Vehicle Front Structure Layout for Contactless Charging and Offset Impact
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electric vehicles, securing sufficient ground clearance and departure angle becomes challenging due to the placement of contactless chargers, which often require a large coil that extends in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the batteries are typically positioned below the floor panel, complicating impact absorption in offset collisions.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle-body front structure with a battery casing and side frames that extend forward, a contactless charger positioned between these frames, and cross members that absorb impact loads, ensuring impact absorbability while maintaining ground clearance and allowing for a large coil, thus improving layout characteristics and impact absorption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the contactless charger is disposed below the floor panel, then charging convenience is improved, but ground clearance is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The contactless charger is repositioned from the vertical dimension (below floor panel) to the lateral dimension (between side frames), utilizing unused horizontal space to resolve the conflict between charging convenience and ground clearance
2Ease of operation
If the contactless charger is disposed below the vehicle-body rear portion, then charging convenience is improved, but departure angle is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The contactless charger is relocated from the rear portion to the front side portion between the side frames, changing the spatial dimension from rearward extension to lateral positioning, thereby preserving departure angle while maintaining charging convenience
3Quantity of substance
If the contactless charger includes a large-sized coil, then charging capacity is improved, but layout characteristics are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle body structure is segmented into functional zones, with the space between side frames designated for the contactless charger, allowing the large-sized coil to be accommodated without compromising overall layout efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The large-sized coil is positioned in the lateral dimension between side frames rather than extending in the front-rear direction, converting a linear space-consuming arrangement into a compact lateral arrangement that improves layout characteristics
Data Source
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AI summary
[Problem] Layout characteristics of a contactless charger are improved while impact absorbability in an offset collision is sufficiently secured. [Means for Solution] A vehicle-body front structure A includes a pair of left and right side frames 12 which extend from a front-side battery frame 32 toward vehicle front to be positioned on vehicle-width-direction outer sides toward front, a contactless charger 4 which is arranged between the left and right side frames 12, and a cross member 15 which is suspended between the left and right side frames 12. The contactless charger 4 has a cross member arrangement portion 4a in which the cross member 15 is capable of being arranged.