Vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2026097635-A1
Application number	US-202418907668-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 7, 2024
Priority date	Oct 7, 2024
Publication date	Apr 9, 2026
Grant date	—

Abstract

A vehicle includes: a frame body including a floor frame and a seat support frame located at an upper side of the floor frame; and a battery supported by the frame body, at least part of the battery being located in an under-seat space surrounded by the seat support frame and the floor frame. The frame body defines an entrance opening which is located at a lateral side of the seat and through which an occupant passes when the occupant gets in and out of the vehicle. The seat support frame defines a battery passing opening which opens the under-seat space in a horizontal direction and has such a size that the battery can pass through the battery passing opening.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A vehicle comprising:
a left wheel and a right wheel which are located with an interval in a vehicle left-right direction; a frame body including a floor frame and a seat support frame located at an upper side of the floor frame; a seat supported by the seat support frame from below; and a battery supported by the frame body, at least part of the battery being located in an under-seat space surrounded by the seat support frame and the floor frame, wherein: the frame body defines an entrance opening which is located at a lateral side of the seat and through which an occupant passes when the occupant gets in and out of the vehicle; and the seat support frame defines a battery passing opening which opens the under-seat space in a horizontal direction and has such a size that the battery passes through the battery passing opening.

2 . The vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising a partition wall covering the under-seat space, wherein
the partition wall includes
a partition opening which makes the battery passing opening communicate with the entrance opening and has such a size that the battery passes through the partition opening and
a lid that openably closes the partition opening.

3 . The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the seat support frame further includes a reinforcing frame located so as to close part of the battery passing opening; and the reinforcing frame is detachably fixed to part of the seat support frame by a fastener.

4 . The vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising a guide that guides the battery between the battery passing opening and a predetermined position in the under-seat space.

5 . The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the battery includes an outer surface that is directed to an outside in the vehicle left-right direction, and in a vehicle plan view, inclined with respect to a vehicle center line extending in a vehicle front-rear direction; and the battery is located such that a virtual extension region defined by extending the outer surface in a direction perpendicular to the outer surface is located inside the entrance opening.

6 . The vehicle according to claim 1 , further comprising a battery case accommodating the battery, wherein
the battery case includes a seat supporting portion that supports the seat.

7 . The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein the battery is directed to the entrance opening.

8 . The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the frame body further includes
a rear post that is located behind the under-seat space and at a vehicle left-right direction outside portion of the floor frame and extends upward from the floor frame and
a front post that is located at the vehicle left-right direction outside portion of the floor frame and in front of a foot space located in front of the seat support frame and extends upward from the floor frame; and
an outer surface of the battery which is directed to an outside in the vehicle left-right direction and a vehicle front side is located between the front post and the rear post when viewed in a direction facing the outer surface.

9 . The vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein:
the frame body includes a reinforcing frame that overlaps the outer surface of the battery when viewed in the direction facing the outer surface of the battery; and the reinforcing frame is detachably fixed to the floor frame.

10 . The vehicle according to claim 8 , wherein:
the seat includes a rear seat; and the seat support frame includes a rear seat support frame that supports the rear seat from below, the vehicle further comprising a front seat located in front of the rear seat, wherein: the frame body further includes a front seat support frame that supports the front seat from below; and the foot space includes a rear foot space located between the front seat support frame and the rear seat support frame.

11 . The vehicle according to claim 1 , wherein:
the frame body further includes
a rear post that is located behind the under-seat space and at a vehicle left-right direction outside portion of the floor frame and extends upward from the floor frame and
a front post that is located at the vehicle left-right direction outside portion of the floor frame and in front of a foot space located in front of the seat support frame and extends upward from the floor frame; and
a virtual extension surface of a front surface of the battery and a virtual extension surface of a rear surface of the battery pass through a space between the front post and the rear post, the front surface and the rear surface extending obliquely with respect to the vehicle left-right direction.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Motors Ltd

Inventors

• Nakamura Kenta
• Morita Hirokazu
• Hisada Kazumasa

Classifications

• B60L50/66

  Arrangements of batteries · CPC title

• B60K2001/0433

  Arrangement under the rear seats · CPC title

• H01M50/271

  Lids or covers for the racks or secondary casings · CPC title

• H01M50/249

  specially adapted for aircraft or vehicles, e.g. cars or trains (constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles B60L50/64) · CPC title

• H01M2220/20

  Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane · CPC title