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EP-4619261-B1 - UNDERBODY PROTECTION MEANS FOR MOTOR VEHICLES, BATTERY HOUSING FOR A TRACTION BATTERY, TRACTION BATTERY FOR MOTOR VEHICLES, AND MOTOR VEHICLE HAVING AN UNDERBODY PROTECTION MEANS

EP4619261B1EP 4619261 B1EP4619261 B1EP 4619261B1EP-4619261-B1

Inventors

  • HEIDRICH, DANIEL

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240226

Claims (11)

  1. An underbody protection means (1) for a motor vehicle, having: - at least one plastic layer (11, 12); - at least one protection element (21, 22); and - at least one foam layer (30); wherein - the protection element (21, 22) is joined to the plastic layer (11, 12); - the foam layer (30) is joined to an inner surface (2) of the underbody protection means (1); - at least one protection element (21) is arranged on an outer side (5) of the underbody protection means (1) and at least partially forms an outer surface (3) of the underbody protection means (1); characterized in that - the at least one plastic layer (11) is arranged on an inner side (4) of the underbody protection means (1) and at least partially forms the inner surface (2) of the underbody protection means (1); - the foam layer (30) is at least partially joined to the plastic layer (11); and - the underbody protection means (1) has at least two ribs (40) which project into the foam layer (30).
  2. The underbody protection means (1) according to claim 1, characterized by the following features: - the underbody protection means (1) has at least two plastic layers (11, 12), one of the plastic layers (11) at least partially forming the inner surface (2) of the underbody protection means (1); - the protection element (21) is sandwiched between the two plastic layers (11, 12); and - the foam layer (30) is at least partially joined to the plastic layer (11), which at least partially forms the inner surface (2) of the underbody protection means (1).
  3. The underbody protection means (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least some of the ribs (40) are formed monolithically with the plastic layer (11) which is arranged on the inside (4) of the underbody protection means (1).
  4. The underbody protection means (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the at least one protection element (21, 22) is designed as a metal plate (21, 22) or as an organic sheet (21, 22) or as a plastic element (21, 22).
  5. The underbody protection means (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the underbody protection means (1) has a connecting flange (50) arranged on the edge.
  6. The underbody protection means (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one protection element (21, 22) is joined to at least one plastic layer (11, 12) in a materially locking manner.
  7. The underbody protection means (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the underbody protection means (1) is shell-shaped and at least partially delimits a receiving volume (6) which is designed to receive battery cells (120) and/or battery modules.
  8. A battery housing (110) for accommodating battery cells (120) and/or battery modules, having a battery housing shell (1) which is designed as underbody protection means (1) according to any of claims 1 to 7.
  9. A traction battery (100) for a motor vehicle, having at least one battery cell (120) and/or at least one battery module and a battery housing (110) according to claim 8, wherein the at least one battery cell (120) and/or the at least one battery module is/are arranged in the battery housing (110).
  10. The traction battery (100) according to claim 9, characterized in that the at least one battery cell (120) and/or the at least one battery module is/are arranged on the foam layer (30).
  11. A motor vehicle, in particular an electric vehicle - having an underbody protection means (1) according to any of claims 1 to 7, which is attached to an underbody of the motor vehicle, in particular to a traction battery of the motor vehicle, or - having a traction battery (100) according to claim 9 or 10.

Description

The present invention relates to underbody protection for motor vehicles, in particular for electric motor vehicles. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a battery housing for a traction battery. The present invention further relates to a traction battery for a motor vehicle. Finally, the present invention relates to a motor vehicle, in particular an electric motor vehicle, with underbody protection. From the state of the art ( DE102021114542 Various types of underbody protection systems are known. Heavy steel plates or welded steel assemblies are predominantly used as underbody protection to absorb the high intrusion force and impact energy when vehicles dynamically strike obstacles. Such underbody protection systems increase the overall vehicle weight. Furthermore, steel underbody protection is more susceptible to corrosion. Finally, steel underbody protection offers low chemical resistance to components of battery cells and/or battery modules, particularly to electrolytes. The invention is based on the objective of providing an underbody protection system that has high stiffness and energy absorption capacity while being lightweight and also exhibits increased resistance to corrosion and chemical stresses. The problem underlying the present invention is solved by an underbody protection system with the features of claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the underbody protection system are described in the dependent claims. More precisely, the problem underlying the present invention is solved by an underbody protection for a motor vehicle which has at least one plastic layer, at least one protective element and at least one foam layer, wherein the protective element is connected to the plastic layer and the foam layer is connected to an inner surface of the underbody protection. The underbody protection according to the invention has the advantage that its protective effect against mechanical impact, for example from a collision, is increased while its weight is simultaneously reduced. Furthermore, the underbody protection according to the invention exhibits improved corrosion resistance. It also has the advantage of providing an increased absorption volume, particularly in confined spaces, especially in the vertical direction of a motor vehicle. For example, if the underbody protection according to the invention is used as the battery housing shell of a traction battery, the battery housing can be designed to be particularly flat. The inner surface of the underbody protection is the surface that faces the receiving volume of the underbody protection. The plastic layer preferably has a thickness between 1.5 mm and 5 mm, more preferably between 2 mm and 3 mm. Even more preferably, the plastic layer has a thickness of 2.5 mm. The plastic layer is preferably made of a thermoplastic and/or thermosetting plastic. The plastic layer can be designed, at least in sections, as a fiber-reinforced plastic layer. This can improve the flexural rigidity of the underbody protection. The plastic layer can contain short fibers and/or long fibers and/or continuous fibers. This can further improve the flexural rigidity of the underbody protection. The fibers of the plastic layer can be formed as glass fibers and/or carbon fibers and/or aramid fibers. The plastic layer can be produced using pressing processes such as long-fiber thermoplastic extrusion, glass mat thermoplastic compression molding or injection molding. The protective element preferably has a thickness ranging from 0.5 mm to 5 mm, more preferably from 1 mm to 4 mm, and more preferably from 1.5 mm to 3 mm. Again, preferably, the protective element has a thickness ranging from 0.8 mm to 1 mm. Preferably, the protective element is detachable from the plastic layer, so that in the event of damage to the protective element, it can be removed from the plastic layer and replaced with a new protective element. Preferably, at least one protective element is welded and/or glued and/or screwed to at least one plastic layer. The foam layer can be made of polyurethane (PUR) foam. The foam layer can be made of EPP foam. The foam layer can be manufactured as a separately produced component. Preferably, the foam layer has a density in a range between 60 g/l and 180 g/l, more preferably in a range between 100 g/l and 150 g/l. Preferably, the underbody protection is designed such that at least one protective element is arranged on an outer surface of the underbody protection and forms at least part of an outer surface of the underbody protection. The at least one plastic layer is preferably arranged on an inner surface of the underbody protection and forms at least part of the inner surface of the underbody protection, and the foam layer is preferably connected to the plastic layer at least in sections. The appropriately designed underbody protection has the advantage that, due to the arrangement of the protective element on the outer surface of the underbody protection, a