Vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle

• US 8,393,426 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2009
• Issued: 03/12/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Yuji, Furusawa, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): VANAMAN, FRANK BENNETT
• Application Number:
  US13/146,904
• Publication Number:
  US 20110284299A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,356 Days
• Field of Search: 180/65.21, 180/68.5, 180/69.4, 903/951, 903/952
• 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: B60K 15/063 Arrangement of tanks
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0433 Arrangement under the rear seats
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0438 Arrangement under the floor
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2015/0638 the fuel tank is arranged in the rear of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 6/20 the prime-movers consisting of electric motors and internal combustion engines, e.g. HEVs
• 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: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6563 with forced flow, e.g. by blowers
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2200/00 Safety devices for primary or secondary batteries
• 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: H01M 50/271 Lids or covers for the racks or secondary casings
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

A vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle that contributes to compactly structuring the vehicle body, which is provided with: a battery disposed at the lower side in a vehicle up-down direction of a rear seat so as to overlap with the rear seat in plan view; and a fuel tank including a shallow profile portion that is disposed at the lower side of the battery such that a portion thereof overlaps with a floor face of the battery in plan view, and a deep profile portion that is made thicker in the vehicle up-down direction than the shallow profile portion and that is disposed at the rear side of the battery such that at least a portion thereof overlaps with a rear face of the battery in elevational view.

Claims

1. A vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle comprising:

a battery disposed at a lower side in a vehicle up-down direction of a rear seat such that at least a portion thereof overlaps with the rear seat in a plan view;

a fuel tank including

a shallow profile portion that is disposed at the lower side in the vehicle up-down direction relative to a floor face of the battery such that at least a portion thereof overlaps with the battery in plan view, and

a deep profile portion that is formed with a higher height in the vehicle up-down direction than the shallow profile portion and that is disposed at a rear side in a vehicle front-rear direction relative to a rear face of the battery such that at least a portion thereof overlaps with the battery in an elevational view;

a pair of left and right side members that are formed to be long in the vehicle front-rear direction;

a first cross member that is formed to be long in a vehicle width direction and spans between the pair of side members; and

a second cross member that is formed to be long in the vehicle width direction and spans between the pair of side members at the rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction relative to the first cross member,

wherein the battery is disposed so as to be surrounded in plan view by the pair of side members and the first and second cross members, and the second cross member spans between the pair of side members, passing between a rear face of the battery that faces to the rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction and a front face of the deep profile portion of the fuel tank that faces to the front side in the vehicle front-rear direction.

2. The vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the battery is disposed at the upper side in the vehicle up-down direction relative to the first cross member, such that a front end portion of the battery in the vehicle front-rear direction is disposed within the extent of a width in the vehicle front-rear direction of the first cross member in plan view.

3. The vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the shallow profile portion of the fuel tank is disposed at the rear side in the vehicle front-rear direction relative to the first cross member such that at least a portion thereof overlaps with the first cross member in elevational view.

4. The vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, further comprising a battery protection member that includes:

vehicle body fixing portions that are fixed to the first cross member and the second cross member; and

a battery protection portion that is disposed at the upper side in the vehicle up-down direction relative to the battery.

5. The vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the vehicle body fixing portions are fixed to both of vehicle width direction outer sides relative to the battery of at least one of the first cross member and the second cross member.

6. The vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the battery protection member is structured to include a seat frame that structures the rear seat.

7. The vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the battery protection member is structured to include a battery case that accommodates the battery.

8. The vehicle structure of a hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the battery is fixed to each of the first cross member and the second cross member.