Sliding Door Lower Hinge Weakening to Protect Vehicle Battery Case
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Solution Overview
Problem
In vehicles with sliding doors and battery cases, the lower hinge's position relative to the battery stack poses a risk of interference and damage during side collisions, as it may displace and strike the battery stack when the hinge is positioned outside the battery case in an elevation view.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle side portion structure with a lower hinge featuring a weakened portion, such as a bead portion, long hole, or joint with reduced strength, positioned to deform or fracture upon collision, reducing the displacement stroke and preventing interference with the battery stack.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the lower hinge is disposed at the vehicle width direction outer side of the battery case in elevation view to increase space inside the vehicle, then the space utilization is improved, but the lower hinge may interfere with the battery stack during side collision
Solution Approach 1:
The horizontal portion of the lower hinge is divided into multiple sections with different properties: a first horizontal portion positioned outer side of the battery case, a second horizontal portion joined to the first, and a weakened portion connecting them. This segmentation allows the hinge to maintain its positioning function while creating a controlled failure zone that prevents battery interference during collision.
Solution Approach 2:
The weakened portion acts as an intermediary element between the first and second horizontal portions of the lower hinge. This intermediate section is designed to deform or fracture under collision load, serving as a sacrificial element that absorbs impact energy and prevents the transmission of harmful forces to the battery stack.
2Strength
If the horizontal portion of the lower hinge is made strong to maintain structural integrity, then the hinge durability is improved, but the displacement stroke increases during collision causing battery interference
Solution Approach 1:
The lower hinge exhibits non-uniform structural properties: the first horizontal portion maintains high strength for normal operation, while the weakened portion has deliberately reduced strength. This local quality differentiation ensures that under collision conditions, only the weakened portion deforms or fractures, controlling the displacement stroke while preserving the overall hinge structure's functional integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The weakened portion is pre-designed with reduced strength to act as a cushioning element before collision occurs. This preliminary weakness is intentionally created to ensure that during side collision, the weakened portion will deform or fracture first, absorbing impact energy and limiting the displacement stroke of the horizontal portion, thereby protecting the battery stack from interference.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the weakened portion is designed to deform or fracture during collision, then the battery stack protection is improved, but the hinge reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The weakened portion is designed to fail in advance under abnormal collision conditions to prevent greater damage to the battery stack. This preliminary anti-action principle accepts controlled hinge failure as a protective measure, where the weakened portion's deliberate vulnerability creates a fail-safe mechanism that activates only during side collisions, thereby protecting the battery while maintaining normal hinge reliability during regular vehicle operation.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A vehicle side portion structure includes a battery case and a lower hinge. The lower hinge includes a vertical portion and a horizontal portion. The vertical portion is attached to a lower portion of a sliding door that opens and closes a side portion of the vehicle. The horizontal portion extends from a lower end portion of the vertical portion. The lower hinge supports the sliding door to be slidable in a vehicle front-and-rear direction, and in a state in which the sliding door is closed, at least the horizontal portion is disposed at a vehicle width direction outer side of the battery case in elevation view. A weakened portion that is to be deformed or fractured by a load applied from the vehicle width direction outer side is formed in the horizontal portion.