JP2012091659A - Saddle-ride type electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a saddle-ride type electric vehicle capable of favorably securing cooling performance and water tightness with respect to a battery while reducing the number of parts.SOLUTION: A two-wheeled electric vehicle 1 comprises a battery accommodation part 29 integrally formed with the vehicle body frame 2 so as to surround a recess from an outer wall of the vehicle body frame 2, a battery unit 28 accommodated in the battery accommodation part 29 so as to abut on an inner wall surface of the battery accommodation part 29, and a lid 34 closing the battery accommodation part 29 having a battery unit 28 accommodated therein so as to be openable and closable in a watertight state. An air jacket 39 communicating with the outside is formed around the battery accommodation part 29 in the vehicle body frame 2.

Description

  The present invention relates to a straddle-type electric vehicle.

  Recently, various technologies related to the saddle riding type electric vehicle have been proposed. For example, in a low floor scooter type electric vehicle equipped with an underbone body frame disclosed in Patent Document 1, a battery is disposed under the floor. With such an arrangement, a relatively large battery capacity can be secured.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-358891

  By the way, in this type of vehicle, it is common to provide a cooling structure such as introducing running wind in consideration of the heat generated by the battery. In this case, however, consideration of water tightness is necessary and the number of parts is reduced. There are challenges to increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of the actual situation, and an object thereof is to provide a straddle-type electric vehicle capable of ensuring good cooling performance and water tightness for a battery while keeping the number of parts small.

  As a means for solving the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a battery housing part (29) formed integrally with the vehicle body frame (2) so as to be recessed from an outer wall of the vehicle body frame (2), and the battery housing part A battery (28) housed in the battery housing part (29) so as to contact the inner wall of (29) and the battery housing part (29) housing the battery (28) are watertight so as to be openable and closable. A cooling air passage (39) communicating with the outside is formed around the battery housing portion (29) in the vehicle body frame (2). A straddle-type electric vehicle is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the straddle-type electric vehicle according to the first aspect, the vehicle body frame (2) includes a down frame portion (6) extending rearward and downward from the head pipe (3), A main frame (4) having a floor frame portion (7) that is bent from the rear end of the down frame portion (6) and extends rearward, and the battery is attached to the floor frame portion (7) of the main frame (4). A housing part (29) is formed, and the cooling air passage (39) is formed around the battery housing part (29) in the floor frame part (7).

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the straddle-type electric vehicle according to the second aspect, the cooling air passage (39) communicates with the head pipe (3) through the down frame portion (6). The head pipe (3) is open to the outside.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the saddle riding type electric vehicle according to the third aspect, the head pipe (3) is provided with a fan (45) for sucking air. .

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the straddle-type electric vehicle according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the cooling air passage (41, 42) is connected to the battery accommodating portion (29). It is formed outside in the vehicle width direction.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the saddle riding type electric vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the cooling air passage (39) is opened rearward.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, the battery housing portion is cooled by the cooling air passage around the battery housing portion, so that the heat of the battery in contact with the inner wall of the battery housing portion is cooled (heat radiation). Since the battery housing portion and the cooling air passage are formed integrally with the vehicle body frame, a good cooling effect can be obtained with a simple structure. In addition, since the battery housing portion is watertightly closed by the lid member, the watertightness of the battery can be secured with a simple structure.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the battery housing portion is positioned at a low position in the vehicle and the battery, which is a heavy object, is disposed at the low position, the center of gravity of the vehicle is positioned downward and it is easy to push and walk. Further, even when the battery is disposed at a low level, the water tightness can be maintained by the lid member.

  According to the third and fourth aspects of the present invention, the traveling air can be introduced from the head pipe into the cooling air passage to effectively cool the battery.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the battery can be cooled more effectively by the cooling air passage.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the cooling effect by the cooling air passage can be improved. Further, if water or the like from the ground enters the cooling air passage, a battery water cooling effect can be obtained.

1 is a left side view of an electric motorcycle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is a top view of the same electric motorcycle. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is the figure which showed the head pipe of the same electric motorcycle. It is a block diagram showing a system configuration of the electric motorcycle.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings used below, arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle, arrow UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and arrow LH indicates the left side of the vehicle.

  FIG. 1 shows an electric motorcycle 1 which is a scooter type straddle-type electric vehicle according to the present embodiment. The electric motorcycle 1 includes a body frame 2 in which a plurality of frame members are integrally formed by welding or the like. The vehicle body frame 2 has a head pipe 3, a main frame 4 extending rearward and downward from the head pipe 3, and then extending rearward in a substantially horizontal direction, and welded to the rear end of the main frame 4 and extending rearward and upward. A pair of left and right rear frames 5 extending in a substantially horizontal direction are included.

  The main frame 4 integrally includes a down frame portion 6 that extends rearward and downward from the head pipe 3 and a floor frame portion 7 that is bent from the rear end of the down frame portion 6 and extends rearward. An inclined frame portion 8 extending rearward and upward from the rear portion of the frame portion 7 and a horizontal frame portion 9 extending rearward from the rear portion of the inclined frame portion 8 in a substantially horizontal direction are integrally provided. The main frame 4 is a cast frame made of aluminum alloy, and the rear frame 5 is made of a pipe material made of aluminum alloy.

  A step floor 12 on which the occupant places his / her legs is provided between the front wheel 10 and the rear wheel 11, and an occupant seat 13 is provided on the rear upper side of the step floor 12. The front wheel 10 is rotatably supported at the lower part of a pair of left and right front forks 14, and a bridge 15 is built over the upper part of the front fork 14. A steering shaft 16 is erected at the center of the bridge 15, and a steering handle 17 is fixed to the upper end of the steering shaft 16. Since the steering shaft 16 is rotatably supported by the head pipe 3, the front fork 14 is supported so as to be steerable.

  The rear wheel 11 is rotatably supported at the rear portion of the swing unit 18, and the swing unit 18 is supported by the inclined frame portion 8 of the rear frame 5 via the pivot shaft 19. The shaft is supported so as to be swingable in the vertical direction. A rear cushion 20 serving as a shock absorber is interposed between the horizontal frame portion 9 of the rear frame 5 and the rear portion of the swing unit 18. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a resin body cover that entirely covers the body frame 2. The vehicle body cover 21 is configured by combining a plurality of cover members. The pivot shaft 19 is attached to the inclined frame portion 8 of the rear frame 5.

  The swing unit 18 is configured by housing an electric motor 23 and a gear mechanism 24 in a unit case 25. The unit case 25 further includes an ECU (Electrical Control Unit) 26 and a PDU (Power Drive Unit) 27 as a unit. The control unit is housed. The ECU 26 comprehensively executes various controls of the vehicle, and the PDU 27 drives and controls the electric motor 23 in accordance with a command from the ECU 26. The gear mechanism 24 includes a starting clutch, a planetary gear, and the like, and transmits the drive of the electric motor 23 to the rear wheels 11 in a stepwise manner.

  The electric motor 23 is supplied with power from the battery unit 28 via the PDU 27. With reference to FIGS. 2 to 4, in the present embodiment, the floor frame portion 7 of the main frame 4 is formed with a battery accommodating portion 29 formed so as to be recessed from the outer wall on the upper surface of the floor frame portion 7. A battery unit 28 is accommodated in the portion 29. The floor frame portion 7 has a flat shape in a top view, and the battery housing portion 29 is formed in a rectangular shape in a top view.

  The battery unit 28 is configured to include a plurality of rectangular lithium ion batteries 30... The lithium ion batteries 30 are arranged so that the longitudinal direction thereof is along the front-rear direction, and are connected in series. It constitutes a high voltage battery. As shown in FIG. 4, in the battery accommodating part 29, each lithium ion battery 30 ... is hold | maintained by the box-shaped holding | maintenance case 30A in the aligned state. The holding case 30A is in contact with the side surface of each lithium ion battery 30 ..., and the lower end of each lithium ion battery 30 ... is exposed from below the holding case 30A. The lower end part of each lithium ion battery 30 ... is in contact with the bottom wall of the battery accommodating part 29, and the heat of the lithium ion battery 30 can be effectively transmitted to the main frame 4.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of seating surfaces 29 </ b> A on which the lithium ion batteries 30 are placed are formed on the bottom wall of the battery housing portion 29 so as to bulge upward. The lower wall surface of each lithium ion battery 30 is in direct contact with the main frame 4 via the seating surface 29A.

  In the battery accommodating portion 29, a battery management unit (hereinafter referred to as “BMU”) 31, a contactor 32, and a DC-DC converter 33 are further accommodated behind the battery unit 28. The BMU 31 manages the charge / discharge status and temperature of the battery unit 28, and the contactor 32 is connected to the battery unit 28 and to the DC-DC converter 33 and the PDU 27, and the power from the battery unit 28 is DC-DC. This is supplied to the converter 33 and the PDU 27. The DC-DC converter 33 steps down the voltage from the battery unit 28 and supplies power to the ECU 26 and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the battery accommodating portion 29 that accommodates the battery unit 28 and the like is closed by a lid 34 that can be opened and closed by bolt fastening. A groove 35 having a rectangular shape in top view is formed on the upper wall of the floor frame portion 7 around the battery accommodating portion 29, and an end portion of the lid 34 is engaged with the groove 35. A sealing material 36 made of a resin material is provided between the end portion of the lid 34 and the groove portion 35, and the battery housing portion 29 is closed in a watertight state by the lid 34 and the sealing material 36.

  Although a cable for electrically connecting the battery unit 28 and the PDU 27 and a cable for electrically connecting the DC-DC converter 33 and the ECU 26 are not shown in the drawing, they are inserted into the rear frame 5 and are installed in the swing unit 18. It is led and connected. Instead of this, an opening may be formed in the lid 34, and the cable may be routed through the opening.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a front opening 37 that opens forward is formed at the front of the head pipe 3, and a rear opening 38 that opens backward is formed at the rear of the head pipe 3. Has been. The front end of an air jacket 39 that is a cooling air passage formed penetrating into the main frame 4 is connected to the rear opening 38 of the head pipe 3.

  The air jacket 39 is formed so as to open at the front end of the down frame portion 6, pass through the down frame portion 6 and the floor frame portion 7, and open at the rear end of the floor frame portion 7. Specifically, the air jacket 37 branches from the main passage portion 40 just before the battery passage 29 and the main passage portion 40 penetrating the down frame portion 6, and around the battery accommodation portion 29 as shown in FIG. 4. A plurality of left and right passage portions 41 and 42 and a lower passage portion 43 are formed.

  In the air jacket 39, the left passage portion 41 extends along the front-rear direction on the left side of the battery housing portion 29 and opens to the outside at the rear to form the air exhaust port 41 </ b> A, and the right passage portion 42 is formed on the right side of the battery housing portion 29. The air vent 42A is formed by extending along the front-rear direction and opening rearward. In addition, the lower passage portion 43 extends along the front-rear direction below the battery housing portion 29 and opens to the outside at the rear to form an exhaust port 43A. That is, in the air jacket 39, it is possible to introduce air from the opening at the front end of the down frame portion 6 and to flow (exhaust) air from the air exhaust ports 41A, 42A, 43A at the rear end of the floor frame portion 7. ing.

  Explaining the positional relationship between the vehicle body frame 2 and the air exhaust ports 41A, 42A, 43A, the pivot shaft 19 provided in the rear frame 5 is located above the air exhaust ports 41A, 42A, 43A. Further, the connection portion 60 between the rear frame 5 and the main frame 4 is located in front of the air exhaust ports 41A, 42A, 43A.

  6A and 6B, an annular fixing flange 44 is fixed to the periphery of the front opening 37 of the head pipe 3, and a fan 45 for sucking air is provided on the fixing flange 44. It has been. Thereby, air is actively introduced into the air jacket 39. As shown in FIG. 1, a charging outlet 46 is provided in the vehicle body cover 21 behind the head pipe 3, and a sub-battery 47 is provided below the seat 13 in the vehicle body cover 21. Reference numeral 48 denotes an accommodating portion formed in the vehicle body cover 21.

  The charging outlet 46 is connected to the battery unit 28 along a cable (not shown) along the main frame 4 so that the plug-in can be charged. The sub-battery 47 has a cable (not shown) arranged in the vehicle body cover 21 and is connected to various instruments, the ECU 26, and the like. Before starting the battery unit 28, the sub-battery 47 supplies electric power to the various instruments, the ECU 26, etc., and starts them up.

  FIG. 7 shows the system configuration of the electric motorcycle 1. As shown in FIG. 7, in the electric motorcycle 1, the electric power from the battery unit 28 is supplied to the PDU 27 that is a motor driver via a contactor 32 that is linked to a main switch (not shown), and the PDU 27 changes from direct current to three-phase alternating current. After the conversion, the electric motor 23 that is a three-phase AC motor is supplied. Further, the output voltage from the battery unit 28 is stepped down via the DC-DC converter 33 to control, for example, a general electric component (“etc” in the figure) such as a 12V sub-battery 47 and instruments, and the ECU 26 and the like. Supplied to system parts.

  The battery unit 28 is charged by, for example, a charger 51 (including a charger and the above-mentioned charging outlet 46) connected to a power supply of AC 100V, the BMU 31 monitors the charge / discharge status, temperature, etc. of the battery unit 28, and the information is obtained from the ECU 26. Shared with. The ECU 26 receives output request information from the accelerator sensor 52, and the ECU 26 drives and controls the electric motor 23 via the PDU 27 based on the output request information. In addition, although the charger 51 is mounted in this embodiment, this may not be mounted. Further, depending on the type of the battery unit 28, the sub battery 47 may be omitted.

  In the electric motorcycle 1, an accelerator grip (not shown) is provided on the steering handle 17, and the accelerator opening of the accelerator grip is detected by the accelerator sensor 52 and output to the ECU 26. The ECU 26 controls the PDU 27 in accordance with the accelerator opening, and the rear wheel 11 is driven by the PDU 27 so that the electric motorcycle 1 travels.

  As described above, the electric motorcycle 1 according to this embodiment includes the battery housing portion 29 formed integrally with the floor frame portion 7 so as to be recessed from the outer wall of the floor frame portion 7 of the main frame 4, and the battery housing portion 29. A battery unit 28 that is housed, and a lid 34 that closes the battery housing part 29 in which the battery unit 28 is housed in a watertight state so that the battery unit 28 can be opened and closed. An air jacket 39 (a main passage portion 40, left and right passage portions 41 and 42, and a lower passage portion 43) communicating with each other is formed.

  In this configuration, the battery housing portion 29 is cooled by the air jacket 39 around the battery housing portion 29, whereby the heat of the battery unit 28 that is in contact with the inner wall of the battery housing portion 29 is cooled (heat radiation). And since the battery accommodating part 29 and the air jacket 39 are integrally formed in the main frame 4, a favorable cooling effect is acquired with a simple structure. Moreover, since the battery accommodating part 29 is watertightly closed by the lid 34, the watertightness of the battery unit 28 can be ensured with a simple structure.

  Further, since the battery housing portion 29 is formed in the floor frame portion 7 of the main frame 4 and is positioned at a low position in the vehicle, and the battery unit 28 which is a heavy object is disposed at a low position, the vehicle center of gravity is positioned downward and pushed. It becomes easy to walk. When the battery unit 28 is disposed at a low position, there is a concern about water intrusion from a water pool or the like, but the water tightness is maintained by the lid 34.

  Further, the air jacket 39 communicates with the head pipe 3 through the down frame portion 6, the head pipe 3 opens to the outside, and the head pipe 3 is provided with a fan 45 for sucking air. In this configuration, traveling air can be introduced from the head pipe 3 into the air jacket 39 to cool the battery unit 28 effectively.

  Further, since the left and right passage portions 41 and 42 of the air jacket 39 are formed on the outer side in the vehicle width direction with respect to the battery housing portion 29, the cooling effect of the battery unit 28 can be improved. In addition, since the air jacket 39 is opened rearward, the cooling effect is improved, and if water from the ground enters the air jacket 39, the water cooling effect of the battery unit 28 is obtained. be able to.

  In addition, the battery accommodating portion 29 further accommodates a BMU 31, a contactor 32, and a DC-DC converter 33. This simplifies the vehicle configuration.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the main frame 4 is made of aluminum casting, and the down frame portion 6 and the floor frame portion 7 are integrally formed. However, these are separately formed, welded, bonded, It may be an embodiment in which it is integrated by fastening.

  In the present embodiment, the battery unit 28 is configured to include a plurality of lithium ion batteries 30, but instead of this, a nickel hydride battery or a lead battery may be used. In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a scooter type electric motorcycle has been described. However, the present invention can also be suitably applied to other straddle type electric motorcycles and tricycles having different frame formats.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric motorcycle 2 Body frame 3 Head pipe 4 Main frame 6 Down frame part 7 Floor frame part 28 Battery unit (battery)
29 Battery compartment 31 BMU (Battery Management Unit)
32 contactor 33 DC-DC converter 34 lid (lid member)
39 Air jacket (cooling air passage)
41 Left passage (cooling air passage)
42 Right passage (cooling air passage)
43 Lower passage (cooling air passage)

Claims (6)

A battery housing (29) formed integrally with the body frame (2) so as to be recessed from the outer wall of the body frame (2);
A battery (28) housed in the battery housing part (29) so as to abut against an inner wall of the battery housing part (29);
A lid member (34) that closes the battery accommodating portion (29) in which the battery (28) is accommodated in a watertight state so as to be openable and closable,
A straddle-type electric vehicle characterized in that a cooling air passage (39) communicating with the outside is formed around the battery housing portion (29) in the vehicle body frame (2). The vehicle body frame (2) includes a down frame portion (6) extending rearward and downward from the head pipe (3), and a floor frame portion (7) bent rearward from the rear end of the down frame portion (6). A mainframe (4) having
The battery housing part (29) is formed in the floor frame part (7) of the main frame (4),
The straddle-type electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cooling air passage (39) is formed around the battery housing portion (29) in the floor frame portion (7).   The cooling air passage (39) communicates with the head pipe (3) through the down frame portion (6), and the head pipe (3) is open to the outside. The saddle type electric vehicle.   The straddle-type electric vehicle according to claim 3, wherein the head pipe (3) is provided with a fan (45) for sucking air.   The saddle riding according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the cooling air passage (41, 42) is formed on the outer side in the vehicle width direction with respect to the battery housing portion (29). Type electric vehicle.   The straddle-type electric vehicle according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the cooling air passage (39) opens rearward.

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