Battery Pack Arrangement in Vehicle Floor Tunnel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle designs with battery packs face challenges in maintaining a lightweight body while ensuring sufficient battery capacity and protecting the battery and accessories from side collision loads, often requiring reinforcement that increases vehicle weight.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a raised floor cross member extending in the vehicle width direction, a floor tunnel with varying heights in the front-rear direction, and a battery pack arrangement where the first battery accessory is placed inside the front tunnel portion and the second battery accessory inside the rear tunnel portion, connected by a high-voltage electric wire, allowing for a compact and protected battery configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If batteries are arranged in a staggered configuration to avoid the floor cross member, then the battery pack can be installed, but the arrangement range expands to the vicinity of the side sill requiring reinforcement that increases vehicle weight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the vertical dimension by creating a floor tunnel that raises upward from the floor panel. This allows battery accessories to be arranged in the vertical space above the floor cross member rather than expanding horizontally toward the side sills, eliminating the need for side sill reinforcement and reducing vehicle weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The floor tunnel is divided into a front tunnel portion and a rear tunnel portion separated by the floor cross member. Battery accessories are segmented and placed in respective portions, with the high-voltage electric wire routed through the floor tunnel to connect them. This segmentation allows efficient space utilization without requiring continuous side sill reinforcement.
2Strength
If the floor cross member is made continuous in the vehicle width direction to protect against side collision, then structural strength is improved, but the battery accessory arrangement space is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of compromising the continuous floor cross member structure for battery accessory placement, the patent moves battery accessories to the vertical space above it within the floor tunnel. This dimensional shift allows both the continuous cross member (maintaining side collision resistance) and battery accessory arrangement to coexist without conflict.
3Reliability
If the side sill is reinforced or plate thickness is increased to protect battery from side collision, then battery protection is improved, but vehicle body weight is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the battery accessories from the horizontal arrangement near the side sills and relocates them to the vertical floor tunnel space. This extraction eliminates the need for additional side sill reinforcement or increased plate thickness, maintaining battery protection while avoiding weight increase.
4Quantity of substance
If battery accessories are arranged inside the floor tunnel, then battery capacity is secured, but the floor cross member cannot be made continuous in the vehicle width direction
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by utilizing the vertical dimension of the floor tunnel. The floor cross member remains continuous in the vehicle width direction at its original level, while battery accessories are arranged in the vertical space above it within the tunnel. This allows both continuous cross member structure and adequate battery capacity to be achieved simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a vehicle equipped with a battery pack. A vehicle equipped with a battery pack includes a floor tunnel and a battery pack. The battery pack includes a first battery accessory, a second battery accessory, and an electrical wiring. The first battery accessory is arranged inside a front tunnel portion of the floor tunnel from below. The second battery accessory is arranged inside a rear tunnel portion of the floor tunnel from below. The electrical wiring extends in a front-rear direction of a vehicle body across right and left second floor cross members, and connects the first battery accessory and the second battery accessory.