# US 2021/0276413 A1 · Side vehicle body structure of vehicle

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- Number: US 2021/0276413 A1
- Document ID: US20210276413A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 17/177,903
- Filed: 2021-02-17
- Published: 2021-09-09
- Earliest claimed: 2020-03-06
- Assignees: Mazda Motor Corporation
- Applicants: Mazda Motor Corporation
- Inventors: Tsuneki SHIMANAKA; Kota YOSHIDA
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210276413A1

## CPC

- B60K 13/04: concerning exhaust
- B62D 25/025: {Side sills thereof}
- B62D 25/2036: {the subunits being side panels, sills or pillars (B62D21/157 takes precedence)}
- F01N 13/001: {Exhaust gas flow channels or chambers being at least partly formed in the structural parts of the engine or machine (using structural parts of the vehicle B60K13/06)}
- F01N 13/009: {having two or more separate purifying devices arranged in series}
- F01N 2340/04: Arrangement of the exhaust system relative to a vehicle or parts thereof
- B60K: ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
- B62D: MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS (steering, or guiding on a desired track, of agricultural machines or implements A01B69/00; wheels, castors, axles, increasing wheel adhesion B60B; vehicle tyres, tyre inflation or tyre changing B60C; connections between vehicles of a train or the like B60D; vehicles for use on rail and road, amphibious or convertible vehicles B60F; suspension arrangements B60G; heating, cooling, ventilating or other air treating devices B60H; windows, windscreens, non-fixed roofs, doors or similar devices, protective coverings for vehicles not in use B60J; propulsion plant arrangements, auxiliary drives, transmissions, controls, instrumentation or dashboards B60K; electric equipment or propulsion of electrically-propelled vehicles B60L; power supply for electrically-propelled vehicles B60M; passenger accommodation not otherwise provided for B60N; adaptations for load transportation or to carry special loads or objects B60P; arrangement of signalling or lighting devices, the mounting or supporting thereof or circuits therefor, for vehicles in general B60Q; vehicles, vehicle fittings or vehicle parts not otherwise provided for B60R; servicing, cleaning, repairing, supporting, lifting, or manoeuvring, not otherwise provided for, B60S; brake arrangements, brake control systems or parts thereof B60T; air-cushion vehicles B60V; motor-cycles, accessories therefor B62J, B62K; testing of vehicles G01M)
- F01N: GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR MACHINES OR ENGINES IN GENERAL; GAS-FLOW SILENCERS OR EXHAUST APPARATUS FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES (arrangements in connection with gas exhaust of propulsion units in vehicles B60K13/00; combustion-air intake silencers specially adapted for, or arranged on, internal-combustion engines F02M35/00; protecting against, or damping, noise in general G10K11/16)

## Abstract

A vehicle body side structure is provided where an exhaust apparatus is located on the vehicle-width-direction outer side relative to a side sill without widening the vehicle. Embodiments include an internal combustion engine equipped on the front side of a partition wall defining a front edge of a vehicle cabin space, an exhaust apparatus through which exhaust gas exhausted from the internal combustion engine passes, and a side sill extending along the vehicle front-rear direction on the side of a floor forming a floor surface of the vehicle cabin space. The side sill has a recess having a cross section recessed toward the vehicle-width-direction inner side from the vehicle-width-direction outer side in a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the vehicle front-rear direction and extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and an exhaust system member provided in the exhaust apparatus is disposed at the recess.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A side vehicle body structure of a vehicle comprising:
an internal combustion engine equipped on a front side of a partition wall defining a front edge of a vehicle cabin space;
an exhaust apparatus through which exhaust gas exhausted from the internal combustion engine passes; and
a side sill extending along a vehicle front-rear direction on a side of a floor forming a floor surface of the vehicle cabin space,
wherein the side sill comprises a recess having a cross section recessed toward a vehicle-width-direction inner side from a vehicle-width-direction outer side in a cross-sectional view orthogonal to the vehicle front-rear direction and extending in the vehicle front-rear direction, and
the exhaust apparatus is disposed at the recess.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein
the exhaust apparatus comprises an exhaust pipe and an exhaust system member, and
the exhaust system member has a larger cross-sectional area orthogonal to a passing direction of exhaust gas than the exhaust pipe, and is disposed at the recess in such a manner that the passing direction is substantially parallel to a longitudinal direction of the side sill.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 2,
wherein an opening through which an occupant enters and exits the vehicle cabin space is located above the side sill, and
the side sill comprises a side sill upper portion overlapping with the exhaust system member in a vehicle width direction on an upper side relative to the exhaust system member.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 3,
wherein the side sill upper portion is a closed cross-sectional structure comprising a closed cross-sectional space inside.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 4, comprising an eaves disposed on a vehicle-width-direction outer side of the side sill upper portion, the eaves extending outward in the vehicle width direction and downward and covering the exhaust system member from above.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 5,
wherein the exhaust system member has a long length in the vehicle front-rear direction along a lower edge of the opening and is higher on a rear side than on a front side in the vehicle front-rear direction, and
the side sill upper portion is higher on a rear side than on a front side in the vehicle front-rear direction corresponding to a vehicle side view shape of the exhaust system member.

### Claim 7 (depends on 3)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 3, comprising an eaves disposed on a vehicle-width-direction outer side of the side sill upper portion, the eaves extending outward in the vehicle width direction and downward and covering the exhaust system member from above.

### Claim 8 (depends on 3)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 3,
wherein the exhaust system member has a long length in the vehicle front-rear direction along a lower edge of the opening and is higher on a rear side than on a front side in the vehicle front-rear direction, and
the side sill upper portion is higher on a rear side than on a front side in the vehicle front-rear direction corresponding to a vehicle side view shape of the exhaust system member.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 7,
wherein the exhaust system member has a long length in the vehicle front-rear direction along a lower edge of the opening and is higher on a rear side than on a front side in the vehicle front-rear direction, and
the side sill upper portion is higher on a rear side than on a front side in the vehicle front-rear direction corresponding to a vehicle side view shape of the exhaust system member.

### Claim 10 (depends on 2)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 2, wherein the exhaust system member is a silencer.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 10, wherein the recess has a length in the vehicle front-rear direction greater than a length of the silencer in the vehicle front-rear direction.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The side vehicle body structure of a vehicle according to claim 11, wherein
the silencer has a substantially constant length in the vehicle width direction over its full length in the vehicle front-rear direction and has a shape, in a vehicle side view, such that the silencer is inclined and becomes gradually higher toward the vehicle rear side; and
the recess has an inclined shape such that it becomes gradually higher toward the vehicle rear side corresponding to the vehicle side view shape of the silencer.