Electric vehicle structure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12365228-B2
Application number	US-202217860762-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 8, 2022
Priority date	Aug 17, 2021
Publication date	Jul 22, 2025
Grant date	Jul 22, 2025

Abstract

An electric vehicle structure includes a drive system, a front lateral member and a rear upper lateral member. The front and rear lateral members are elongated in a lateral direction of a vehicle and spaced apart from each other in a forward-rearward direction of the vehicle with the drive system interposed therebetween. The vehicle structure further includes a rear lower lateral member elongated in the lateral direction of the vehicle and disposed beneath a motor of the drive system.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An electric vehicle structure comprising:
a drive system;
a front lateral member and a rear upper lateral member, which are elongated in a lateral direction of a vehicle and spaced apart from each other in a forward-rearward direction of the vehicle with the drive system interposed therebetween; and
a rear lower lateral member elongated in the lateral direction of the vehicle and disposed beneath a motor of the drive system,
wherein the rear lower lateral member is connected to a lower arm configured to support a rear-wheel knuckle.

2. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 1 , wherein:
the drive system comprises the motor and a differential configured to receive power from the motor and output the power to both sides of the vehicle; and
the motor has a rotary shaft disposed parallel to and spaced apart from a rotary shaft of the differential.

3. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 2 , wherein:
the rotary shaft of the motor is disposed above and behind the rotary shaft of the differential in the vehicle so that a straight line connecting the rotary shaft of the motor to the rotary shaft of the differential is inclined from an upper rear side to a lower front side in the vehicle; and
the front lateral member is located above the straight line and the rear upper lateral member is located beneath the straight line.

4. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 3 , wherein the rear lower lateral member is installed at a height such that areas of the rear lower lateral member and the front lateral member that are projected in the forward-rearward direction of the vehicle overlap each other by 70% or more.

5. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 3 , wherein:
the front lateral member and the rear lower lateral member are disposed beneath the rotary shaft of the differential; and
the rear upper lateral member is disposed above the rotary shaft of the differential.

6. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 3 , wherein the rear lower lateral member is disposed in front of the rear upper lateral member in the vehicle.

7. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 3 , wherein:
the drive system comprises an inverter configured to control the motor; and
the inverter is installed in front of the motor and above the differential to form a single unit together with the motor and the differential.

8. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 1 , further comprising a rear-wheel steering system disposed between the rear upper lateral member and the rear lower lateral member.

9. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 8 , wherein the rear-wheel steering system is disposed beneath a rotary shaft of the motor.

10. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 1 , wherein the rear upper lateral member is provided with a mount configured to support the drive system.

11. An electric vehicle structure comprising:
a drive system comprising a motor and a differential;
a front lateral member elongated in a lateral direction of a vehicle in front of the drive system in the vehicle; and
a rear upper lateral member and a rear lower lateral member, which are elongated in the lateral direction of the vehicle behind the drive system in the vehicle,
wherein the drive system is configured such that the motor has a rotary shaft parallel to a rotary shaft of the differential and the rotary shaft of the motor is located above and behind the rotary shaft of the differential in the vehicle, and
wherein some of the front lateral member, the rear upper lateral member, and the rear lower lateral member are located above a straight line connecting the rotary shaft of the motor to the rotary shaft of the differential, and the rest of the front lateral member, the rear upper lateral member, and the rear lower lateral member are located beneath the straight line.

12. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 11 , wherein:
the front lateral member is located above the straight line connecting the rotary shaft of the motor to the rotary shaft of the differential; and
the rear upper lateral member and the rear lower lateral member are disposed beneath the straight line.

13. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 11 , wherein:
the rear upper lateral member and the rear lower lateral member are disposed beneath the straight line connecting the rotary shaft of the motor to the rotary shaft of the differential; and
the rear lower lateral member is disposed in front of and beneath the rear upper lateral member in the vehicle.

14. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 13 , wherein the front lateral member and the rear lower lateral member are disposed in front of and beneath and behind and beneath the rotary shaft of the differential, respectively, so as to form a triangle.

15. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 13 , further comprising a rear-wheel steering system disposed between the rear lower lateral member and the rear upper lateral member.

16. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 11 , wherein:
the drive system comprises an inverter configured to control the motor; and
the inverter is disposed above the straight line connecting the rotary shaft of the motor to the rotary shaft of the differential.

17. The electric vehicle structure according to claim 16 , wherein the inverter is installed in front of the motor and above the differential to form a single unit together with the motor and the differential.

Assignees

• Hyundai Motor Co Ltd
• Kia Corp

Inventors

• Jung Dae Woo
• Lim Jung Taek
• Ryu sung eun
• Kim Byong Cheol
• Ham Hyeong Seung
• Kim Dong Hwan

Classifications

• B60Y2200/91

  Electric vehicles · CPC title

• B60L2240/42

  related to electric machines · CPC title

• B60K2001/006

  the electric motors · CPC title

• B62D7/14

  the pivotal axes being situated in more than one plane transverse to the longitudinal centre line of the vehicle, e.g. all-wheel steering · CPC title

• B62D21/155

  Sub-frames or underguards · CPC title