Electric vehicle body featuring a battery box.

Abstract

The invention relates to a body (1) of an electric or hybrid motor vehicle having a floor (3) designed to form a cover for a battery box, the floor (3) having a bearing surface (7) forming a continuous strip designed to receive the support of a contour of a battery tray to form the box, the bearing surface (7) extending along a peripheral perimeter (8) designed to contain the contour, the bearing surface (7) having at least one pilot hole (9) designed to allow the insertion of a pilot pin to guide the approach of the contour onto the bearing surface (7) having at least one sealing bead (11), designed to be crushed by the contour and form a watertight barrier, each bead (11) delimiting each zone (12) of the bearing surface (7) extending around a pilot hole (9) and between the pilot hole (9) and the peripheral perimeter (8). (Figure 2)

Description

Title of the invention: Electric vehicle body featuring a battery box.

[0001] The technical field relates to the bodies of motor vehicles with electric or hybrid motorization, assemblies comprising such a body and a battery tray fixed to the body, motor vehicles presenting such an assembly and finally the methods of obtaining such an assembly.

[0002] Electric vehicles are attracting increasing interest from customers, while their ranges are constantly being improved by car manufacturers. To achieve this, the industrial players involved have invested heavily in the development of new technologies to offer ever more efficient batteries, that is to say, batteries offering increased charging speeds, constantly increasing capacities and high energy densities.

[0003] In parallel with the improvement of technologies, car manufacturers are also focusing on manufacturing costs in order to offer their customers vehicles with controlled prices.

[0004] In this context, some electric vehicles have a housing containing a traction battery located under the passenger compartment floor. For this purpose, the floor has a tray fixed to its perimeter, so as to form a closed housing between the floor and this tray that contains the battery. The floor forms a cover for the housing. A sealing gasket is placed between the perimeter of the tray and the floor to seal the housing protecting the battery.

[0005] Typically, the battery box covers the entire width of the vehicle's passenger compartment floor, between the two side rails, in order to maximize the volume available for housing the largest possible number of electrochemical cells and thus extend the vehicle's range. It is known to fix the sides of the box directly beneath a flat, longitudinal lower face of the side rails, thereby securing these sides to rigid parts of the body. Since the body rails are connected at their ends by cross members, the box is also fixed to these cross members. To properly align the box with the side rails and cross members, centering holes are generally drilled in the side rails to allow the insertion of centering pins that guide the approach of the battery box.However, these centering holes create sealing defects, despite the presence of the sealing gasket, since they allow water to penetrate and circulate between the floor and the tray.

[0006] Thus, there is a need for a solution to guarantee the sealing of the battery box.

[0007] The present invention aims to overcome the problems described above. In this technical context, one objective of the present invention is to provide a method for obtaining a vehicle body capable of housing a battery tray to form a watertight enclosure.

[0008] To this end, the present invention relates to an electric or hybrid motor vehicle body having a floor designed to form a cover for a battery box, the floor having a bearing surface forming a continuous strip designed to receive the support of a contour of a traction battery tray in order to form the box designed to enclose a traction battery, the bearing surface extending along a peripheral perimeter designed to contain the contour, the bearing surface having at least one pilot hole each designed to allow the introduction of a pilot pin in order to guide the approach of the contour on the bearing surface, the bearing surface having at least one sealing bead, designed to be crushed by the contour and form a watertight barrier, each bead delimiting each of the bearing surface extending around a pilot hole and between the pilot hole and the peripheral perimeter.

[0009] The invention also relates to an assembly comprising a vehicle body according to the invention and a traction battery tray having a contour fixed in support on the support surface by crushing each sealing bead, the floor and the tray forming a box designed to accommodate a traction battery, the contour extending along the peripheral perimeter.

[0010] The invention further relates to a motor vehicle having an assembly according to the invention.

[0011] The invention finally relates to a method of obtaining an assembly according to the invention and comprising a first step consisting of depositing at least one sealing bead on a support surface to form a vehicle body according to the invention, the method comprising a second step consisting of placing a traction battery tray, having a plurality of pilot holes formed on a contour, on a support having a plurality of pilot pins protruding from the support, each pilot pin being inserted into each pilot hole and protruding from the contour, the method comprising a third step, carried out after the first and second steps, consisting of bringing each pilot pin into a pilot hole and the contour of the tray to rest on the support surface by crushing each sealing bead.

[0012] Thus, the implementation of the process according to the invention makes it possible to obtain a vehicle body and an assembly according to the invention in which the battery compartment is sealed, thanks to each sealing bead. Indeed, the sealing bead, placed on the support surface, forms a watertight barrier preventing the circulation of water between the floor and the tray that is usually encountered. Thus, the container according to the invention solves the sealing problems commonly encountered.

[0013] According to one embodiment, each zone extends to the peripheral perimeter.

[0014] According to one possibility of the body, the support surface extends at the length of the body's side members, each pilot hole being provided in a side member.

[0015] In one embodiment, each pilot orifice has a rectangular shape.

[0016] Advantageously, the bearing surface has a plurality of screw holes.

[0017] According to one possible assembly, a sealing material is sprayed along the peripheral perimeter.

[0018] In one embodiment, the method includes a fourth step, implemented after the third step, consisting of spraying a sealing material along the peripheral perimeter.

[0019] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description, given solely by way of non-limiting example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0020] [Fig.1] [Fig.1] represents a view from below of a vehicle body according to the invention during the implementation of a method according to the invention;

[0021] [Fig.2] [Fig.2] represents a detailed view of the bearing surface of the body of the [Fig.1] before the formation of an assembly according to the invention;

[0022] In these figures, the same references are used to designate the same elements.

[0023] A body 1 of an electric or hybrid motor vehicle according to the invention, illustrated in the figures, is designed to form an assembly 2 according to the invention, illustrated in [Fig. 1]. The body 1 has a floor 3 designed to form a cover 4 for a battery box 5, formed with a traction battery tray 6, partially illustrated in [Fig. 1]. The box 5 encloses a traction battery, not shown. To this end, the floor 3 has a bearing surface 7 forming a continuous strip designed to receive the support of a contour of the battery tray 6 in order to form the box 5. The bearing surface 7 extends along a peripheral perimeter 8, illustrated in [Fig. 2] by a dashed line, designed to contain the contour of the tray 6. The bearing surface 7 and the contour have complementary shapes. In this case, the contour and the bearing surface 7 are substantially flat.

[0024] The bearing surface 7 has at least one pilot hole 9, each designed to allow the insertion of a pilot pin 10, illustrated in [Fig. 1], in order to guide the approach of the contour on the bearing surface 7. As illustrated, each hole of Pilotage 9, for example, has a rectangular shape.

[0025] As illustrated in [Fig. 2], the bearing surface 7 has at least one sealing bead 11 designed to be compressed by the contour and form a watertight barrier during implementation of the method according to the invention. This watertight barrier thus blocks the circulation of water between the tray 6 and the floor 3, which is usually encountered around the centering holes. As illustrated in [Fig. 2], each bead 11 delimits a zone 12 of the bearing surface 7 extending around a pilot hole 9 and between the pilot hole 9 and the peripheral rim 8. In the example illustrated in [Fig. 2], each zone 12 extends to the peripheral rim 8. The bearing surface 7 extends along the sides 13 of the body 1, each pilot hole 9 being provided in a side member 13.

[0026] In addition to the pilot holes 9, the support surface 7 has a plurality of screw holes 14 allowing the tray 6 to be screwed onto the body 1. The seal around the screw holes 14 between the floor 3 and the tray 6 is ensured during screwing.

[0027] Thus, in assembly 2 according to the invention, the battery tray 6 is fixed with its contour resting on the support surface 7, the contour extending along the peripheral perimeter 8, and by compressing each bead 11. The floor 3 and the tray 6 then form the watertight enclosure 5, designed to house a battery. To ensure the watertightness of the enclosure 5 of assembly 2, a sealing material 15 is sprayed along the peripheral perimeter 8. Thus, each bead 11 is placed on the support surface 7 before a hardware operation, while the sealing material 15 is applied subsequently. Advantageously, the sealing material 15 closes each area 12 to make it watertight.

[0028] Assembly 2 is obtained by implementing a method according to the invention. Such a method comprises a first step consisting of depositing each sealing bead 11 onto the support surface 7 to form a housing 1 according to the invention. A second step of the method consists of placing the battery tray 6 on a support 16 having a plurality of pilot pins 10 projecting from the support 16. Each pilot pin 10 is inserted into a pilot hole (not shown in the figures) formed on the contour and projects from the contour. The method comprises a third step, implemented after the first and second steps, consisting of bringing each pilot pin 10 into a pilot hole 9 and the contour of the tray to rest on the support surface 7 by compressing each sealing bead 11.Finally, a fourth step, implemented after the third step, advantageously consists of spraying the sealing material 15 along the peripheral perimeter 8. Obviously, between the third and fourth steps, the tray 6 is fixed by screwing it to the floor 3. vehicle and assembly 2, of which the casing 5 is watertight, thanks to each sealing cord 12.

[0030] The invention is not limited to the embodiment of the vehicle body described above, only by way of example, but other embodiments can be designed by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope and extent of the present invention.

Claims

Demands

1. Body (1) of an electric or hybrid motor vehicle having a floor (3) designed to form a cover (4) for a battery box (5), the floor (3) having a bearing surface (7) forming a continuous strip designed to receive the support of a contour of a traction battery tray (6) to form the box (5) designed to enclose a traction battery, the bearing surface (7) extending along a peripheral perimeter (8) designed to contain the contour, the bearing surface (7) having at least one pilot hole (9) each designed to allow the introduction of a pilot pin (10) to pilot the approach of the contour to the bearing surface (7), the bearing surface (7) having at least one sealing bead (11), designed to be crushed by the contour and form a watertight barrier,each cord (11) delimiting each a zone (12) of the bearing surface (7) extending around a pilot hole (9) and between the pilot hole (9) and the peripheral perimeter (8).

2. Vehicle body (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that each zone (12) extends to the peripheral perimeter (8).

3. Vehicle body (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the bearing surface (7) extends at the length of the side members (13) of the body (1), each pilot hole (9) being provided in a side member (13).

4. Vehicle body (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that each pilot hole (9) has a rectangular shape.

5. Vehicle body (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the bearing surface (7) has a plurality of screw holes (14).

6. Assembly (2) comprising a vehicle body (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and a traction battery tray (6) having a contour fixed in support on the support surface (7) by crushing each sealing bead (11), the floor (3) and the tray (6) forming a box (5) designed to accommodate a traction battery, the contour extending along the peripheral perimeter (8).

7. Assembly (2) according to claim 6, characterized in that a sealing material (15) is sprayed along the peripheral perimeter (8).

8. Motor vehicle having an assembly (2) according to claim- indication 6 or 7.

9. A method for obtaining an assembly (2) according to claim 6 or 7 and comprising a first step of depositing at least one sealing bead (11) on a support surface (7) to form a vehicle body (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the method comprising a second step of placing a traction battery tray (6), having a plurality of pilot holes formed on a contour, on a support (16) having a plurality of pilot pins (10) projecting from the support (16), each pilot pin (10) being inserted into each pilot hole and projecting from the contour, the method comprising a third step, carried out after the first and second steps, of bringing each pilot pin (10) into a pilot hole (9) and the contour of the tray (6) to rest on the support surface (7) by crushing each sealing bead (11).

10. Assembly method according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises a fourth step, carried out after the third step, consisting of spraying a sealing material (15) along the peripheral perimeter (8).