US-12623527-B2 - Vehicle-body front structure including a cross member

US12623527B2US 12623527 B2US12623527 B2US 12623527B2US-12623527-B2

Abstract

A vehicle-body front structure includes a front-side battery frame which is provided in a front of the battery casing, a pair of left and right side frames which extend from the front-side battery frame toward vehicle front to be positioned on vehicle-width-direction outer sides toward front, and a cross member suspended between left and right. Outer ends of the cross member in a vehicle width direction extend to the vehicle-width-direction outer sides of outer ends, in the vehicle width direction, of fronts of the side frames.

Inventors

Kota Yoshida
Taiki Yotsuyanagi
Takehiro KAMEI
Satoshi Nakamura
Takayuki Kimura

Assignees

MAZDA MOTOR CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230215
Priority Date: 20220224

Claims (16)

1 . A vehicle-body front structure for an electric vehicle which includes a traveling motor, and in which a battery casing housing a battery configured to supply electric power to the traveling motor is disposed below a floor panel, the vehicle-body front structure comprising: a front-side battery frame in a front of the battery casing; a pair of side frames including a left side frame and a right side frame, which extend forward from the front-side battery frame toward a vehicle front extending toward vehicle-width-direction outer sides of the front-side battery frame; and a cross member, a portion of which extends between the left side frame and the right side frame, the cross member being spaced apart from the front-side battery frame toward the vehicle front, wherein the cross member is fixed to the left side frame and the right side frame, the cross member includes outer ends in a vehicle width direction extending to vehicle-width-direction outer sides of front portions of the left side frame and the right side frame, and the outer ends of the cross member are configured to receive an impact load of an offset collision and perform a rotational behavior to axially compress at least one of the left side frame or the right side frame.
2 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 1 , wherein a front of the cross member is spaced apart from a front of the traveling motor toward the vehicle front.
3 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 2 , further comprising a frame bracket coupling rear portions of the left and right side frames to the front-side battery frame, wherein the frame bracket includes a left-side support on a vehicle-width-direction outer side of the left side frame to support the left side frame from the vehicle-width-direction outer side and a right-side support on a vehicle-width-direction outer side of the right side frame to support the right side frame from the vehicle-width-direction outer side.
4 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 3 , comprising: a pair of left and right impact absorption members extending from the cross member toward the vehicle front and along longitudinal directions of the left and right side frames; and a front member between the left and right impact absorption members, wherein a length of the front member in the vehicle width direction is substantially equal to a length of the cross member in the vehicle width direction.
5 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 4 , wherein outer ends of the front member in the vehicle width direction extend to vehicle-width-direction outer sides of the outer ends, in the vehicle width direction, of front portions of the pair left and right of impact absorption members.
6 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 5 , wherein the front-side battery frame extends in the vehicle width direction, and outer ends of the front-side battery frame in the vehicle width direction, respectively, extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the left side frame and extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the right side frame.
7 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 4 , wherein the front-side battery frame extends in the vehicle width direction, and outer ends of the front-side battery frame in the vehicle width direction, respectively, extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the left side frame and extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the right side frame.
8 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 3 , wherein the front-side battery frame extends in the vehicle width direction, and outer ends of the front-side battery frame in the vehicle width direction, respectively, extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the left side frame and extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the right side frame.
9 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 2 , comprising: a pair of left and right impact absorption members which extend from the cross member toward the vehicle front and along longitudinal directions of the left and right side frames; and a front member between the left and right impact absorption members.
10 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 2 , wherein the front-side battery frame extends in the vehicle width direction, and outer ends of the front-side battery frame in the vehicle width direction, respectively, extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the left side frame and extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the right side frame.
11 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 1 , further comprising a frame bracket coupling rear portions of the left and right side frames to the front-side battery frame, wherein the frame bracket includes a left-side support on a vehicle-width-direction outer side of the left side frame to support the left side frame from the vehicle-width-direction outer side and a right-side support on a vehicle-width-direction outer side of the right side frame to support the right side frame from the vehicle-width-direction outer side.
12 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 1 , comprising: a pair of left and right impact absorption members which extend from the cross member toward the vehicle front and along longitudinal directions of the left and right side frames; and a front member between the left and right impact absorption members.
13 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 12 , wherein the cross member is closer to the front member than to the front-side battery frame.
14 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 12 , wherein the cross member is fixed to the left and right side frames, the left and right impact absorption members are fixed to the left and right side frames, and the left and right impact absorption members are fixed to the front member.
15 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 1 , wherein the front-side battery frame extends in the vehicle width direction, and outer ends of the front-side battery frame in the vehicle width direction, respectively, extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the left side frame and extend toward the vehicle-width-direction outer side of a rear of the right side frame.
16 . The vehicle-body front structure according to claim 4 , wherein the outer ends of the cross member and the outer ends of the front member are aligned with each other in a vehicle longitudinal direction.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/109,363, filed on Feb. 14, 2023, which claims priority to Provisional Ser. No. 63/445,026, filed on Feb. 13, 2023, which claims benefit of Japanese Patent Application 2022-026685, filed Feb. 24, 2022, Japanese Patent Application 2022-026690, filed Feb. 24, 2022, Japanese Patent Application 2022-026703, filed Feb. 24, 2022, Japanese Patent Application 2022-026708, filed Feb. 24, 2022, and Japanese Patent Application 2022-026710, filed Feb. 24, 2022, the entire contents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND Field The present disclosure relates to a vehicle-body front structure for an electric vehicle, for example. Description of Related Art For example, in a vehicle-body front portion of an automobile disclosed in Patent Literature 1, a pair of left and right front side frames extending in a vehicle front-rear direction are provided, and a front sub-frame is provided below those front side frames and in rear of an engine room. In a left-side front end portion and a right-side front end portion of the front sub-frame, a left pipe frame and a right pipe frame are respectively provided to extend toward vehicle front. The left pipe frame and the right pipe frame are inclined with respect to a center line extending in a front-rear direction of a vehicle so as to be positioned on vehicle-width-direction outer sides toward a front side. Patent Literature 1 discloses that the left pipe frame and the right pipe frame are inclined to be positioned on the vehicle-width-direction outer sides toward the front side and an impact load can thereby properly be absorbed in a case of an offset collision in which the impact load is input from oblique front of the vehicle. CITATION LIST Patent Literature [Patent Literature 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-101952 SUMMARY In Patent Literature 1, a left pipe frame and a right pipe frame are inclined to be positioned on vehicle-width-direction outer sides toward a front side. However, the inventors have determined that in a case where an offset collision is presumed in which an impact load is input to the vehicle-width-direction outer sides of front portions of the left and right pipe frames, the impact load cannot be absorbed by the pipe frames. The present disclosure has been made in consideration of such problems, and embodiments are directed to allowing an impact load to be absorbed by a side frame even in a case where an offset collision occurs to a vehicle-width-direction outer side of a front portion of the side frame. To solve the above and the other problems, a first aspect of the present disclosure can be based on a vehicle-body front structure for an electric vehicle which includes a traveling motor and in which a battery casing housing a battery supplying electric power to the traveling motor is disposed below a floor panel. The vehicle-body front structure includes: a front-side battery frame in a front portion of the battery casing; a pair of left and right side frames which extend from the front-side battery frame toward vehicle front to be positioned on vehicle-width-direction outer sides toward front; and a cross member between a portion in the left side frame, the portion being spaced apart from the front-side battery frame to the vehicle front, and a portion in the right side frame, the portion being spaced apart from the front-side battery frame to the vehicle front. Outer end portions of the cross member in a vehicle width direction extend to the vehicle-width-direction outer sides of outer end portions, in the vehicle width direction, of front portions of the side frames. In this configuration, for example, in a case where an offset collision is presumed in which an impact load is input to a left side of the front portion of the left side frame, the impact load is exerted on a left end portion of the cross member. In this case, because a right-side portion (non-collision side) of the cross member is fixed to the right side frame, the cross member performs rotational behavior in which its left-side portion moves rearward about the right-side portion as a pivot. Accordingly, because the impact load is transmitted to the left side frame via the cross member and is input in a direction along an axis direction of the left side frame, the left side frame is axially compressed, and the impact load is thereby absorbed. The same applies to an offset collision in which an impact load is input to a right side of a front portion of the right side frame. A front portion of the cross member according to a second aspect of the present disclosure may be spaced apart from a front portion of the traveling motor to the vehicle front. In this configuration, because a space can be formed between the cross member and the traveling motor such that the above rotational behavior of the cross member is not hindered, the impact load can