Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Shinobu Tanaka

Shigeki Hayashi

Satoshi Fukushima

Kazuma Otoguro

Satoshi Kasai

Kenjiro Yamada

Yasuhiko Fukuzumi

Tatsunori Mori

Shuuitsu Yamamoto

Takuya Oshima

Toshiharu Shinya

Yuya Saruwatari

A battery pack comprises a lower-stage battery stack and an upper-stage battery stack. The upper-stage battery stack is separated from the lower-stage battery stack in a vehicle height direction. A middle frame that is a reinforcing member is arranged at a height position that matches a height position of a separation space between the upper-stage battery stack and the lower-stage battery stack in terms of a position in the vehicle height direction. Longitudinal frames of the middle frame project outward from the upper-stage battery stack in a vehicle width direction.

Vehicle lower structure

A vehicle substructure, comprising a pair of side members arranged apart in the vehicle width direction, and extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and a cross member that extends in the vehicle width direction and connects the pair of side members, wherein the cross member include a pairs of cross member low-strength sections that are of weaker strength than a center portion, on both sides in the vehicle width direction.

Vehicle substructure

A vehicle substructure, comprising a pair of rockers arranged apart in a vehicle width direction, and extending in a vehicle longitudinal direction, and a floor cross member that extends in the vehicle width direction and connects to the pairs of rockers, wherein the floor cross member includes a pair of floor cross member low-strength sections that are of weaker strength than a center portion, on both sides in the vehicle width direction.

A vehicle lower structure includes: a battery pack provided under a floor of a vehicle cabin; a framework member fixed to a bottom surface of the case, the framework member extending across the case in a vehicle width direction; a first extension framework member detachably attached to one end of the framework member in the vehicle width direction such that at least one of distal ends of the first extension framework member in the vehicle width direction is located outward of one end of the case in the vehicle width direction; and a second extension framework member detachably attached to the other end of the framework member in the vehicle width direction such that at least one of distal ends of the second extension framework member in the vehicle width direction is located outward of the other end of the case in the vehicle width direction.

A floor structure has a floor panel, a battery pack, and floor cross members. The battery pack is disposed under the floor panel. The floor cross members are disposed on the floor panel and extend from one end to the other end of the floor panel in the vehicle width direction. The floor cross members include deformation starting portions in which bases are raised. Dimensions in a vehicle height direction of the deformation starting portions are shorter than dimensions of areas of the floor cross members in a vehicle width direction other than the deformation starting portion.

Vehicle floor structure

A vehicle side door internally includes an impact beam which extends along a longitudinal axis of a door. The impact beam is attached to a door inner panel via an outer extension. An inner extension is attached inside the outer extension. A distance along thickness of the door between the inner extension and the impact beam is shorter in a close proximity section than in a longitudinally neighboring area. Because the load received by the inner extension via the close proximity section is transferred to joint portions connecting to the outer extension, the load received by the outer extension from the impact beam is dispersed.

Vehicle door

A vehicle door includes an outer panel, an inner panel including an inner wall portion, a side wall portion, and a flange portion, an impact beam provided so to extend between the outer panel and the inner wall portion on a surface parallel to inner wall portion, and a bracket including a fixed portion, a joint portion, and a recessed portion. The recessed portion recesses toward an inner-panel side such that a tip end of the impact beam is distanced from the bracket. In an extending direction of the impact beam, a yield strength of a region from the fixed portion to a tip end position of the impact beam for a load applied from the outer panel-side is lower than a yield strength of a region from the tip end position of the impact beam to the joint portion for the load applied from the outer-panel side.

A step portion that is farther toward a vehicle width direction outside than a cabin inside vertical wall portion, is set on a door inner panel. A portion of the step portion is a first overlapping portion that is arranged in a position overlapping with an outside vertical wall portion of a center pillar in a vehicle side view. A portion of the outside vertical wall portion of the center pillar is a second overlapping portion that faces the first overlapping portion at a distance that is narrower than a distance between the step portion and the cabin inside vertical wall portion. A third overlapping portion that is connected to the first overlapping portion in a position overlapping with the second overlapping portion of the center pillar in the vehicle side view, is set on an end portion of a beltline reinforcement in a length direction thereof.

Vehicle side structure

In an inflated and deployed state of a side-airbag, a shoulder bag section is disposed to extend from the side of a shoulder of a seated occupant toward the vehicle front side, above a main bag section. The vehicle width direction dimension of the shoulder bag section is set smaller than that of the main bag section, and a vehicle width direction inner side face at an upper end side of the main bag section slopes or curves so as to rise on progression toward the vehicle width direction outer side. An upper arm is pushed upward by making sliding contact with this face. Moreover, the shoulder can be restrained by the shoulder bag section, even when the seated occupant moves under inertia obliquely toward the vehicle front.

Vehicle side-airbag device

In an inflated and expanded state of a side airbag, a forwardly extending portion, provided at an upper portion of a rear side bag portion, extends from a side of a shoulder portion of a seated passenger toward a vehicle front side and is disposed above a front side bag portion. A dimension in a vehicle transverse direction of this forwardly extending portion is set to be smaller than that of the front side bag portion, and a vehicle transverse direction inner side surface at an upper end side of the front side bag portion is inclined or curved so as to rise-up while heading toward a vehicle transverse direction outer side. An upper arm portion is pushed-up due to sliding contact with this surface. Even when the seated passenger inertially toward an oblique front of a vehicle, the shoulder portion can be restrained by the forwardly extending portion.

Side airbag device for vehicle

A side airbag device for a vehicle includes a gas generating device, a side airbag in which a front and a rear bag portions are defined by a front-rear partition section having a front-rear communication opening, gas supplied from the gas generating device into the rear bag portion is supplied into the front bag portion through the front-rear communication opening to allow the side airbag to be inflated and deployed from an outside portion in a vehicle width direction of a seat back, and the front bag portion is arranged on a vehicle front side of the rear bag portion in an inflated and deployed state, and an extending member provided in the rear bag portion and extended in the inflated and deployed state to restrict inflation of the rear bag portion in a vehicle fore-and-aft direction and enlarges inflation of the rear bag portion in the vehicle width direction.

Growing community of inventors

Toyota, Japan

Shinobu Tanaka