UNDERTRAY COMPONENT WITH A SENSOR DEVICE, AND BATTERY ARRANGEMENT WITH SUCH AN UNDERTRAY COMPONENT

Abstract

An underbody component for a motor vehicle, with a plate element which has a lower side and an upper side; at least one supporting element arranged on the upper side of the plate element, which is intended to support the plate element against a vehicle side structure and to space it apart. The supporting element is also designed as a partition, which divides the area above the plate element into multiple chambers; a sensor device which is intended to detect intrusion of the plate element into at least one of the chambers caused by an external force action on the lower side.

Claims

1-10. (canceled)

11. An underbody component for a motor vehicle, comprising a plate element which has a lower side and an upper side; and at least one supporting element arranged on the upper side of the plate element, which is intended to support the plate element against a vehicle-side structure and to space it apart from this vehicle-side structure, wherein this supporting element is also designed as a partition, which divides the area above the plate element into multiple chambers; and a sensor device which includes at least one electrically conductive sensor wire which is arranged in or on the plate element, wherein this sensor device is in-tended to detect intrusion of the plate element into at least one of the chambers caused by an external force action on the lower side.

12. The underbody component according to claim 11, wherein the plate element and the supporting element are integrally formed.

13. The underbody component according to claim 11, wherein the sensor wire has a meandering course.

14. The underbody component according to claim 11, wherein at least one sensor wire is provided which covers multiple chambers.

15. The underbody component according to claim 11, wherein a sensor wire is provided for each chamber.

16. A battery arrangement for a motor vehicle, comprising: a traction battery formed having a housing; a cooling device forming the housing bottom or arranged below the housing bottom; an underbody component which is designed according to claim 11 and is arranged below the cooling device, which is supported with its supporting element against the cooling device and/or against the housing bottom.

17. The battery arrangement according to claim 16, wherein the battery housing includes multiple chambers for accommodating battery modules, wherein the chambers of the underbody component are arranged congruently with the chambers of the battery housing.

18. The battery arrangement according to claim 16, further comprising an evaluation device which is designed to determine damage to the underbody component by evaluating sensor data from the sensor device.

19. The battery arrangement according to claim 18, wherein the evaluation device is also designed to locate damage and/or to determine the degree of damage.

20. The underbody component according to claim 12, wherein the sensor wire has a meandering course.

21. The underbody component according to claim 12, wherein at least one senor wire is provided which covers multiple chambers.

22. The underbody component according to claim 13, wherein at least one sensor wire is provided which covers multiple chambers.

23. The underbody component according to claim 12, wherein a sensor wire is provided for each chamber.

24. The underbody component according to claim 13, wherein a sensor wire is provided for each chamber.

25. The battery arrangement according to claim 17, further comprising an evaluation device which is designed to determine damage to the underbody component by evaluating sensor data from the sensor device.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0024] The invention will be described in greater detail below in reference to the drawings. The features shown in the schematic figures of the drawing and/or the features explained below can be general features of the invention, even independently of specific combinations of features, and refine the invention accordingly. In addition, the possible embodiments of the invention shown in the figures can also be combined with one another within the scope of the invention.

[0025] FIG. 1 shows a motor vehicle having a battery arrangement according to the invention.

[0026] FIG. 2 illustrates a section of the structure of the battery arrangement from FIG. 1 (without force action and with force action).

[0027] FIG. 3 shows a top view of a possible embodiment of an underbody component of the battery arrangement from FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

[0028] FIG. 4 shows a top view of a further possible embodiment of an underbody component of the battery arrangement from FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

[0029] FIG. 5 shows a top view of a further possible embodiment of an underbody component of the battery arrangement from FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The motor vehicle 100 shown in FIG. 1, wherein it is, for example, an at least partially electrically driven passenger vehicle, includes a traction battery 300 which is arranged in the area of the vehicle floor and which is protected downwards, i.e., in the direction of the roadway, by an underbody component 500 according to the invention. The underbody component 500 is predomi-nantly manufactured from fiber-reinforced plastic (PRP). The traction battery 300 and the underbody component 500 form a battery arrangement 200 according to the invention (see FIG. 2).

[0031] FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of such a battery arrangement 200. The battery arrangement 200 comprises the traction battery 300 formed having a housing (battery box or the like), a cooling device 400 (which contains a cooling channel structure, for example) arranged below the housing bottom 310, and the underbody component 500 arranged below the cooling device 400. The housing of the traction battery 300 includes multiple chambers in which battery modules 320 are arranged. The underbody component 500 includes a flat plate or floor element 510.

[0032] Furthermore, multiple supporting elements 520 belonging to the underbody component 500 are provided, which support the plate element 510 against the cooling device 400 or possibly also directly against the housing or the housing bottom 310 (so that the cooling device 400 is located between the supporting elements 520). These supporting elements 520 are ridges or elevations that are arranged on the upper side of the plate element 510. The supporting elements 520 also function at the same time as spacers, which space apart the plate element 510 from the cooling device 400 and from the housing bottom 310. The supporting elements 520 can be integrally formed in one piece with the plate element 510. The underbody component 500 can be fastened by means of screwing through the supporting elements 520.

[0033] The supporting elements 520 are also designed as partition walls or the like (see also FIGS. 3 to 5), which divide the area above the plate element 510 into multiple chambers 530. The chambers 530 improve the protective effect of the underbody component 500 by providing quasi-stable deformation free spaces for the plate element 510, which extend in the z-direction between the upper side of the plate element 510 and the cooling device 400, as shown in FIG. 2a. A force action K (for example an impact) from below can result in a deformation of the plate element 510 in the z-direction, wherein the plate element 510 intrudes into at least one of the chambers 530, as illustrated in FIG. 2b. This is usually accompanied by damage to the underbody component 500 or a loss of structural integrity and can also result in damage to the cooling device 400 and/or the traction battery 300 despite the deformation free space.

[0034] The underbody component 500 is equipped with a sensor device that is intended to detect an intrusion of the plate element 510 into at least one of the chambers 530 (as shown in FIG. 2b) caused by an external force action K on the lower side, so that if necessary suitable protective measures can be initiated as described above.

[0035] FIG. 3 shows a possible embodiment of the sensor device, in which multiple electrically conductive sensor wires 600 are arranged in or on the plate element 510, in particular on its upper side, such that a sensor wire 600 with a meandering course is provided for each chamber 530, wherein the sensor field (sensor surface) formed by the respective sensor wire 600 covers the respective area between the supporting elements or partition walls 520 essentially over the entire surface. The sensor wires 600 are contacted in a suitable manner A deformation of the plate element 510 (as shown in FIG. 2b, for example) results in a detectable change in the electrical resistance of the relevant sensor wire 600. The evaluation can take place with the aid of an evaluation device, as described above.

[0036] In the first possible embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the supporting elements or partition walls 520 are arranged extending transversely with respect to the direction of travel F of the motor vehicle 100. FIG. 4 shows a second possible embodiment, in which the supporting elements or partition walls 520 are arranged extending longitudinally with respect to the direction of travel F. FIG. 5 shows a third possible embodiment, in which transversely and longitudinally extending supporting elements or partitions 520 are provided, which more or less form multiple compartments. The sensor wires 600 are arranged here in such a way that the sensor fields formed there-by each cover multiple chambers 530.

[0037] The underbody components 500 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 can be formed with a side wall or the like (not shown), in particular a completely circumferential side wall. Moreover, an underbody component 500 according to the invention is not limited to the preferred use described above (for a traction battery), but can also be used in other ways.