Battery case for vehicle and method of manufacturing of battery case

{
  "publication_number": "US10547039B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Battery case for vehicle and method of manufacturing of battery case",
  "abstract": "In a battery case for a vehicle that houses a battery, at a vertical direction intermediate portion of one of an inner panel or an outer panel, there is formed a bulging portion which bulges out toward another of the inner panel or the outer panel and is joined to the other of the inner panel or the outer panel by spot welding, closed cross-section portions are formed at a side wall at both an upper side and a lower side of the bulging portion, respectively, and weld points of the spot welding that join the inner panel and the outer panel are disposed at positions that do not overlap with supporting members as seen from a direction in which the inner panel and the outer panel face one another.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A battery case for a vehicle that houses a battery, the battery case comprising: a bottom plate, a side wall, and supporting members that are joined to the bottom plate and that support the side wall from a case inner side, wherein the battery case is installed beneath a floor of a vehicle, the side wall has an inner panel to which the supporting members are joined by spot welding, and an outer panel that faces the inner panel from a side that is opposite from the supporting members, upper portions of the inner panel and the outer panel are joined together by spot welding, and lower end portions of the inner panel and the outer panel are joined to or made integral with the bottom plate, at a vertical direction intermediate portion of one of the inner panel or the outer panel, there is formed a bulging portion which bulges out toward another of the inner panel or the outer panel and is joined to the other of the inner panel or the outer panel by spot welding, closed cross-section portions are formed at the side wall at both an upper side and a lower side of the bulging portion, respectively, and weld points of the spot welding that join the inner panel and the outer panel are disposed at positions that do not overlap with the supporting members as seen from a direction in which the inner panel and the outer panel face one another.",
    "2. The battery case for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the bulging portion is formed at the vertical direction intermediate portion of the inner panel.",
    "3. The battery case for a vehicle of claim 2, wherein the respective closed cross-section portions are joined to the supporting members.",
    "4. The battery case for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the bottom plate, the inner panel, the outer panel and the supporting members are formed by steel plates, and the bottom plate is joined to the inner panel, the outer panel and the supporting members by spot welding.",
    "5. The battery case for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the inner panel, the outer panel and the supporting members are formed by steel plates, the bottom plate is formed by a plate member that is a light metal or a light alloy, and the bottom plate is joined to the inner panel, the outer panel and the supporting members by mechanical fastening.",
    "6. The battery case for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein the supporting members have, at vehicle transverse direction end portions thereof, lateral flange portions that project out toward both sides in a vehicle longitudinal direction, and the closed cross-section portions are connected to the lateral flange portions.",
    "7. The battery case for a vehicle of claim 1, wherein respective lower ends of the inner panel and the outer panel are joined to the bottom plate, or a lower end of one of the inner panel or the outer panel is made integral with the bottom plate and a lower end of another of the inner panel or the outer panel is joined to the bottom plate.",
    "8. A method of manufacturing the battery case for a vehicle of claim 4, the method comprising: joining the supporting members and the inner panel by spot welding; joining the inner panel and the outer panel by spot welding; and joining the inner panel, the outer panel and the supporting members, to the bottom plate, by spot welding or mechanical fastening."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The present disclosure relates to a battery case for a vehicle that houses a battery and is installed beneath the floor of a vehicle, and to a method of manufacturing the battery case for a vehicle.\n\nThe battery pack for an electric vehicle that is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2015-170452 has a battery case that is installed beneath the floor of a vehicle. This battery case has a tray that is box-shaped and houses a battery, an outer frame that is disposed at the outer side of the tray, and plural inner frames and cross beams that are disposed at the inner side of the tray. These tray, outer frame, inner frames and cross beams are all formed of steel plates. The inner frames and the cross beams respectively are joined by spot welding in states of being superposed in three layers together with the tray and the outer frame. The outer frame, together with the tray, forms a side wall that has a closed cross-sectional shape. The side wall is supported from the inner side of the tray by the inner frames and the cross beams (both are supporting members). Due thereto, the strength of the battery case with respect to load from the vehicle transverse direction outer side is increased. In this battery case, openings (work holes) through which a gun for spot welding is inserted are formed in the outer frame.\n\nIn the above-described related art, the following disadvantages arise due to openings being formed in the outer frame. Namely, additional processes for forming the openings are needed, and the strength of the outer frame at the portions where the openings are formed decreases.",
  "cpc": [
    "B60K 1/04",
    "B60K 2001/0438",
    "B60L 50/64",
    "B60L 50/66",
    "B60Y 2306/01",
    "H01M 2/1077",
    "H01M 2/1083",
    "H01M 2220/20",
    "H01M 50/224",
    "H01M 50/249",
    "Y02E 60/10",
    "Y02T 10/70"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B60K 1/04",
    "H01M 50/224",
    "H01M 50/249",
    "B60L 50/60"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Toyota Motor Corp"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Masaru Toyota"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2018-09-26",
  "publication_date": "2020-01-28",
  "grant_date": "2020-01-28",
  "priority_date": "2017-11-17",
  "application_number": "US-201816142118-A",
  "family_id": "63720600",
  "cited_by_count": 10,
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}