JP2021004021A - On-vehicle structure of power converter - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an on-vehicle structure of a power converter, in which damage that the power converter receives through interference with the other instrument at a collision of a vehicle can be reduced.SOLUTION: In an on-vehicle structure of a power converter according to a disclosure, a slope region sloped from an upper surface to a side surface is provided at a boundary between the upper surface and the side surface of the power converter. Another instrument is arranged to be adjacent to the power converter, and the another instrument is arranged so that a bottom part thereof opposes to the slope region of the power converter. The on-vehicle structure, when the another instrument moves toward the power converter to interfere with the converter at the time of a collision of a vehicle, can change a moving direction of the another instrument to an oblique and upward direction along the slope region, so that impact that the power converter receives can be relaxed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The technology disclosed herein relates to an in-vehicle structure of a power converter.

An electric vehicle includes a power converter that converts DC power of a power source into AC power having a frequency suitable for driving a traveling motor. Since the power converter handles high voltage, it is desirable to reduce the damage received in the event of a vehicle collision. Patent Document 1-3 discloses a technique for alleviating an impact received on a power converter in the event of a vehicle collision. The techniques disclosed in both documents include protectors on the sides of the power converter. The protector is provided on the side of the power converter so that it faces another device that is expected to interfere with the power converter in the event of a collision.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2014-766685 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-126152 Japanese Patent No. 5704233

Both technologies use a protector to receive another device that moves toward the power converter in the event of a vehicle collision to mitigate the impact on the power converter itself. The present specification mitigates damage to a power converter by changing the direction of movement of another device that moves toward the power converter in the event of a vehicle collision.

In the vehicle-mounted structure disclosed herein, another device is arranged adjacent to the power converter. An inclined region inclined from the upper surface to the side surface is provided at the boundary between the upper surface of the power converter and the side surface facing another device. Another device is arranged so that its bottom faces the tilted region of the power converter. According to this in-vehicle structure, when another device moves toward and interferes with the power converter in the event of a vehicle collision, the other device moves diagonally upward along the tilted region, causing damage to the power converter. Becomes smaller.

Details of the techniques disclosed herein and further improvements will be described in the "Modes for Carrying Out the Invention" below.

It is a top view of the front compartment of the hybrid vehicle which adopted the in-vehicle structure of an Example. It is a side view along the line II-II of FIG. FIG. 3A is a plan view illustrating an in-vehicle structure of an embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 3A (before a vehicle collision). FIG. 4 (A) is a plan view illustrating an in-vehicle structure of an embodiment, and FIG. 4 (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 4 (A) (the sub-battery has moved to the protector). State). 5 (A) is a plan view illustrating an in-vehicle structure of an embodiment, and FIG. 5 (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 5 (A) (the sub-battery is a power converter. Moved to the top). It is a detailed view of the outer shape of a power converter and a protector (a view which disassembled a protector). It is a detailed view of the outer shape of the power converter and the protector (the figure which attached the protector).

The vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the embodiment is applied to the hybrid vehicle 3. FIG. 1 shows a plan view of the front compartment 4 of the hybrid vehicle 3. The front compartment 4 is equipped with an engine 6, a transaxle 5, a power converter 10, and a sub-battery 7. Various other devices are mounted on the front compartment 4, but their illustration and description are omitted. In the coordinate system of the figure, "right" and "left" when facing the front of the vehicle are shown. In the following figures, the meanings of "right" and "left" in the coordinate system are the same.

The transaxle 5 also includes a motor for traveling. The transaxle 5 and the engine 6 are connected in the vehicle width direction and are suspended by a pair of side members (not shown). The hybrid vehicle 3 runs on the driving force of the engine 6 and the motor.

The power converter 10 is fixed on the transaxle 5. The power converter 10 converts the power of the main battery (not shown) into the drive power of the motor. The output voltage of the main battery is 100 volts or more. The power converter 10 is supported by the front bracket 12 and the rear bracket 13 with a gap between them and the transaxle 5. By arranging the power converter 10 on the transaxle 5 containing the motor, the power cable between the power converter 10 and the motor can be shortened. Further, by supporting the transaxle 5 with a gap between the front bracket 12 and the rear bracket 13, vibration transmitted from the transaxle 5 to the power converter 10 can be suppressed.

The sub-battery 7 is arranged adjacent to the left side of the vehicle of the power converter 10. The sub-battery 7 supplies electric power to an electric device group (commonly known as an "auxiliary device") other than the motor and the air conditioner.

A protector 20 is attached to a corner of the power converter 10 near the sub-battery 7. The protector 20 is attached to the boundary between the side surface of the power converter 10 facing the sub-battery 7 and the upper surface. The protector 20 protects the power converter 10 from interference with the sub-battery 7 when an obstacle collides from the left front of the vehicle. Since the power converter 10 contains parts to which a voltage exceeding 100 volts is applied, it is desirable that the housing is protected even by the impact of a vehicle collision. The features of the vehicle-mounted structure 2 including the protector 20 will be described below.

As will be described in detail later, a part of the protector 20 is provided with an inclined region 21 that is inclined from the upper surface to the side surface of the power converter 10.

FIG. 2 is a side view taken along the line III-III of FIG. In FIG. 2, the outline of the vehicle body of the hybrid vehicle 3 and the sub-battery 7 are drawn by virtual lines. In FIG. 2, one side member 19 that suspends the transaxle 5 (and the engine 6) is also drawn.

As is well shown in FIG. 2, the sub-battery 7 is arranged so that its bottom 7a faces the inclined region 21 of the protector 20. The power converter 10 is supported on the transaxle 5 in a forward-down posture, the front part of the protector 20 is located lower than the bottom of the sub-battery 7, and the rear part of the vehicle is. It is located higher than the bottom of the sub-battery 7. The tilted region 21 of the protector 20 is located substantially in the center of the protector 20 in the vehicle front-rear direction, and at the position of the tilted region 21, the height of the bottom 7a of the sub-battery 7 and the height of the protector 20 (that is, the tilted region). The height of 21) is almost equal.

FIG. 3 (A) shows a plan view showing the positional relationship between the power converter 10 and the sub-battery 7, and FIG. 3 (B) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 3 (A). .. As shown in FIG. 3B, the protector 20 is attached so as to cover the boundary between the side surface 10b of the power converter 10 facing the sub-battery 7 and the top surface 10a. Further, the protector 20 is inclined in the inclined region 21 from the upper surface 10a to the side surface 10b (the side surface facing the sub-battery 7) of the power converter 10. The sub-battery 7 is arranged so that its bottom 7a faces the inclined region 21.

The arrow A in FIG. 3B indicates the moving direction of the sub-battery 7 when an obstacle collides with the vehicle from the left front. That is, when an obstacle collides from the left front of the vehicle, the sub-battery 7 moves so as to approach the power converter 10. At this time, the bottom portion 7a of the sub-battery 7 approaches the inclined region 21 of the protector 20.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a state in which the sub-battery 7 has moved until it interferes with the protector 20. FIG. 4 (A) shows a plan view, and FIG. 4 (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 4 (A). The bottom portion 7a of the sub-battery 7 comes into contact with the inclined region 21, and the bottom portion 7a moves diagonally upward (diagonally upward toward the right side of the vehicle) along the inclined region 21. In other words, as indicated by the arrow B, the moving direction of the sub-battery 7 changes to the upper side of the power converter 10.

5 (A) and 5 (B) show a state in which the sub-battery 7 is further moved. 5 (A) is a plan view, and FIG. 5 (B) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of FIG. 5 (A). As a result of the position of the bottom portion 7a of the sub-battery 7 being displaced upward along the inclination of the inclined region 21, the entire sub-battery 7 passes above the power converter 10. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the protector 20 having the inclined region 21 is attached to the power converter 10, and the sub-battery 7 is arranged so that the bottom portion 7a faces the inclined region 21. The impact that the power converter 10 receives due to interference with the sub-battery 7 at the time of collision is alleviated.

The detailed shape of the protector 20 is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the protector 20 from the power converter 10, and FIG. 7 is a view in which the protector 20 is attached to the power converter 10. In FIGS. 6 and 7, a front bracket 12 and a rear bracket 13 for fixing the power converter 10 on the transaxle 5 are also drawn.

The power converter 10 includes a main body 101 made of aluminum and a cover 102 made of iron. As described above, the protector 20 is attached so as to cover the boundary between the side surface 10b of the power converter 10 facing the sub-battery 7 and the top surface 10a. A part of the protector 20 also covers the boundary between the upper surface and the front surface of the power converter 10. The protector 20 covers the boundary between the upper surface 10a and the side surface 10b of the power converter 10 from the front end to the rear end in the vehicle front-rear direction. The protector 20 is fixed to the power converter 10 with bolts.

The cross section of the protector 20 shown in FIGS. 3 (B), 4 (B), and 5 (B) is a cross section taken along the line AA of FIG. The protector 20 is provided with an inclined region 21 at a central portion in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the front and rear portions from the inclined region 21 are curved so as to follow the curvature of the end of the cover 102. The angle of the inclined region 21 with respect to the horizontal direction is preferably approximately 45 degrees. It is assumed that the protector 20 is deformed when the sub-battery 7 collides, but at 45 degrees, the sub-battery 7 smoothly changes its moving direction along the inclined region even if the protector 20 is deformed.

The points to be noted regarding the technique described in the examples will be described. The power converter 10 includes a protector 20 on the side of the housing facing the sub-battery 7. The protector 20 is provided with an inclined region 21 that is inclined from the upper surface of the power converter 10 (the housing thereof) to the side surface (the side surface on the side of the sub-battery 7). The protector 20 is a part of the power converter 10. The protector 20 may be a part of the housing of the power converter 10. That is, an inclined region that is inclined from the upper surface to the side surface may be provided on the side of the housing of the power converter 10 that faces the sub-battery 7. For example, a part of the cover 102 of the power converter 10 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 may have the above-mentioned inclined region. When providing an inclined area on the cover 102. It is also preferable that the thickness of the cover 102 in the inclined region is larger than the thickness of the cover 102 in the portion other than the inclined region.

The sub-battery 7 of the embodiment corresponds to an example of another device that may interfere with the power converter 10 in the event of a vehicle collision. Another device that may interfere with the power converter 10 in the event of a vehicle collision may be a device other than the sub-battery 7, such as a brake pump or an air conditioner.

Although specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of claims. The techniques described in the claims include various modifications and modifications of the specific examples illustrated above. The technical elements described herein or in the drawings exhibit their technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the techniques illustrated in the present specification or drawings can achieve a plurality of purposes at the same time, and achieving one of the purposes itself has technical usefulness.

2: In-vehicle structure 3: Hybrid vehicle 4: Front compartment 5: Transaxle 6: Engine 7: Sub-battery 10: Power converter 20: Protector 21: Inclined area

Claims (1)

It is an in-vehicle structure of a power converter,
Another device is placed adjacent to the power converter.
An inclined region inclined from the upper surface to the side surface is provided at the boundary between the upper surface of the power converter and the side surface facing the other device.
The other device is an in-vehicle structure in which the bottom thereof is arranged so as to face the inclined region.

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