Floor member

Abstract

To provide a floor member that can secure a wide cabin space provided on an upper side of a floor surface while guaranteeing strength of the floor surface in an electric motor vehicle.SOLUTION: A floor member 10 is disposed on a battery 2 for supplying power to a drive source for driving an electric motor vehicle so as to cover the battery 2 and installed underfloor of a cabin. The floor member includes a floor body 15 in which a lower plate 11 covering an upper surface of the battery 2, an upper plate 12 provided above the lower plate 11, and a plurality of partition walls 13 for partitioning an interval between the lower plate 11 and the upper plate 12 into a plurality of regions R are integrally formed, where the upper plate 12 has a thickness W2 that is thicker than a thickness W1 of the lower plate 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a floor member disposed above a battery. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, automobiles equipped with a motor as a driving source (such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)) have become widespread. These automobiles (hereinafter collectively referred to as "electric vehicles") are equipped with a battery to drive the motor. The battery in an electric vehicle is often placed under the floor panel, which is under the feet of the occupants.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a floor structure for an electric vehicle that includes a floor panel and a battery pack disposed below the floor panel. The battery pack in this floor structure includes a battery, a battery case, and a battery cover that covers an opening at the top of the battery case. The battery cover is formed by joining a lower plate and an upper plate.

[0004] Patent Document 2 discloses a floor structure for an electric vehicle that includes a floor panel and a battery unit disposed below the floor panel. The battery unit in this floor structure includes a battery case that includes a tray member and a cover member, and is further configured to include a metal member so that electrical components housed inside the battery unit are not affected by electromagnetic waves. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-96930 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2009-83599 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the case of the electric vehicle floor structure disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a floor panel and a battery cover for a battery case (or a battery unit) are separately present. In addition, in the case of the electric vehicle floor structure disclosed in Patent Document 1, a heat sink is provided for cooling the battery stored in the battery case. In order to arrange the heat sink in the floor structure, it was necessary to form the battery cover from two members and provide an appropriate gap between the two members while joining them. Therefore, since the floor structure is formed by joining multiple members, there is a risk that the strength of the floor surface will be reduced, and furthermore, the vehicle interior space provided above the floor panel tends to be narrow. Thus, there is room for further improvement in the floor members of electric vehicles.

[0007] Therefore, there is a demand for a floor member in an electric vehicle that can ensure a large vehicle interior space above while ensuring the strength of the floor surface. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One embodiment of a floor member according to the present invention is a floor member that is arranged above a battery that supplies power to a driving source that drives an electric vehicle, and is provided under the floor of a vehicle compartment, and comprises a floor body integrally formed with a lower plate that covers the upper surface of the battery, an upper plate that is provided above the lower plate, and a plurality of partition walls that divide the space between the lower plate and the upper plate into a plurality of regions, and the thickness of the upper plate is greater than the thickness of the lower plate.

[0009] According to this embodiment, the floor member includes a floor body that is integrally formed with a lower plate that covers the upper surface of the battery, an upper plate that is provided above the lower plate, and a plurality of partition walls that divide the space between the lower plate and the upper plate into a plurality of regions. This makes it possible to reduce the number of joints between the plurality of members, thereby making it possible to reduce the space required for the floor member. This allows a wide passenger compartment to be provided above the floor member in an electric vehicle. In addition, since the thickness of the upper plate in the floor body is greater than the thickness of the lower plate, the strength of the floor surface can be improved by the upper plate. In this way, a floor member that can ensure a wide passenger compartment provided above while ensuring the strength of the floor surface has been realized. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the arrangement of a battery unit and a floor member in an electric vehicle. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the arrangement of a battery unit and a floor member in an electric vehicle. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the battery unit and a floor member. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view of the battery unit and the floor member. FIG. [Diagram 5] 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the battery unit and the floor member. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion of a floor member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the floor member according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are merely examples for explaining the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. Therefore, the present invention can be implemented in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, a battery unit 1 for a vehicle is mounted at the center in the vehicle width direction of an electric vehicle V and under the floor between the front and rear wheels. The electric vehicle V is an automobile equipped with a rotating electric machine (one example of a driving source) such as a motor as a driving source for traveling, and examples thereof include a hybrid vehicle (HEV: Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV: Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a battery vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle), and a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV: Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle). The electric vehicle V includes a rotating electric machine (not shown) that is driven by power supplied from the battery unit 1, and wheels T to which power from the rotating electric machine is transmitted via a reduction mechanism (not shown) or the like. The electric vehicle V travels when power is supplied to the rotating electric machine and the wheels T rotate.

[0013] [Battery unit configuration] As shown in Fig. 3, the battery unit 1 includes a battery pack 2 (an example of a battery), a battery case 3, a floor member 10, and a floor cloth 6. As shown in Fig. 1, the floor cloth 6 is provided to secure a vehicle seat S arranged in a vehicle compartment C. The floor member 10 includes a floor main body 15 that forms an upper portion of the battery case 3, and an energy absorbing member 5 that is arranged on a side of the floor main body 15. In the following, the vehicle width direction of the electric vehicle V is defined as the X direction, the front-rear direction is defined as the Y direction, and the vehicle height direction is defined as the Z direction (see Figs. 1 to 6).

[0014] The battery pack 2 is configured to have a plurality of battery modules 2a (four in this embodiment) arranged in parallel along the X direction (vehicle width direction) with a plurality of cells connected in series, and electrically connected along the Y direction. The battery pack 2 is a rechargeable battery (secondary battery) such as a nickel-metal hydride battery or a lithium-ion battery. The battery case 3 has a rectangular bottom plate 3a and a side plate 3c provided from the periphery of the bottom plate 3a via a rising portion 3b, and the battery pack 2 is housed inside. The side plate 3c is arranged parallel to the bottom plate 3a. The battery case 3 is formed of a metal such as iron or aluminum. A support sheet 4 on which the battery module 2a is placed is arranged on the bottom plate 3a.

[0015] [Configuration of floor components] As shown in Figs. 2 to 4, the floor member 10 includes a floor body 15 and an energy absorbing member 5. The floor body 15 is rectangular in plan view, and is configured by integrally forming a lower plate 11 that covers the upper surface of the battery pack 2, an upper plate 12 provided above the lower plate 11, and a plurality of partition walls 13 that divide the space between the lower plate 11 and the upper plate 12 into a plurality of regions R. In this embodiment, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, the partition walls 13 are provided in the Z direction (a direction perpendicular to the upper plate 12 and the lower plate 11). Although not shown, the partition walls 13 may be provided in a direction other than the Z direction. A plurality of (three in this embodiment) floor cloths 6 are arranged in close contact with the upper plate 12 of the floor body 15. As shown in Fig. 6, the floor body 15 is configured such that the thickness W2 of the upper plate 12 is greater than the thickness W1 of the lower plate 11. The thickness W2 of the upper plate 12 is greater than the thickness W1 of the lower plate 11, so that the floor member 10 can effectively ensure the strength of the floor surface (upper plate 12). The floor member 10 is formed by extrusion molding using a metal such as iron or aluminum.

[0016] A pair of frame plates 14, 14 are disposed on both sides of the floor main body 15 in the X direction (vehicle width direction), and a pair of energy absorbing members 5, 5 are disposed on the upper side of the pair of frame plates 14, 14. The floor member 10 of this embodiment is configured by integrating the floor main body 15, the pair of frame plates 14, 14, and the pair of energy absorbing members 5, 5. As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of frame plates 14, 14 are extended downward in the Z direction, and the lower ends of the pair of frame plates 14, 14 are respectively joined to the side plates 3c of the battery case 3.

[0017] The energy absorbing member 5 is disposed on the upper side of the pair of frame plates 14, 14. The energy absorbing member 5 is a hollow rectangular tubular member that extends outward in the X direction (vehicle width direction) and is formed of a metal such as iron or aluminum, like the floor main body 15. The energy absorbing member 5 of this embodiment has a hollow portion partitioned into multiple portions (four portions in this embodiment). The energy absorbing member 5 absorbs an external force due to a collision by crushing the hollow portions, and suppresses the transmission of this external force to the battery pack 2. The energy absorbing member 5 is disposed above the floor main body 15 in a state integrated with the upper plate 12.

[0018] 1, a front frame 7 is disposed on the vehicle front side in the Y direction of the floor main body 15, and a rear frame 8 is disposed on the vehicle rear side in the Y direction of the floor main body 15. The front frame 7 and the rear frame 8 are separate members from the floor main body 15, and the lower ends of the front frame 7 and the rear frame 8 are each joined to a side plate 3c of the battery case 3.

[0019] As shown in Figs. 4 to 6, the lower plate 11 of the floor main body 15 is disposed above the battery pack 2. A thermally conductive sheet 9 is placed on the upper surface of the battery pack 2, and the lower plate 11 of the floor main body 15 is disposed so as to be in close contact with the thermally conductive sheet 9. A cooling fluid is configured to be able to flow through a plurality of regions R formed in the floor main body 15. This allows the battery pack 2 to be cooled by the cooling fluid flowing through the plurality of regions R. The cooling fluid is cooling water such as long-life coolant (LLC), insulating oil such as paraffin, or refrigerant such as hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) or hydrofluoroolefin (HFO). In the following description, the cooling fluid is cooling water.

[0020] For example, a cooling water inlet 17 is connected to the front side of the vehicle in the Y direction of each of the multiple regions R, and a cooling water outlet 18 is connected to the rear side of the vehicle in the Y direction of each of the multiple regions R. This allows the cooling water to flow from the front side of the vehicle to the rear side of the vehicle in the multiple regions R (see FIG. 5). That is, as shown by the arrows in FIG. 2, the multiple regions R are configured so that the cooling water for cooling the battery pack 2 flows from the front side of the vehicle to the rear side of the vehicle along the Y direction.

[0021] The thermally conductive sheet 9 is provided to increase the thermal conductivity between the battery pack 2 and the cooling water flowing through the multiple regions R of the floor main body 15. The thermally conductive sheet 9 is made of resin such as silicone or acrylic and has flexibility, and the thermal conductivity can be increased by blending, for example, a metal filler, a ceramic filler, or the like. Therefore, the floor main body 15 can reliably cool the battery pack 2 by circulating the cooling water through the multiple regions R.

[0022] In the battery unit 1, a floor cloth 6 is placed along the X direction (vehicle width direction) on the upper surface (upper plate 12) of the floor main body 15. Therefore, even if an external force is applied to the battery unit 1 from the X direction, the external force is received by the floor cloth 6 and the floor member 10, so that the transmission of the external force to the battery pack 2 is suppressed.

[0023] The length of the floor cloths 6 in the X direction is equal to the length of the floor main body 15 in the X direction. The three floor cloths 6 cover a part of the upper plate 12 of the floor member 10 in a plan view. In other words, the floor member 10 can be seen by removing the interior floor mat except for the areas where the three floor cloths 6 are placed.

[0024] [Another embodiment] The present invention may be configured as follows in addition to the above-described embodiment.

[0025] (1) In the above embodiment, the cooling water is circulated through the multiple regions R, but a cooling gas such as air (an example of a cooling fluid) may be circulated through the multiple regions R.

[0026] (2) In the above embodiment, an example was shown in which the floor member 10 was provided integrally with the energy absorbing member 5, but the energy absorbing member 5 may be configured as a separate member from the floor member 10.

[0027] In the embodiment of the floor element 10 described above, the following configurations are envisaged.

[0028] <1> One embodiment of the floor member 10 is a floor member (10) that is arranged on top of a battery (2) so as to cover the battery (2) that supplies power to a driving source that drives an electric vehicle (V) and is provided under the floor of the vehicle compartment (C), and is provided with a floor main body (15) that is integrally formed with a lower plate (11) that covers the upper surface of the battery (2), an upper plate (12) that is provided above the lower plate (11), and a plurality of partition walls (13) that divide the space between the lower plate (11) and the upper plate (12) into a plurality of regions R, and the thickness (W2) of the upper plate (12) is greater than the thickness (W1) of the lower plate (11).

[0029] In this embodiment, the floor member (10) includes a floor body (15) integrally formed with a lower plate (11) covering the upper surface of the battery (2), an upper plate (12) provided above the lower plate (11), and a plurality of partition walls (13) that divide the space between the lower plate (11) and the upper plate (12) into a plurality of regions (R). This makes it possible to reduce the number of joints between the plurality of members (11), (12), and (13), thereby making it possible to reduce the space of the floor member (10). This allows a wide passenger compartment (C) to be provided above the floor member (10) in the electric vehicle (V). In addition, in the floor body (15), the thickness (W2) of the upper plate (12) is greater than the thickness (W1) of the lower plate (11), so that the strength of the floor surface of the floor body (15) can be improved by the upper plate (12). In this way, a floor member (10) that can ensure a wide passenger compartment (C) provided above while ensuring the strength of the floor surface has been realized.

[0030] <2> <1> In the above, it is preferable that a cooling fluid for cooling the battery (2) flows through the multiple regions (R).

[0031] According to this embodiment, in the floor member (10), a cooling fluid for cooling the battery (2) flows through a plurality of regions R partitioned by a plurality of partition walls (13) provided between the lower plate (11) and the upper plate (12). Therefore, the floor member (10) does not require a new structure for circulating the cooling fluid for cooling the battery (2). As a result, the floor member (10) can be configured compactly.

[0032] <3> <1> or <2> It is preferable that the floor structure further comprises energy absorbing members (5) provided on both sides of the floor main body (15), and the energy absorbing members (5) are integrated with the floor main body (10).

[0033] According to this embodiment, the floor member (10) has the energy absorbing members (5, 5) on both sides of the floor main body (15) integrated with the floor main body (15), so there is no need to join the energy absorbing members (5) to vehicle components such as the floor main body (15). Therefore, the energy absorbing members (5) can be easily disposed in the vehicle (V).

[0034] <4> <3> In the floor structure, it is preferable that the energy absorbing member (5) is disposed above the floor main body (15) while being integrated with the upper plate (12).

[0035] According to this embodiment, since the energy absorbing member (5) is disposed above the floor body (15) in the floor member (10), heat conduction is unlikely to occur between the floor body (15) and the energy absorbing member (5). This allows efficient heat conduction between the floor body (15) and the battery (2). In addition, by circulating, for example, a cooling fluid inside the floor body (15), the heat exchanged between the floor body (15) and the battery (2) can be effectively utilized. [Industrial Applicability]

[0036] The present invention can be utilized in a floor member that is placed above a battery. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 2: battery pack (battery), 3: battery case, 5: energy absorbing member, 10: floor member, 11: lower plate, 12: upper plate, 13: partition wall, 15: floor body, C: vehicle compartment, R: area, V: electric vehicle, W1: thickness of lower plate, W2: thickness of upper plate

Claims

1. A floor member disposed on a battery so as to cover the battery and provided under a floor of a vehicle compartment, the floor member comprising: A floor body is provided with a lower plate covering an upper surface of the battery, an upper plate provided above the lower plate, and a plurality of partition walls dividing a space between the lower plate and the upper plate into a plurality of regions, the floor body being integrally formed with the lower plate, A floor member in which the thickness of the upper plate is greater than the thickness of the lower plate.

2. The floor member according to claim 1 , wherein a cooling fluid for cooling the battery flows through the plurality of regions.

3. The floor body further includes energy absorbing members provided on both sides thereof, The floor member according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the energy absorbing member is integrated with the floor body.

4. The floor member according to claim 3 , wherein the energy absorbing member is disposed above the floor body while being integrated with the upper plate.

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