| US 7,556,113 B2 | ||
| Vehicle and energy producing and storage system for a vehicle | ||
| Rick Amori, Saline, Mich. (US); Frank Stellon, Northville, Mich. (US); Mike Veenstra, Southgate, Mich. (US); Deborah D. Pittman, Belleville, Mich. (US); and Josephine Lee, Novi, Mich. (US) | ||
| Assigned to Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich. (US) | ||
| Filed on Feb. 27, 2007, as Appl. No. 11/679,450. | ||
| Application 11/679450 is a continuation of application No. 10/789511, filed on Feb. 27, 2004, granted, now 7,198,124. | ||
| Application 10/789511 is a continuation in part of application No. 10/248953, filed on Mar. 05, 2003, granted, now 6,736,229. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2007/0137907 A1, Jun. 21, 2007 | ||
| This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer. | ||
| Int. Cl. B60R 16/04 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 180—68.5 [280/834] | 11 Claims |
| 1. A vehicle, comprising:
an energy producing and storage system including first and second portions cooperating in a nesting relationship, thereby
minimizing vehicle space usage;
a vehicle body including a floor having a concavity formed therein for receiving a third portion of the system from outside
the vehicle, the third portion of the system including a fuel cell stack, the concavity being configured to prevent at least
some of the third portion from extending beyond the vehicle body, and to minimize use of vehicle occupant space; and
a pair of longitudinal supports, each of the longitudinal supports being attached to the vehicle body across a corresponding
portion of the concavity, thereby adding strength to the vehicle body in a longitudinal direction, each of the longitudinal
supports being configured to receive a corresponding portion of a mounting bracket system of the fuel cell stack from outside
the vehicle so the fuel cell stack can be installed into and removed from the concavity from outside the vehicle.
|