive Power Supply Unit 8 Battery Unit 8a First Battery Storage Unit 8b Second Battery Storage Unit 9 Support Device 10 Protector 11 Battery Protection Surface 12 Protector Back Side 13a Protector Top Surface Part 13b Protector Lower Surface Part 14 Connecting Part 20 Side Frame 20a Web 20b Upper Flange 20c Lower Flange 21 Cross Member

Claims (4)

An electric truck having a ladder frame in which a pair of side frames each having a web surface and flanges provided at both ends of the web surface face each other in the vehicle width direction,
a battery unit including a battery disposed between the pair of side frames of the ladder frame;
a protector provided on the side frame and having a battery protection surface substantially parallel to the web surface;
The electric truck , wherein the protector is arranged such that the corners at both ends in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle front portion of the battery unit face the battery protection surface. An electric truck having a ladder frame in which a pair of side frames each having a web surface and flanges provided at both ends of the web surface face each other in the vehicle width direction,
a battery unit including a battery disposed between the pair of side frames of the ladder frame;
a protector provided on the side frame and having a battery protection surface substantially parallel to the web surface;
The electric truck, wherein the protector is arranged such that the corners of both ends in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle rear portion of the battery unit face the battery protection surface. An electric truck having a ladder frame in which a pair of side frames each having a web surface and flanges provided at both ends of the web surface face each other in the vehicle width direction,
a battery unit including a battery disposed between the pair of side frames of the ladder frame;
a protector provided on the side frame and having a battery protection surface substantially parallel to the web surface;
The protector is arranged in the ladder frame so as to intervene between a front region, which is a region on the front side, and the battery region with respect to the battery region in which the battery unit is provided in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. and electric trucks. An electric truck having a ladder frame in which a pair of side frames each having a web surface and flanges provided at both ends of the web surface face each other in the vehicle width direction,
a battery unit including a battery disposed between the pair of side frames of the ladder frame;
a protector provided on the side frame and having a battery protection surface substantially parallel to the web surface;
The battery unit includes a first battery housing portion and a second battery housing portion that is wider in the vehicle width direction than the first battery housing portion and is connected to the first battery housing portion from below in the vehicle vertical direction. is,
The first battery housing portion is positioned between the side frames, and the second battery housing portion 8b is mounted below the side frames,
The electric truck, wherein the protector is arranged such that at least one corner portion of the first battery accommodating portion faces the battery protection surface in the vehicle width direction.

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