Body structure of a vehicle

Abstract

To provide a vehicle body structure which can secure a loading space for loading luggage etc. while arranging various types of devices efficiently.SOLUTION: In this vehicle body structure 1, a motor 21 and an inverter 22 used for driving of a vehicle are disposed between front side rails 11, 11. Further, a battery 23 for supplying electric power to the motor 21 is disposed between rear side rails 12, 12. A high voltage component 31 related to the battery 23 is vertically arranged at a cross member 3C which connects a pair of left and right vertical kick parts 13, 13.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle body structure.

Background Art

[0002] In recent years, the development of electric vehicles that are driven by a motor using battery power has been progressing. For example, in the vehicle body structure of the vehicle described in Patent Document 1, a radiator is held via a holding portion on a frame behind the cab of the electric vehicle. This radiator is a device that cools a refrigerant that exchanges heat with high-voltage components, and the holding portion is configured to include a height adjustment mechanism that adjusts the height of the lower point position of the radiator so that running air is introduced into the introduction surface of the radiator.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a vehicle such as that described in Patent Document 1 above, in addition to the battery, it is necessary to arrange various devices such as high-voltage components required for the application of the battery. Therefore, when configuring a large vehicle such as a truck as an electric vehicle, it is necessary to efficiently arrange various devices while securing an in-vehicle space for loading luggage and the like.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle body structure that can secure an in-vehicle space for loading luggage and the like while efficiently arranging various devices.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The body structure of a vehicle according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a pair of left and right front side rails positioned on the front side of the vehicle to support the front wheels and the cab, a pair of left and right rear side rails positioned on the rear side of the front side rails to support the rear wheels and the cargo bed, and a pair of left and right upper and lower kick portions that connect the rear side rails to the front side rails at a lower level. A motor and an inverter used for driving the vehicle are arranged between the front side rails, a battery for supplying power to the motor is arranged between the rear side rails, and high-voltage components related to the battery are arranged vertically on a cross member that connects the pair of left and right upper and lower kick portions.

[0007] In this vehicle body structure, by providing the upper and lower kick portions on the side rails, the rear side rails located below the cargo bed are one level lower than the front side rails located below the cab. As a result, the floor of the cargo bed can be lowered, ensuring the loading space of the vehicle. In addition, the running stability is improved by lowering the center of gravity of the vehicle body. Furthermore, in this vehicle body structure, a motor and an inverter are arranged between the front side rails, a battery is arranged between the rear side rails, and high-voltage components are arranged vertically on a cross member that connects the upper and lower kick portions. Thereby, the harnesses connected to each device can be efficiently accommodated, and efficient arrangement of various devices is possible.

[0008] A recess may be provided in the central portion of the upper surface of the high-voltage component, which is recessed toward the bottom surface side of the high-voltage component. In recent years, for the improvement of work convenience, vehicles that enable passengers to walk through between the cab and the cargo bed have been developed. By providing a recess in the central portion of the upper surface of the high-voltage component arranged on the cross member that connects the upper and lower kick portions, it is possible to avoid the high-voltage component from obstructing the walk-through property between the cab and the cargo bed.

[0009] On the rear side rail, a wide portion with a frame width widened by making the rail interval larger than that of the front side rail is provided adjacent to the upper and lower kick portions, and the battery may be arranged in the wide portion. By providing such a wide portion, it becomes possible to arrange a battery with a sufficient capacity. Also, since the wide portion is provided adjacent to the upper and lower kick portions, a relatively heavy battery is arranged near the center of the vehicle. Thereby, the running performance of the vehicle is stabilized.

Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the present disclosure, while efficiently arranging various devices, it is possible to secure an in-vehicle space for loading luggage and the like.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a preferred embodiment of the body structure of a vehicle according to one aspect of the present disclosure will be described in detail.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a body structure of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a side view thereof. The body structure 1 of the vehicle shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is a structure applicable to a large vehicle such as a truck. The vehicle is, for example, an electric vehicle that drives a motor by the power of a battery and runs. Also, the vehicle has a walk-through portion W between the cab and the loading platform.

[0014] The body structure 1 of the vehicle includes a pair of left and right side rails 2, 2 extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and a plurality of cross members 3A to 3F extending in the width direction of the vehicle and connecting the side rails 2, 2 to each other. The side rails 2, 2 and the cross members 3A to 3F are all composed of long members made of metal.

[0015] The side rails 2, 2 have a substantially symmetrical shape and arrangement on the left and right. The side rail 2 includes a front side rail 11 located on the front side of the vehicle and supporting the front wheels 6 and the cab 7, a rear side rail 12 located on the rear side of the front side rail 11 and supporting the rear wheels 8 and the cargo bed 9, and an up-and-down kick portion 13 that connects the rear side rail 12 to the front side rail 11 at a lower level.

[0016] The tips of the front portions 11a, 11a of the front side rails 11 are connected by the cross member 3A. Also, the front portions 11a, 11a of the front side rails 11 are connected by the cross member 3B on the rear side of the cross member 3. An apparatus including a motor 21 and an inverter 22 is arranged as a front module in the space between the left and right front side rails 11, 11.

[0017] The rear side rail 12 is provided with a widened portion K where the frame width is widened by making the rail interval larger than the rail interval between the front side rails 11, 11. In the present embodiment, the widened portion K is provided adjacent to the up-and-down kick portion 13 by the front portions 12a, 12a of the left and right rear side rails 12, the cross member 3C connecting the tips of the front portions 12a, 12a of the rear side rail 12, and the cross member 3D connecting the central portions of the rear side rails 12, 12 on the rear side of the cross member 3C. The widened portion K has a rectangular shape in plan view. An apparatus including a battery 23 serving as a power source of the vehicle is arranged as a center module in the space inside the widened portion K.

[0018] On the rear side of the wide portion K, the rail spacing between the rear side rails 12, 12 is substantially equal to the rail spacing between the front side rails 11, 11. The rear portions 12b, 12b of the rear side rail 12 are connected to each other by the cross member 3E. Further, the rear ends of the rear portions 12b, 12b of the rear side rail 12 are connected to each other by the cross member 3F.

[0019] Between the left and right rear side rails 12, 12, in the space between the wide portion B and the cross member 3E, devices including the high voltage box 24 distributed from the junction box 32 described later, the in-vehicle charger 25 used for the battery 23, and the DC converter 26 are arranged as rear modules. Between the left and right rear side rails 12, 12, in the space between the cross member 3E and the cross member 3F, devices including the cooling device 27 for cooling the in-vehicle charger 25 and the DC converter 26 are arranged as rear modules.

[0020] The upper and lower kick portions 13 are continuously and gently inclined downward from the rear portion 11b of the front side rail 11 and are connected to the cross member 3C that constitutes the front edge of the wide portion K. That is, the upper and lower kick portions 13 are connected to the front portion 12a of the rear side rail 12 via the cross member 3C of the wide portion K. By the upper and lower kick portions 13, the rear side rail 12 is made one step lower than the front side rail 11, so that the position of the loading platform 9 can be lowered. Thereby, ensuring the loading capacity of the vehicle is achieved.

[0021] On the cross member 3C connecting the pair of left and right upper and lower kick portions 13, 13, high voltage components 31 related to the battery 23 are arranged vertically. Here, the high voltage component 31 exemplifies a junction box 32 connected to the battery 23. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the junction box. In the example of FIG. 4, the junction box 32 includes a housing 33 and a panel 34 fixed to one main surface 33a of the housing 33. The housing 33 is formed of, for example, metal and has a flat box shape.

[0022] Inside the housing 33, components such as relays, fuses, current sensors, leakage sensors, terminal blocks, etc. are accommodated. On the side surface 33b of the housing 33, a plurality of connectors for high voltage and low voltage, for example, are provided. On the upper surface 33c of the housing 33, a recess 33e that is recessed toward the bottom surface 33d side is provided. The depth of the recess 33e extends to about half of the vertical width of the housing 33. Also, the inner wall surfaces 33f, 33f of the recess 33e are in a state of being inclined at an obtuse angle with respect to the bottom wall surface 33g of the recess 33e.

[0023] The panel 34 has a size that is slightly larger than the main surface 33a of the housing 33 and has the same shape as the main surface 33a, and is fixed concentrically with the main surface 33a. The junction box 32 is disposed on the cross member 3C, for example, such that the housing 33 faces the front side of the vehicle and the panel 34 is flush with the surface on the rear side of the vehicle in the cross member 3C, and is fixed to the cross member 3C by a fixing member (not shown). The junction box 32 may be further fixed to the base end portion of a door frame (not shown) that defines the walk-through portion W.

[0024] As described above, in the body structure 1 of this vehicle, by providing the upper and lower kick portions 13 on the side rails 2, the rear side rail 12 located below the loading platform 9 is one step lower than the front side rail 11 located below the cab 7. Thereby, the floor of the loading platform 9 can be lowered, and the loading space of the vehicle can be secured. Also, the running stability is improved by lowering the center of gravity of the vehicle body. Furthermore, in the body structure 1 of this vehicle, the motor 21 and the inverter 22 are disposed between the front side rails 11, 11, the battery 23 is disposed between the rear side rails 12, 12, and the high voltage components 31 are disposed vertically on the cross member 3C that connects the upper and lower kick portions 13, 13. Thereby, the harnesses connected to each device can be efficiently accommodated, and efficient arrangement of various devices becomes possible.

[0025] In this embodiment, a recess 33e that is recessed toward the bottom surface 33d side of the high-voltage component 31 may be provided at the central portion of the upper surface 33c of the high-voltage component 31. In this embodiment, the vehicle to which the body structure 1 is applied is a vehicle having a walk-through portion W between the cab 7 and the cargo bed 9. Therefore, by providing the recess 33e at the central portion of the upper surface 33c of the high-voltage component 31 disposed on the cross member 3C that connects the upper and lower kick portions 13, 13 to each other, it is possible to avoid the high-voltage component 31 from inhibiting the walk-through property between the cab 7 and the cargo bed 9.

[0026] In this embodiment, a wide portion K with a widened frame width is provided adjacent to the upper and lower kick portions 13 by making the rail interval of the rear side rails 12, 12 larger than the rail interval of the front side rails 11, 11. And the battery 23 is disposed in the wide portion K. By providing such a wide portion K, it becomes possible to dispose a battery 23 with a sufficient capacity. Further, since the wide portion K is provided adjacent to the upper and lower kick portions 13, the relatively heavy battery 23 is disposed near the center of the vehicle. Thereby, the running performance of the vehicle is stabilized.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0027] 1... Body structure of vehicle, 3C... Cross member, 6... Front wheel, 7... Cab, 8... Rear wheel, 9... Cargo bed, 11... Front side rail, 12... Rear side rail, 13... Upper and lower kick portions, 21... Motor, 22... Inverter, 23... Battery, 31... High-voltage component, 33c... Upper surface, 33d... Bottom surface, 33e... Recess, K... Wide portion.

Claims

1. A pair of left and right front side rails located on the front side of the vehicle and supporting the front wheels and the cab, A pair of left and right rear side rails located on the rear side of the front side rails and supporting the rear wheels and the loading platform, A pair of left and right vertical kick parts connecting the rear side rails to be one step lower than the front side rails, A motor and an inverter used for driving the vehicle are arranged between the front side rails, A battery for supplying power to the motor is arranged between the rear side rails, In a cross member connecting the pair of left and right vertical kick parts, high voltage components related to the battery are arranged vertically so that the width in the height direction of the vehicle is larger than the width in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The vehicle body structure of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle body structure according to claim 1, wherein a concave portion recessed toward the bottom surface side is provided in the central portion of the upper surface of the high voltage component.

3. The rear side rail is provided with a wide portion adjacent to the vertical kick portion, which widens the frame width by making the rail interval larger than the rail interval of the front side rail, The vehicle body structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the battery is arranged in the wide portion.

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