Motor vehicle with a closed vehicle cabin

Abstract

Motor vehicle with a closed vehicle cabin (12) with a cabin roof (12) and at least one lateral passenger entry door (14, 14', 16, 16'; 116, 116'), which in the closed state closes a lateral entry opening (15, 15', 17, 17') of the vehicle cabin (12), wherein the vehicle cabin (12) has a cabin floor (12'), under which at least one receiving space (18) for energy storage devices, in particular for electric batteries, is provided, and wherein the vehicle cabin (12) is equipped for accommodating passengers with three rows of seats (A, B, C) arranged one behind the other, extending transversely to the vehicle longitudinal direction (X), which rows are designed as a bench seat or in the form of individual seats arranged next to one another, wherein the rearmost row of seats (C) of the three rows of seats (A, B, C) is only accessible via at least one lateral passenger entry door (16, 16';116, 116') is accessible, which is assigned to the row of seats (B) located in front of the rearmost row of seats (C) and which is pivotally mounted on a B-pillar of the vehicle body (10) or is designed as a wing door, wherein the cabin roof (13) in the region of the lateral passenger entry door (16, 16', 116, 116') has a lateral, openable roof cutout (19, 19'; 119, 119') which, when the associated passenger entry door (16, 16'; 116, 116') is open, enlarges the entry opening (17, 17') into the region of the cabin roof (13), wherein the openable roof cutout (19, 19'; 119, 119') extends over the row of seats (B) which corresponds to the roof cutout (19, 19') is assigned a passenger entry door (16, 16'; 116, 116'), extends rearwardly to the third row of seats, which is not assigned its own entry doors.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a motor vehicle with a closed vehicle cabin with a cabin roof and at least one side passenger entry door, wherein at least one receiving space for energy storage is provided under the cabin floor, according to the preamble of patent claim 1.

[0002] In such motor vehicles with a sandwich floor having an energy storage device, the actual passenger floor, i.e., the upper surface of the sandwich floor, is located very high above the road surface. This makes it difficult to enter through the side doors, especially in limousines or coupés with a relatively low vehicle cabin („greenhouse“), particularly when the passenger floor is flat and has no footwell recesses. If this vehicle is equipped with two rows of seats and only two entry doors, or if it is a four-door vehicle with a third row of seats that has no dedicated entry doors, then it is very difficult for adults to access the rearmost row of seats, and it is often only reasonable to expect children to be able to access it. Frequently, for aerodynamic reasons, a rearward-sloping roofline and a rearward-drawn bodywork are also required, which further restricts the space for accessing the rearmost row of seats.

[0003] From DE 10 2004 014 692 A1 a vehicle is known which is equipped with side entry doors pivotably mounted on the A-pillar, wherein the vehicle roof has a roof part which can be pivoted upwards in the area of ​​the entry door.

[0004] DE 10 2004 013 753 B4 shows and describes a vehicle with side entry doors pivoted on the A-pillar, which are provided in the upper area with a substantially horizontal roof section which engages in a suitable recess in the vehicle roof when the door is closed.

[0005] DE 10 2009 035 078 A1 discloses a vehicle with side sliding doors, each of which is provided in its upper region with a substantially horizontally extending roof section that is slidably guided along a lateral edge of a central roof element and, when opened, releases a roof opening that expands the entry opening. This vehicle has a single centrally positioned front seat and two side seats, each of which is slidable between a front position next to the front seat and a rear position set back from the front seat.

[0006] DE 844 544 A shows and describes a door arrangement for motor vehicles in which the upper edge of a side access door is hingedly connected to a roof element that can be folded upwards around an axis running in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The access door is guided in a front and rear guide at its lower end. The access door can thus be guided upwards for opening and folded together with the roof element.

[0007] US 10 220 686 B2 discloses a motor vehicle having two opposing-opening doors on each side of the vehicle, each door being assigned a roof cutout with an opening roof element. Since the vehicle lacks a B-pillar, this creates a large side entry opening. The entire roof cutout thus formed corresponds in its longitudinal extent to the longitudinal extent of the side door cutout.

[0008] US Pat. No. 5,035,463 A shows a motor vehicle with four side doors, each rear door being assigned a roof cutout that can be opened by means of a roof flap. The longitudinal extent of each roof cutout corresponds to the longitudinal extent of the respective rear door cutout in the roof area.

[0009] All of these solutions are intended to facilitate entry into the vehicle in question by providing access to the row of seats associated with the respective door, but are each designed for conventional vehicles with a floor pan.

[0010] The object of the present invention is to further develop a generic motor vehicle in such a way that access to the rearmost row of seats is facilitated.

[0011] This problem is solved with the features of patent claim 1.

[0012] A motor vehicle with a closed vehicle cabin with a cabin roof and at least one side passenger access door, which, when closed, closes a side access opening of the vehicle cabin, wherein the vehicle cabin has a cabin floor, beneath which at least one receiving space for energy storage devices, in particular for electric batteries, is provided, and wherein the vehicle cabin is equipped for accommodating passengers with three rows of seats arranged one behind the other, extending transversely to the vehicle's longitudinal direction and configured as a bench seat or in the form of individual seats arranged side by side, wherein the rearmost row of the three rows of seats is only accessible via at least one side passenger access door, which is assigned to the row of seats located in front of the rearmost row of seats and which is pivotably mounted on a B-pillar of the vehicle body or configured as a wing door,wherein the cabin roof has a lateral, openable roof cutout in the area of ​​the side passenger access door, which, when the associated passenger access door is open, enlarges the access opening into the area of ​​the cabin roof, is characterized according to the invention in that the openable roof cutout extends beyond the row of seats to which the passenger access door associated with the openable roof cutout is assigned, to the rear to the third row of seats to which no separate access doors are assigned.

[0013] The enlargement of the side entry opening extending into the cabin roof eliminates the need for a deep footwell recess for the row of seats directly adjacent to the side passenger entry door, as passengers have more headroom for boarding when the roof cutout is open. This provides more usable space for the energy storage system. Furthermore, the open roof cutout facilitates access to the rearmost row of seats. "Row of seats" refers to both individual seats arranged side by side and a continuous bench seat.

[0014] Further preferred and advantageous design features of the motor vehicle according to the invention are the subject of subclaims 2 to 9.

[0015] It is advantageous if the cabin floor is flat along the length of the vehicle and if the opening roof cutout extends beyond the rear end of the flat cabin floor. This option also improves access to the rearmost row of seats.

[0016] A further advantageous embodiment, which can be combined with other embodiments, is characterized in that the opening roof cutout extends forward beyond the row of seats to which the passenger access door associated with the opening roof cutout is assigned. In this variant, access to a row of seats directly in front of the side passenger access door is facilitated if its seats face rearward, against the direction of travel.

[0017] Advantageously, the opening roof cutout can be closed from an upper roof section of the side passenger entrance door. This design eliminates the need for a complex mechanism for separately operating the opening roof cutout, which would increase vehicle weight.

[0018] Alternatively, it may also be advantageous if the opening roof cutout can be closed by a roof element designed as a separate component of the cabin roof.

[0019] Then, the roof element preferably has an opening mechanism for the openable roof cutout, which is designed to open and close the roof cutout synchronously with the opening and closing of the side passenger entry door. Such an opening mechanism can be mechanically, hydraulically, or electrically driven.

[0020] Also advantageous is an embodiment of the motor vehicle according to the invention, which can be combined with other embodiments, in which a passageway is provided outside next to the row of seats to which the passenger access door associated with the opening roof cutout is assigned. This allows access to the rearmost row of seats (or to a front row of seats) without passengers in the row of seats directly associated with the side passenger access door having to stand up.

[0021] According to another development of the invention, which can also be combined with other embodiments, the entry opening extends rearward and / or forward beyond the row of seats to which the passenger entry door associated with the opening roof cutout is assigned. Such an enlarged entry opening, which requires the provision of an enlarged door or an additional second door, facilitates overall boarding, especially to the rearmost row of seats.

[0022] In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, a left and a right passenger entry door are each assigned to the front row of seats and the middle row of seats, wherein only the entry openings of the passenger entry doors assigned to the middle row of seats are assigned an openable roof cutout according to the invention.

[0023] Preferred embodiments of the invention with additional design details and further advantages are described and explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] It shows: Fig. 1 a schematic side view of a motor vehicle according to the invention, Fig. 2 a plan view of the motor vehicle of Fig. 1 in the direction of arrow II and Fig. 3 a plan view of an alternative embodiment of the motor vehicle according to the invention.

[0025] Fig. 1 shows a schematic side view of a motor vehicle 1 according to the invention with a vehicle body 10, which defines a closed vehicle cabin 12 with a cabin roof 13. The motor vehicle 1 is a passenger car with rows of seats A, B and C arranged one behind the other in the vehicle cabin 12 in the vehicle transverse direction Y. The front row of seats A is provided with a left side passenger entrance door 14 and a right side passenger entrance door 14' ( Fig. 2), which, when closed, each close a side entry opening 15, 15' of the vehicle cabin 12. The middle row of seats B is assigned a left rear side passenger entry door 16 and a right rear side passenger entry door 16', which, when closed, each close a rear side entry opening 17, 17' of the vehicle cabin 12. The rearmost row of seats C is accessible through the rear passenger entry door 16, 16'. The passenger entry doors 14, 14', 16, 16' are conventional pivoting doors that are pivotably mounted in a conventional manner on the A-pillar 10' of the vehicle body 10 or on the B-pillar 10" of the vehicle body 10. Of course, it is also possible for at least some of the passenger entry doors to be designed as so-called wing doors.

[0026] The vehicle cabin 12 has a cabin floor 12', beneath which at least one receiving space 18 is provided for energy storage devices (not shown), for example, for electric vehicle batteries. This receiving space 18 is part of the vehicle body 10 and / or the vehicle structure and is bounded at the top by the cabin floor 12' and at the bottom by a body underbody 11.

[0027] The cabin floor 12' is designed as a flat surface without footwell recesses, and the front row of seats A and the middle row of seats B, which can be designed either as a bench seat or in the form of individual seats arranged side by side, are also fastened to the cabin floor 12' in a conventional manner so as to be longitudinally displaceable. The rearmost row of seats C is arranged elevated above the rear axle of the motor vehicle 1, with the footwell assigned in front of the rearmost row of seats C, which can also be designed as a bench seat or in the form of individual seats, being provided in the rear region of the cabin floor 12' behind and below the middle row of seats B.

[0028] As in Fig. 1, the rearmost row of seats C is arranged opposite to the direction of travel F behind the respective rear side entry opening 17, 17' assigned to the rear passenger entry doors 16, 16', so that the respective rear side entry opening 17, 17' is not located next to, but in front of the rearmost seat bench C.

[0029] In order to facilitate access to the rearmost row of seats C through the rear side access opening 17, 17', the cabin roof 13 has a lateral, openable roof cutout 19, 19' in the area of ​​the rear side passenger access doors 16, 16', which, when the rear passenger access door 16, 16' is open, enlarges the rear side access opening 17, 17' into the area of ​​the cabin roof 13, as will be explained below with reference to the Fig. 2 is described.

[0030] Fig. 2 shows a plan view of the motor vehicle 1 from Fig. 1, in which the rear left side passenger entrance door 16 is slightly open. This illustration shows the respective opening roof cutout 19, 19' associated with the rear side entry opening 17, 17', which is shown in Fig. 2 can be closed by a respective upper roof part 20, 20' of the associated lateral rear passenger entry door 16, 16'. From the view into the interior of the vehicle cabin 12 provided from above through the partially opened rear left roof cutout 19, it can be seen that the cabin floor 12', which runs as a flat surface in the vehicle's longitudinal direction X, extends to in front of the rearmost row of seats C and that the openable roof cutout 19 extends rearward beyond the rear end 12" of the flat cabin floor 12', which also applies to the right-hand openable roof cutout 19'. The openable roof cutout 19, 19' extends not only rearward beyond the rear end 12" of the flat cabin floor 12', but also beyond the middle row of seats B, to which the respective rear side passenger entry door 16, 16' assigned to the openable roof cutout 19, 19' is assigned.

[0031] Also visible in the Fig. 2, that the openable roof cutout 19, 19' extends forward beyond the middle row of seats B. Thus, for example, if in an autonomous vehicle the individual seats of the frontmost row of seats A are rotated rearward by 180° so that the seats of the frontmost row of seats A and the middle row of seats B face each other, the seats of the frontmost row of seats A are also easily accessible through the side rear passenger entrance doors 16, 16'.

[0032] Fig. 3 shows a modified embodiment of the motor vehicle from the Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 in plan view, where the same reference numerals designate the same components and where the reference numerals increased by 100 represent the differences compared to the variant from Fig. 2 modified components.

[0033] The rear side passenger entry doors 116, 116' are designed as conventional side swing doors, as are the corresponding front doors 14, 14'. The rear side entry opening 17, 17' opens when Fig. 3 shown vehicle into a lateral, openable roof cutout 119, 119', which is arranged approximately in the same way as the openable lateral roof cutout 19, 19' of the vehicle from Fig. 2 and which extends in particular forwards and rearwards beyond the middle row of seats B and beyond the rear end 12" of the flat cabin floor 12'.

[0034] The side opening roof cutout 119, 119' in Fig. However, the example shown in Figure 3 is not - as in the example of Fig. 2 - closed by an upper roof part provided on the respective rear door, but by a roof element 120, 120' designed as a separate component of the cabin roof, which can be pivoted upwards towards the vehicle center about a pivot axis x, x' extending essentially in the vehicle longitudinal direction X, in order to enlarge the lateral access opening 17, 17' by the lateral, rear, open roof cutout 119, 119'. The respective pivot axis x, x' lies in the area of ​​the boundary edge of the respective lateral, open roof cutout 119, 119' pointing towards the vehicle center. Fig. 3 The opening mechanism 121, 121', which is only shown schematically, is provided for actuating the roof element 120, 120' for the side roof cutout 119, 119' to be opened synchronously with the opening and closing of the rear side passenger entry door 116, 116', so that the respective roof element 120, 120' folds upwards when the associated rear passenger entry door 116, 116' is opened and folds downwards when the rear side passenger entry door 116, 116' is closed and closes the roof cutout 119, 119' to be opened again.

[0035] Of course, it is up to the person skilled in the art to provide essentially horizontally displaceable roof elements in or over the central part of the cabin roof 13 instead of roof elements 120, 120' which can be folded upwards about the pivot axes x, x', in order to enable the opening and closing of the rear side passenger entrance doors 116, 116' and with them the associated roof element even in low garages or parking garages.

[0036] As in Fig. 3, the middle row of seats B does not extend completely to the rear side vehicle door 116', but a narrow passageway 22 is provided outside next to the middle row of seats B, which creates a passage for a person boarding to the rearmost row of seats C or - with the front seats turned backwards - also to these turned-back seats of the front row of seats A. Such a lateral passageway 22 can of course also be provided in the Fig. 2 shown variant may be provided.

[0037] The invention is not limited to the above embodiment, which merely serves to generally explain the core concept of the invention. Within the scope of protection, the device according to the invention may also take on embodiments other than those described above. In particular, the device may have features that represent a combination of the respective individual features of the claims.

[0038] Reference signs in the claims, the description and the drawings serve only to improve the understanding of the invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection. List of reference symbols 1 motor vehicle 10 Vehicle body 10' A-pillar of the vehicle body 10" B-pillar of the vehicle body 11 Body underbody 12 vehicle cabin 12' cabin floor 12" rear end of the cabin floor 13 Cabin roof 14 side passenger entry door 14' side passenger entry door 15 side entry opening 15' side entry opening 16 side passenger entry door 16' side passenger entry door 17 side entry opening 17' side entry opening 18 Recording room 19 Roof cutout 19' roof cutout 20 upper roof part 20' upper roof section 22 passage room 116 side passenger entry door 116' side passenger entry door 119 Roof cutout 119' roof cutout 120 roof element 120' roof element 121 Opening mechanism 121' opening mechanism x Swivel axis x' swivel axis A row of seats B row of seats C row of seats F Direction of travel X Vehicle longitudinal direction Y vehicle transverse direction

Claims

[1] Motor vehicle with a closed vehicle cabin (12) with a cabin roof (12) and at least one lateral passenger access door (14, 14', 16, 16'; 116, 116'), which in the closed state closes a lateral access opening (15, 15', 17, 17') of the vehicle cabin (12), wherein the vehicle cabin (12) has a cabin floor (12'), under which at least one receiving space (18) for energy storage devices, in particular for electric batteries, is provided, and wherein the vehicle cabin (12) is equipped for accommodating passengers with three rows of seats (A, B, C) arranged one behind the other, extending transversely to the vehicle longitudinal direction (X), which rows are designed as a bench seat or in the form of individual seats arranged next to one another, wherein the rearmost row of seats (C) of the three rows of seats (A, B, C) is only accessible via at least one lateral passenger access door (16, 16';116, 116') is accessible, which is assigned to the row of seats (B) located in front of the rearmost row of seats (C) and which is pivotally mounted on a B-pillar of the vehicle body (10) or is designed as a wing door, wherein the cabin roof (13) in the region of the lateral passenger entry door (16, 16', 116, 116') has a lateral, openable roof cutout (19, 19'; 119, 119') which, when the associated passenger entry door (16, 16'; 116, 116') is open, enlarges the entry opening (17, 17') into the region of the cabin roof (13), wherein the openable roof cutout (19, 19'; 119, 119') extends over the row of seats (B) which corresponds to the roof cutout (19, 19') is assigned a passenger entry door (16, 16'; 116, 116'), extends rearwardly to the third row of seats, which is not assigned its own entry doors.; [2] Motor vehicle according to claim 1, characterized by , that the cabin floor (12') is flat in the longitudinal direction (X) of the motor vehicle (1) and that the roof cutout (19, 19'; 119, 119') to be opened extends rearward beyond the rear end (12") of the flat cabin floor (12'). [3] Motor vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the roof cutout (19, 19'; 119, 119') to be opened extends forwards beyond the row of seats (B) to which the passenger entry door (16, 16'; 116, 116') assigned to the roof cutout (19, 19') to be opened is assigned. [4] Motor vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the roof cutout (19, 19') to be opened can be closed by an upper roof part (20, 20') of the side passenger entrance door (16, 16'). [5] Motor vehicle according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized bythat the roof cutout (119, 119') to be opened can be closed by a roof element (120, 120') designed as a separate component of the cabin roof (13). [6] Motor vehicle according to claim 5, characterized by that the roof element (120, 120') for the roof cutout (119, 119') to be opened has an opening mechanism (121, 121') which is designed to open or close the roof cutout (119, 119') synchronously with the opening and closing of the side passenger entry door (116, 116'). [7] Motor vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that a passage space (22) is provided outside next to the row of seats (B) to which the passenger entry door (16, 16'; 116, 116') assigned to the roof cutout (19, 19'; 119, 119') to be opened is assigned. [8] Motor vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized bythat the entry opening (17, 17') extends to the rear and / or front beyond the row of seats (B) to which the passenger entry door (16, 16'; 116, 116') associated with the roof cutout (19, 19'; 119, 119') to be opened is assigned. [9] Motor vehicle according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that a left and a right passenger entry door (14, 14', 16, 16', 116, 116') is assigned to the front row of seats (A) and the middle row of seats (B), wherein only the entry openings (17, 17') of the passenger entry doors (16, 16'; 116, 116') assigned to the middle row of seats (B) are assigned an openable roof cutout (19, 19'; 119, 119') according to the invention.

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