A vehicle part

Abstract

A vehicle part 100 comprising an impact deflector 31 is provided for protecting a battery casing 400 on an underside of a vehicle. The impact deflector is integrally formed with the vehicle part. Vehi

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a vehicle part. Aspects of the invention relate to a vehicle part, to an assembly, and to a vehicle. BACKGROUND Vehicle battery systems require protection from impacting objects. Battery systems in vehicles designed for off road use require increased protection compared to other vehicle types. Due to their size and weight, batteries are typically located at the base of an electric vehicle to provide a low centre of gravity and also to make use of the absence of an exhaust system and other components that are not employed by using an electric drive train compared to an internal combustion engine. However, arranging the battery in this way increases the risks of impacting objects striking the battery. It is an aim of the present invention to address one or more of the disadvantages associated with the prior art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Aspects and embodiments of the invention provide a vehicle part, an assembly, and a vehicle as claimed in the appended claims According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle part comprising an impact deflector for protecting a battery casing on an underside of a vehicle, the impact deflector being formed with the vehicle part, the vehicle part connectable to the battery casing. The impact deflector comprises an inclined surface relative to the fixation. In this way protection from impacting objects is built in integrally to the parts of a vehicle, no additional, dedicated, impact deflector is required thereby reducing construction cost, time, and complexity. According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a vehicle part comprising an impact deflector for protecting a battery casing on an underside of a vehicle; the impact deflector being integrally formed with the vehicle part, the vehicle part comprising a fixation for connection to the battery casing; wherein the impact deflector comprises an inclined surface relative to the fixation and arranged such that a maximum inclination of the inclined surface is directed towards the battery casing and a minimum inclination of the inclined surface is directed towards a perimeter of a vehicle body. Optionally, the vehicle part has a primary function and a secondary function, wherein the secondary function is to provide impact deflection via the impact deflector. In this way parts which are already intended for use in constructing a vehicle may be imbued with the required impact deflector, negating the need for additional dedicated impact deflector parts. Optionally, the secondary function is subsidiary to the primary function. The impact deflection properties may be provided to a part without detracting from that parts’ original and first purpose. No specific or new impact deflector is required, nor is the original function of a vehicle part impaired or negatively altered by the adaptation to provide a secondary impact deflection function. Optionally, the vehicle part is one or more from a body in white, undertray, crash protection system, cross brace. These are example parts that are required to construct a vehicle and are suitable for adapting to include an impact deflector without altering the original purpose of these parts. Optionally, the impact deflector is arranged adjacent the fixation. Collision of an impacting object on a fixation point may present a risk to the fixation and premature detachment of the vehicle part. Providing the impact deflector adjacent the fixation reduces this risk as the fixation is protected by the impact deflector. Optionally, the impact deflector has a constant thickness with a material thickness of the vehicle part. The impact deflector may therefore be formed of the same, or from, the material of the vehicle part. No additional manufacturing stages or processes may be required to provide the impact deflector. The material thickness of the vehicle part may be suitable for the impact deflector to function without adaptation. Optionally, the impact deflector is sacrificial. The impact deflector may be designed to absorb an impact and prevent transmission of impacting forces to other sections or parts of the vehicle. In this way the impact deflector is sacrificial. Optionally, the impact deflector is arranged to span substantially a length of the vehicle part. Impact deflection may be provided over the greatest area by spanning the impact deflector substantially the whole length of the vehicle part. Optionally, the impact deflector is arranged to partially span a length of the vehicle part. The impact deflector may be arranged on the vehicle part at a location where the greatest benefit of the impact deflector may be provided, or a vehicle part may have a greatest length that is only partially positioned such that an impact deflector arranged thereon would protect a battery casing, therefore provision of an impact deflector along the entire length of the vehicle part is not required. Optionally, the vehicle part comprises a plurality of impact deflectors. For example, a vehicle part may straddle another part such that multiple discrete sections of a vehicle part are positioned such that an impact deflector would be able to protect a battery casing, or if there are multiple battery casings in proximity to a single vehicle part. In such situations, or similar, multiple impact deflectors may be provided on a vehicle part. Optionally, the vehicle part is formed at least partially by stamping. Forming the vehicle part, including the impact deflector should not require additional particular manufacturing processes to form the impact deflector. Stamping of parts may be adapted to provide an impact deflector during the normal manufacturing process of a given part. Stamping also allows the impact deflector to be readily formed integrally with a vehicle part. According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an assembly comprising a vehicle part as discussed above, and a battery casing, wherein the vehicle part is fastened to the battery casing via the fixation such that the impact deflector is arranged to urge an impacting object away from the battery casing. Arranging the impact deflector to urge an impacting object away from the battery casing ensures that the battery casing is protected from any impacting object. The fixation holds the parts in relative position and ensures the protection from the impact deflector is maintained during use of a vehicle comprising the assembly. Optionally, the battery casing comprises a radiused surface arranged adjacent the maximum inclination of the impact deflector. The radiused surface provides a further deflecting surface ensuring any impacting object cannot provide anything other than a glancing blow to the battery casing. Such a radiused surface also allows precision of placement of the impact deflector to be relaxed as, provided the impact deflector is arranged adjacent any of the curvature of the entire radiused surface, the impact deflector may function correctly. Optionally, the maximum inclination of the inclined surface is configured to be arranged substantially flush with a main surface of the battery casing. Arranging the impact deflector in this way ensures that any impacting object cannot contact the battery casing as the battery casing does not sit proud of the flush impact deflector. According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided a vehicle comprising one or more vehicle parts as or an assembly as discussed above. Within the scope of this application it is expressly intended that the various aspects, embodiments, examples and alternatives set out in the preceding paragraphs, in the claims and / or in the following description and drawings, and in particular the individual features thereof, may be taken independently or in any combination. That is, all embodiments and / or features of any embodiment can be combined in anyway and / or combination, unless such features are incompatible. The applicant reserves the right to change any originally filed claim or file any new claim accordingly, including the right to amend any originally filed claim to depend from and / or incorporate any feature of any other claim although not originally claimed in that manner. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS One or more embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a front perspective view of a vehicle part; Figure 2 shows a rear perspective view of a vehicle part; Figure 3 shows a side view of a vehicle part; Figure 4 shows an assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; Figure 5 shows an assembly in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 6 shows a vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION A vehicle part 100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is described herein with reference to the accompanying Figure 1. The vehicle part 100 may be any vehicle part 100 that is used in a vehicle 600 as shown in Figure 6 and is intended to be fixed to a battery casing 41 (Figures 4 and 5), where the battery casing 41 forms, is adjacent to, or arranged near, the floor or underside of the vehicle 600 such that the battery casing 41 is at risk of damage from an impacting object. The vehicle part 100 may be arranged transverse of the vehicle and in front of the battery casing 41 to protect from fontal impacts, although other locations and orientations are possible. The vehicle part 100 depicted in Figures 1 to 3 comprises a plate like structure with fixation points, including fixation 11 for attachment to a battery casing 41, as shown in Figure 4. Fixations can take any suitable form, such as an aperture as shown in Figures 1 to 3 to receive a stud or bolt, or the fixation 11 may be a stud or bolt itself, or any other kinds of mechanical or chemical fixing provided the fixation 11 is able to adequately perform the function of bonding or connecting the vehicle part 100 to another part, such as the battery casing 41. The vehicle part 100 may be a component of a crash protection system 51 as shown in Figure 5. One or more impact deflectors 10 are arranged adjacent the or each fixation 11. The impact deflector 10 comprises an inclined surface 12 such that, when in use, the inclined surface 12 possesses a maximum inclination adjacent the battery casing 41 and a minimum inclination towards a perimeter or outer edge of the vehicle 600. Typically, the minimum inclination is remote or distal from the battery casing 41 compared to the maximum inclination which may be adjacent or proximal the battery casing 41. This is so that an impacting object, impacting the impact deflector 10 is guided along the ramp provided by the inclined surface 12, from the minimum inclination, to the maximum inclination, at which point the impacting object is provided with a path of travel that avoids contact with the battery casing 41 e.g. towards the ground or away from the vehicle 600. The transition between the inclined surface 12, and other surfaces surrounding the inclined surface 12 may be substantially a smooth transition, such that the risk of impacting objects catching or snagging upon the impact deflector 10 and / or the fixation 11 and / or on the front edge of the battery frame in a frontal impact is minimised. As such, a main angled face of the impact deflector 10 guides / deflects debris underneath / away from the battery. The minimum inclination may be arranged towards the path of travel of the vehicle 600 and the maximum inclination in the opposite direction, such that an impacting object striking the vehicle 600, as the vehicle 600 proceeds, contacts the impact deflector 10 at a point that is towards the minimum inclination of the impact deflector 10 first. The path of travel of the vehicle 600 may not always be in the forward direction, but could be reverse, or indeed in some cases sideways or diagonally if the vehicle 600 is capable of omni-directional travel. The minimum inclination of the impact deflector 10 may be arranged to be proximate any conceivable intended direction of travel of a vehicle 600. The impact deflector 10 may also comprise side walls enclosing a volume between the inclined surface 12 and the vehicle part 100. The inclined surface 12 towards the end of maximum inclination may be provided with an end wall. The inclined surface 12 towards the end of minimum inclination may transition substantially smoothly or continuously into the vehicle part 100, or the impact deflector 10 may comprise a defined end having a nose 31 or inflection point marking the end of the impact deflector 10 and the rest of the vehicle part 100. The impact deflector 10 may comprise an aperture or connection point (not shown) to accommodate other design features or vehicle parts. Impacting objects may be anything which may be found in the path of a vehicle 600, including but not limited to rocks, stones, and road debris. Indeed, anything which may strike a blow to the underside of the vehicle 600 should the vehicle 600 pass over the object. As such, impacting objects may also include broken parts of the vehicle resulting from an impact or rapid, uncontrolled, disassembly. Such objects may include elements of the subframe / electric drive unit / brackets. The impact deflector 10 may be sacrificial, such that it is able to absorb the blow from an impacting object and shield the battery casing 41 from the force of the blow, even if that results in the destruction or partial destruction of the impact deflector 10. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the vehicle part 100 is provided with multiple discrete impact deflectors 10 which partially span the length of the vehicle part 100. The plurality of impact deflectors may be arranged to protect key areas of a battery casing 41 such as connection points or areas which cannot be provided with as much shielding as other sections. In the alternative a single impact deflector 10 could be provided substantially along the whole length of the vehicle part 100 if required to maximise protection. The vehicle part 100 is typically formed by stamping or pressing the vehicle part 100 from a sheet of metal. Other suitable methods include roll forming or extrusion. The die may be adapted to simultaneously form the impact deflector 10 at the same time, and integrally, with the vehicle part 100. This reduces manufacturing steps. As such the impact deflector 10 may be formed from a single piece of material, which also forms the vehicle part 100. The impact deflector 10 may therefore have a material thickness that is similar or the same as the material thickness of the final vehicle part 100. The vehicle part 100 may be formed of any suitable material, including metals such as steel and aluminium or a plastic or composite, such as polypropylene, fibreglass, or carbon fibre. The impact deflector 10 may be integrally formed with any vehicle part 100 made from these materials. Figures 4 and 5 show the vehicle part 100 forming part of an assembly 400, 500. Figure 4 shows the vehicle part 100 depicted in Figures 1 to 3 connected, via the fixation 11, to the battery casing 41. Any suitable connection of the battery casing 41 may be used to attach the vehicle part 100. As can be seen in Figure 4, the battery casing is provided with a flange 44 having a complementary fixation 11 to the vehicle part 100 fixation 11, in this instance an aperture through which a bolt may pass. Figure 5 shows the assembly 500 of the vehicle part 100 with a crash protection system 51 and a battery casing 41. The vehicle part 100 is attached to the battery casing 41 as shown in Figure 4, and then the vehicle part 100 is also further attached to other elements of the crash protection system 51. In this way, the impact deflector (10) of the vehicle part (100) is arranged to urge an impacting object away from the battery casing (41), Such an object striking the vehicle part (100) meets the minimum inclination end of the inclined surface (12) of the impact deflector (10) first and then progresses along the inclined surface (12) towards the area of maximum inclination, at which point the impacting object is traveling a path having a direction away from the battery casing (41), thereby preventing a serious impact. As can be seen in Figures 4 and 5, the battery casing 41 may be provided with a radiused surface 42. The radiused surface 42 provides a further deflecting surface ensuring any impacting object is likely to only provide a glancing blow to the battery casing 41. Such a radiused surface 42 also allows precision of placement of the impact deflector 10 to be relaxed as, provided the impact deflector 10 is arranged adjacent any of the curvature of the entire radiused surface 42, the impact deflector 10 may function correctly. As can be seen in the Figures, the inclined surface 12 is lined up to meet the radiused surface 42, such that there is a synergy between the two parts with the radiused surface 42 providing an extension to the inclined surface 12 of the impact deflector 10 ensuring an impacting object continues on a path that takes the impacting object away from the battery casing 41. Alternatively, the impact deflector 10 may be arranged substantially flush with a main surface 43 of the battery casing 41 so an impacting object is placed on a pathway that leads away from the battery casing 41 by the inclined surface 12 of the impact deflector 10 alone. As shown in Figure 6, the vehicle part 100 is installed in a vehicle 600. The vehicle part 100 may be directly installed to the vehicle 600, or pre-attached to a sub-assembly 400, 500 which is then fitted to the vehicle 600. The vehicle part 100 also has a function, which the vehicle part 100 is designed to perform, which is something other than the function provided by the impact deflector 10 of the part 100. The vehicle part 100 also may provide some other form of impact protection, but this may not be to protect the battery casing 41 per se from an impacting object. The function of the vehicle part 100 may be to complete the form of the body in white, an undertray, a crash protection system, or a cross brace for a vehicle 600. In this way, the vehicle part 100 can be considered to have a primary function, with impact deflection as a secondary function, which secondary function is potentially subsidiary to the primary function. It will be appreciated that various changes and modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A vehicle part comprising an impact deflector for protecting a battery casing on an underside of a vehicle;the impact deflector being integrally formed with the vehicle part, the vehicle part comprising a fixation for connection to the battery casing;wherein the impact deflector comprises an inclined surface relative to the fixation and arranged such that a maximum inclination of the inclined surface is directed towards the battery casing and a minimum inclination of the inclined surface is directed towards a perimeter of a vehicle body.

2. A vehicle part, as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle part has a primary function and a secondary function, wherein the secondary function is to provide impact deflection via the impact deflector.

3. A vehicle part, as claimed in claim 2, wherein the secondary function is subsidiary to the primary function.

4. A vehicle part as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the vehicle part is one or more from a body in white, undertray, crash protection system, cross brace.

5. A vehicle part as claimed in any previous claim wherein the impact deflector is arranged adjacent the fixation.

6. A vehicle part as claimed in any previous claim wherein the impact deflector has a constant thickness with a material thickness of the vehicle part.

7. A vehicle part as claimed in any previous claim wherein the impact deflector is sacrificial.

8. A vehicle part as claimed in any previous claim, wherein the vehicle part comprises a plurality of impact deflectors.

9. A vehicle part as claimed in any previous claim wherein the impact deflector is arranged to at least partially span a length of the vehicle part.

10. A vehicle part as claimed in any previous claim wherein the impact deflector is arranged to span substantially the entire length of the vehicle part.

11. A vehicle part, as claimed in any previous claim, wherein the vehicle part is formed at least partially by stamping.

12. An assembly comprising a vehicle part as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11 and a battery casing, wherein the vehicle part is fastened to the battery casing via the fixation such that the impact deflector is arranged to urge an impacting object away from the battery casing.5 13. An assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein the battery casing comprises a radiused surfacearranged adjacent the maximum inclination of the impact deflector.

14. An assembly as claimed in either claim 12 or 13, wherein the maximum inclination of the inclined surface is configured to be arranged substantially flush with a main surface of the battery casing.1015. A vehicle comprising one or more vehicle parts as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11, or an assembly as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 14.15

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