Vehicle Battery Arrangement Outside Front Side Frame

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Solution Overview

Problem

Battery placement in vehicles faces challenges with inefficient cooling due to thermal influences from engines or motors, and potential interference with impact absorption systems, especially when located at the front portion of the vehicle.

Innovation Solution

A battery arrangement structure that positions the battery outside the front side frame in the vehicle width direction, behind the crush can, to avoid thermal influences and ensure proper cooling, while maintaining impact absorption functionality by providing a safe distance from the front wheel and supporting the battery through a flange portion and support bracket.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Temperature

If the battery is arranged inside the engine room or motor room at the front portion of the vehicle, then the battery can be cooled by vehicle-traveling air, but the battery receives improper thermal influence from the engine or motor

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebattery cooling efficiencyVSAvoidthermal influence from engine or motor

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The battery is extracted from the engine room or motor room and repositioned to the outside of the front side frame in the vehicle width direction. This spatial separation removes the battery from the thermal influence zone of the engine or motor while maintaining accessibility to vehicle-traveling air for cooling purposes.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The front side frame structure serves as an intermediary element that defines the boundary between the engine/motor compartment and the battery placement area. By positioning the battery outside the front side frame, the structure acts as a thermal barrier while allowing air flow pathways to remain open for battery cooling.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Temperature

If the battery is arranged at the front portion of the vehicle, then the battery can be cooled efficiently, but the battery may hurt the function of impact absorption in vehicle frontal collision

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebattery cooling efficiencyVSAvoidimpact absorption function

Core Design Contradiction:

TemperatureVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The battery is positioned at a specific location outside the front side frame where it can access cooling air flows while being sufficiently distant from the crush can and front wheel. This localized positioning optimizes both thermal management and collision safety by exploiting the spatial characteristics of different zones in the vehicle front structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The crush can is positioned between the front wheel and the battery, serving as a pre-designed cushioning element. In the event of a frontal collision, the crush can deforms to absorb impact energy before it can reach the battery, providing beforehand protection while not interfering with the battery's cooling pathways during normal operation.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #11Beforehand cushioning (Prior cushioning)

3Object-affected harmful factors

If the battery is arranged below the floor of the vehicle compartment, then the battery is protected from thermal influence, but it is difficult to let vehicle-traveling air flow down toward the battery

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvethermal influence protectionVSAvoidbattery cooling efficiency

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSTemperature

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of placing the battery vertically below the floor where air flow is restricted, the battery is repositioned to the outside of the front side frame in the vehicle width direction. This dimensional change allows the battery to be in direct contact with vehicle-traveling air flows while maintaining separation from thermal sources, solving both cooling and thermal protection requirements simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This arrangement ensures efficient cooling of the battery, prevents damage from thermal influences, and maintains the integrity of impact absorption systems during collisions, reducing the risk of battery breakage and ensuring proper vehicle performance.

Implementation Method 1

the battery (the capacitor, in particular) produces some heat

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectHeat generation: Joule Heating

Implementation Method 2

the battery may not receive any improper thermal influence from the engine or the motor. Accordingly, the battery can be cooled efficiently by the vehicle-traveling air

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectConvection cooling: Convection

Data Source

PatentUS8720627B2Battery arrangement structure of vehicle

Publication Date: 2014.05.13 MAZDA MOTOR CORP

AI summary

A battery is arranged at a specified position which is located on an outside of a front side frame in a vehicle width direction and between a front wheel and a crush can in a vehicle longitudinal direction. Accordingly, the battery can be positioned properly at a front portion of a vehicle so that the battery may not receive any improper thermal influence from an engine or a motor and not hurt the function of impact absorption in a vehicle frontal collision.