Battery Box Integration in Commercial Vehicle Floor Structure

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Commercial vehicles face challenges in safely and efficiently installing and maintaining large batteries, which are essential for powering electrical consumers, including refrigeration machines, due to limited space and the need for secure protection from damage.

Innovation Solution

The integration of a battery box between structural elements that extend downward from the floor structure, providing protection and easy assembly/disassembly, along with a support structure that can be adjusted for secure footing, allows for the installation of large batteries and simplifies maintenance, eliminating the need for direct connections to the floor.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Power

If large batteries are installed to power electrical consumers, then the power supply capacity is improved, but the space requirement and protection difficulty increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepower supply capacityVSAvoidspace requirement
Core Design Contradiction:
PowerVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The battery box is installed in the vertical space between the floor structure and the downwardly extending components (side walls and support structure), utilizing the third dimension (height/vertical clearance) rather than consuming lateral space. This allows large batteries to be accommodated without increasing the vehicle's overall width or length.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Solution Approach 2:

The battery box is nested within the space created by the vehicle's structural components. The downwardly extending side walls and support structure form a protective enclosure that houses the battery box, effectively nesting the battery system within the existing structural framework of the vehicle.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

2Reliability

If batteries are protected from damage, then the reliability is improved, but the assembly and maintenance complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprotection from damageVSAvoidassembly and maintenance
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSEase of repair

Solution Approach 1:

The battery system is segmented into a removable battery box that can be easily detached from the vehicle structure. This segmentation allows the battery box to be protected during operation while enabling quick removal for maintenance, replacement, or charging without requiring disassembly of the entire vehicle structure.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The battery box is designed with dynamic characteristics - it can be in a fixed protected position during operation and easily removed when maintenance is needed. The downwardly extending components provide protection during operation, but the entire battery box can be quickly extracted when required, providing dynamic adaptability between protection and accessibility modes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentEP3628571B1Commercial vehicle with a battery box on the ground structure
Publication Date: 2022.11.16 SCHMITZ CARGOBULL AG
  • EP3628571B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3628571B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3628571B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Described and illustrated is a commercial vehicle (1), in particular a truck, trailer or semi-trailer, with a floor structure (10) supporting a loading floor (9), wherein structural elements (14) are rigidly suspended from the floor structure (10) and are assigned to the two opposite longitudinal sides of the commercial vehicle (1), each extending downwards at least partially. In order to enable the practical, safe and reliable mounting of even relatively large batteries, at least one battery box (17) for receiving at least one electric battery (16) is provided between the structural elements (14) extending downwards at least partially.