US-12623735-B2 - Vehicle rear structure

Abstract

The frame includes a pair of left and right side frames, a second cross member that is connected to the rear portion of the side frames and supports the rear portion of the motor, and the side frames that extend behind the second cross member along the left-right direction of the vehicle. and a third cross member for detachably suspending and supporting the spare tire so that the spare tire is placed horizontally with the front side lowered, and the spare tire is placed in the middle of the third cross member in the longitudinal direction. A raising and lowering device for supporting and elevating the spare tire is provided, and a raising and lowering guide is provided in the middle of the second cross member in the longitudinal direction to guide the spare tire so that it maintains its posture when the spare tire is lifted or lowered.

Inventors

• Tomoaki FURUKAWA

Assignees

• TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20231113

Priority Date

20230221

Claims (2)

1. 1 . A vehicle rear structure in which a motor that generates a driving force is supported under a rear portion of a frame of a vehicle, and a spare tire is supported behind the motor in a vehicle front-rear direction, wherein: the frame includes a pair of right and left side frames extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, a front cross member connected to rear portions of the side frames so as to extend along a vehicle right-left direction and supporting a rear portion of the motor, and a rear cross member connected so as to extend along the vehicle right-left direction behind the front cross member in the vehicle front-rear direction in the side frames and detachably suspending and supporting the spare tire such that a front portion of the spare tire is tilted downward and the spare tire is placed horizontally; a raising and lowering device for supporting, and raising and lowering the spare tire is provided in a middle of the rear cross member in a longitudinal direction; a raising and lowering guide for guiding the spare tire such that a posture of the spare tire is maintained when the spare tire is raised and lowered is provided in a middle of the front cross member in the longitudinal direction; the raising and lowering guide includes a first guide bracket fixed to a lower surface of the front cross member in the middle of the front cross member in the longitudinal direction, and a second guide bracket fixed to a front end of the first guide bracket; a lower rear portion of the first guide bracket is shaped in a curved surface that follows a rounded shape of a front upper shoulder of the spare tire horizontally placed; and a rear portion of the second guide bracket is shaped in a flat surface that follows a shape of an outer circumferential surface of the spare tire horizontally placed.
2. 2 . The vehicle rear structure according to claim 1 , wherein the raising and lowering device is a chain hoisting mechanism, and is configured such that a holder provided at a tip of a chain is hooked to a center hole of a wheel of the spare tire.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-025350 filed on Feb. 21, 2023 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to a vehicle rear structure. 2. Description of Related Art For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2021-62784 (JP 2021-62784 A) describes “a motor 16 is supported under a rear floor panel 40 of an electrified vehicle 10, a spare tire 24 is supported behind the motor 16 in a vehicle front-rear direction above the rear floor panel 40 of the electrified vehicle 10, and the spare tire 24 is supported by a brace 30 fixed to a body 12.” SUMMARY JP 2021-62784 A discloses a structure in which a motor and a spare tire are arranged at the rear portion of a vehicle, and the spare tire is placed on a rear floor panel, and a technical idea in which the spare tire is supported to be suspended under a side frame and a cross member is not known. In view of such circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle rear structure capable of suppressing or avoiding interference with the motor and its surroundings when the spare tire is raised and lowered while allowing the spare tire to be suspended and supported under the rear portion of a frame of the vehicle. The present disclosure provides a vehicle rear structure in which a motor that generates a driving force is supported under a rear portion of a frame of a vehicle, and a spare tire is supported behind the motor in a vehicle front-rear direction, in which: the frame includes a pair of right and left side frames extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, a front cross member connected to rear portions of the side frames so as to extend along a vehicle right-left direction and supporting a rear portion of the motor, and a rear cross member connected so as to extend along the vehicle right-left direction behind the front cross member in the vehicle front-rear direction in the side frames and detachably suspending and supporting the spare tire such that a front portion of the spare tire is tilted downward and the spare tire is placed horizontally;a raising and lowering device for supporting, and raising and lowering the spare tire is provided in a middle of the rear cross member in a longitudinal direction; anda raising and lowering guide for guiding the spare tire such that a posture of the spare tire is maintained when the spare tire is raised and lowered is provided in a middle of the front cross member in the longitudinal direction. As described above, the present disclosure employs a configuration in which the motor and the spare tire are supported under the rear portion of the frame of the vehicle, and the raising and lowering device and the raising and lowering guide are provided. According to this configuration, in the process of lowering the spare tire to remove the spare tire from the rear cross member by the raising and lowering device, since the front end of the spare tire is in contact with the raising and lowering guide, the spare tire is guided while the front portion of the spare tire is tilted downward and the spare tire is placed horizontally. This makes it possible to suppress or avoid the interference with the motor and its surroundings due to the spare tire swinging during the lowering process. On the other hand, in the process of raising the spare tire to attach the spare tire to the rear cross member by the raising and lowering device, the spare tire is raised in a horizontal posture. When the spare tire is raised to a predetermined height, the front end of the spare time comes into contact with the raising and lowering guide, and the raising and lowering guide guides the spare tire such that the spare tire is raised while the front portion of the spare time is tilted downward. This makes it possible to suppress or avoid the interference with the motor and its surroundings due to the spare tire swinging during the raising process. As described above, it is possible to stably and smoothly remove the spare tire (lowering operation) and attach the spare tire (raising operation), thereby ensuring safety. By the way, in the vehicle rear structure, the raising and lowering device is a chain hoisting mechanism, and is configured such that a holder provided at a tip of a chain is hooked to a center hole of a wheel of the spare tire. According to this configuration, there is an advantage that the raising and lowering device can be constructed with a relatively simple structure and attaching and detaching the spare tire is simplified, but there is a concern that the spare tire is likely to swing when the spare tire is raised and lowered due to the spare tire being raised and lowered while being suspended with the chain. However, since the posture of the spare tire is stabilized by the raising and lowering guide, the concerns can be eliminated. In addition, in