vehicle

Abstract

To provide a vehicle characterized in that the layout of apparatuses to be disposed below a rear floor panel can be improved.SOLUTION: A vehicle includes: a rear floor panel on which a wheelchair can be mounted; and an exhaust pipe which is disposed below the rear floor panel. The rear floor panel has a plurality of inclined surface parts juxtaposed in a fore-and-aft direction in a rear end in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. The plurality of inclined surface parts includes a front inclined surface part and a rear inclined surface part which are adjacent to each other in the fore-and-aft direction. The front inclined surface part and the rear inclined surface part descend downward in the vehicle as they go rearward in the vehicle. An inclination angle of the rear inclined surface part with respect to a horizontal surface is larger than an inclination angle of the front inclined surface part. The exhaust pipe includes a bent pipe part that is bent to be convex toward a junction between the front inclined surface part and the rear inclined surface part when the vehicle is seen from the lateral direction and that is located close to the junction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle capable of carrying a wheelchair. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle equipped with a rear floor panel on which a wheelchair can be loaded. The rear floor panel of Patent Document 1 is gently inclined downward from the center to the rear end in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. The gentle inclination of a portion of the rear floor panel makes it easy to load a wheelchair from the rear of the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-126422 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The exhaust system, suspension system, etc. are arranged below the rear floor panel, and there is a need to improve the layout of these systems in order to enhance vehicle performance.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle that allows for improved layout flexibility of devices disposed below the rear floor panel. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A vehicle according to one aspect of the present invention includes: A rear floor panel that can accommodate a wheelchair; An exhaust pipe disposed below the rear floor panel, the rear floor panel includes a plurality of inclined surface portions aligned in the front-rear direction at a rear end portion in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, The plurality of inclined surface portions include a front inclined surface portion and a rear inclined surface portion adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction, the front inclined surface portion and the rear inclined surface portion are both lowered downwardly of the vehicle toward the rear of the vehicle, an inclination angle of the rear inclined surface portion with respect to a horizontal plane being greater than an inclination angle of the front inclined surface portion; The exhaust pipe is bent so as to be convex toward a joint between the front inclined surface portion and the rear inclined surface portion when the vehicle is viewed from the side, and includes a curved pipe portion adjacent to the joint. Effect of the Invention

[0007] In the vehicle of the above embodiment, the curved pipe portion of the exhaust pipe is bent so as to be convex toward the joint between the front inclined surface portion and the rear inclined surface portion of the rear floor panel. The joint of the rear floor panel is unlikely to bend downward even when the weight of the wheelchair acts on the rear floor panel. Therefore, even if the curved pipe portion is located close to the joint, the rear floor panel does not come into contact with the exhaust pipe. By providing the exhaust pipe with a curved pipe portion that is convex toward the upper part of the vehicle, the space below the curved pipe portion is increased. Therefore, the layout of devices placed below the rear floor panel is improved. For example, it is easy to place a suspension device with a large stroke in the space below the curved pipe portion. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a partial schematic diagram of a vehicle according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a partial enlarged view of the vicinity of a curved pipe portion in the vehicle shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] An embodiment of a vehicle according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, "FR" indicates the front of the vehicle, "RR" indicates the rear of the vehicle, "UP" indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and "LWR" indicates the lower side of the vehicle.

[0010] <Embodiment 1> Fig. 1 shows a portion of a minivan type vehicle 1 near a rear floor panel 2. The left side of the page is the front of the vehicle 1, and the right side is the rear of the vehicle 1. Fig. 1 shows a wheelchair 9 mounted on the rear floor panel 2. Here, the vehicle 1 is not limited to a minivan type, and may be, for example, a wagon type.

[0011] The wheelchair 9 has front wheels 9F and rear wheels 9R. The rear wheels 9R have a larger diameter than the front wheels 9F. The rear wheels 9R are disposed at the joint between a flat surface portion 20 and a front inclined surface portion 21 of a rear floor panel 2, which will be described later.

[0012] One of the features of the vehicle 1 of this embodiment is the configuration of the rear floor panel 2 and the exhaust device 3 disposed below the rear floor panel 2. Each component will be described in detail below.

[0013] <Rear floor panel> The rear floor panel 2 is a portion of the floor of the vehicle 1 that extends from a position slightly forward of the front wheels 9F of the wheelchair 9 to the tailgate of the vehicle 1. The rear floor panel 2 includes a flat surface portion 20, a front inclined surface portion 21, and a rear inclined surface portion 22. The flat surface portion 20 constitutes the front end portion of the rear floor panel 2 that extends from approximately the center to the front end in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle 1. The flat surface portion 20 is approximately horizontal.

[0014] The front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22 constitute a rear end portion of the rear floor panel 2 that extends from approximately the center to the rear end in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle 1. The front end of the front inclined surface portion 21 is connected to the rear end of the flat surface portion 20. The front end of the rear inclined surface portion 22 is connected to the rear end of the front inclined surface portion 21. In other words, the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22 are aligned in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle 1.

[0015] Both the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22 slope downwardly of the vehicle 1 as they move toward the rear of the vehicle 1. The inclination angle of the rear inclined surface portion 22 with respect to the horizontal plane is greater than the inclination angle of the front inclined surface portion 21. In other words, the inclination increases toward the rear of the vehicle 1. Therefore, the upper surface of the front inclined surface portion 21 and the upper surface of the rear inclined surface 22 form a mountain-shaped floor surface that is convex upward.

[0016] In the rear floor panel 2 of this example, a joint 25 between the flat surface portion 20 and the front inclined surface portion 21, and a joint 26 between the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22 are formed. The joint 25 corresponds to the ridgeline of the mountain-shaped floor surface formed by the flat surface portion 20 and the front inclined surface portion 21. The joint 26 corresponds to the ridgeline of the mountain-shaped floor surface formed by the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22. In this example, the rear wheel 9R of the wheelchair 9 is disposed at the position of the joint 25. A larger load acts on the rear wheel 9R than on the front wheel 9F. Since the joint 25 has resistance to a load from above, by disposing the rear wheel 9R at the position of the joint 25, the rear floor panel 2 is less likely to bend downward.

[0017] The joint 26 between the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22 also has resistance to a load from above. Therefore, the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22 constituting the joint 26 are also unlikely to bend downward.

[0018] FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the rear floor panel 2 cut vertically at a position on the outer side in the vehicle width direction. At this position, a through hole 28 is provided in the rear floor panel 2. The through hole 28 does not reach the center in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, a joint 26 is visible at the back side of the through hole 28 in FIG. 2. The through hole 28 is a hand hole used when an operator accesses a shock absorber (not shown) from inside the vehicle compartment. In this example, the through hole 28 is provided on both the left and right sides in the vehicle width direction of the rear floor panel 2. Each through hole 28 is covered by a cover 29. Of the left and right covers 29, the left cover 29 bulges upward at a portion corresponding to a curved pipe portion 34b of an exhaust pipe 34 described later. The right cover 29 does not have the above-mentioned bulge. When an operator accesses a shock absorber or the like from the through hole 28, the cover 29 is removed. The through hole 28 and the cover 29 are not essential components.

[0019] <Exhaust system> The exhaust system 3 is a device that purifies exhaust gas from the engine and reduces the temperature and noise of the exhaust gas. In FIG. 1, the exhaust system 3 is equipped with a catalytic device 31, an exhaust pipe 32, a muffler 33, and an exhaust pipe 34. The catalytic device 31 is provided with a catalyst that purifies exhaust gas. The exhaust pipe 32 is a pipe that connects the catalytic device 31 and the muffler 33. The muffler 33 is a silencer. The exhaust pipe 34 is a pipe that releases exhaust gas from the muffler 33 to the outside of the vehicle. The exhaust pipe 34 is also called a tail pipe or muffler cutter.

[0020] The exhaust pipe 34 of the exhaust device 3 of this example includes a curved pipe portion 34b. The curved pipe portion 34b is a portion having a curvature that connects the straight pipe portion 34a and the straight pipe portion 34c as shown in FIG. 2. The straight pipe portion 34a extends outward in the vehicle width direction toward the rear of the vehicle. The curved pipe portion 34b is located at a position corresponding to the through hole 28. Therefore, when looking into the through hole 28 from inside the vehicle cabin, the curved pipe portion 34b can be observed. In FIG. 2, the boundary between the straight pipe portion 34a and the curved pipe portion 34b and the boundary between the curved pipe portion 34b and the straight pipe portion 34c are indicated by two-dot chain lines. The curved pipe portion 34b is bent so as to be convex toward the joint 26 between the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22 in a side view of the vehicle 1. In other words, the curved pipe portion 34b is bent so as to be convex toward the upper part of the vehicle 1, and the curved pipe portion 34b is located close to the joint 26.

[0021] By bringing the curved pipe portion 34b close to the joint 26, the curved pipe portion 34b is disposed in the exhaust pipe 34 at a position closest to the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22. The joint 26 between the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22, which have different inclination angles, is resistant to loads from above and suppresses downward bending of the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear inclined surface portion 22. Therefore, even if the curved pipe portion 34b is close to the joint 26, it is possible to prevent the rear floor panel 2 from coming into contact with the exhaust pipe 34 when a wheelchair 9 (FIG. 1) is loaded on the rear floor panel 2.

[0022] In the configuration of this example, in a side view of the vehicle 1, the shortest distance L1 between the curved pipe portion 34b and the front inclined surface portion 21 and the shortest distance L2 between the curved pipe portion 34b and the rear inclined surface portion 22 can each be 20 mm or less. The shortest distance L1 means the shortest distance between the outer circumferential surface of the curved pipe portion 34b and an imaginary plane extending from the lower surface of the front inclined surface portion 21. Similarly, the shortest distance L2 means the shortest distance between the outer circumferential surface of the curved pipe portion 34b and an imaginary plane extending from the lower surface of the rear inclined surface portion 22.

[0023] In this example, in order to bring the curved pipe portion 34b close to the joint 26, the muffler 33 is disposed so that its rear end faces diagonally upward as shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, a large space is formed below the area from the rear end of the muffler 33 to the straight pipe portion 34c of the exhaust pipe 34 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1. This space is used for the layout of devices other than the exhaust device 3. For example, a suspension device with a large stroke can be disposed in the space.

[0024] In the configuration of this example, the exhaust pipe 34 is bent upward, so the overall length of the exhaust pipe 34 is long. This makes it possible to lower the temperature of the exhaust gas discharged from the end of the exhaust pipe 34. In addition, in the configuration of this example, the rear end of the muffler 33 faces diagonally upward, so there is also the effect that the muffler 33 is less likely to come into contact with unevenness in the ground.

[0025] <Other embodiments> The number of the inclined surface portions in the first embodiment is two, but the number of the inclined surface portions may be three or more. For example, the rear floor panel 2 may include a first inclined surface portion, a second inclined surface portion, and a third inclined surface portion in this order from the front side of the vehicle 1. In this case, in the relationship between the first inclined surface portion and the second inclined surface portion, the first inclined surface portion is the front inclined surface portion 21, and the second inclined surface portion is the rear inclined surface portion 22. In the relationship between the second inclined surface portion and the third inclined surface portion, the second inclined surface portion is the front inclined surface portion 21, and the third inclined surface portion is the rear inclined surface portion 22. In this configuration, a joint between the first inclined surface portion and the second inclined surface portion, and a joint between the second inclined surface portion and the third inclined surface portion are formed. The exhaust pipe 34 may include one curved pipe portion 34b adjacent to either of the two joints, or may include two curved pipe portions 34b adjacent to each of the two joints.

[0026] It is preferable that at least a part of the curved pipe portion 34b is arranged so as to overlap with a virtual space described below. The virtual space is a space surrounded by a plurality of inclined surface portions and a virtual plane connecting the front ends and rear ends of the plurality of inclined surface portions. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1, the virtual plane is a plane connecting the front end of the front inclined surface portion 21 and the rear end of the rear inclined surface portion 22. The space above this virtual plane is the virtual space. Such a curved pipe portion 34b is arranged in close proximity to the lower surface of the rear floor panel 2. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1 vehicle 2 Rear floor panel 20 flat surface section, 21 front inclined surface section, 22 rear inclined surface section 25,26 joint, 28 through hole, 29 cover 3. Exhaust system 31 catalytic converter, 32 exhaust pipe, 33 muffler 34 exhaust pipe, 34a, 34c straight pipe section, 34b curved pipe section 9. Wheelchair 9F front wheel, 9R rear wheel L1,L2 Shortest distance

Claims

[Claim 1] A rear floor panel that can accommodate a wheelchair; An exhaust pipe disposed below the rear floor panel, the rear floor panel includes a plurality of inclined surface portions aligned in the front-rear direction at a rear end portion in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, The plurality of inclined surface portions include a front inclined surface portion and a rear inclined surface portion adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction, the front inclined surface portion and the rear inclined surface portion are both lowered downwardly of the vehicle toward the rear of the vehicle, an inclination angle of the rear inclined surface portion with respect to a horizontal plane being greater than an inclination angle of the front inclined surface portion; The exhaust pipe is bent so as to be convex toward a joint between the front inclined surface portion and the rear inclined surface portion when viewed from the side of the vehicle, and is provided with a curved pipe portion adjacent to the joint.

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