# US 10,870,361 B2 · Vehicle structure of fuel cell vehicle > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,870,361 B2 - Document ID: US10870361B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/539,304 - Filed: 2019-08-13 - Published: 2020-02-27 - Granted: 2020-12-22 - Earliest claimed: 2018-08-21 - Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha - Inventors: Yasuhiro Hara; Mikio Inoue - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10870361B2 ## CPC - B60L 50/71: Arrangement of fuel cells within vehicles specially adapted for electric vehicles - B60L 50/72: Constructional details of fuel cells specially adapted for electric vehicles - H01M 8/04089: of gaseous reactants - H01M 8/04201: {Reactant storage and supply, e.g. means for feeding, pipes} - H01M 8/0494: {of fuel cell stacks} - H01M 2250/20: Fuel cells in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors - Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles - Y02T 90/40: Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - H01M: PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSION OF CHEMICAL ENERGY INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract A vehicle structure of a fuel cell vehicle including: hydrogen tanks; a set of cases that house the hydrogen tanks at a roof side and an underfloor side respectively, and that respectively have, in a vehicle longitudinal direction, mouthpieces of a connecting pipe that is connected to the hydrogen tanks; a center module in which the set of cases is provided; a front module that is joined to a vehicle front side of the center module; a rear module that is joined to a vehicle rear side of the center module; a fuel cell stack that is provided at the front module or the rear module, and to which the hydrogen is supplied from a pipe connected to the mouthpieces; a control unit that is provided at the front module or the rear module; and a driving unit that is provided at the front module or the rear module. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A vehicle structure of a fuel cell vehicle, comprising: hydrogen tanks that are disposed at a roof side and an underfloor side of a vehicle cabin, and that are filled with hydrogen; a set of cases that house the hydrogen tanks at the roof side and the underfloor side respectively, and that respectively have, in a vehicle longitudinal direction, mouthpieces of a connecting pipe that is connected to the hydrogen tanks; a center module in which the set of cases is provided; a front module that is joined to a vehicle front side of the center module; a rear module that is joined to a vehicle rear side of the center module; a fuel cell stack that is provided at the front module or the rear module, and to which the hydrogen is supplied from a pipe connected to the mouthpieces; a control unit that is provided at the front module or the rear module, and that controls outputted electric power of the fuel cell stack; and a driving unit that is provided at the front module or the rear module, and that drives driving wheels by outputted electric power of the control unit. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The vehicle structure of a fuel cell vehicle of claim 1, wherein positions, in the vehicle longitudinal direction, of extended portions, which extend in a vehicle vertical direction, of the pipes are within a range between a front end and a rear end of a wheel. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The vehicle structure of a fuel cell vehicle of claim 1, wherein: high-voltage parts including the fuel cell stack, the control unit and the driving unit are provided at one of the from module or the rear module, and the vehicle structure further comprises an autonomous driving unit that controls autonomous driving of the vehicle, at another of the front module or the rear module. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The vehicle structure of a fuel cell vehicle of claim 1, wherein: the hydrogen tanks are shaped as tubes whose lengths run in a vehicle transverse direction, and a plurality of the hydrogen tanks are disposed along the vehicle longitudinal direction at interiors of the cases. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The vehicle structure of a fuel cell vehicle of claim 1, wherein: the fuel cell stack, the control unit and the driving unit are disposed at one of the front module or the rear module, and an end portion entrance/exit through which passengers can enter and exit is disposed at a wall portion of another of the front module or the rear module. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The vehicle structure of a fuel cell vehicle of claim 1, further comprising a filling port that is disposed at a same side as the fuel cell stack in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and that is for filling hydrogen.