PROTECTING MEMBER FOR A BATTERY STRUCTURE OF AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE

Abstract

The invention relates to a protecting member for a battery structure of an electric vehicle. The protecting member includes a top belt, a bottom belt and a core arranged between and interconnecting the top belt and the bottom belt. The core is at least partially made from a porous and fibrous structural material, such as plywood.

Claims

1. Protecting member for a battery structure of an electric vehicle, the protecting member comprising: a. a top belt; b. a bottom belt; and c. a core arranged between and interconnecting the top belt, and the bottom belt, wherein d. the core is at least partially made from a porous and fibrous structural material.

2. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the porous and fibrous structural material contains or is a naturally grown fiber composite material.

3. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the porous and fibrous structural material contains or consists of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin.

4. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the porous and fibrous structural material is plywood that contains a stack of several layers of wood veneer.

5. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the core is shaped as a base plate having a planar upper surface and a planar lower surface.

6. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the core is shaped as a base plate having an upper side with at least one beam mounted thereon, in particular glued with an adhesive, such that the core provided with a wave-like reinforcement structure.

7. The protecting member according to claim 6, wherein the base plate and the at least one beam are manufactured from the same or a different fibrous and porous structural material, in particular plywood.

8. The protecting member according to claim 6, wherein the base plate is at least partially or completely made from a heavier material, in particular beech wood; and the at least one beam is at least partially or completely made from a lighter material, in particular birch wood.

9. The protecting member according to claim 6, wherein the at least one beam is at least partially or completely made from a foam material, in particular a polymeric foam material, such as e.g. poly-urethane foam (PU foam) or polyethylene terephthalate foam (PET foam).

10. The protecting member according to claim 6, wherein the top belt has a wave-like shape that has a form-locking fit with the wave-like reinforcement structure of the core.

11. The protecting member according to claim 6, wherein at least two beams are arranged parallel to one another and/or parallel to an edge of the protecting member and/or are arranged in a frame-like manner and/or comprise a cross bar.

12. The protecting member according to claim 6, wherein a bore hole for mounting the protecting member to the battery structure of the electric vehicle is machined through the at least one beam.

13. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the top belt and/or the bottom belt is or are at least partially made from a material selected from the group consisting of: glass-fiber reinforced plastic (GFK); carbon-fiber reinforced plastic (CFK); basalt-fiber reinforced polymer composites; aramid-fiber reinforced polymer composites; metal, such as sheet metal; natural-fiber reinforced polymer composites; and combinations thereof.

14. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the top belt and the bottom belt are directly joined together in edge areas that laterally protrude over the core and/or in areas of mounting holes in the protecting member.

15. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the top belt the bottom belt form an elevation in edge areas that laterally protrude over the core.

16. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the top belt and/or the bottom belt each has a thickness of less than 1.5 mm or equal to 1 mm; and/or the core has a first core thickness of less than 10 mm in the area of the base plate and a second core thickness of less than 30 mm in an area where a or the reinforcing beam is mounted.

17. The protecting member according to claim 1, wherein the core has wedge-shaped edges at which the core is tapered off.

18. A battery structure of an electric vehicle, the battery structure comprising a protecting member according to claim 1.

19. A method for producing a protecting member according to claim 1, for a battery structure of an electric vehicle, the method comprising the steps of: a. providing the core at least partially made from the porous and fibrous structural material comprising plywood; b. joining a lower surface of the core with a bottom belt, by gluing with an adhesive; and c. joining an upper surface of the core with the top belt, by gluing with an adhesive.

20. The method of claim 19, comprising the steps of: d. machining the core to obtain a desired shape of the core, and e. inserting the core in a positive-locking manner between the top belt and the bottom belt such that the protecting member is formed as a monolithic cavity-free component.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein in step d. machining includes 3D-milling of the core to form tapered-off edges of the core.

22. The method of claim 19, comprising the step of: f. manufacturing the core include a base plate and at least one reinforcement beam, which is mounted onto an upper surface of the base plate, with a length extension of the base plate arranged parallel to an edge of the protecting member.

23. The method of claim 22, comprising a further step of machining a hole through the base plate and the beam in a vertical direction of the protecting member for mounting the protecting member to the battery structure of the electric vehicle.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0053] The herein described invention will be more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which should not be considered limiting to the invention described in the appended claims. The drawings are showing in:

[0054] FIG. 1 a perspective top view of a protecting member of the invention;

[0055] FIG. 2 a partly cross-sectional detail view F from FIG. 1;

[0056] FIG. 3 a partly cross-sectional detail view G from FIG. 2 showing an edge region of the core of the protecting member;

[0057] FIG. 4 an exploded view of the layered construction of the protecting member;

[0058] FIG. 5 an exploded detail view D of FIG. 4 showing a core detail; and

[0059] FIG. 6 a partly cross-sectional detail view E of FIG. 4 showing another core detail.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0060] Reference will now be made in detail to certain embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all features are shown. Indeed, embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Whenever possible, like reference numbers will be used to refer to like components or parts.

[0061] FIG. 1 shows a perspective top view of a protecting member 1 according to the invention, which is suitable for protecting an underfloor battery structure 2 of an electric vehicle. In the embodiment shown, the protecting member 1 has an essentially planar-like extension with an essentially rectangular contour for fitting with a bottom of a battery structure 2 (schematically shown in FIG. 4) of an underbody battery structure of an electric vehicle. Depending on the field of application, other shapes or contours of the protecting member 1 are possible and may be used. For example, the protecting member 1 can have a shape or contour adapted to a T-shape battery structure, as may be present in electric sports cars.

[0062] The exemplary protecting member 1 shown in FIG. 1 has longitudinal edges 10 in x-direction and transverse edges 11 in y-direction. In a mounted state of the protecting member 1, the x-direction corresponds to a length extension and the y-direction to a transverse extension of the electric vehicle. The edges 10, 11 are equipped with mounting structures 12 and also wing-shaped edges 13 for mounting the protecting member 1 to the battery structure 2 or to the underbody of the electric vehicle. As shown, the protecting member 1 has a wave-like shape or at least wave-like upper part. This improves the dissipation of impact energy by combined elastic and/or plastic deformation. However, the protecting member 1 can also be flat or substantially flat, i.e. flat at least in an inner region, e.g. by omitting the transverse beams 7. This simplifies the manufacturing process while maintaining good elastic and deformation behaviour of the protecting member 1.

[0063] FIG. 2 shows a partly cross-sectional detail view F from FIG. 1 disclosing the layered construction of the protecting member 1. A core 5 is sandwiched between and preferably firmly joined with a top belt 3 and a bottom belt 4. The core 5 includes a base plate 6, which is largely planar, and a beam 7, which is largely elongated. In the region of the transverse beam 7, a mounting hole 8, 9 is machined, e.g. drilled, through the base plate 6 and the beam 7. In the region of the mounting hole 8, 9 the core thickness is reduced to zero and the top belt 3 and the bottom belt 4 are directly joined together. This allows to mount the protecting member 1 rigidly to the battery structure 2. The beams 7 also provide the wave-like shape of the protecting member 1 and the required distance between the protecting member 1 and the battery structure 2 for creating the deformation space or deformable zone in case of high impace events causing elastic or inelastic, i.e. damaging, deformation of the protecting member 1.

[0064] FIG. 3 shows detail G from FIG. 2 in cross section, showing an edge region of the core 5. There, the core 5 has a wedge-shaped edge, at which the core 5 is tapered off. In particular, in the edge region of the core 5, the bottom belt 4 is curved upwards towards the flat top belt 3 and the intermediate core thickness is continuously reduced to zero (when viewing from the center towards the edge are of the protecting member 1), such that the bottom belt 4 and the top belt 3 are joined together.

[0065] FIG. 4 shows in exploded view the battery structure 2, the top belt 3, the core 5 with base plate 6 and beams 7, and the bottom belt 4. FIG. 5 shows in detail view D and FIG. 6 in detail view E the mounting hole 8 in the beam 7 and the mounting hole 9 in the base plate 6.

[0066] The invention also relates to a battery structure 2 of an electric vehicle, the battery structure 2 comprising a protecting member 1 as disclosed herein. The invention also relates to a method for producing the protecting member 1 as disclosed herein.

[0067] Throughout this application, the term “electric vehicle” (EV) also includes hybrid vehicles, such as plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) and in general all vehicles requiring an underbody battery structure 2 which needs or benefits from a protecting member 1 as disclosed herein.

LIST OF DESIGNATIONS

[0068] 1 Protecting member [0069] 2 Battery structure [0070] 3 Top belt [0071] 4 Bottom belt [0072] 5 Core, plywood core [0073] 6 Base plate [0074] 7 Beam, transverse beam, cross beam [0075] 8 Mounting hole in beam, sink hole [0076] 9 Mounting hole in base plate, sink hole [0077] 10 Longitudinal edge (in x-direction) of protecting member [0078] 11 Transverse edge (in y-direction) of protecting member [0079] 12 Mounting structures [0080] 13 Wing-shaped edge structure [0081] x longitudinal direction of protecting member or electric vehicle [0082] y transverse direction of protecting member or electric vehicle [0083] z vertical or height direction of protecting member or electric vehicle