JP2008080930A - On-board power supply mounting structure - Google Patents

Abstract

A structure for economically and rationally mounting a battery and an inverter device as a power source for a hybrid vehicle on a vehicle is provided. A device or component is not distributed at various locations in the vehicle, and an easy-to-understand mounting structure is provided for maintenance personnel or drivers. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mode for installing a reasonable protection structure and heat dissipation structure on a vehicle with respect to a heavy battery that is dangerous when a human body touches the terminal voltage.
It is mounted on a shelf provided in a two-stage structure on the side of a frame of a vehicle. Considering the necessity of accessing from above, the battery is arranged in the upper stage, and even if there is a possibility that some parts may be replaced in the inverter balance, each part is arranged in the lower stage because it is lighter than the battery. Attach to the frame position that can be accessed from the side of the vehicle.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a power battery mounted on a hybrid vehicle, an inverter for bidirectionally converting and transmitting electric energy between the battery and a motor generator, and a structure for mounting a related electric device on a vehicle. The present invention relates to an improvement in a structure in which an electric device unique to a hybrid vehicle is mounted on the vehicle. The present invention was invented mainly for application to commercial vehicles manufactured by the applicant. However, the present invention is not limited to commercial vehicles and can be widely implemented in hybrid vehicles in which a battery for driving power is mounted on the vehicle. it can. The present invention provides a mounting structure in which an electric device mounted on a hybrid vehicle is cooled and, when an operation for maintaining and inspecting the electric device is required, the operation can be performed safely and easily. About.

  In recent years, fuel prices have soared, and there are great expectations for hybrid vehicles that can efficiently use fuel. The applicant has long studied the application of hybrid vehicles to commercial vehicles such as freight vehicles and buses, and has provided practical hybrid vehicles for vehicles suitable for door-to-door delivery. On the other hand, as a form of battery that can be used by being mounted on a hybrid vehicle, a nickel metal hydride battery has come to be used. Since such a small battery has a large energy density accumulated per unit volume of the battery, improvements are being made to the heat dissipation structure, the safety structure, and the like.

  Regarding the battery mounting structure of the hybrid vehicle and the conventional structure of the cooling device, those described in the following [Patent Document] are known as related techniques.

JP 2002-209307 (Hino Motors) JP2005-133872 (Hino Motors) JP 2005-26101 (Hyundai Motor) JP 2005-247168 (Mitsubishi Fuso) Patent No. 3286634 (Hino Motors) Patent 3286654 (Daiichi Kosho)

  The battery mounted on the hybrid vehicle has a correspondingly high terminal voltage (for example, 150 to 300 V), so that the human body will not accidentally touch the terminal even when the maintenance person accesses the power supply device. Must be housed in a mechanically robust battery storage box formed in an insulated state. Moreover, an inverter is mounted on a hybrid vehicle as a heavy device following the battery. An inverter converts a DC output current of a battery into a multiphase AC for driving an electric motor during vehicle acceleration, and converts a polyphase AC generated from a generator into a DC current suitable for charging a battery during vehicle braking. It is. In general, an inverter includes a plurality of semiconductor switch circuits and winding components therein, and the terminal voltage on the AC side is also a correspondingly high voltage, which is dangerous if a human body touches the terminal. However, the inverter is a mechanically static device and has no moving parts. Therefore, it is necessary to design a housing structure using a rigid insulating material.

  Furthermore, in the current design, the battery and inverter mounted on the hybrid vehicle are designed to have correspondingly high reliability, but can be used without maintenance for the entire life of the vehicle. Absent. That is, in a vehicle repair shop or a maintenance shop, the mounting structure of the battery and the inverter must be in a form that allows an operator to access and perform necessary maintenance work. In addition to these issues, in order to achieve high-density mounting of both batteries and inverters and to operate with high efficiency, heat dissipation or cooling can be performed so that the device can be maintained within a specified temperature range during vehicle operation. There is a need for means.

  On the other hand, it is not appropriate to provide an excessive protection means for safety against the human body because it increases the weight of the vehicle, increases the price, and increases the number of maintenance work. In other words, maintenance work can be carried out safely, and it is avoided that the protective structure is damaged or the insulation characteristics are deteriorated and leakage occurs over the entire lifetime against the normal vibration of the vehicle. It must be.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a structure for economically and rationally mounting a battery and an inverter device as a power source for a hybrid vehicle on a vehicle. It is an object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-understand mounting structure that is easy for a maintenance person or a driver to perform an inspection work without the devices or parts being dispersedly arranged in various parts of the vehicle. In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a mode for installing a reasonable protection structure and heat dissipation structure on a vehicle with respect to a heavy battery that is dangerous when a human body touches the terminal voltage. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a mounting structure in which maintenance work can be performed safely in accordance with vehicle maintenance even after the start of operation. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a mounting structure provided with simple and effective protection means against rainwater mixed in a cooling airflow during traveling of a vehicle or foreign matter splashed from a road surface.

  Furthermore, the subject of this invention is related to designing the cooling air of a vehicle-mounted battery not as an intake type but as an air supply type. In other words, when air is introduced into the battery storage box to cool the battery rather than sucking air from the space around the battery, the air pressure around the battery becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure. Will be concentrated in one place. It aims at solving the new problem which arises for this. The main issue of this new problem is a structure for removing foreign substances and water droplets from the air flow in the intake passage of the cooling fan.

  In the present invention, a battery that is charged with electric energy generated by braking and supplies electric energy necessary for acceleration, and a direct current that is a terminal current of the battery and an alternating current that is a terminal current of a motor generator are bidirectionally provided. In the mounting structure of the in-vehicle power supply device of a hybrid vehicle including an inverter to be converted and a control circuit for the inverter, the battery is stored in a battery storage box and a cooling system for cooling the battery with cooling air is provided. On the side of the vehicle frame, at a position where a person can access from the side of the vehicle along the longitudinal direction thereof, an elongated mounting shelf of two upper and lower stages is provided so that the long side thereof is in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and the battery The storage box and its cooling system are mounted on the top of the mounting shelf, and at least the main part of the inverter and the control circuit are mounted on the bottom of the mounting shelf. It is characterized in.

  That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, two upper and lower elongated mounting shelves are attached to the side of the vehicle frame so that the longitudinal direction thereof is the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, the battery is mounted on the upper stage, and the inverter is mounted on the lower stage. The structure is to be mounted. This considers the state in which the battery, the inverter, and the like are easily accessible from the side of the vehicle during maintenance work. Considering the necessity of accessing the battery from above, even if there is a possibility of replacing some parts in the inverter scale, each part is lighter than the battery, so access from the side Because it is possible. By disposing the battery in the upper stage, even when it is necessary to replace the battery completely, it is almost unnecessary to remove other peripheral parts in advance and reattach these peripheral parts after replacement.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the electric fan that generates the airflow of the cooling system and the airflow passage that introduces the cooling airflow into the battery storage box have a folded structure along the longitudinal direction of the elongated mounting shelf. In this structure, the air flow passage is formed to be substantially long, and a heavy foreign substance and water droplets in the intake air are removed in the air flow passage. This reduces obstacles such as entanglement of foreign matter in the electric fan that sends the cooling airflow around the battery, reduces the failure rate, protects the filter for removing foreign matter provided at the suction port of the electric fan, and reduces the replacement cycle. Can be long.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the airflow passage of the folded structure is formed in an upper and lower hierarchical structure, the lower layer passage is the upstream side of the airflow, the upper layer passage is the downstream side of the airflow, and the upper layer passage is disconnected. The area is larger than the cross-sectional area of the lower layer passage. As a result, large contaminants are removed on the lower floor where the wind speed is high, and small contaminants are removed on the upper floor where the wind speed is low, and the contaminants can be removed stepwise and rationally.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the passage of the folded structure, the foreign matter that has fallen out of the airflow in the longitudinal direction and the width direction of the upper layer and the lower layer respectively in the passage so that the direction of the airflow flows along the uphill. It is characterized in that it is mounted with a gradient enough to roll against the airflow. This gradient may be as small as 1 to 1.5 degrees. With this structure, the foreign matter sucked into the airflow passage along with the airflow is released to the bottom of the passage and is discharged from the vicinity of the intake port along the gradient of the bottom of the passage.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, an electric fan that generates a cooling system airflow is provided, and a power supply circuit for the electric fan is provided with a switch circuit that intermittently stops or decelerates rotation thereof. The switch circuit can be a timer circuit. With this configuration, it is possible to discharge the water or foreign matter stagnating in the passage by changing the wind speed in the airflow passage in the direction of the airflow inlet according to the gradient.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the switch circuit for intermittently stopping or decelerating the rotation of the electric fan includes means for interlocking with the operation of the wiper device of the vehicle. Interlocking with the operation of the wiper device does not necessarily interlock with on / off. The rotational speed of the electric fan can be changed according to the on / off state of the wiper device or according to the speed adjustment of the wiper device. With this configuration, it is possible to increase the possibility that a change occurs in the airflow driven by the electric fan, and the foreign matter carried by the airflow drops to the bottom of the ventilation path.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, an inverter for converting a current obtained from the battery into an alternating current or converting an alternating current into a direct current and supplying the battery to the battery is provided at a lower stage of the shelf on which the battery is mounted. A control circuit (ECU) for controlling the inverter and a heat dissipating means for cooling the inverter are provided. In this structure, the inverter, its control circuit, the heat dissipation means of the inverter and the like need not be subjected to individual maintenance work.

  The present invention relates to an invention in which an electric fan (blower) that generates a cooling airflow flowing inside the battery storage box is provided at an air inlet of the battery storage box, and the battery storage box is operated during operation of the electric fan. Even if the cooling airflow around the internal battery is maintained at a pressure higher than the atmospheric pressure and a small gap is generated in the battery storage box for some reason, air foreign matter is sucked into the battery storage box from this gap. Will disappear.

  According to the present invention, particularly for a commercial vehicle such as a truck (or bus), a hybrid power supply device can be safely mounted on its side frame, the mounting form can be rationalized, and cooling and heat dissipation can be effectively performed. The maintenance work can be performed safely and rationally.

(Example)
FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating a battery mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. This is a diagram for explaining a mounting form of a battery which is mounted on a hybrid vehicle and accumulates electric power generated by braking and supplies electric power for driving power. In this embodiment, the hybrid vehicle is a medium-sized freight vehicle mainly used for home delivery. The battery for hybrid power is packaged and accommodated in the battery package 1. The battery package 1 has a sealed structure. This battery has a terminal voltage of 288 V and a maximum charging capacity of 6.5 Ah. The battery package 1 has an elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is placed on a steel battery storage shelf 2. And this battery package 1 is fixed to this battery accommodation shelf 2 with the screw which is not illustrated from the back and bottom. In addition, the battery package 1 shown here is a box provided on the outside of each cell container by integrating the number of batteries required for the vehicle into a cell, and a space is provided between the battery cells. It has a structure in which a cooling airflow flows.

  The battery housing shelf 2 is attached to the surface of the frame 4 of the freight vehicle indicated by the alternate long and short dash line from the side by bolts and nuts (not shown) by a steel arm steel material (cross arm) 3. An air duct 5 is provided on the front surface of the battery package 1. The air inlet 11 provided at one end of the air duct 5 opens to the atmosphere, and the other end of the air duct 5 is connected to the inlet side of the electric fan 10. This structure will be described in more detail later. The battery housing shelf 2 is covered with a single steel cover 6 having a L-shaped cross section.

  Here, the apparatus of this embodiment is configured to send cooling air into the battery package 1 so that the air pressure inside the battery storage case is maintained higher than the atmospheric pressure. That is, instead of providing a fan at the air outlet of the battery storage case and sucking the internal air pressure of the battery storage case as in the conventional device, an electric fan is provided at the inlet of the cooling air, and the air pressure inside the battery storage case is The characteristic is that the pressure is maintained in an increased pressure state.

  FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the flow of the cooling air. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, in order to cool the battery that generates heat by charging and discharging, the cooling air is sent into the battery package 1. In the apparatus of the present invention, the electric fan 10 is disposed at the cooling air inlet, and the battery cooling airflow is generated so that the internal air pressure of the battery storage case becomes higher than the atmospheric pressure while the hybrid power unit is operating. Supply. The air flow taken from the air inlet 11 provided on the side of the vehicle is pressurized by the electric fan 10 and sent into the battery package 1 via the air duct 5. Then, the airflow that has passed through the inside of the battery package 1 and has a high temperature is discharged from the radiator exhaust 9 through the radiator 13 toward the lower side of the vehicle.

  More specifically, in the configuration of this embodiment apparatus, the air duct 5 for taking outside air from the air inlet 11 and supplying it to the air inlet of the electric fan 10 has a two-story structure. Then, as shown by a thick broken line in FIG. 2, the air flow passes through the lower floor from the right hand of the figure to the left, turns back to the upper floor and further passes from the left hand of the figure to the right, and the inlet side of the electric fan 10 Configured to lead to. With this structure, even if some foreign matter, particularly a foreign matter having a mass such as pebbles, is mixed in the air sucked from the air intake port 11, the foreign matter will fall off due to gravity while passing through the inside of the air duct of this folded structure. It is something that takes into account. The air duct is provided with a gradient so that the upstream side of the airflow is low and the downstream side is high, and consideration is given so that foreign matters dropped out from the airflow roll to the right in the drawing according to the gradient. Inclinations are also provided so that foreign matter that has rolled on the passage leading to the intake port 11 falls from the intake port 11 to the outside.

  FIG. 3 shows a sectional structure diagram of the air duct. The air duct formed in this folded second-floor structure is formed so that the cross-sectional area perpendicular to the airflow is larger on the second floor than on the first floor. As a result, the wind speed on the second floor is smaller than the wind speed on the first floor, so that foreign matter with a large mass falls off on the first floor, and foreign matter with a relatively small mass falls off on the second floor. The foreign matter that has fallen off at the bottom of the air duct 5 rolls against the air flow along the inclined structure provided in the air duct 5 and is discharged to the outside from the intake port 11. As a result of the trial operation of this apparatus, it was confirmed that most of the foreign matter having a large specific gravity dropped out to the bottom of the air duct 5 and moved backward along the inclination of the air duct 5 according to the vibration of the vehicle.

  In addition, it turned out that it is effective to comprise so that rotation of the electric fan 10 may be stopped intermittently in order to exclude the foreign material which is a foreign material of special shape and is hard to roll. That is, the operation of the electric fan can be intermittently stopped by the timer device or the like during the operation of the electric fan 10.

  Returning to FIG. 1, a radiator 13, an inverter 14, an electronic control circuit storage box 15, and other devices are stored in a lower shelf 7 of the battery storage shelf 2. The lower shelf 7 is similarly attached to the vehicle body frame 4, and its periphery is covered with a cover 8.

  Although the battery housing structure of the hybrid vehicle has been described, the present invention can be widely applied to a structure in which a battery is mounted on a vehicle and the battery is forcibly air-cooled.

1 is a partially exploded perspective view of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The figure explaining the flow of the air for cooling in this invention Example apparatus. The cross-section figure of the air duct which makes hierarchical structure.

Explanation of symbols

1 Battery Package 2 Battery Storage Shelf 3 Arm Steel (Cross Arm)
4 Vehicle frame 5 Air duct 6 Cover 7 Lower shelf 8 Cover 9 Radiator exhaust port 10 Electric fan 11 Air intake port 12 Air intake port 13 Radiator 14 Inverter 15 Storage box for electronic control circuit

Claims (7)

A battery mounted on a vehicle and charged by a current generated by electrical braking of the vehicle to supply a current necessary for electrical acceleration of the vehicle, a direct current that is a terminal current of the battery, and a motor generator An inverter that bidirectionally converts and couples alternating current, which is a terminal current, and a control circuit for the inverter are provided, and a cooling system is provided for storing the battery in a battery storage box and cooling the battery with cooling air. In the mounting structure of the in-vehicle power supply for hybrid vehicles,
A long and narrow two-tiered mounting shelf is provided in the vehicle frame along the longitudinal direction so that people can access it from the side of the vehicle, with its long sides in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. A mounting structure for an in-vehicle power supply device, wherein the battery storage box and its cooling system are each mounted with at least main parts of the inverter and the control circuit at the lower stage of the mounting shelf.   The on-vehicle power supply mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the airflow passage for introducing the cooling air into the battery storage box is formed in a folded structure along a longitudinal direction of the elongated mounting shelf.   The airflow passage formed in the folded structure is formed in an upper and lower hierarchical structure, the lower layer passage is the upstream side of the airflow, the upper layer passage is the downstream side of the airflow, and the cross-sectional area of the upper layer passage is the lower layer passage The mounting structure for an in-vehicle power supply device according to claim 2, wherein the mounting structure is larger than a cross-sectional area.   The mounting structure for an in-vehicle power supply device according to claim 3, wherein the passage of the folded structure is attached to each of the upper layer and the lower layer with a gradient in the longitudinal direction so that the direction of the airflow flows along an uphill.   The in-vehicle power supply device according to claim 3, wherein an electric fan for sending a cooling air flow is provided inside the battery storage box, and a power supply circuit for the electric fan is provided with a switch circuit for intermittently stopping or decelerating its rotation. Mounting structure.   6. The on-vehicle power supply mounting structure according to claim 5, wherein the switch circuit that intermittently stops or decelerates the rotation includes means for interlocking with the operation of the wiper device of the vehicle.   The lower stage includes an inverter that converts current obtained from the battery into alternating current or converts alternating current into direct current and supplies the battery, a control circuit that controls the inverter, and heat dissipation that cools the inverter. The mounting structure for an in-vehicle power supply device according to claim 1, wherein the means is mounted.

Images