Body construction of electric car

• US 20040134699A1
• Filed: 06/30/2003
• Published: 07/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Japan Science And Technology Corpration
• Original Assignee: Japan Science And Technology Corpration
• Inventors: Shimizu, Hiroshi
• Granted Patent: US 6,837,325 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 180/68.5
• 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 2220/44 Wheel Hub motors, i.e. integrated in the wheel hub
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 21/10 in which the main member is plate-like
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/20 Floors or bottom sub-units sub-frames for mounting engine or suspensions B62D21/11; drip trays F16N31/006
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• 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

Abstract

There is provided a body construction of an electric car, in which a flat floor construction of the car body allowing batteries to be easily built therein and removed therefrom and to be accommodated under the floor in a space-effective manner is formed and in which power lines are rationally wired.

In the body structure of an electric car, in which the batteries for feeding a power to a plurality of in-wheel motors (11a, 11b, 21a, 21b, 31a, 31b, 41a, and 41b) are accommodated in a floor portion of the car body, a front wheel frame (7) for having front wheels (1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b) installed thereon and a rear wheel frame (8) for having rear wheels (3a, 3b, 4a, and 4b) installed thereon are coupled by a backbone member (9) having an approximately rectangular hollow cross-section, and pluralities of battery-accommodating hollow frames (91a and 91b) are disposed to the right and left side surfaces of the backbone member (9) so as to lie parallel to each other and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the backbone member (9).

Claims

1. A body construction of an electric car, in which batteries for feeding a power to a plurality of in-wheel motors are accommodated in a floor portion of a car body,

wherein a front wheel frame for supporting front wheels and a rear wheel frame for supporting rear wheels are coupled by a backbone member having an approximately rectangular hollow cross-section, and pluralities of battery-accommodating hollow frames for accommodating the batteries are disposed to the right and left side surfaces of the backbone member so as to lie parallel to each other and perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the backbone member.

2. The body construction of an electric car according to claim 1, wherein inverters for the in-wheel motors are arranged next to the corresponding in-wheel motors either in the front wheel frame or in the rear wheel frame and power lines from the batteries to the inverters are laid down so as to extend through the hollow of the backbone member.

3. The body construction of an electric car according to claim 1, wherein the in-wheel motors and the batteries are respectively divided into two systems;

the batteries of one system are accommodated in the hollow flames disposed to one side of the backbone member and the batteries of the other system are accommodated in the hollow flames disposed to the other side of the backbone member.

4. The body construction of an electric car according to claim 2, wherein the front wheel frame and the rear wheel frame is formed so as to have a frame structure having substantially the same height as those of the battery-accommodating hollow frames and the inverters are arranged in the frame structure.