Vehicle battery protection device
The battery protection device uses a deployable flap and detection systems to prevent obstacles from contacting the battery, enhancing safety and reducing weight by optimizing flap deployment.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-30
- Publication Date
- 2026-05-15
AI Technical Summary
Existing battery protection devices fail to effectively prevent obstacles from contacting the battery during vehicle collisions, particularly when the vehicle body rides over obstacles, risking damage to the battery.
A battery protection device featuring a flap on the vehicle's underside that can be displaced to an extended position to prevent obstacles from entering below the vehicle floor, utilizing LiDAR and a camera to detect potential collisions and activate the flap or brakes to avoid contact, with the flap only deploying when necessary to minimize wear.
The device effectively prevents obstacles from contacting the battery, reduces vehicle weight by eliminating the need for additional protective members, and extends the lifespan of the flap and its actuator by minimizing unnecessary deployments.
Smart Images
Figure 2026079563000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This disclosure relates to a battery protection device for a vehicle.
Background Art
[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a battery protection member in which an inclined surface and a buffer chamber are formed. When the battery protection member receives a collision with an obstacle on the inclined surface, it deflects and deform rearward, and at the same time, the buffer chamber also absorbs the collision to double-absorb the energy generated by the collision with the obstacle.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] The technique described in Patent Document 1 is configured to mitigate the impact while the vehicle body rides over the obstacle when the vehicle collides with an obstacle. Therefore, there is a risk that the impact will also affect the battery when the vehicle body rides over the obstacle.
[0005] This disclosure is made in consideration of the above facts, and an object thereof is to obtain a battery protection device for a vehicle that can suppress contact between an obstacle and a battery.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] A battery protection device for a vehicle according to the first embodiment includes a flap provided at the lower part of the vehicle body in a vehicle in which the battery is located below the floor of the vehicle body, and which is displaceable to an extended position protruding from the lower surface of the vehicle body or to a retracted position retracted above the extended position; a detection unit for detecting obstacles in the direction of travel of the vehicle; and a control unit that displaces the flap to the extended position when it is determined that the obstacle detected by the detection unit may come into contact with the battery.
[0007] In the first embodiment, a flap is provided on the underside of the vehicle body that can be displaced to an extended position protruding from the underside of the vehicle body or to a retracted position retracted above the extended position. When it is determined that an obstacle in the direction of travel of the vehicle may come into contact with a battery located below the floor of the vehicle body, the flap is displaced to the extended position. As a result, the flap prevents the obstacle from entering below the floor of the vehicle body, thus preventing the obstacle from coming into contact with the battery.
[0008] In the second embodiment, the flap is provided on any of the following: the front end of the front bumper, the front end of the front suspension, the rear end of the front suspension, the rear end of the rear bumper, the rear end of the rear suspension, and the front end of the rear suspension.
[0009] In the second embodiment, if the flap is provided on the front end of the front bumper, the front end of the front suspension, or the rear end of the front suspension, it can prevent obstacles approaching the vehicle from the front from entering below the vehicle's floor. Also, if the flap is provided on the rear end of the rear bumper, the rear end of the rear suspension, or the front end of the rear suspension, it can prevent obstacles approaching the vehicle from the rear from entering below the vehicle's floor.
[0010] In the third embodiment, in the first embodiment, the detection unit detects the height of an obstacle when it detects an obstacle in the direction of travel of the vehicle, and the control unit determines that there is a possibility that the obstacle may come into contact with the battery if the height of the obstacle detected by the detection unit is equal to or greater than the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle body.
[0011] In the third embodiment, the height of the obstacle is detected, and if the height of the obstacle is greater than or equal to the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle body, it is determined that the obstacle may come into contact with the battery. This allows for an accurate determination of whether or not an obstacle may come into contact with the battery.
[0012] In the fourth aspect, in the first aspect, the control unit activates the brakes of the vehicle when it determines that the obstacle may come into contact with the battery, and if it determines that contact between the obstacle and the battery cannot be avoided even after the brakes have been activated, it displaces the flap to the deployed position.
[0013] In the fourth embodiment, the vehicle's brakes are activated when it is determined that there is a possibility of contact with the battery due to an obstacle. Furthermore, if it is determined that contact between the obstacle and the battery cannot be avoided even after the brakes are activated, for example, if it is determined that the vehicle cannot be stopped before the obstacle even if the brakes are activated due to a high initial vehicle speed, the flap is displaced to the deployed position. As a result, the flap is not displaced to the deployed position when contact between the obstacle and the battery can be avoided by the activation of the brakes, thus reducing the number of times the flap is displaced to the deployed position and extending the lifespan of the flap and the actuator that displaces the flap. [Effects of the Invention]
[0014] This disclosure has the effect of preventing obstacles from coming into contact with the battery. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0015] [Figure 1]This is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a battery protection device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] This is an illustrative diagram showing an example of a vehicle and an obstacle. [Figure 3] (A) is a side view of the vehicle showing the flap in the retracted position, and (B) is a side view showing the flap in the deployed position. [Figure 4] This is a flowchart showing the flap control process. [Figure 5] This is a side view of the vehicle showing variations in the flap installation position. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0016] Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figure 1 shows a battery protection device 20 according to this embodiment. As shown in Figure 2, in a vehicle 10 equipped with the battery protection device 20, a battery 12, which serves as a drive source for an MG (motor generator) (not shown), is located below the floor of the vehicle body. The vehicle 10 may be a PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle), a BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle), or a HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle).
[0017] The battery protection device 20 is a device for preventing the battery 12 from coming into contact with an obstacle 14, and includes a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) 22 and a camera 24. The LiDAR 22 is installed at the front end of the vehicle 10 and emits laser light in front of the vehicle 10, detecting the distance and height H (see Figure 2) to the obstacle 14 in front of the vehicle 10 based on the information from the reflected light.
[0018] The camera 24 is composed of a stereo camera and is provided inside the vehicle compartment of the vehicle 10 or the like. The camera 24 photographs the front of the vehicle 10, and based on the parallax on the left and right images obtained by the photographing, it detects the distance and height H to the obstacle 14 existing in front of the vehicle 10. The lidar 22 and the camera 24 are connected to an advanced safety integrated ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 30, and output the detection results of the obstacle 14 to the advanced safety integrated ECU 30. The lidar 22 and the camera 24 are an example of the detection unit in the present disclosure.
[0019] Also, as shown in FIG. 3, at the front end of the front bumper of the vehicle 10, a flap 26 is provided at the lower part of the vehicle body, which can move to a deployed position (the position shown in FIG. 3(B)) protruding from the lower surface of the vehicle body or a retracted position (the position shown in FIG. 3(A)) retreating upward from the deployed position. Note that the flap 26 is formed of, for example, rubber or a material having similar flexibility. The flap 26 is moved to the deployed position or the retracted position by a flap movement ACT (actuator) 28 (see FIG. 1). The flap movement ACT 28 is connected to the advanced safety integrated ECU 30, and the operation of the flap movement ACT 28 is controlled by the advanced safety integrated ECU 30.
[0020] The advanced safety integrated ECU 30 incorporates a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 32, a memory 34 such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), a storage 36 such as a HDD (Hard Disk Drive) and a SSD (Solid State Drive), an input / output I / F (InterFace) 38, and a communication I / F 40. A brake ACT 46 capable of generating a braking force by the brake device of the vehicle is connected to the advanced safety integrated ECU 30.
[0021] The storage 36 stores a flap control program 42. The advanced safety integrated ECU 30 functions as a control unit 44 when the flap control program 42 is read from the storage 36 and deployed in the memory 34, and the flap control program 42 deployed in the memory 34 is executed by the CPU 32. When the control unit 44 determines that the obstacle 14 detected by the rider 22 or the camera 24 may contact the battery 12, the control unit 44 displaces the flap 26 to the deployed position by the flap movement ACT 28.
[0022] Next, as the operation of the present embodiment, the flap control process executed by the advanced safety integrated ECU 30 (control unit 44) while the ignition switch of the vehicle 10 is on will be described with reference to FIG. 4.
[0023] In step 70 of the flap control process, the control unit 44 causes the rider 22 or the camera 24 to search for the obstacle 14 existing in front of the vehicle 10. In step 72, the control unit 44 determines whether the obstacle 14 existing in front of the vehicle 10 has been detected by the rider 22 or the camera 24.
[0024] If the determination in step 72 is negative, the process proceeds to step 80. In step 80, the control unit 44 maintains the flap 26 in the stored position and returns to step 70. Thus, while there is no obstacle 14 in front of the vehicle 10, the flap 26 is positioned in the stored position, preventing the aerodynamic performance of the vehicle 10 from deteriorating.
[0025] If the determination in step 72 is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 74. In step 74, the control unit 44 obtains the height H of the obstacle 14 existing in front of the vehicle 10 from the rider 22 or the camera 24 and determines the magnitude relationship between the height H of the obstacle 14 and the lowest ground clearance of the vehicle 10.
[0026] If the height H of the obstacle 14 is lower than the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle 10, it can be determined that the obstacle 14 is unlikely to come into contact with the battery 12. Therefore, if the height H of the obstacle 14 is lower than the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle 10, the process proceeds from step 74 to step 80, in which step 80 the control unit 44 maintains the flap 26 in the retracted position as described above.
[0027] Furthermore, if the height H of the obstacle 14 is greater than or equal to the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle 10, it can be determined that the obstacle 14 may come into contact with the battery 12. For this reason, if the height H of the obstacle 14 is greater than or equal to the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle 10, the system proceeds from step 74 to step 76. In step 76, the control unit 44 activates the brakes of the vehicle 10 using brake ACT 46, thereby decelerating the vehicle 10. This improves the likelihood of avoiding a collision with the obstacle 14, as the vehicle 10 can be stopped before the obstacle by the activation of the brakes, especially if the original vehicle speed is low.
[0028] In the next step 78, the control unit 44 determines whether a collision with the obstacle 14 can be avoided. If the determination in step 78 is affirmative, the system proceeds to step 80, in which the control unit 44 maintains the flap 26 in the retracted position as described above.
[0029] Furthermore, if the determination in step 78 is rejected, the process proceeds to step 82, in which the control unit 44 moves the flap 26 to the deployed position by the flap movement ACT 28. As a result, the flap 26 prevents the obstacle 14 from entering below the vehicle floor by colliding with the flap 26, thereby preventing the obstacle 14 from coming into contact with the battery 12.
[0030] As described above, in this embodiment, the battery protection device 20 is provided at the bottom of the vehicle body of a vehicle 10 in which the battery 12 is located below the floor of the vehicle body, and includes a flap 26 that can be displaced to an deployed position that protrudes from the underside of the vehicle body or to a retracted position that is moved upward above the deployed position. The lidar 22 or camera 24 detects an obstacle 14 in the direction of travel of the vehicle 10, and the control unit 44 displaces the flap 26 to the deployed position when it determines that the obstacle 14 detected by the lidar 22 or camera 24 may come into contact with the battery 12. As a result, the flap 26 prevents the obstacle 14 from entering below the floor of the vehicle body, thus suppressing contact between the obstacle 14 and the battery 12. Furthermore, since the flap 26 can suppress contact between the obstacle 14 and the battery 12, there is no need to provide a protective member (e.g., a shear panel, etc.) under the floor to protect the battery 12, which makes it possible to lighten the vehicle 10 and reduce the number of parts.
[0031] Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the flap 26 is provided at the front end of the front bumper of the vehicle 10, it can prevent obstacles 14 approaching the vehicle from the front of the vehicle 10 from entering below the floor of the vehicle body.
[0032] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the lidar 22 or camera 24 detects an obstacle 14 in the direction of travel of the vehicle 10, it detects the height H of the obstacle 14. The control unit 44 then determines that if the height H of the obstacle 14 detected by the lidar 22 or camera 24 is greater than or equal to the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle body, the obstacle 14 may come into contact with the battery 12. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether or not the obstacle 14 may come into contact with the battery 12.
[0033] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 44 activates the vehicle 10's brake system when it determines that there is a possibility that the obstacle 14 may come into contact with the battery 12. If it determines that contact between the obstacle 14 and the battery 12 cannot be avoided even after activating the brakes, the flap 26 is displaced to the deployed position. As a result, if contact between the obstacle 14 and the battery 12 can be avoided by activating the brakes, the flap 26 is not displaced to the deployed position, thus reducing the number of times the flap 26 is displaced to the deployed position and extending the lifespan of the flap 26 and the flap movement ACT 28.
[0034] In the above embodiment, a configuration in which the flap 26 is provided at the front end of the front bumper of the vehicle 10 was described, but the installation position of the flap 26 is not limited to this in this disclosure. As shown in Figure 5(A), the flap 26 can be provided at any position within the range from the front end of the front bumper to the front end of the battery 12. For example, as shown in Figure 5(B), the flap 26 may be provided at a position corresponding to the front end of the front suspension, or as shown in Figure 5(C), the flap 26 may be provided at a position corresponding to the rear end of the front suspension.
[0035] Furthermore, although the above embodiment describes the case where the vehicle 10 is traveling in the forward direction, the vehicle 10 may also be traveling in the reverse direction. In order to prevent the obstacle 14 from coming into contact with the battery 12 when the vehicle 10 is traveling in the reverse direction, the flap 26 can be provided at any position within the range from the rear end of the rear bumper to the rear end of the battery 12, which is the position for when the vehicle 10 is traveling in the reverse direction. For example, the flap 26 may be provided at the front end of the front bumper, at a position corresponding to the rear end of the rear suspension, or at a position corresponding to the front end of the rear suspension. When the vehicle 10 is reversing, the detection unit detects an obstacle 14 in the reverse direction of the vehicle 10, and when it is determined that the detected obstacle 14 may come into contact with the battery 12, the flap 26 for when the vehicle 10 is reversing is displaced to the deployed position. As a result, even when the vehicle 10 is reversing, the flap 26 prevents the obstacle 14 from entering below the floor of the vehicle body, and the obstacle 14 from coming into contact with the battery 12 can be prevented.
[0036] Furthermore, although the above describes a configuration in which the flap control program 42 is pre-stored (installed) in the storage 36, the flap control program 42 can also be provided in a form recorded on a non-temporary recording medium such as an HDD, SSD, or DVD. [Explanation of Symbols]
[0037] 10 vehicles 12 batteries 14 Obstacles 20 Battery protection device 22. LIDA (detection unit) 24 Camera (detection unit) 26 Flap 28 Flap Movement ACT 30 Advanced safety integrated ECU
Claims
1. A flap provided on the lower part of a vehicle body in which the battery is located below the floor of the vehicle body, and which is displaceable to an extended position that protrudes from the lower surface of the vehicle body or to a retracted position that is retracted above the extended position, A detection unit for detecting obstacles present in the direction of travel of the vehicle, When the detection unit determines that the obstacle detected may come into contact with the battery, the control unit displaces the flap to the deployed position, A battery protection device for vehicles, including those mentioned above.
2. The battery protection device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the flap is provided on any of the following: the front end of the front bumper, the front end of the front suspension, the rear end of the front suspension, the rear end of the rear bumper, the rear end of the rear suspension, and the front end of the rear suspension.
3. When the detection unit detects an obstacle in the direction of travel of the vehicle, it detects the height of the obstacle. The battery protection device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit determines that there is a possibility that the obstacle may come into contact with the battery when the height of the obstacle detected by the detection unit is greater than or equal to the minimum ground clearance of the vehicle body.
4. The battery protection device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the control unit activates the brakes of the vehicle when it determines that the obstacle may come into contact with the battery, and displaces the flap to the deployed position when it determines that contact between the obstacle and the battery cannot be avoided even after the brakes have been activated.