Description:TECHNICAL FIELD
[001] The embodiments herein generally relate to a mounting for a storage container of a vehicle. More particularly, the embodiments herein relate to a frunk mounting assembly for a vehicle and a method of assembling the frunk mounting assembly.
BACKGROUND
[002] A frunk is a storage container provided in a front portion and under the hood, or in a front-end cavity of a vehicle, such as an electric vehicle (EV). The frunk is provided for the purpose of storing commodities such as tools and the like for the convenience of a user. Generally, the frunk is mounted onto the Body in White (BIW) structure, and to both left hand (LH) side and right hand (RH) side of the EV, by a mounting bracket. The frunk is fastened to the mounting bracket and the mounting bracket is spot welded to the BIW structure of the EV. Such a mounting bracket forms a fixed overhanging structure inside the front-end cavity of the EV.
[003] Further, EV includes a main or a high voltage (HV) battery and an auxiliary or low voltage (LV) battery. The HV battery powers the EV and the LV battery powers the electrical system within the EV such as lights, instruments, central locking and the like. The LV battery is mounted in any one of the LH or RH side of the EV, inside the front-end cavity, and behind the frunk. At times, the LV battery may have to be removed from the EV for maintenance and/or replacement purposes. When the LV battery has to be removed or re-installed for any of the aforementioned reasons, the removal or re-installation of the LV battery is usually obstructed due to the components present in a front portion of the EV. For example, removal of LV battery may be obstructed in Y direction by a motor assembly and corresponding wiring routes. In Z direction, removal of LV battery is obstructed due to the plenum panels of BIW. Therefore, the only feasible direction to remove or to re-install the LV battery is in the X direction. However, such removal of LV battery in the X-direction is possible only when the frunk mounting, which is in line to the directional access of the LV battery does not create hindrance. It should be noted that in most cases, the presence of the overhanging frunk mounting bracket hinders the removal and re-installation of the LV battery from the EV. Therefore, to remove or re-install LV battery, other component(s) of the EV may have to be removed, which makes the maintenance process of the EV tedious and time consuming. Further, in some EVs, the frunk mounting bracket is a single piece mounting bracket welded to the BIW structure of the EV and therefore, removal of the mounting bracket is mostly not feasible.
[004] Therefore, there exists a need for a frunk mounting assembly and a method of assembling the frunk mounting assembly which obviates the aforementioned drawbacks.
OBJECTS
[005] The principal object of embodiments herein is to provide a frunk mounting assembly for an electric vehicle.
[006] Another object of embodiments herein is to provide a split type of frunk mounting assembly.
[007] Another object of embodiments herein is to resolve the interference concerns in front end cavity of the electric vehicle.
[008] Another object of embodiments herein is to ease the maintenance process of an electric vehicle.
[009] Another object of embodiments herein is to provide a structurally rigid mounting bracket for the frunk.
[0010] Another object of embodiments herein is to provide a simple in construction and inexpensive frunk mounting assembly for an electric vehicle.
[0011] Another object of embodiments herein is to provide a method of assembling the frunk mounting assembly.
[0012] These and other objects of the embodiments herein will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following descriptions, while indicating embodiments and numerous specific details thereof, are given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the embodiments herein without departing from the spirit thereof, and the embodiments herein include all such modifications.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] The embodiments herein are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, throughout which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0014] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a front-end portion of a vehicle along with a frunk, a low voltage battery, and a frunk mounting assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0015] Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a frunk mounting assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0016] Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the different components of a frunk mounting assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0017] Fig. 4 is an exploded view of a frunk mounting assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0018] Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an assembly plate and a bracket member, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;
[0019] Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a frunk mounting assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and
[0020] Fig. 7 is a flow chart indicating a method of assembling a frunk mounting assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0022] The embodiments herein achieve a frunk mounting assembly for an electric vehicle. Further, the embodiments herein achieve a method of assembling a frunk mounting assembly. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 through 7, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, there are shown embodiments.
[0023] Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a front-end cavity of a vehicle along with a frunk (F), a low voltage battery (L), and a frunk mounting assembly (100), according to embodiments as disclosed herein. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the frunk mounting assembly (100), according to embodiments as disclosed herein. For the purpose of this description and ease of understanding, the frunk mounting assembly (100) explained herein below is with respect to an electric vehicle. However, it is also within the scope of this invention to use the frunk mounting assembly (100) in any other type of vehicle with minor modification(s) and without otherwise deterring the intended function of the frunk mounting assembly (100) as can be deduced from the description.
[0024] In an embodiment, the frunk mounting assembly (100) includes a bracket member (102), a reinforcement member (104) (as shown in Fig. 3), and a frunk mount (106). The bracket member (102) is secured to a body portion (BP) in a front-end cavity of the vehicle (as shown in Fig. 4). In an embodiment, the bracket member (102) is secured to the body portion (BP) by spot welding. However, it is also within the scope of this invention to secure the bracket member (102) to the body portion (BP) by any other type of welding or any other type of securing means such as fasteners, adhesives and the like without otherwise deterring the intended function of the bracket member (102) as can be deduced from the description. The frunk mount assembly (100) is a split type of frunk mount assembly (100).
[0025] In an embodiment, the bracket member (102) includes a plurality of flange portions (102a) and a plurality of securing portions (102b). The flange portions (102a) are adapted to facilitate spot welding of the bracket member (102) with the body portion (BP). The securing portions (102b) are adapted to secure the frunk mount (106) with the bracket member (102) by means of fasteners.
[0026] Fig. 4 is an exploded view of a frunk mounting assembly, according to embodiments as disclosed herein. The reinforcement member (104) is joined with the frunk mount (106) to form a plate assembly (108) (as shown in Fig. 5). In an embodiment, the reinforcement member (104) is joined with the frunk mount (106) by means of welding. However, it is also within the scope of this invention to join the reinforcement member (104) with the frunk mount (106) by any other joining means. The joining means such as fasteners, adhesives, and the like without otherwise deterring the intended function of the reinforcement member (104) and the frunk mount (106) as can be deduced from the description. The reinforcement member (104) is joined with the frunk mount (106) to provide stiffness to the frunk mount (106). The reinforcement member (104) joined with the frunk mount (106) in turn provides stiffness to the frunk mounting assembly (100). The provision of stiffness by the reinforcement member (104) to the frunk mounting assembly (100) improves the structural rigidity of the frunk mounting assembly (100). Further, the reinforcement member (104) includes a plurality of flange portions (104a). The flange portions (104a) are adapted to provide additional stiffness to the frunk mounting assembly (100).
[0027] In an embodiment, the frunk mount (106) defines a plurality of openings (OP) and the frunk mount (106) includes a plurality of securing portions (SP). The openings (OP) are adapted to receive fasteners (FN) (as shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 6), to secure the frunk mount (106) to the bracket member (102). However, it is also within the scope of this invention to secure the frunk mount (106) with the bracket member (102) by any other securing means such as welding, adhesives, and the like without otherwise deterring the intended function of the frunk mount (106) as can be deduced from the description. The securing portions (SP) (as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 6) are adapted to secure the frunk (F). The frunk (F) is secured to the securing portions (SP) of the frunk mount (106) by means of fasteners. However, it is also within the scope of this invention to secure the frunk (F) with the frunk mount (106) by any other securing means such as welding and the like without otherwise deterring the intended function of the frunk (F) as can be deduced from the description.
[0028] In an embodiment, a low voltage battery (L) is mounted on the Left Hand (LH) side of the vehicle, inside the front-end cavity, and behind to the frunk (F) (as shown in Fig. 1). To remove or to re-install the low voltage battery (L) from the front-end cavity of the electric vehicle, the frunk (F) is removed from the frunk mount (106). Further, the frunk mount (106) and the reinforcement member (104) are removed from the mounting bracket (102). As the frunk mount (106) and the reinforcement bracket (104) are removed, the components of the electric vehicle, specifically the low voltage battery (L) can be removed without any hindrance from the frunk mounting assembly (100).
[0029] Fig. 7 is a flow chart indicating a method (200) of assembling the frunk mounting assembly (100), according to embodiments as disclosed herein. For the purpose of this description and ease of understanding, the method (200) is explained herein below with reference to assembling the frunk mounting assembly (100) for an electric vehicle. However, it is also within the scope of this invention to practice/implement the entire steps of the method (200) in a same manner or in a different manner or with omission of at least one step to the method (200) or with any addition of at least one step to the method (200) of assembling the frunk mount assembly (100) for an electric vehicle or any other type of vehicle without otherwise deterring the intended function of the method (200) as can be deduced from the description and corresponding drawings. In an embodiment, at step (202), the method includes securing the bracket member (102) with the body portion (BP) of the electric vehicle. At step (204), the method includes joining the reinforcement member (104) with the frunk mount (106). The reinforcement member (104) joined with the frunk mount (106) forms the plate assembly (108). The reinforcement member (104) provides stiffness to the frunk mount (106). At step (206), the method includes securing the frunk mount (106) with the bracket member (102) to assemble the frunk mounting assembly (100).
[0030] The embodiments described herein above have several technical advantages including, but not limited to, realization of a frunk mounting assembly (100) which enables easy removal and re-installation of the low voltage battery (L) from the electric vehicle.
[0031] The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Individual components of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, are interchangeable. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the present disclosure, and all such modifications are considered to be within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0032] The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the embodiments as described herein.
, Claims:We Claim,
1. A frunk mounting assembly (100) for a vehicle, said assembly (100) comprising:
a bracket member (102) adapted to be secured to a body portion (BP) of the vehicle;
a frunk mount (106) adapted to be secured to said bracket member (102); and
a reinforcement member (104) adapted to be joined to said frunk mount (106),
wherein
said reinforcement member (104) is configured to provide stiffness to said frunk mount (106); and
said frunk mount (106) is adapted to secure a frunk (F).
2. The frunk mounting assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bracket member (102) is adapted to be secured to the body portion (BP).
3. The frunk mounting assembly (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said bracket member (102) includes a plurality of flange portions (102a) adapted to secure said bracket member (102) to the body portion (BP).
4. The frunk mounting assembly (100) as claimed in claim 2, wherein said bracket member (102) includes a plurality of securing portions (102b) adapted to secure said frunk mount (106) to said bracket member (102).
5. The frunk mounting assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reinforcement member (104) is adapted to be joined to said frunk mount (106) to form a plate assembly (108).
6. The frunk mounting assembly (100) as claimed in claim 5, wherein said reinforcement member (104) includes a plurality of flange portions (104a).
7. The frunk mounting assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frunk mount (106) defines a plurality of openings (OP) adapted to secure said frunk mount (106) to the bracket member (102).
8. The frunk mounting assembly (100) as claimed in claim 7, wherein said frunk mount (106) includes a plurality of securing portions (SP) adapted to secure the frunk (F).
9. The frunk mounting assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein said frunk mounting assembly (100) is a split type mounting assembly.
10. A method (200) of assembling a frunk mounting assembly (100) for a vehicle, said method (200) comprising:
securing (202), a bracket member (102) with a body portion (BP) of said vehicle;
joining (204), a reinforcement (104) with a frunk mount (106); and
securing (206), the frunk mount (106) with the bracket member (102) to assemble the frunk mount assembly (100).