Vehicles equipped with impact load guards

Abstract

To provide a vehicle which enables non-contact charging to be performed in a manner that a charging unit can be protected from an impact load while achieving reduction of a height of the charging unit.SOLUTION: A vehicle according to the disclosure includes: a non-contact charging unit exposed on a vehicle bottom; an impact load guard which is disposed on at least one of a left side, a right side, a front side, and a rear side of the charging unit, spaced apart from the charging unit; and a damper mechanism provided at a support member supporting the impact load guard. The impact load guard includes the damper mechanism to absorb, for example, an impact load received from protrusions on a road surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle capable of being charged wirelessly. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicles capable of contactless charging are able to be charged by a charging unit located on the underside of the vehicle receiving electricity from a power transmission unit located on the road surface. An example of such a vehicle capable of contactless charging is disclosed in Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-128124 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Vehicles capable of contactless charging need to have their charging units located as close to the road surface as possible. However, if the charging unit is located too close to the road surface, external impact loads may be applied, potentially damaging the charging unit. Conversely, if attempts are made to prevent damage to the charging unit by moving the charging unit away from the road surface or by increasing the thickness of components protecting the charging unit, this actually reduces charging efficiency. Therefore, there is a need to provide a vehicle capable of contactless charging that can protect the charging unit from impact loads while achieving a low-profile charging unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A non-contact charging unit exposed on the bottom of the vehicle, an impact load guard disposed at least one of the left, right, front, and rear of the charging unit at a distance from the charging unit; a damper mechanism provided on a support member that supports the impact load guard; Equipped with Characterized by Vehicles capable of wireless charging. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a vehicle capable of contactless charging that can protect the charging unit from impact loads as much as possible while realizing a low-profile charging unit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 shows a portion of the bottom surface of a vehicle equipped with a charging unit and an impact load guard according to the present embodiment. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram showing a portion of the bottom of a vehicle equipped with a charging unit and an impact load guard according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from a position where the charging unit is located behind the impact load guard. [Figure 3] 10 is a part of the bottom surface of a vehicle equipped with a charging unit according to the present embodiment and an impact load guard, showing a comparative example of the impact load guard. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be simplified or omitted.

[0009] 1. Overview of the charging unit and shock load guard FIG. 1 shows a portion of a vehicle bottom 3 equipped with a charging unit 1 for contactless charging and an impact load guard 2 according to this embodiment. The charging unit 1 is fixed to the vehicle bottom 3 with a bracket 4. The bracket 4 is fixed to the vehicle bottom 3 by welding. The impact load guard 2 is fixed to the vehicle bottom 3 with a bracket 14. The bracket 14 is also fixed to the vehicle bottom 3 by welding. The charging unit 1 and the impact load guard 2 are arranged at a distance from each other. The impact load guard 2 is fixed to the bracket 14 with a nut 7 and a shaft 8. In other words, the nut 7, the shaft 8, and the bracket 14 form a support member that supports the impact load guard 2.

[0010] The shaft 8 passes through a nut 7 and a mounting hole 9 provided in a bracket 14 and is fixed to the impact load guard 2. The mounting hole 9 has a height equal to the outer diameter of the shaft 8 and a length greater than the outer diameter of the shaft 8, and has an overall rounded rectangular shape. When an external impact load is applied, the shaft 8 moves radially within the mounting hole 9. At that time, the shaft 8 is subjected to a frictional force from the bracket 14. In addition, because the nut 7 is pressed against the bracket 14, a frictional force is also generated between the nut 7 and the bracket 14 as the shaft 8 moves. As a result, the nut 7, shaft 8, and bracket 14 function as a support member while also functioning as a damper that absorbs external impact loads.

[0011] In FIG. 1, the impact load guard 2 is disposed in front of the vehicle relative to the charging unit 1. As a comparative example, a similar impact load guard 2 may be disposed on the right, left, or rear of the vehicle. When disposed on the right, it is disposed on the rear side of the paper, i.e., behind the charging unit 1. When disposed on the left, it is disposed on the front side of the paper, i.e., in front of the charging unit 1. When disposed at the rear, it is disposed on the right side of the paper, i.e., to the right of the charging unit 1. It is sufficient that the impact load guard 2 is disposed on at least one of the front, rear, right, or left sides of the vehicle defined in this way.

[0012] For example, consider the case where there is a bump 6 on the road surface 5 as shown in FIG. 1, and a vehicle travels on the road surface 5 toward the bump 6 (in FIG. 1, the vehicle travels on the road surface 5 toward the left side of the drawing). The impact load guard 2 collides with the bump 6, and an impact load is input to the right side of the drawing. The shaft 8 connected to the impact load guard 2 moves to the right side of the drawing within the mounting hole 9. As the shaft 8 moves to the right side of the drawing within the mounting hole 9, it receives a frictional force from the bracket 14 to the left side of the drawing. In addition, the nut 7 attached to the shaft 8 also receives a frictional force from the bracket 14 as it moves together with the shaft 8. The frictional force that the shaft 8 and nut 7 receive from the bracket 14 partially offsets the impact load input to the right side of the drawing. As a result, the impact load guard 2, shaft 8, nut 7, and bracket 14 work together to absorb the impact load input to the right side of the drawing.

[0013] In FIG. 1, the impact load guard 2 also contributes to diverting the input direction of an impact load received by the vehicle from a protrusion 6. The impact load guard 2 as shown in FIG. 1 may have a hypotenuse or a slope to divert the input direction of an impact load caused by a protrusion 6 present on the road surface 5. Specifically, the impact load guard 2 has a surface that slopes downward to the right in the drawing. In other words, it has a slope that approaches the road surface 5 from the impact load guard 2 toward the charging unit 1. The shape of the slope that the impact load guard 2 has can divert a portion of the impact load that is input from the left to the right in the drawing due to the protrusion 6 into a component in the direction toward the road surface 5 (downward in the drawing).

[0014] 2 is a diagram of a portion of the vehicle bottom 3 equipped with the charging unit 1 and impact load guard 2 according to this embodiment, viewed from a position where the charging unit 1 is behind the impact load guard 2. In other words, it is a diagram of the impact load guard 2 as viewed from the front of the vehicle. Brackets 14 are disposed on both ends of the impact load guard 2, and only one side is shown in FIG. 2.

[0015] The surface visible in the foreground in Figure 2 is the slope of the impact load guard 2. In Figure 2, the surface slopes downward as it moves from the front of the page to the back. In addition, the impact load guard 2 is positioned so that the charging unit 1 is hidden when the impact load guard 2 is viewed from the front of the vehicle.

[0016] As mentioned above, the impact load applied to the impact load guard 2 by the convex portion 6 is partially absorbed by the damper mechanism of the support member that supports the impact load guard 2. Furthermore, the slope of the impact load guard 2 diverts the input direction of part of the impact load toward the road surface 5. In FIG. 2, part of the impact load applied from the front side to the back side of the page is diverted downward on the page.

[0017] As described above, according to this embodiment, the impact load that the vehicle receives from the convex portion 6 can be absorbed by the damper mechanism of the support member that supports the impact load guard 2 and the shape of the impact load guard 2. Furthermore, by diverting the input direction of part of the impact load, it is possible to absorb the impact load that is directly applied to the vehicle.

[0018] Furthermore, a typical in-vehicle charging unit may use a resin cover to improve resistance to impact loads from obstacles on the road surface, such as the protrusions 6 present on the road surface 5, as described above. In this embodiment as well, the charging unit 1 may be provided with a resin cover.

[0019] In this embodiment, the impact load guard 2 absorbs the impact load acting on the charging unit 1. Therefore, a thinner resin cover than that used in general in-vehicle charging units can be applied to the charging unit 1 in this embodiment. As a result, it is possible to make the charging unit 1 thinner than general in-vehicle charging units.

[0020] 2. Comparative Example As a comparative example, an impact load guard 2 as shown in Figure 3 is shown. The charging unit 1 is fixed to the vehicle bottom 3 by a bracket 4. The bracket 4 is fixed to the vehicle bottom 3 by welding. The impact load guard 2 is fixed to the vehicle bottom 3 by a bracket 14. The bracket 14 is fixed to the vehicle bottom 3 by welding.

[0021] The comparative example shown in Figure 3 does not have a damper mechanism, unlike the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2. With the structure shown in Figures 1 and 2, the impact load is absorbed by the damper, making it difficult for the impact load guard 2 and bracket 14 to deform. However, in the comparative example that does not have such a damper, there is a high possibility that the impact load guard 2 and bracket 14 will deform due to the impact load from the protrusion 6. [Explanation of symbols]

[0022] 1 charging unit 2 Impact Load Guard 3 Car bottom 4 Bracket 5 Road surface 6 Convex part 7 Nuts 8 shafts 9 Mounting holes 14 Bracket

Claims

1. A charging unit for contactless charging exposed on the bottom of the vehicle, an impact load guard disposed at least one of the left, right, front, and rear sides of the charging unit at a distance from the charging unit; a damper mechanism provided on a support member that supports the impact load guard; Equipped with the charging unit is installed on the vehicle bottom via a first bracket fixed to the vehicle bottom; the support member includes a second bracket fixed to the vehicle bottom at a position different from the first bracket, The impact load guard is disposed on the vehicle bottom via the second bracket. Characterized by Vehicles capable of contactless charging.

2. the damper mechanism includes a shaft and a nut, the second bracket has a mounting hole whose lateral length is greater than the outer diameter of the shaft; The shaft passes through the nut and the mounting hole and is fixed to the impact load guard.

2. The vehicle capable of contactless charging according to claim 1.

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