JP2019156051A - Inverter protection protector - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology that protects an inverter 3 disposed behind a rear seat 30 from a load occurring during a rear end collision.SOLUTION: A protector 10 disclosed by the specification covers an upper side of an inverter 3 disposed behind a rear seat 30. The protector 10 includes: a projection 20 (a robust part) and a rear edge part 12 (a fragile part). The projection 20 protrudes upward from a front part of the protector 10. The projection 20 has strength higher than that of the rear seat 30. The rear edge part 12 is a portion of the protector 10 which is fixed to a cross member 35 of a vehicle body. The rear edge part 12 is formed so as to be removed from the vehicle body when a load larger than or equal to a load threshold value is applied from a rear side. When the load larger than or equal to the load threshold value is applied from the rear side to the front side, the protector 10 is removed from the vehicle body and moves forward. The protector 10 deforms the rear seat 30 to secure a space to which the inverter 3 can move for preventing damage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The technology disclosed in the present specification relates to a protector (inverter protection protector) that protects an inverter disposed behind a rear seat of a vehicle.

  An electric vehicle is equipped with various electric parts. The electric vehicle of Patent Document 1 includes a motor that drives the rear wheels and a power control device (inverter) that supplies power to the motor at the rear of the vehicle. The inverter is covered with a cover (protector). Since high voltage power for driving the wheels is supplied to the inverter, it is preferable to have a structure for protecting the inverter when a rear collision occurs. The automobile of Patent Document 1 includes a member that guides the inverter downward by a collision load when a rear collision occurs. When the rear collision occurs, the inverter is guided downward to protect the inverter from the collision load.

JP 2017-56861 A

  The technique of Patent Document 1 is based on the premise that there is a space under which the inverter can be retracted. In the case where any part is also arranged on the lower side of the inverter, the technique of Patent Document 1 cannot be adopted. The present specification provides a technology that protects an inverter arranged at the rear of the rear seat from a rear collision load with a structure different from the technology of Patent Document 1.

  The technology disclosed in this specification protects an inverter from a load generated at the time of a rear collision by devising a structure of a protector that protects the inverter. The protector has covered the upper part of the inverter arrange | positioned at the back of a rear seat. The protector includes a tough portion that protrudes upward from its front portion and a weak portion that is fixed to the vehicle body. The tough part protruding upward from the front part of the protector has higher strength than the rear seat. The fragile portion is formed so that the protector is detached from the vehicle body when a load equal to or greater than a predetermined load threshold is applied from the rear to the front. When a rear collision occurs and a load exceeding the load threshold is applied to the protector, the protector is detached from the vehicle body. The protector detached from the vehicle body moves forward due to the load, and the tough portion contacts the rear seat in front of the inverter. The tough portion is stronger than the rear seat, and the tough portion deforms the rear seat. By deforming the rear seat, a space is secured in front of the inverter, and the inverter can be prevented from contacting the rear seat. Even if the inverter comes into contact with the rear seat, the damage can be reduced because the rear seat is deformed.

  Details and further improvements of the technology disclosed in this specification will be described in the following “DETAILED DESCRIPTION”.

It is a rear part side view of the electric vehicle carrying the protector of an Example. It is a top view of the rear part of an electric vehicle. It is an enlarged view of the range of the broken line III of FIG. It is a perspective view of the processus | protrusion attached to the front part of a protector.

  The protector 10 of an Example is demonstrated with reference to drawings. FIG. 1 is a rear side view of an electric vehicle 90 employing the protector 10 of the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rear part of the electric vehicle 90. In FIG. 1, the outline of the electric vehicle 90 and the rear motor 4 are drawn with phantom lines so that the arrangement of the inverter 3 can be clearly understood. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the trunk lid at the rear of the vehicle is removed. The positive direction of the Fr axis in the coordinate system in the figure indicates the front of the vehicle. The V axis of the coordinate system indicates the upper side of the vehicle. The H axis indicates the left side of the vehicle. The orientation of each axis of the coordinate system relative to the vehicle is the same in all figures.

  The electric vehicle 90 has a traveling front motor (not shown) mounted in the front space of the vehicle, and the rear motor 4 mounted in the rear space 91. The rear motor 4 drives the rear wheels. The inverter 3 disposed in the rear space 91 converts DC power output from a battery (not shown) into AC power for driving the rear motor 4 and supplies the AC power to the rear motor 4.

  The inverter 3 is disposed behind the rear seat 30. More specifically, the inverter 3 is disposed behind the bracket 32 that supports the rear surface of the back portion 31 of the rear seat 30. A rear motor 4 is disposed below the inverter 3. Therefore, a space for retracting the inverter 3 when a rear collision occurs cannot be secured below the inverter 3. In FIG. 2, the rear seat 30 is drawn with imaginary lines.

  The inverter 3 is covered with a protector 10. The protector 10 is provided to protect the inverter 3 to which a high voltage of 100 volts or more is applied from a load at the time of a rear collision (collision load). The collision load assumed here is a case in which another vehicle collides from behind the vehicle. When another vehicle collides from behind, another vehicle may enter the rear portion of the electric vehicle 90 and come into contact with the rear portion of the inverter 3. The protector 10 is provided in order to protect the inverter 3 from the load by another vehicle in such a case. The protector 10 is made of an iron plate. The protector 10 is formed by press working.

  The protector 10 is placed on the rear floor panel 36 and fixed to the rear cross member 35 with two bolts 13. The cross member 35 is a skeleton member that ensures the strength of the vehicle body, and is spanned between a pair of rear side members 37 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction. The rear side member 37 is also a vehicle skeleton member.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rear portion 10 b of the protector 10 is inclined upward from the rear edge portion 12 fixed to the cross member 35 toward the front of the vehicle. Due to the inclination of the rear portion 10b of the protector 10, an impact received from another vehicle colliding from the rear of the vehicle may be diverted obliquely upward. In that case, deformation of the front portion 10a of the protector 10 can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the collision load from the rear of the vehicle is large, the protector 10 may be pushed forward. When a load equal to or greater than a predetermined load threshold value applied from the rear to the front is applied, the rear edge portion 12 of the protector 10 sandwiched between the bolts 13 is detached from the bolt 13. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a range of a broken-line rectangle III in FIG. In FIG. 3, the bolt 13 is drawn with a virtual line. As shown in FIG. 3, the rear edge 12 of the protector 10 is provided with a slit 12a having an open rear end, and the bolt 13 passes through the slit 12a and is fixed to the cross member 35. When a strong load (a load equal to or greater than the load threshold) from the rear to the front is applied to the protector 10, the rear edge 12 moves so that the bolt 13 slides in the slit 12 a, and the rear edge 12 is detached from the bolt 13. As a result, the protector 10 becomes free.

  A front portion 10 a of the protector 10 covers the upper surface of the inverter 3. A protrusion 20 extending upward is provided on the front edge of the front portion 10 a of the protector 10. When the protector 10 is removed by receiving a strong load from the rear to the front, the protrusion 20 of the protector 10 contacts the bracket 32 of the rear seat 30. The protrusion 20 is stronger than the bracket 32. Therefore, when the protrusion 20 contacts the bracket 32 with a strong load, the bracket 32 is deformed more greatly than the protrusion 20. As a result, the bracket 32 is deformed forward in front of the inverter 3 to secure a space in which the inverter 3 can be retracted. That is, when the inverter 3 is detached from the vehicle body due to the collision load, the inverter 3 can be retracted to the space secured by the deformation of the bracket 32.

  FIG. 4 shows an enlarged perspective view of the protrusion 20. A base plate 23 that reinforces the front portion 10 a of the protector 10 is provided at the lower end of the protrusion 20. Two beams 21 a and 21 b extend upward from the base plate 23. The two beams 21a and 21b are bent so as to be separated from each other in the middle. In other words, the two beams 21a and 21b are bent in a Y shape in the middle.

  Bolts 22a and 22b are fixed to the upper horizontal portions of the beams 21a and 21b, respectively. The base plate 23 and the beams 21a and 21b are made of iron and have high strength. The bolts 22 a and 22 b are attached as part of the protrusion 20 in order to deform the bracket 32 of the rear seat 30. Generally, bolts are made of carbon steel and are very hard. By providing the bolts 22a and 22b on the top of the protrusion 20, the bracket 32 can be easily deformed.

  The features of the protector 10 described in the embodiment are listed below. The protector 10 covers the upper side of the inverter 3 disposed behind the rear seat 30. The protector 10 includes a protrusion 20 (tough part) that protrudes upward from its front part. The protrusion 20 has higher strength than the rear seat 30 (bracket 32). The protector 10 has a rear edge portion 12 fixed to a cross member 35 (vehicle body) with bolts 13. The rear edge portion 12 is provided with a slit 12a that opens rearward. The bolt 13 passes through the slit 12a and fixes the rear edge portion 12 (the protector 10) to the cross member 35. Since the rear edge portion 12 (the protector 10) is fixed to the cross member 35 with the bolt 13 through the slit 12a opened at the rear, when a load equal to or higher than a predetermined load threshold is applied from the rear to the front. Detach from the car body. The rear edge portion 12 provided with the slit 12a is disengaged from between the bolt 13 and the cross member 35 when a predetermined load is applied, and can be referred to as a “fragile portion”.

  The fragile portion that is detached from the vehicle body when a load from the rear to the front (a load equal to or greater than the load threshold) is applied is not limited to the slit 12a. For example, the weak part may be a joint part welded to the vehicle body so that the joint is released when a load equal to or greater than the load threshold is applied. Alternatively, the fragile portion may be a bolt that breaks when a load equal to or greater than the load threshold is applied. Alternatively, the fragile portion may be a trailing edge portion that breaks between the protector body and the bolt fastening portion when a load equal to or greater than the load threshold is applied.

  The technology disclosed in this specification is also preferably applied to an automobile having an engine as a main drive source and an inverter and a rear motor as auxiliary drive sources.

  Specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above. The technical elements described in this specification or the drawings exhibit 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 technology exemplified in this specification or the drawings can achieve a plurality of objects at the same time, and has technical usefulness by achieving one of the objects.

3: Inverter 4: Rear motor 10: Protector 12: Rear edge portion 12a: Slits 13, 22a, 22b: Bolts 20: Protrusions 21a, 21b: Beams 23: Base plate 30: Rear seat 31: Back portion 32: Bracket 35: Cross member 36 : Floor panel 37: Rear side member 90: Electric vehicle 91: Rear space

Claims (1)

It is a protector that covers the upper part of the inverter arranged behind the rear seat,
Projecting upward from the front part of the protector, and a tough part having higher strength than the rear seat;
A fragile portion that is fixed to the vehicle body in the protector and is detached from the vehicle body when a load greater than a predetermined load threshold is applied from the rear;
Inverter protection protector.

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