The invention relates to a protective housing for a battery in a motor vehicle, having two transverse walls and two longitudinal walls, which together form a lateral enclosure for a battery receptacle chamber. The protective housing is fastened to at least one longitudinal girder of the vehicle in the installed state in an installation chamber of the vehicle. The invention additionally relates to a motor vehicle equipped with a protective housing of this type.
A protective housing for a battery in a motor vehicle is known from EP 1 182 093 B1, which housing has two transverse walls and two longitudinal walls, which together form a lateral enclosure for a battery receptacle chamber. The protective housing is fastened to a longitudinal girder of the motor vehicle in an installation chamber of the vehicle in the installed state. The known protective housing is the installation chamber around the engine compartment in which the engine of the vehicle is located. To reduce the danger of damage to the battery in the event of a collision, a platform on which the protective housing is situated, and via which the protective housing is fastened to the longitudinal girder, is provided with two ramps which contribute to allowing the platform having the protective housing and the battery situated therein to slide off on two vehicle-side obstructions.
The present invention is concerned with the problem of providing an improved embodiment for a protective housing of the above-mentioned type, which is distinguished in particular by improved collision protection.
This problem is solved according to the invention by providing a protective housing for a battery of a motor vehicle having two transverse walls and two longitudinal walls, which together form a lateral enclosure for a battery receptacle chamber. The transverse walls and the longitudinal walls are each formed as a separate component, which are assembled into the enclosure. The installation chamber is located between two longitudinal girders of the vehicle. The enclosure is fastened to both longitudinal girders. Advantageous embodiments are described and claimed herein.
The invention is based on the general idea of selecting the installation chamber for housing the protective housing between two longitudinal girders of the vehicle and fastening the enclosure to both longitudinal girders. Furthermore, it is suggested that the enclosure be constructed from the transverse walls and the longitudinal walls together, which are each implemented as separate components for this purpose. A protective housing may be provided by this construction whose enclosure has an increased rigidity and may be fixed in the installation chamber with increased stability. In particular, the attachment of the enclosure to two longitudinal girders allows improved absorption of forces, which may arise in case of a crash.
In addition, in an advantageous embodiment, the protective housing may additionally be supported on a cross member, which connects the two longitudinal girders to one another. The support of forces in case of a crash may be significantly improved by this measure.
A further improvement of the absorption of forces arising in case of a crash may be achieved in a refinement in that a curved support girder is provided, which is fastened on its ends to the enclosure and is supported on the cross member between its ends. A curved support girder of this type acts like an arch and may absorb relatively large forces with a relatively light construction.
It is obvious that the features cited above and to be explained hereafter are usable not only in the particular specified combination, but rather also in other combinations or alone without leaving the scope of the present invention.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing.