Pickup PHEV Component Layout Above Side Members
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Solution Overview
Problem
Converting a pickup truck into a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) requires accommodating a battery and high-voltage electrical units, which raises the floor height, reducing cabin and truck bed volume and failing to meet user demands for large-volume load carrying.
Innovation Solution
The battery, power control unit, and vehicle on-board charging unit are disposed in a region below the rear-seat area and above the side members, ensuring installation space without reducing occupant or cargo space, and simplifying wiring and debris interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the floor height is raised to accommodate the battery and high-voltage electrical unit, then the installation space for PHEV components is improved, but user demands for large-volume load carrying are not met
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by relocating PHEV components to the space above the side members, which does not interfere with the cargo section's load carrying capacity. The battery, power control unit, and vehicle on-board charging unit are arranged in the previously unused space between the side members and vehicle body panels, allowing the truck bed to maintain its full load carrying volume.
2Volume of moving object
If the floor height is raised to accommodate the battery and high-voltage electrical unit, then the installation space for PHEV components is improved, but the complexity of wiring and vulnerability to road debris increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent reduces wiring complexity and vulnerability by positioning all high-voltage electrical units (battery, power control unit, and vehicle on-board charging unit) at the same vertical level above the side members. This horizontal arrangement at a single elevation simplifies the wiring paths between components and places them above the road surface, reducing exposure to flying debris compared to beneath-floor installation.
Data Source
AI summary
A pick-up truck type plug-in hybrid electric vehicle includes an engine compartment section having an engine compartment in which an engine is arranged longitudinally, a cabin section having a passenger compartment in which a seat is provided, and a cargo section having a truck bed that opens upward. The plug-in hybrid electric vehicle further includes a frame having left and right side members, and a vehicle on-board charging unit configured to convert electric power supplied from outside the vehicle and supply the converted electric power to the battery. The left and right side members extend in the vehicle longitudinal direction through a region in the cabin section that is below the passenger compartment and a region in the cargo section that is below the truck bed. The vehicle on-board charging unit is disposed in a region in the cabin section that is below a seat and above the side members.