Rear Seat Battery Case Layout Around Exhaust Passage
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electric vehicles equipped with both an electric motor and an engine, the placement of a battery pack beneath a rear seat interferes with an exhaust passage member, making it difficult to ensure sufficient headroom for the rear seat.
Innovation Solution
The battery case is designed with a first battery case and a second battery case, where the second battery case is smaller and positioned above the first, with a recess for the exhaust passage member, allowing the battery modules to be oriented to minimize height and interference, and incorporating a cooling medium jacket and strategically placing components to optimize space and cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the battery pack is disposed beneath the rear seat to maximize battery volume, then the battery capacity is improved, but the rear seat headroom is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The battery case is divided into a first battery case and a second battery case that are formed independently. The first battery case is disposed on the lower face of the floor panel, while the second battery case is disposed on an upper front part of the first battery case. This segmentation allows the battery pack to accommodate the exhaust passage member and reduces the overall height requirement, thereby ensuring rear seat headroom while maintaining battery capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The second battery case is disposed in a fore-and-aft direction on an upper front part of the first battery case, utilizing the longitudinal dimension rather than only the vertical dimension. This dimensional change allows the battery pack to optimize space utilization beneath the rear seat while reducing the height required, thereby ensuring sufficient headroom for the rear seat.
2Ease of operation
If the battery case height is reduced to ensure rear seat headroom, then the rear seat position is lowered, but the battery volume is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The battery case is segmented into a first battery case disposed on the lower face of the floor panel and a second battery case disposed on an upper front part of the first battery case. This segmentation allows the battery pack to maintain sufficient total volume while reducing the overall height, thereby ensuring rear seat headroom without compromising battery capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The second battery case is disposed in a fore-and-aft direction on an upper front part of the first battery case, utilizing the longitudinal dimension to compensate for the reduced height. This dimensional change allows the battery pack to maintain sufficient total volume while ensuring adequate rear seat headroom.
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 configuration allows for a lower rear seat position, ensuring headroom while maintaining sufficient battery volume, enhancing cooling efficiency, and reinforcing the battery case for collision resistance without increasing component count.
Implementation Method 1
a cooling medium jacket cooling the second battery case from an outside of the second battery case is formed between a case upper wall of the first battery case and a case lower wall of the second battery case
Data Source
AI summary
Battery cases are formed such that a small second battery case is disposed on an upper front part of a large first battery case, the second battery case is disposed below a front part of a seat cushion of a rear seat, a recess portion extending in a fore-and-aft direction and having at least part of an exhaust passage member passing therethrough is formed in a lower face of a middle part in a vehicle width direction of the first battery case, battery modules housed in the first battery case are disposed on left and right sides of the recess portion, and a battery module housed in the second battery case is disposed so that a longitudinal direction thereof follows the vehicle width direction. Therefore, it is possible to ensure the headroom for a rear seat by disposing the rear seat at as low a position as possible.