Vehicle body

Abstract

A vehicle body according to the present invention is provided with a bulk head (20) including: a first wall part and a second wall part that are provided respectively at left and right ends of a floor panel (11) of a vehicle, that extend in the width direction of the vehicle inside a pair of side sills (12) extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and that are disposed so as to be separated from each other in the front-rear direction of the vehicle; and a third wall part that extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle between the first wall part and the second wall part, and that is disposed at a height position within a first predetermined value in relation to the height position of the floor panel (11).

Description

body

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle body.

[0002] A known vehicle underbody structure includes a floor panel installed between side sills, a bulkhead provided inside the side sills, a battery pack provided below the floor panel, a battery pack frame attached to the lower part of the battery pack and the side sills, and a bulkhead provided on the battery pack frame (see Patent Document 1). The bulkhead provided on the battery pack frame is positioned to face a battery cross member provided in the battery pack, and has an upper half that faces the lower part of the bulkhead provided inside the side sills, and a lower half that is fixed to an attachment portion of the battery pack frame.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-193026

[0004] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, the floor panel is positioned above the bulkhead provided inside the side sill, which means that bulkheads to support the load applied from the side of the side sill must be provided inside the side sill and on the battery pack frame, resulting in an increase in vehicle weight.

[0005] The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a vehicle body that can reduce the weight of a vehicle.

[0006] The present invention solves the above problem by providing a bulkhead inside a pair of side sills, which are provided at each of the left and right ends of the vehicle's floor panel and extend in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, and which includes a first wall portion and a second wall portion which extend in the width direction of the vehicle and are spaced apart from each other in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, and a third wall portion which extends in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle between the first wall portion and the second wall portion and is positioned at a height position within a first predetermined value relative to the height position of the floor panel.

[0007] According to the present invention, the weight of the vehicle can be reduced.

[0008] 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a vehicle body according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of the vehicle body shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the vehicle body shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the bulkhead shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 1 is a bottom view of the vehicle body shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing another example of a bulkhead according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D shown in FIG. 6 when the vehicle body shown in FIG. 1 is equipped with the bulkhead shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing yet another example of a bulkhead according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D shown in FIG. 6 when the vehicle body shown in FIG. 1 is equipped with the bulkhead shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the function of the third wall portion when a load is applied from the side to the vehicle body shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the function of the fourth wall portion (seventh wall portion) when a load is applied from the side to the vehicle body shown in FIG. 1.

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the front side of a vehicle is defined as the front side. In addition, in the drawings, "front" refers to the front of the vehicle, "rear" refers to the rear of the vehicle, "right" refers to the right side of the vehicle, "left" refers to the left side of the vehicle, "up" refers to the top of the vehicle, and "down" refers to the bottom of the vehicle. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, the front-rear direction refers to the front-rear direction of the vehicle, the left-right direction (width direction) refers to the left-right direction (width direction) of the vehicle, and the up-down direction refers to the up-down direction of the vehicle.

[0010] [Vehicle Body Configuration] Figures 1 and 2 are a perspective view and a bottom perspective view, respectively, showing an example of a vehicle body according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle body is a general term for a body shell, vehicle body functional parts, etc. The body shell is a box-shaped structure that constitutes the passenger compartment, engine compartment, etc., and includes doors, a hood, a trunk lid, etc. The vehicle body functional parts refer to mechanical components used for opening and closing windows, etc., and include window glass, weatherstrips, etc. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a vehicle body 10 includes a floor panel 11, side sills 12, and a floor cross member 13 shown in Figure 1, and a battery cross member 14 shown in Figure 2.

[0011] The floor panel 11 shown in Figure 1 is one of the components that make up the bottom of the vehicle body 10 and has a pan-like shape. The floor panel 11 is composed of three components: a front floor panel that extends from the bottom of the dash panel to the floor area of ​​the rear seats, a center floor panel in the seat pan area under the rear seats, and a rear panel in the trunk area. Each component is manufactured by press-molding a corrosion-resistant material such as galvanized steel sheet, and the formed components are joined together by spot welding or the like.

[0012] The side sills 12 are a pair of components extending in the front-to-rear direction and provided on each of the left and right ends of the floor panel 11, and serve as thresholds below the door opening. The side sills 12 extend, for example, between the front and rear wheel wells, ensuring the rigidity of the vehicle body 10 and suppressing deformation of the vehicle body 10. The side sills 12 have, for example, a rectangular closed cross section in a cross section perpendicular to the front-to-rear direction, and are made of the same material as the floor panel 11.

[0013] The floor cross member 13 is a component that extends widthwise between a pair of side sills 12 and is disposed on the main surface of the floor panel 11 facing the interior. The vehicle body 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes two floor cross members 13a, 13b that extend widthwise from the side sill 12a on the left side of the vehicle to the side sill 12b on the right side of the vehicle. The main surface facing the interior of the floor panel 11 refers to the surface that has a relatively large area when the floor panel 11 is viewed from above. In the case of a pan-shaped floor panel 11, the bottom surface that is lower in the vertical direction than the outer edge is the main surface facing the interior. The floor cross members 13a, 13b shown in FIG. 1 are fixed to the bottom surface and outer edge of the floor panel 11 to ensure the rigidity of the vehicle body 10 and suppress deformation of the vehicle body 10.

[0014] 2, together with frames 15a and 15b extending in the width direction and frames 16a, 16b, and 16c extending in the front-rear direction, constitute a battery frame that houses a battery on the underfloor side of the vehicle body 10. The battery cross-member 14 extends in the width direction between the pair of side sills 12 and is disposed on the main surface of the underfloor side of the floor panel 11. The main surface of the underfloor side of the floor panel 11 refers to the surface that has a relatively large area when the floor panel 11 is viewed from the bottom. In the case of a pan-shaped floor panel 11, the bottom surface that is lower in the vertical direction than the outer edge is the main surface on the underfloor side.

[0015] The vehicle body 10 shown in Figure 2 includes two battery cross members 14a, 14b, one end of which is welded to the frame 16a and the other end of which is welded to the frame 16c. The battery cross members 14a, 14b are disposed on the main surface of the underside of the floor panel 11 and extend in the width direction from the frame 16a on the left side of the vehicle to the frame 16c on the right side of the vehicle. The battery cross members 14a, 14b ensure the rigidity of the battery frames and suppress deformation of the battery frames.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vehicle body 10 shown in FIG. 1 . As shown in FIG. 3 , the vehicle body 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a bulkhead 20 provided inside the side sill 12a. The bulkhead 20 is a member that receives a load applied from the side of the side sill 12 to suppress deformation of the side sill 12. The bulkhead 20 includes a first wall portion and a second wall portion that extend in the width direction and are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction, and a third wall portion that extends in the front-rear direction between the first wall portion and the second wall portion. The distance between the first wall portion and the second wall portion in the front-rear direction can be set as appropriate within the range in which the bulkhead 20 is provided inside the side sill 12. The bulkhead 20 including the first wall portion, the second wall portion, and the third wall portion is also referred to as a first bulkhead.

[0017] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the bulkhead 20 shown in FIG. 3 . The bulkhead 20 includes a wall portion 21 extending in the width direction, a wall portion 22 extending in the width direction and positioned rearward of the wall portion 21 in the vehicle, a wall portion 23 extending in the vertical direction and connecting the two walls 21 and 22, and a wall portion 24 extending in the longitudinal direction from the wall portion 21 to the wall portion 22. The walls 21, 22, and 24 correspond to a first wall portion, a second wall portion, and a third wall portion, respectively. The bulkhead 20 is manufactured, for example, by press-molding a member consisting of the walls 21, 22, and 23 and the wall portion 24, and then spot-welding the wall portion 24 to the member consisting of the walls 21, 22, and 23. The bulkhead 20 is made of, for example, the same material as the floor panel 11.

[0018] The third wall portion of the bulkhead 20 is disposed at a height position that is within a first predetermined value relative to the height position of the floor panel 11. The height position refers to a position in the up-down direction, and the first predetermined value can be set as appropriate within a range in which a load applied from the side of the side sill 12 can be transmitted to the floor panel 11 via the bulkhead 20, for example, 0 to 15 mm. The positional relationship between the third wall portion and the floor panel 11 will be described below with reference to FIG. 5.

[0019] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure 3. As shown in Figure 5, the side sill 12a is formed by combining two members each having a U-shaped cross section, and a bulkhead 20 is provided inside the side sill 12a. The floor panel 11 is welded to the side sill 12a at section X in Figure 5, and a floor cross member 13a is disposed on the upper side (inside the vehicle) of the floor panel 11. Note that a battery 17a, a bottom surface 18, and a floor side member 19 are shown on the lower side (underfloor side) of the floor panel 11, and these will be described later.

[0020] If the vertical position (i.e., height position) of the third wall portion varies depending on the widthwise position, the average height position of the third wall portion may be defined as the height position of the third wall portion. The height position of the third wall portion may also be defined as the height position of the main surface of the third wall portion. The wall portion 24 shown in FIG. 5 has a relatively large main surface that is inclined in a plan view, and the height position varies depending on the widthwise position. Therefore, the average height position of the main surface of the wall portion 24 is defined as the height position of the wall portion 24. If the average height position of the main surface of the wall portion 24 is position H1 shown in FIG. 5, the main surface of the wall portion 24 will be at the same height position as the main surface of the floor panel 11.

[0021] Furthermore, when the vehicle is viewed from the side, the third wall portion may overlap with the floor cross member 13 in the height direction. For example, when the height position of the wall portion 24 shown in Figure 5 is position H2, which is higher than position H1, when the vehicle is viewed from the left side, a portion of the wall portion 24 overlaps with a portion of the floor cross member 13a in the vertical direction.

[0022] FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the vehicle body shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 6, a battery frame composed of battery cross-members 14a and 14b and frames 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, and 16c is provided on the underside of the floor of the vehicle body 10. The battery cross-members 14a and 14b and frames 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, and 16c are, for example, extruded aluminum alloy products with closed cross sections. Six batteries 17a to 17e are housed in the battery frame. Each battery 17a to 17e is a module in which multiple thin batteries (also called single cells) are stacked and housed in a rectangular parallelepiped housing.

[0023] The battery frame is fixed to the floor panel 11 via frames 15a and 15b, and is also fixed to the side sill 12 via floor side members 19 shown in Figures 5 and 8. The floor side members 19 are, for example, extruded aluminum alloy members. The openings of the battery frame that house the batteries 17a to 17e are closed by a bottom surface 18, shown by the dashed line in Figure 6. The bottom surface 18 is, for example, an extruded aluminum alloy plate.

[0024] The bulkhead 20 may include a fourth wall portion extending in the fore-and-aft direction between the first wall portion and the second wall portion and positioned at a height position within a second predetermined value relative to the height position of the battery cross member 14. The second predetermined value can be set as appropriate within a range in which a load applied from the side of the side sill 12 can be transmitted to the battery cross member 14, and may be, for example, 0 to 15 mm.

[0025] 7 is an exploded perspective view of the bulkhead 20a including the fourth wall portion. The bulkhead 20a is configured by adding a wall portion 25 (corresponding to the fourth wall portion) extending in the front-rear direction from the wall portion 21 to the wall portion 22 to the bulkhead 20 shown in FIG. 4. The wall portion 25 is manufactured in the same manner as the wall portion 24 and is spot-welded to the bulkhead 20.

[0026] Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle body 10 including the bulkhead 20a shown in Figure 7, taken along line D-D in Figure 6. However, the vertical and horizontal directions have been reversed in the cross-sectional view shown in Figure 8 for ease of explanation. The height position of the wall portion 25 corresponding to the fourth wall portion, like the height position of the third wall portion, may be the average height position of the wall portions 25 or the height position of the main surface of the wall portion 25. When the average height position of the main surface of the wall portion 25 in a plan view is position H3 shown in Figure 8, the main surface of the wall portion 25 will be at the same height position as the battery cross member 14b.

[0027] Furthermore, the fourth wall portion may overlap with the battery cross member 14 in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side. For example, a portion of the wall portion 25 shown in FIG. 8 overlaps with a portion of the battery cross member 14b in the up-down direction when the vehicle is viewed from the left side.

[0028] 4 , the vehicle body 10 may also include a second bulkhead different from the first bulkhead, which is provided inside the side sill 12. The second bulkhead includes walls corresponding to the first, second, and fourth walls constituting the first bulkhead. That is, the second bulkhead includes a fifth wall and a sixth wall extending in the width direction and spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction, and a seventh wall extending in the front-rear direction between the fifth and sixth wall portions and located at a height position within a second predetermined value relative to the height position of the battery cross member 14.

[0029] 9 is an exploded perspective view of the second bulkhead. The bulkhead 20b includes a wall portion 26 extending in the width direction, a wall portion 27 extending in the width direction and positioned rearward of the wall portion 26 on the vehicle side, a wall portion 28 extending in the vertical direction and connecting the two walls 26, 27, and a wall portion 29 extending in the longitudinal direction from the wall portion 26 to the wall portion 27. The walls 26, 27, and 29 correspond to the fifth wall portion, the sixth wall portion, and the seventh wall portion, respectively. The bulkhead 20b is manufactured by the same method as the bulkheads 20 and 20a.

[0030] Furthermore, the seventh wall portion is positioned so as to overlap the battery cross member 14 in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the vehicle body 10 including the bulkhead 20b shown in FIG. 9, taken along line D-D in FIG. 6. However, the vertical and horizontal directions are reversed in the cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 10 for ease of explanation. The height position of the wall portion 29 corresponding to the seventh wall portion may be the average height position of the wall portion 29, as with the height position of the third wall portion, or may be the height position of the main surface of the wall portion 29. If the average height position of the main surface of the wall portion 29 in a plan view is position H4 shown in FIG. 10, the main surface of the wall portion 29 will be at the same height position as the battery cross member 14b (i.e., they will overlap in the vertical direction when viewed from the side).

[0031] The first bulkhead and the second bulkhead are arranged so as not to overlap each other in a plan view of the vehicle. For example, when a bulkhead is provided in the side sill 12a as shown in Fig. 3, the bulkheads 20 and 20b are arranged alternately in the front-to-rear direction. Furthermore, the first bulkhead may be arranged so that its third wall portion overlaps the floor cross member 13 in the height direction in a side view of the vehicle, and the second bulkhead may be arranged so that its seventh wall portion overlaps the battery cross member 14 in the height direction in a side view of the vehicle. For example, the bulkhead 20 shown in Fig. 4 is arranged outside the floor cross members 13a and 13b, and the bulkhead 20b shown in Fig. 9 is arranged outside the battery cross members 14a and 14b.

[0032] [Function of the Bulkhead] Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B in Figure 3, similar to Figure 5. As shown in Figure 11, when force Y1 is applied to the side sill 12a from the left side, the wall portion 24, which corresponds to the third wall portion, moves in the direction of the dashed arrow Z1 and comes into contact with the floor panel 11, transmitting force Y2 to the floor panel 11. Force Y2 is also transmitted to the floor cross member 13a, which is disposed on the main surface of the floor panel 11 facing the interior of the vehicle. This allows force Y1 to be received by the floor panel 11 and the floor cross member 13a, preventing the entire side sill 12a from moving to the left and transmitting force Y1 to the battery 17a.

[0033] FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along line D-D in FIG. 6, similar to FIG. 8. When force Y3 is applied to the side sill 12a from the left side as shown in FIG. 12, the wall portion 25, which corresponds to the fourth wall portion, moves in the direction of the dashed arrow Z2 and comes into contact with the floor side member 19, transmitting force Y4 to the floor side member 19. The force Y4 transmitted to the floor side member 19 is received by the battery cross member 14b, which has a relatively high rigidity. This prevents the force Y3 from being directly transmitted to the battery 17c. Note that the wall portion 29, which corresponds to the seventh wall portion shown in FIG. 10, also acts in a similar manner against the input force Y3.

[0034] [Embodiment of the Invention] According to this embodiment, a vehicle body is provided that includes a pair of side sills 12 provided at each of the left and right ends of a floor panel 11 of a vehicle and extending in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle, and a first bulkhead provided inside the side sill 12, the first bulkhead including a first wall portion and a second wall portion extending in the width direction of the vehicle and spaced apart from each other in the front-to-rear direction, and a third wall portion extending in the front-to-rear direction between the first wall portion and the second wall portion and disposed at a height position within a first predetermined value relative to the height position of the floor panel 11. This makes it possible to reduce the weight of the vehicle while suppressing the side sills 12 from moving inward and transmitting force to batteries 17a to 17e.

[0035] The vehicle body of this embodiment includes a floor cross member 13 that extends in the width direction between the pair of side sills 12 and is disposed on the main surface of the floor panel 11 facing the interior, and the third wall portion overlaps with the floor cross member 13 in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side. This allows the floor panel 11 and the floor cross member 13 to receive a force input from the side of the vehicle, thereby preventing the force from being transmitted to the batteries 17a to 17e.

[0036] The vehicle body of this embodiment includes a battery cross-member 14 that extends in the width direction between the pair of side sills 12, is disposed on the main surface of the underside of the floor panel 11, and constitutes a battery frame that houses a battery, and the first bulkhead includes a fourth wall that extends in the front-rear direction between the first wall and the second wall and is disposed at a height position within a second predetermined value relative to the height position of the battery cross-member 14. This allows forces input from the side of the vehicle to be received by the battery cross-member 14, which has a relatively high rigidity, and prevents the force from being directly transmitted to the batteries 17a to 17e.

[0037] In the vehicle body of this embodiment, the fourth wall portion overlaps the battery cross member 14 in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side, so that a force input from the side of the vehicle is received by the battery cross member 14, which has a relatively high rigidity, and the force can be prevented from being directly transmitted to the batteries 17a to 17e.

[0038] The vehicle body of this embodiment includes a battery cross member 14 extending in the width direction between the pair of side sills 12, disposed on the main surface of the underside of the floor panel 11, and constituting a battery frame for accommodating a battery, and a second bulkhead provided inside the side sill 12. The second bulkhead includes a fifth wall portion and a sixth wall portion extending in the width direction and spaced apart from each other in the fore-aft direction, and a seventh wall portion extending in the fore-aft direction between the fifth wall portion and the sixth wall portion and disposed at a height position within a second predetermined value relative to the height position of the battery cross member 14. The first bulkhead and the second bulkhead are disposed so as not to overlap each other when the vehicle is viewed from above. This reduces the number of bulkheads 20 to reduce the vehicle weight, while allowing the floor panel 11, floor cross member 13, and battery cross member 14 to efficiently absorb forces input from the side of the vehicle.

[0039] In the vehicle body of this embodiment, the seventh wall portion is disposed so as to overlap the battery cross member 14 in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side. This allows the relatively rigid battery cross member 14 to receive a force input from the side of the vehicle, thereby preventing the force from being directly transmitted to the batteries 17a to 17e.

[0040] The vehicle body of this embodiment includes a floor cross member 13 extending in the width direction between a pair of side sills 12 and disposed on the main surface of the interior side of the floor panel 11, and the first bulkhead is disposed so that the third wall portion overlaps the floor cross member 13 in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side, and the second bulkhead is disposed so that the seventh wall portion overlaps the battery cross member 14 in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side. This reduces the number of bulkheads 20 to reduce the vehicle weight, while allowing the floor panel 11, floor cross member 13, and battery cross member 14 to efficiently absorb forces input from the side of the vehicle.

[0041] 10... Vehicle body 11... Floor panel 12, 12a, 12b... Side sill 13, 13a, 13b... Floor cross member 14, 14a, 14b... Battery cross member 15a, 15b, 16a, 16b, 16c... Frame 17a, 17b, 17c, 17d, 17e, 17f... Battery 18... Bottom surface 19... Floor side member 20, 20a, 20b... Bulkhead 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29... Wall section H1, H2, H3, H4... Height position X... Part Y1, Y2, Y3, Y4... Force Z1, Z2... Arrow

Claims

1. A vehicle body comprising: a pair of side sills provided on each of the left and right ends of a floor panel of a vehicle, extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle; and a first bulkhead provided inside the side sill, wherein the first bulkhead includes a first wall portion and a second wall portion extending in the width direction of the vehicle and arranged spaced apart from each other in the fore-and-aft direction, and a third wall portion extending in the fore-and-aft direction between the first wall portion and the second wall portion, and arranged at a height position within a first predetermined value relative to the height position of the floor panel.

2. A vehicle body as described in claim 1, further comprising a floor cross member extending in the width direction between a pair of the side sills and arranged on the main surface of the floor panel facing the interior, and the third wall portion overlaps with the floor cross member in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side.

3. A vehicle body as described in claim 1 or 2, comprising a battery cross-member extending in the width direction between a pair of side sills, positioned on the main surface of the underside of the floor panel, and constituting a battery frame that houses a battery, wherein the first bulkhead includes a fourth wall portion extending in the fore-and-aft direction between the first wall portion and the second wall portion, and positioned at a height position within a second predetermined value relative to the height position of the battery cross-member.

4. The vehicle body according to claim 3, wherein the fourth wall portion overlaps with the battery cross member in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side.

5. A vehicle body as described in claim 1 or 2, comprising: a battery cross-member extending in the width direction between a pair of side sills, arranged on the main surface of the underside of the floor panel, and constituting a battery frame that houses a battery; and a second bulkhead provided inside the side sill, wherein the second bulkhead includes a fifth wall portion and a sixth wall portion extending in the width direction and arranged spaced apart from each other in the fore-and-aft direction, and a seventh wall portion extending in the fore-and-aft direction between the fifth wall portion and the sixth wall portion and arranged at a height position within a second predetermined value with respect to the height position of the battery cross-member, and the first bulkhead and the second bulkhead are arranged so as not to overlap each other when the vehicle is viewed in a plan view.

6. The vehicle body according to claim 5, wherein the seventh wall portion is positioned so as to overlap the battery cross member in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side.

7. A vehicle body as described in claim 5 or 6, comprising a floor cross member extending in the width direction between a pair of side sills and arranged on the main surface of the interior side of the floor panel, wherein the first bulkhead is arranged so that the third wall portion overlaps with the floor cross member in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side, and the second bulkhead is arranged so that the seventh wall portion overlaps with the battery cross member in the height direction when the vehicle is viewed from the side.

Images