A vehicle battery assembly utilizing side cooling plates. This battery assembly avoids a stacked vertical battery and cooling plate or pack arrangement, optimizes tunnel (and other) space utilization, minimizes battery assembly intrusion into the passenger compartment of the associated vehicle, and allows seat position height to be as low as possible within the passenger compartment of the associated vehicle, while still allowing vertical access to the access points and electrical contacts of the battery modules within the battery assembly. Further, such battery assembly is compatible with conventional and novel cooling pipe configurations and cooling systems.

A vehicle includes a first seat and a second seat occupying a vehicle body, a battery pack disposed between the first seat and the second seat, a first inboard airbag, and a second inboard airbag, and optionally a first outboard airbag and a second outboard airbag. The airbags are deployable from a packed position to or between an inflated position. The first inboard airbag is configured to deploy and occupy a space between the first seat and the battery pack, the first outboard airbag is configured to deploy and occupy a space between the first seat and the first side of the vehicle body, the second inboard airbag is configured to deploy and occupy a space between the second seat and the battery pack, and the second outboard airbag is configured to deploy and occupy a space between the second seat and the second side of the vehicle body.

A vehicle includes an electric load, a first battery electrically connected to the electric load, a second battery electrically connected to the electric load in parallel with the first battery, the second battery being closer to a center of the vehicle than the first battery in a top view of the vehicle, a switch configured to electrically disconnect solely the first battery of the first battery and the second battery from the electric load, and a controller configured to open the switch based on detection of a collision of the vehicle or detection of an abnormality of the first battery.

To provide a vehicle drive device capable of effectively driving a vehicle by using in-wheel motors without falling into the vicious cycle between enhancement of driving via the motors and an increase in vehicle weight. The present invention is a vehicle drive device that uses in-wheel motors to drive a vehicle and includes in-wheel motors (20) that are provided in wheels (2b) of a vehicle (1) and drive the wheels, a body side motor (16) that is provided in a body of the vehicle and drives the wheels of the vehicle, and a battery (18) and a capacitor (22) that supply electric power for driving the in-wheel motors and/or the body side motor, in which a voltage of the battery is applied to the body side motor and a voltage of the battery and the capacitor connected in series is applied to the in-wheel motors.

A vehicle including: a floor panel; a pair of left and right front seats which are disposed on the floor panel; and a high-voltage battery which is disposed between the front seats and which is held on a frame member, wherein a guide member which guides the frame member is provided between the front seats on the floor panel, and wherein the guide member has a pair of left and right guide rails and a positioning portion which controls a position of the frame member in relation to the guide member in at least a front-rear direction.

A hybrid driving apparatus is provided which enables a driver to sufficiently enjoy a driving feeling of a vehicle driven by an internal combustion engine. A hybrid driving apparatus includes an internal combustion engine that drive main driving wheels, a motive power transmission mechanism transmitting a driving force to the main driving wheels, a main driving electric motor driving the main driving wheels, an accumulator, sub-driving electric motors transmitting motive power to sub-driving wheels of the vehicle, and a control apparatus executing an electric motor traveling mode and an internal combustion engine traveling mode. The control apparatus causes the internal combustion engine to generate the driving force, the internal combustion engine is a flywheel-less engine, and the control apparatus causes the main driving electric motor to generate a torque for maintaining idling of the internal combustion engine in the internal combustion engine traveling mode.

A battery case assembly includes a first member and a second member. The first member has a bottom portion, an upright portion and a top portion. The bottom portion is rigidly and fixedly attached to a vehicle floor structure. The second member is attached to the first member thereby defining a hollow rectangular structure with an open forward end and an open rearward end. A battery fitted within the hollow rectangular structure such that forward end of the battery is exposed via the open forward end of the hollow rectangular structure and a rearward end of the battery is exposed via the open rearward end of the hollow rectangular structure.

A storage area for an electric vehicle includes a rigid tunnel positioned within a passenger compartment of the electric vehicle. The tunnel covers a portion of a battery assembly that extends above a floor structure of the vehicle such that the passenger compartment is sealed from the battery assembly. A center console is positioned within the passenger compartment. The center console is disposed on top of the tunnel such that a medial portion of the center console is spaced a vertical distance above a top surface of the rigid tunnel. A first end and a second end of the center console are coupled with the top surface of the rigid tunnel. A thickness of the medial portion is less than that of the first end and the second end. A space between the top surface of the tunnel and a bottom surface of the medial portion defines the storage area.

A vehicle includes: a center tunnel which is formed on a floor panel so as to extend in a front-rear direction; a high-voltage battery which is disposed on the center tunnel; and a frame member which holds the high-voltage battery, wherein leg portions are provided on a bottom portion of the frame member so as to extend obliquely downwards, and wherein the frame member is fastened to inclined surfaces of the center tunnel via the leg portions.

A vehicle includes a first seat and a second seat occupying a vehicle body, a battery pack disposed between the first seat and the second seat, a first inboard airbag, and a second inboard airbag, and optionally a first outboard airbag and a second outboard airbag. The airbags are deployable from a packed position to or between an inflated position. The first inboard airbag is configured to deploy and occupy a space between the first seat and the battery pack, the first outboard airbag is configured to deploy and occupy a space between the first seat and the first side of the vehicle body, the second inboard airbag is configured to deploy and occupy a space between the second seat and the battery pack, and the second outboard airbag is configured to deploy and occupy a space between the second seat and the second side of the vehicle body.