Four wheel vehicle

• US 10,053,153 B2
• Filed: 02/01/2017
• Issued: 08/21/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Naoki, Ikui, Kuniaki, Kato, Takahiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Shriver, II, James A
• Assistant Examiner(s): Clemmons, Steve
• Application Number:
  US15/421,894
• Publication Number:
  US 20170225715A1
• Time in Patent Office: 566 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 11/15 Coil springs resisting deflection by winding up
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 13/003 characterised by the mounting on the vehicle body or chassis of the damper unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 13/005 characterised by the mounting on the axle or suspension arm of the damper unit
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 15/02 having mechanical spring
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2202/10 Type of spring
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2202/12 Wound spring
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/12422 anchoring the end coils on the spring support plate
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/128 Damper mount on vehicle body or chassis
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2204/129 Damper mount on wheel suspension or knuckle
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 2300/50 Electric vehicles; Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 3/06 the arm being rigid
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 3/14 the arm being rigid
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 7/008 Attaching arms to unsprung part of vehicle B60G7/005, B60G7/006 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60G 7/02 Attaching arms to sprung part of vehicle B60G7/006 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 1/04 of the electric storage means for propulsion exchanging batteries for electric propulsion of vehicles B60L53/80; for auxiliary purposes only B60R16/04; supplying batteries to, or removing batteries from, vehicles B60S5/06
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/10 DC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/64 Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/16 Connectors, e.g. plugs or sockets, specially adapted for charging electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/21 having the same nominal voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/015 : Attaching seats directly to vehicle chassis
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/20 : the back-rest being tiltable, e.g. to permit easy access B60N2/04, B60N2/22 , B60N2/3002 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/13 : Roll-over protection electrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements B60R21/01
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2306/01 : Reducing damages in case of crash, e.g. by improving battery protection
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 21/02 : comprising longitudinally or transversely arranged frame members
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 21/157 : for side impacts
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 23/005 : with integrated chassis in the whole shell, e.g. meshwork, tubes, or the like B62D33/044 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 27/02 : rigid
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 29/007 : predominantly of special steel or specially treated steel, e.g. stainless steel or locally surface hardened steel
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 : Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6561 : Gases
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/249 : specially adapted for aircraft or vehicles, e.g. cars or trains constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles B60L50/64
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/14 : Plug-in electric vehicles

Abstract

The four wheel vehicle uses an electric motor (142) for driving the vehicle and a battery unit (160) for supplying electric power to the electric motor. The lower chassis (5) of the vehicle includes a pair of front side frames (10) extending linearly in a fore and aft direction with an upward slant and a progressively increasing lateral mutual spacing from a front part thereof to a rear part thereof and a plurality of cross members (14, 16, 18) connecting the front side frames to each other. The battery unit is positioned between the two front side frames such that the battery unit overlaps with the front side frames in side view. Thereby, the battery unit can be effectively protected from side impacts.

Claims

1. A four wheel vehicle including a pair of front wheels and a pair of rear wheels, comprising:

a lower chassis including a pair of side frames extending in a fore and aft direction and at least one cross member connected between the two side frames;

a front seat positioned on the lower chassis between the front wheels and the rear wheels;

a front suspension system provided on a front end part of each side frame for supporting the corresponding front wheel;

a rear suspension system provided on a rear end part of each side frame for supporting the corresponding rear wheel;

an electric motor provided between the two rear wheels and between the two side frames for driving the rear wheels;

a battery unit positioned between the two side frames and under the front seat; and

a power control unit positioned longitudinally between the battery unit and the electric motor and laterally between the two side frames for controlling electric power supplied from the battery unit to the electric motor,

wherein a rear end part of the battery unit consists of a lower extension having a reduced height and extending under the power control unit,

the battery unit includes a tube joint protruding from a lower surface of the lower extension to define an end face facing in an outboard direction,

the lower extension is provided with a cutaway that enables access to a part of a lower surface of the power control unit located above the lower extension, and

the battery unit and the power control unit are connected to each other via a cable extending from the end face of the tube joint to the part of the lower surface of the power control unit.

2. The four wheel vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the battery unit is encased in a horizontally disposed rectangular box, and the side frames extend linearly in the fore and aft direction with an upward slant from a front part thereof to a rear part thereof such that the side frames extend diagonally across the battery unit in side view.

3. The four wheel vehicle according to claim 2, wherein a lower part of the battery unit is at least partly positioned below bottom surfaces of the side frames.

4. The four wheel vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the lower part of the battery unit is positioned entirely below the bottom surfaces of the side frames.

5. The four wheel vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the battery unit is supported by a battery mount band extending along a lower surface of the battery unit and fastened to the side frames in a detachable manner.

6. The four wheel vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the power control unit comprises an electric power conversion unit including an inverter and a DC/DC converter, and an electronic control unit for controlling supply of electric power to the electric motor;

and wherein the electric power conversion unit is housed in a casing separate from the electronic control unit, and the casing is provided with a positive ventilation unit.

7. The four wheel vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a rear seat positioned on the lower chassis above the electric motor.