Vehicle undercarriage

Abstract

To improve the ease of getting in-and-out of a vehicle while ensuring a floor cross member that transmits a load from a side sill on the side at which a side-impact collision has occurred to a side sill on the opposite side.SOLUTION: A vehicle lower part structure includes: a pair of side sills 14 extending in a front-rear direction between front and rear wheel houses 15a, 15b at end portions on bothe sides in a vehicle width direction; front frame members 16a each connected to the side sill 14 and extending upward from the side sill 14 along a front edge of a door opening 12 formed in a vehicle side surface; rear frame members 16b each connected to the side sill 14 and extending upward from the side sill 14 along a rear edge of the door opening 12; and a front floor cross member 18a and a rear floor cross member 18b extending in the vehicle width direction. The front floor cross member 18a is connected to the side sills 14 and the front frame members 16a. The rear floor cross member 18b is connected to the side sills 14 and the rear frame members 16b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle underbody structure in which a floor cross member extending in the vehicle width direction is connected to a side sill.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle underbody structure including a pair of side members arranged on both sides in the vehicle width direction and extending in the longitudinal direction, and a cross member extending in the vehicle width direction and connecting the pair of side members, wherein a battery is housed in a space under the floor between the pair of side members.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] As shown in Figure 5, a vehicle understructure 4 is known that comprises a pair of side sills 1 arranged on both sides in the vehicle width direction and extending in the longitudinal direction, and a plurality of floor cross members 2 extending in the vehicle width direction and connecting the pair of side sills 1, with a battery 3 housed in the underfloor space between the pair of side sills 1. In a vehicle in which the battery 3 is housed in the underfloor space between the pair of side sills 1 in this manner, the floor cross members 2 must be placed above the battery 3 to avoid interference with the battery 3. However, by placing the floor cross members 2 above the battery 3, the position of the upper end of the side sills 1 to which the floor cross members 2 are connected becomes higher, and the position of the floor panel placed on top of the floor cross members 2 also becomes higher, thus worsening the ease of getting in and out of the vehicle. Furthermore, if the floor cross members 2 are removed to prevent such deterioration of ease of getting in and out, the load cannot be transmitted from the side sill 1 on the side that was hit to the side sill 1 on the opposite side during a side collision, so there is a risk that the side sill 1 on the side that was hit will bend and damage the battery 3.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle understructure that can improve vehicle entry and exit while ensuring a floor cross member that transmits load from the side sill on the side that has been hit by a side collision to the side sill on the opposite side. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The vehicle understructure according to the present invention comprises a pair of side sills extending in the longitudinal direction between the front and rear wheelhouses at both ends in the vehicle width direction, a front skeletal member connected to the side sills and extending upward from the side sills along the front edge of a door opening formed on the side of the vehicle, a rear skeletal member connected to the side sills and extending upward from the side sills along the rear edge of the door opening, and a front floor cross member and a rear floor cross member extending in the vehicle width direction, wherein the front floor cross member is positioned in front of the front edge of the door opening. At the ends in the vehicle width direction The aforementioned side sill The top and The aforementioned front skeletal member straddling the bottomThe rear floor cross member is connected and positioned behind the rear edge of the door opening. At the ends in the vehicle width direction The aforementioned side sill The top and The aforementioned rear skeletal member straddling the bottom Connect Below the lower edge of the door opening, there is no floor cross member extending in the vehicle width direction to connect the pair of side sills. It is characterized by the following:

[0007] Vehicle undercarriage according to the present invention teeth between the pair of side sills It is characterized by having a battery located within it.

[0008] In one embodiment of the vehicle understructure according to the present invention, a floor panel is provided that forms the lower edge of the door opening, and the floor panel may be connected to the upper end of the side sill in the portion that forms the lower edge of the door opening. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] This invention can improve vehicle entry and exit while ensuring a floor cross member that transmits load from the side sill on the side that was hit by a side collision to the side sill on the opposite side. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a side view showing a vehicle equipped with the vehicle understructure of the first embodiment, as seen from the left side. [Figure 2] This is a cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 1. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view along line BB in Figure 1. [Figure 4] This is a side view showing a vehicle equipped with the vehicle understructure of the second embodiment, as seen from the left side. [Figure 5] This is a side view showing a vehicle equipped with a conventional undercarriage structure, as seen from the left side. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] <First Embodiment> The vehicle understructure 10 of the first embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The arrows FR, UP, and RH shown in the following figures indicate the forward direction (direction of travel), upward direction, and right direction of the vehicle, respectively. The opposite directions of each arrow FR, UP, and RH indicate the rear direction, downward direction, and left direction of the vehicle, respectively. When the directions front / back, left / right, and up / down are simply used below, unless otherwise specified, they refer to the front / back direction of the vehicle, the left / right direction of the vehicle (vehicle width direction), and the up / down direction of the vehicle.

[0012] Figure 1 is a side view of a vehicle 100 equipped with the vehicle understructure 10 of the first embodiment, viewed from the left side. Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Figure 1. The vehicle 100 is an electric vehicle with a battery 11 mounted under the floor. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, a door opening 12 is formed on the side of the vehicle 100. The side door 13 that closes the door opening 12 is omitted from Figure 1, but is shown in Figure 3. Figure 3 shows the side door 13 in the closed position.

[0013] As shown in Figures 1-3, the vehicle understructure 10 includes side sills 14 that constitute part of the vehicle body's frame. The side sills 14 are located at both ends in the vehicle width direction and extend in the longitudinal direction between the front wheelhouse 15a and the rear wheelhouse 15b. As shown in Figures 2-3, the side sills 14 are formed into a closed cross-section by joining the side sill outer panel 14a and the side sill inner panel 14b at their upper and lower ends. As shown in Figures 1-3, the height of the upper end of the side sill 14 differs between the front 14c and the rear 14d. The rear 14d, which follows the lower edge of the door opening 12, has a lower upper end height than the front 14c.

[0014] The vehicle underbody structure 10 includes a front skeletal member 16a connected to the side sill 14. The front skeletal member 16a is the B pillar of the vehicle 100. The front skeletal member 16a extends upward from the side sill 14 along the front edge of the door opening 12. And the vehicle underbody structure 10 includes a rear skeletal member 16b connected to the side sill 14. The rear skeletal member 16b extends upward from the side sill 14 along the rear edge of the door opening 12.

[0015] In the passenger compartment, a front seat 17a and a rear seat 17b are arranged. The door opening 12 is used when boarding into the space between the front seat 17a and the rear seat 17b or when alighting from the space between the front seat 17a and the rear seat 17b. The front seat 17a is rotatably attached to the vehicle body and can face forward as shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 or face backward as shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1. When the front seat 17a faces backward, the passengers of the vehicle 100 can sit facing the front seat 17a and the rear seat 17b.

[0016] The vehicle underbody structure 10 includes a front floor cross member 18a and a rear floor cross member 18b. Both the front floor cross member 18a and the rear floor cross member 18b extend in the vehicle width direction and connect the side sills 14 on both the left and right sides. The front floor cross member 18a is arranged forward of the front edge of the door opening 12. The front floor cross member 18a is connected at its ends in the vehicle width direction so as to straddle the upper part of the side sill 14 and the lower part of the front skeletal member 16a. The rear floor cross member 18b is arranged rearward of the rear edge of the door opening 12. The rear floor cross member 18b is connected at its ends in the vehicle width direction so as to straddle the upper part of the side sill 14 and the lower part of the rear skeletal member 16b.

[0017] The vehicle underbody structure 10 includes a floor panel 19. The floor panel 19 is a plate-like member that forms the floor of the passenger compartment. The floor panel 19 forms the lower edge of the door opening 12. Both ends of the floor panel 19 in the vehicle width direction are connected to the upper end of the side sill 14 at the portion forming the lower edge of the door opening 12. And the vehicle underbody structure 10 includes a battery 11 disposed between the side sills 14 on both the left and right sides. The battery 11 is housed in the space below the floor panel 19, the front floor cross member 18a, and the rear floor cross member 18b. The battery 11 is used to supply power to a traveling motor (not shown).

[0018] In the vehicle underbody structure 10, as described above, the front floor cross member 18a is disposed in front of the front edge of the door opening 12 and the rear floor cross member 18b is disposed behind the rear edge of the door opening 12. Therefore, unlike the conventional vehicle underbody structure 4 shown in FIG. 5, no floor cross member is provided below the lower edge of the door opening 12. For this reason, the vehicle underbody structure 10 can lower the height of the upper end of the side sill 14 along the portion along the lower edge of the door opening 12 as compared with the conventional vehicle underbody structure 4 shown in FIG. 5. Further, in the vehicle underbody structure 10, since the floor panel 19 is connected to the upper end of the side sill 14 at the portion forming the lower edge of the door opening 12, the floor panel 19 can be attached at a lower position as compared with the conventional vehicle underbody structure 4 shown in FIG. 5. Therefore, the vehicle underbody structure 10 can secure the front floor cross member 18a and the rear floor cross member 18b as floor cross members for transmitting the load from the side sill 14 on the side where the side collision has occurred to the side sill 14 on the opposite side, and can improve the boarding and alighting performance of the vehicle as compared with the conventional vehicle underbody structure 4 shown in FIG. 5.

[0019] <Second Embodiment> Next, the vehicle underbody structure 20 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The vehicle underbody structure 20 has the same configuration as the vehicle underbody structure 10 of the first embodiment except that the shape of the side sill 24 is different. Therefore, the same components as those of the vehicle underbody structure 10 of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

[0020] Figure 4 is a side view showing a vehicle 200 equipped with the vehicle understructure 20 of the second embodiment, viewed from the left side. As shown in Figure 4, the vehicle understructure 20 includes side sills 24 that constitute part of the vehicle body's frame. The side sills 24 are located at both ends in the vehicle width direction and extend in the longitudinal direction between the front wheelhouse 15a and the rear wheelhouse 15b. The upper end height of the side sills 24 is the same from the front end to the rear end. The upper end height of the side sills 24 is the same as the upper end height of the rear 14d of the side sill 14 of the vehicle understructure 10 of the first embodiment.

[0021] Similar to the vehicle understructure 10 of the first embodiment, the vehicle understructure 20 also positions the front floor cross member 18a in front of the front edge of the door opening 12 and the rear floor cross member 18b behind the rear edge of the door opening 12. Therefore, unlike the conventional vehicle understructure 4 shown in Figure 5, there is no floor cross member below the lower edge of the door opening 12. As a result, the vehicle understructure 20 can lower the height of the upper end of the side sill 14 in the portion along the lower edge of the door opening 12 compared to the conventional vehicle understructure 4 shown in Figure 5. In addition, since the floor panel 19 in the vehicle understructure 20 is connected to the upper end of the side sill 24, the floor panel 19 can be mounted at a lower position compared to the conventional vehicle understructure 4 shown in Figure 5. As a result, the vehicle understructure 20 can improve vehicle entry and exit compared to the conventional vehicle understructure 4 shown in Figure 5, while still providing the front floor cross member 18a and the rear floor cross member 18b as floor cross members that transmit load from the side sill 24 on the side that has been hit by a side collision to the side sill 24 on the opposite side.

[0022] <Supplement to the embodiment> The vehicle understructure of this disclosure is not limited to the forms described above, and can be implemented in various forms within the scope of the gist of this disclosure. For example, the door openings on the sides of the vehicle may have different shapes. Also, the vehicle on which the vehicle understructure of this disclosure is mounted may be a hybrid car. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0023] 1 Side sill, 2 Floor cross member, 3 Battery, 4, 10, 20 Underbody structure, 11 Battery, 12 Door opening, 13 Side door, 14, 24 Side sill, 14a Side sill outer panel, 14b Side sill inner panel, 14c Front, 14d Rear, 15a Front wheelhouse, 15b Rear wheelhouse, 16a Front frame member, 16b Rear frame member, 17a Front seat, 17b Rear seat, 18a Front floor cross member, 18b Rear floor cross member, 19 Floor panel, 100, 200 Vehicle.

Claims

1. A pair of side sills extending in the longitudinal direction between the front and rear wheel arches at both ends in the vehicle width direction, A front frame member that connects to the side sill and extends upward from the side sill along the front edge of the door opening formed on the side of the vehicle, A rear frame member connected to the side sill and extending upward from the side sill along the rear edge of the door opening, Front floor cross member and rear floor cross member extending in the vehicle width direction, A vehicle understructure comprising a battery positioned between a pair of side sills, The front floor cross member is positioned in front of the front edge of the door opening and is connected at its end in the vehicle width direction so as to straddle the upper part of the side sill and the lower part of the front frame member. The rear floor cross member is positioned behind the rear edge of the door opening and is connected at its end in the vehicle width direction so as to straddle the upper part of the side sill and the lower part of the rear frame member. A vehicle understructure characterized in that, below the lower edge of the door opening, there is no floor cross member extending in the vehicle width direction and connecting a pair of side sills.

2. The vehicle understructure according to claim 1, The floor panel forms the lower edge of the door opening, The vehicle understructure is characterized in that the floor panel is connected to the upper end of the side sill at the portion that forms the lower edge of the door opening.

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