CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0103015 filed on Aug. 18, 2020, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a lower vehicle body structure of a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to a lower vehicle body structure of a vehicle equipped with a pipe through which a working fluid such as a coolant or refrigerant flows.

Description of Related Art

In general, in a lower vehicle body of a vehicle, side members formed to extend along front and rear directions of the vehicle are disposed to both sides in the width direction of the vehicle body of the vehicle to reinforce structural strength of the vehicle body.

Meanwhile, an electric vehicle as a general term for vehicles moving by electric power including a hybrid electric vehicle is provided with the lower vehicle body, and a high-capacity battery is mounted on a floor panel that forms the bottom surface of the vehicle body.

Furthermore, driving devices are mounted on the front or rear of the electric vehicle corresponding to the front and rear wheels, respectively.

The electric vehicle configured as described above includes an air conditioner for controlling an indoor temperature of the vehicle, and a cooling apparatus of cooling electrical components such as a driving device and a battery.

However, in the conventional electric vehicle as described above, the air conditioner and the cooling apparatus may have a plurality of pipes to circulate each working fluid, but it is difficult to avoid interference with the vehicle body and to select a path within a narrow space, and there is a problem that the layout of the pipes becomes complicated.

Furthermore, a cost is increased due to an application of a separate bracket to fix each pipe to the vehicle body, and there is also a problem that it is difficult to apply an automated process because the fixing work of the bracket is required to be suitable to the pipe positions disposed variously for each vehicle type.

The information included in this Background of the present invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the present invention and may not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing a lower vehicle body structure of a vehicle, in which a pipe unit in which a working fluid such as a coolant or refrigerant flows is provided inside to form a lower vehicle body, preventing interference occurrence with vehicle parts and simplifying the layout of the pipe.

A lower vehicle body structure of a vehicle may include a side member extending in a longitudinal direction of a vehicle, disposed on both sides in a width direction of the vehicle and having a closed cross-section formed therein; a connecting member connected to the side member at a front or a rear based on front and rear directions of the vehicle and having a closed cross-section formed therein; and at least one pipe unit provided inside in the longitudinal direction of the side member or the connecting member to inflow a working fluid therein.

At least one pipe unit may include: at least one pipe member formed in a hollow shape and provided inside the side member or the connecting member; a pipe connecting member mounted at a position to which the at least one pipe member is connected; and a length variable member coupled to the at least one pipe member through the pipe connecting member and having a variable length.

The length variable member may include at least one bending portion, and a bellows portion formed on one or more bending portions among the at least one bending portion and having a variable length.

The side member or the connecting member may further include at least one fixing member provided inside in the longitudinal direction of the side member or the connecting member to fix the at least one pipe member.

The side member or the connecting member may be extruded and molded.

The side member or the connecting member may have an interior which is partitioned by at least one rib so that the at least one pipe unit is disposed therein.

At least one rib may include a transverse rib connecting an inside and an outside of the side member or the connecting member based on the width direction of the vehicle thereof, and a longitudinal rib connecting an upper portion and a lower portion of the side member or the connecting member based on a height direction of the vehicle thereof.

The transverse rib and the longitudinal rib may cross each other.

One of the side member, the connecting member, the transverse rib, or the longitudinal rib may have at least one exhaust hole formed to exhaust condensed water generated by a temperature difference to an outside from the at least one pipe unit.

As above-described, according to the lower vehicle body structure for the vehicle according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, the pipe unit through which the working fluid such as a coolant or refrigerant flows is provided inside to configure the lower vehicle body, it is possible to prevent the interference occurrence between the pipes and the parts provided in the vehicle in advance, the selection of the path of the pipe becomes advantageous, and the layout of the pipe may be simplified.

Furthermore, the present invention may be commonly applied to a vehicle type that utilizes the same lower vehicle body, a bracket that was applied according to the path of the pipe to fix the conventional pipes may be minimized, and separate bracket fixing work is not required, the application of an automated process may be possible.

Furthermore, since the present invention does not require securing a pipe installation space, a sufficient space for mounting a battery may be secured, and it may be applied to a large capacity battery.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other features and advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in more detail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, and the following Detailed Description, which together serve to explain certain principles of the present invention.

