CN115214389A

CN115214389A - Fuel cell vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN115214389A
Application number: CN202210237720.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 泽田丰; 川崎大也
Original assignee: Hino Motors Ltd; Toyota Motor Corp
Current assignee: Hino Motors Ltd; Toyota Motor Corp
Priority date: 2021-04-19
Filing date: 2022-03-10
Publication date: 2022-10-21
Also published as: JP2022165246A

Abstract

The invention provides a fuel cell vehicle, which can reduce the impact applied to a fuel tank and prevent the damage of the fuel tank even if the vehicle side generates collision. A fuel cell vehicle (1) is provided with a vehicle body frame (3) having a pair of side members (3A) at the lower part of a vehicle body (2), a plurality of fuel tanks (31) for supplying fuel gas to a fuel cell stack (10), and a radiator (43B) as a cooling system. The fuel tank (31) is attached to the vehicle body (2) at the outer side of the side member (3A) in the vehicle width direction (W) of the vehicle body (2) such that the cylindrical section (31 a) extends in the front-rear direction. The radiator (43B) is mounted to the vehicle body (2) at a position further outside the fuel tank (31) in the vehicle width direction (W) and in parallel with the fuel tank (31).

Description

Fuel cell vehicle

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fuel cell vehicle including a fuel tank that supplies fuel gas to a fuel cell stack.

Background

Conventionally, as such a fuel cell vehicle, for example, patent document 1 discloses a fuel cell vehicle in which a fuel tank having a cylindrical portion extending in a front-rear direction is supported. The fuel cell tank is disposed outside the vehicle body frame in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle body.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2020-121656

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, when an impact is applied to the fuel cell vehicle described in patent document 1 at a vehicle side surface due to a collision or the like, an external force due to the impact is directly applied to the fuel tank.

In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a fuel cell vehicle capable of reducing an impact applied to a fuel tank when the impact is applied to a vehicle side surface.

Means for solving the problems

In order to solve the above problem, a fuel cell vehicle according to the present invention includes: a vehicle main body; a drive device that drives the vehicle body; a fuel cell system configured to supply electric power to the drive device; and a cooling system that cools at least one of the drive device and the constituent devices of the fuel cell system.

The vehicle body includes a vehicle body frame at a lower portion of the vehicle body, and the fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack and a plurality of fuel tanks that supply fuel gas to the fuel cell stack. The fuel tank includes a cylindrical portion and a pair of dome portions formed at both ends of the cylindrical portion, and the vehicle body frame includes a pair of side members extending in a front-rear direction of the vehicle body. The cooling system includes a radiator.

The fuel tank is attached to the vehicle body at an outer side of the vehicle body in the vehicle width direction with respect to the side member such that an axis of the cylindrical portion is along the front-rear direction, and the radiator is attached to the vehicle body at a further outer side of the fuel tank in the vehicle width direction so as to be aligned with the fuel tank.

According to the present invention, when an external force due to an impact acts on a side surface of the fuel cell vehicle, the radiator attached to the outer side of the fuel tank in the vehicle width direction plays a role of the impact absorbing member of the fuel tank. As a result, the impact on the fuel tank can be reduced. Further, an elongated space extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body is formed outside the fuel tank in the vehicle width direction, and such a space is a space that is difficult to utilize. However, according to the present invention, since the radiator can be disposed as a device suitable for being disposed in the space having such a shape, the disposition space of the device in the vehicle body can be effectively utilized.

In a more preferred aspect, the radiator may include a radiator main body through which a coolant flows, and a fan that blows air toward the radiator main body, and the fan may be disposed such that a rotation shaft of the fan is at a position offset in a vertical direction with respect to an axial center of the cylindrical portion of the fuel tank.

In this aspect, since the fan of the radiator blows air toward the radiator main body, the rotation shaft of the fan is disposed along the vehicle width direction. Here, when the fan is displaced inward in the vehicle width direction together with the radiator due to an impact on the side surface of the vehicle body, a portion of the fan along the rotation axis (for example, a rotation shaft body or the like) may abut against the outer peripheral surface of the fuel tank. Since the rigidity of the portion along the rotation axis is high, the fuel tank is easily damaged. However, according to this aspect, even in such a case, since the axial center of the cylindrical portion of the fuel tank is offset from the rotational axis of the fan, the portion along the rotational axis slides on the tank surface and is displaced, and the external force acting on the fuel tank via this portion can be released.

More preferably, the radiator main body may be disposed so as to cover a boundary between the cylindrical portion and each of the dome portions when the vehicle main body is viewed in a side view.

According to this aspect, the fuel tank that stores hydrogen gas as fuel in the fuel cell vehicle has, for example, a cylindrical portion and a pair of dome portions formed at both ends of the cylindrical portion. In the fuel tank having such a shape, the boundary between each dome portion and the cylindrical portion is weaker than the other portions of the fuel tank. Thus, according to this aspect, the boundary between the pair of dome portions and cylindrical portion having a low strength is covered by the radiator main body, so that even if an external force is applied by an impact, the fuel tank can be prevented from being deformed or broken.

Effects of the invention

According to the fuel cell vehicle of the present invention, when an impact is applied to the vehicle side surface, the impact applied to the fuel tank can be reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of an embodiment of a fuel cell vehicle of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the fuel cell vehicle shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the fuel cell vehicle shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the main portion of the fuel cell system used in the fuel cell vehicle shown in fig. 1 to 3.

Fig. 5 is a side view showing a main part of a support device for attaching a fuel tank and a radiator to a vehicle body frame in the fuel cell vehicle of the present embodiment.

Fig. 6 isbase:Sub>A line-up frombase:Sub>A-base:Sub>A in fig. 5.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the fuel cell vehicle according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic elevational view of a fuel cell vehicle according to the present embodiment, fig. 2 is a plan view of fig. 1, and fig. 3 is a rear view of fig. 1. In the drawings, a part of the structure is schematically shown, and a part of the structure is omitted for the sake of easy understanding.

1. Overall structure of fuel cell vehicle (vehicle) 1

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, a fuel cell vehicle 1 of the present embodiment includes a vehicle body 2 and a drive device 5 as a power source for driving the vehicle body 2. The fuel cell vehicle 1 further includes a fuel cell system 100 that supplies electric power to the drive device 5, and a cooling system 40 that cools at least one of the drive device 5 and the constituent devices of the fuel cell system 100. The fuel cell vehicle (vehicle) 1 of the present embodiment is basically a vehicle such as a truck, and is a vehicle mounted with a fuel cell system described later.

2. With respect to the vehicle body 2 and the drive device 5

The vehicle body 2 includes: a cab 6 on which a driver rides, a container 8 disposed behind the cab 6, and a vehicle body frame 3 disposed below the vehicle body 2 and extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. In fig. 1, the container 8 is depicted by a two-dot chain line, and in the following figures, the container 8 is omitted.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle body frame 3 is a ladder frame including a pair of

parallel side members

3A and 3A facing each other with a space therebetween, and a plurality of

cross members

3B and 3B connecting the side members in the vehicle width direction. A rear bumper 3C is fixed to the rear end of the vehicle body frame 3. A container 8 such as a cargo bed or a cargo room is provided on the upper portion of the body frame 3.

Front wheels 4A are fixed to the front lower side of the vehicle body frame 3 via a suspension and a steering mechanism, not shown, and rear wheels 4B of the 2-axle are similarly fixed to the rear lower side of the vehicle body frame 3 via a suspension. The rear wheel 4B of the 2-axis is formed of a double tire, and a drive device 5 is provided at the center in the vehicle width direction.

In the present embodiment, the drive device 5 is an axle motor unit. The axle motor unit is basically configured by a drive motor (not shown) and a differential device (not shown). The drive device 5 is provided between a pair of

side members

3A, 3A constituting the vehicle body frame 3, and drives the rear wheel 4B. Therefore, the fuel cell vehicle 1 is a vehicle in which the rear wheels 2 are driven.

A fuel cell module 1A is provided in front of the vehicle body frame 3, and a cab 6 constituting a driver's seat is provided on the top. A rack 7 having a plurality of stages is fixed to the rear of the cab 6. The rack 7 is provided with a battery 52 and a fuel tank 31 for driving the fuel cell stack 10.

3. With respect to the fuel cell system 100

Here, a fuel cell system 100 that supplies electric power to a drive device 5 that drives a vehicle main body 2 of the fuel cell vehicle 1 will be described with reference to fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of the main part of the fuel cell system 100.

As shown in fig. 4, the fuel cell system 100 includes a fuel cell stack 10, a fuel cell module 1A that drives a plurality of auxiliary devices of the fuel cell stack 10, and other devices such as maintenance components, and also includes a fuel tank 31 that stores hydrogen gas. As shown in fig. 1 and the like, the fuel cell module 1A is fixed to a front portion of a vehicle body frame 3 of a vehicle body 2.

Further, a part of the auxiliary machines constituting the fuel cell module 1A is fixed to another part of the vehicle body frame 3. For example, in the vehicle body frame 3, a fuel tank 31 and a battery 52, which will be described later, are fixed to a rack 7 erected at the rear portion of the fuel cell module 1A, and other devices are fixed thereto.

Although not shown, the fuel cell of the fuel cell stack 10 includes a Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) including an ion-permeable electrolyte membrane, and an anode-side catalyst layer (anode electrode) and a cathode-side catalyst layer (cathode electrode) sandwiching the electrolyte membrane. Gas Diffusion Layers (GDLs) for supplying hydrogen gas as a fuel gas and air as an oxidant gas and collecting electricity generated by an electrochemical reaction are formed at both sides of the MEA. A membrane electrode assembly having GDLs disposed on both sides is called a MEGA, and the MEGA is sandwiched by a pair of separators. Here, the MEGA is a power generation section of the fuel cell, and the MEA becomes the power generation section of the fuel cell without the gas diffusion layer.

The fuel cell stack 10 is connected to a plurality of auxiliary machines for driving the same, and these auxiliary machines constitute an air supply system 20, a hydrogen supply system 30, and a control system 50, as shown in fig. 4.

The air supply system 20 supplies air to the cathode electrode of each unit cell constituting the fuel cell stack 10, and discharges an off-gas used for an electrochemical reaction in each fuel cell unit from the fuel cell stack 10. In the air supply system 20, an air cleaner 21, a compressor 22, an intercooler 23, and the like are provided from the upstream side of the fuel cell stack 10, and a muffler 28 and the like are provided on the downstream side of the fuel cell stack 10.

The air cleaner 21 removes contaminants such as dust from air taken in from the atmosphere, and is disposed upstream of the compressor 22 that supplies air to the fuel cell stack 10. The compressor 22 compresses air introduced through the air cleaner 21, and pressure-feeds the compressed air to the intercooler 23. The intercooler 23 cools the air pressure-fed and introduced from the compressor 22 by, for example, heat exchange with the coolant when the air passes through the intercooler, and supplies the air to (the cathode electrode of) the fuel cell stack 10. The fuel cell module 1A of the present embodiment includes a compressor 22 and an intercooler 23 as auxiliary devices of the fuel cell stack 10.

The hydrogen gas supply system 30 supplies hydrogen gas to the anode electrode of each unit cell constituting the fuel cell stack 10, and discharges an off gas used for an electrochemical reaction in each fuel cell unit from the fuel cell stack 10. The hydrogen gas supply system 30 includes a fuel tank 31 and a hydrogen gas supply device 33 as a hydrogen gas supply source from the upstream side of the fuel cell stack 10, and a gas-liquid separator 37 on the downstream side of the fuel cell stack 10. The hydrogen gas supply system 30 includes a gas-liquid separator 37 and a hydrogen pump 38 for circulating the hydrogen gas having passed through the gas-liquid separator 37 to the upstream side, as auxiliary devices of the fuel cell stack 10.

The hydrogen gas supply device 33 includes an injector or the like that supplies hydrogen gas to the fuel cell stack 10. The gas-liquid separator 37 separates the generated water contained in the off gas, and sends the hydrogen gas from which the generated water has been separated to the hydrogen pump 38, and the generated water is sent to the muffler 28. The hydrogen pump 38 pumps the hydrogen gas separated by the gas-liquid separator 37 and circulates the hydrogen gas to a supply passage of the hydrogen gas. The fuel cell module 1A of the present embodiment includes a hydrogen pump 38 and the like as auxiliary devices of the fuel cell stack 10.

The control system 50 controls the driving of the fuel cell stack 10 and the like. The control system 50 is provided with a control device 51, a battery 52, a PCU53, a converter 54, and a drive device 5 as a load. The control device 51 controls the above-described valves and a PCU (power control unit) 53 described later. The battery 52 stores electric power generated by the fuel cell stack 10. PCU53 supplies electric power to drive device 5 under the control of control device 51. Converter 54 is included in high-voltage device 54A (see fig. 1), and boosts the output voltage of fuel cell stack 10 and supplies the boosted output voltage to PCU 53. These accessories are electrically connected via a cable 92, but fig. 4 shows a part of the cables 92 among a plurality of cables.

4. With respect to the cooling system 40

The cooling system 40 cools at least one of the components of the drive device 5 and the fuel cell system 100. In the present embodiment, the cooling system 40 includes a first cooling unit 40A that cools the fuel cell stack 10, and a second cooling unit 40B that cools a high-voltage device 54A (see fig. 2) and the drive device 5, etc., in which a converter 54, etc., described later, are integrated. In the present embodiment, the cooling system 40 cools the fuel cell stack 10 and the high-voltage device 54A as constituent devices of the fuel cell system 100, but in addition thereto, the compressor 22, the battery 52, and the like may be cooled.

The first cooling unit 40A is a circulation system, and the first cooling unit 40A includes: a first pump 42A, a radiator 43A, a three-way valve (rotary valve) 45, an ion exchanger 47, and a first supply tank 48A. The first pump 42A pressure-feeds the first coolant (coolant) cooled by the radiator 43A to the fuel cell stack 10. The radiator 43A cools the first coolant discharged from the fuel cell stack 10.

The ion exchanger 47 has a function of removing ions from the coolant that cools the fuel cell stack 10, and is provided in the bypass passage. The three-way valve 45 branches the coolant discharged from the fuel cell stack 10 to the radiator 43A or the ion exchanger 47. The first replenishment tank 48A contains the coolant for replenishment to the first cooling unit 40A, and when the coolant is insufficient, supplies the coolant for replenishment to the first cooling unit 40A. In the present embodiment, the first pump 42A, the three-way valve 45, and the like are provided as auxiliary devices of the fuel cell stack 10.

The second cooling portion 40B is provided with: radiator 43B, second pump 42B, and second replenishment tank 48B. The second pump 42B pressure-feeds the second coolant (coolant) cooled by the radiator 43B to the converter 54, the drive device 5, and the like. Radiator 43B cools the coolant discharged from some accessories such as inverter 54 and drive device 5. The second replenishment tank 48B contains the coolant for replenishment to the second cooling unit 40B, and when the coolant is insufficient, supplies the coolant for replenishment to the second cooling unit 40B.

Here, the first and

second supply tanks

48A, 48B of the cooling system 40 store the first and second cooling liquids, respectively, and supply the first and second cooling liquids to their circulation paths when the first and second cooling liquids are insufficient. The first and

second supply tanks

48A, 48B are provided in the rack 7 (see fig. 1), and in addition, a plurality of fuel tanks 31 and a plurality of batteries 52 are provided in the rack 7.

In the present embodiment, the cooling system 40 corresponds to the cooling system of the present invention, and the cooling system 40 is constituted by the first and

second cooling portions

40A, 40B having different cooling paths through which the cooling liquid flows.

Further, the respective devices of the fuel cell system 100 and the devices (auxiliary devices and the like) of the cooling system 40 constituting the air supply system 20 and the hydrogen gas supply system 30 are connected by a flexible pipe 91 and the like. In fig. 4, a pipe 91 is shown as a part of the plurality of pipes.

5. Arrangement relation between fuel tank 31 and radiator 43B

Next, the structure around the fuel tank 31 and the radiator 43B, which is a characteristic structure of the fuel cell vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to fig. 5 and 6. Fig. 5 isbase:Sub>A side view showingbase:Sub>A main part ofbase:Sub>A support device 60 that mounts the fuel tank 31 and the radiator 43B to the vehicle body frame 3, and fig. 6 isbase:Sub>A view taken along linebase:Sub>A-base:Sub>A in fig. 5. In fig. 5 and 6, a part of the structure is schematically shown for easy understanding.

In fig. 5 and 6, the fuel tank 31 and the radiator 43B constituting the hydrogen gas supply system 30 of the fuel cell system 100 are attached to the vehicle body 2. The radiator 43B constitutes the second cooling unit 40B of the cooling system 40, but may be, for example, the radiator 43A of the first cooling unit 40A.

In the present embodiment, the fuel tank 31 and the radiator 43B are fixed to the outer side surfaces of the

side members

3A, 3A of the vehicle body frame 3 of the vehicle body 2 via the support device 60. The radiator 43B includes a radiator main body 43a through which the coolant flows, and a fan 43B that blows air toward the radiator main body 43a. The fan 43b rotates about the rotation axis RA. In the present embodiment, the radiator 43B is provided with the fan 43B, but the radiator 43B may not be provided with the fan 43B as long as cooling efficiency can be ensured.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the fuel tank 31 includes a cylindrical portion 31a extending in the longitudinal direction (axial center) and a pair of

dome portions

31b, 31b formed at both ends of the cylindrical portion 31 a. The fuel tank 31 has a neck 31c fixed to the outside of each dome 31b. A storage space for storing fuel gas (hydrogen gas) is formed in the fuel tank 31 by the cylindrical portion 31a and the pair of

dome portions

31b, 31b. A through hole (not shown) communicating with the housing space is formed in one neck portion 31c of the two neck portions 31c, and hydrogen gas can be housed and released into the housing space through the through hole. The fuel tank 31 is formed by winding a fiber bundle impregnated with resin around a liner having a storage space formed therein, and the boundary 31d between the cylindrical portion 31a and the dome portion 31b has lower strength than other portions.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 2 and 6, the fuel tank 31 is attached to the vehicle body 2 via the support device 60 such that the axial center CL of the cylindrical portion 31a is along the front-rear direction FB of the vehicle body 2. The radiator 43B is attached to the vehicle body 2 via the support device 60 at a position further outside the fuel tank 31 in the vehicle width direction W so as to be aligned with the fuel tank 31.

In the present embodiment, two

radiators

43B, 43B are disposed outside the fuel tank 31 with respect to one fuel tank 31. The two

radiators

43B, 43B are arranged in parallel with the fuel tank 31 along the front-rear direction FB of the vehicle body 2.

Here, an elongated space extending in the front-rear direction FB of the vehicle body 2 is formed outside the fuel tank 31 in the vehicle width direction W, and such a space is a space that is difficult to use. However, since the overall shape of the radiator 43B (radiator main body 43 a) is a plate shape, the radiator 43B can be disposed in such a narrow and long space, and therefore, the disposition space of the devices of the vehicle main body 2 can be effectively utilized.

More specifically, in the state where the radiator 43B is disposed, each radiator 43B is disposed such that the radiator main body 43a covers a part of the boundary 31d between the cylindrical portion 31a and each dome portion 31B of the fuel tank 31 when the vehicle main body 2 is viewed from the side. As is apparent from the side view of the fuel cell vehicle 1 shown in fig. 1, each boundary 31d of the fuel tank 31 is covered with the radiator 43B. In the present embodiment, two

radiators

43B, 43B are provided for one fuel tank 31, but a pair of

boundary lines

31d, 31d of the fuel tank 31 may be covered by one radiator.

As shown in fig. 6, the support device 60 has a pair of

support arms

61, 61 that support one fuel tank 31 at

neck portions

31c, 31c at both ends along the axial center CL. As shown in fig. 5, each support arm 61 has a substantially L-shaped side surface, and each support arm 61 is fixed to the outer side of the side member 3A with a spacer washer 62 interposed therebetween by a bolt or the like.

The fuel tank 31 is fixed by a fixing member 63 fixed to a horizontal portion of a support arm 61 of the support device 60 with the neck portions 31c at both ends sandwiched therebetween. A vertical bar 64 that is long in the front-rear direction is bridged at the outer front ends of the

support arms

61, 61. Two end rods 65 are erected vertically from both ends of the vertical rod 64, and an upper rod 66 is erected so as to straddle the upper ends of the two end rods 65. Both ends of the upper bar 66 and the upper end of the support arm 61 are connected by a cross bar 67. The two radiators 43B are fixed to a rectangular space formed by the horizontal vertical rod 64, the two vertical end rods 65, and the upper rod 66. In the side view of the vehicle body 2, the radiator 43B is disposed such that the radiator body 43a of the radiator 43B covers the boundary 31d between the cylindrical portion 31a and the pair of dome portions 31B and 31B.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the fuel cell vehicle 1 has a plurality of fuel tanks 31 mounted in the vehicle body frame 3 in the horizontal direction along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body frame 3, that is, the front-rear direction FB of the vehicle body 2. Further outside the fuel tanks 31, a plurality of radiators 43B are mounted on the vehicle body frame 3 in a horizontally aligned manner.

The fan 43B fixed to the inside of the radiator 43B in the vehicle width direction W is an electric fan having blades rotated by the electric motor 43c, and the electric motor 43c is located between the fuel tank 31 and the radiator main body 43a. In the present embodiment, the rotary shaft RA Of the electric motor 43c is disposed at a position offset by an offset amount Of in the vertical direction with respect to the axial center CL Of the cylindrical portion 31a Of the fuel tank 31. Specifically, the radiator 43B (specifically, the fan 43B) is disposed such that the axial center Of the rotary shaft (not shown) Of the electric motor 43c and the axial center CL Of the cylindrical portion 31a Of the fuel tank 31 are offset downward by the offset amount Of. In addition, the offset position is set in any one of the up-down directions.

6. Operation of the Fuel cell System 100

According to the present embodiment, in the fuel cell module 1A, air is supplied as the oxidant gas from the air supply system 20 to the fuel cell stack 10, and hydrogen is supplied from the hydrogen supply system 30 to the fuel cell stack 10. By these supplies, an electrochemical reaction is generated in the power generation unit of the MEGA or the MEA in the fuel cell stack 10, and electric power is generated. The generated electric power is stored in the battery 52 of the control system 50. The electric power of the battery 52 is supplied to the driving device 5 as a load through the control device 51, and the fuel cell vehicle 1 can travel by driving the driving device 5.

On the other hand, the fuel cell stack 10 is cooled by the first cooling portion 40A and controlled to a predetermined temperature range. Specifically, the coolant having a high temperature and circulated by the first pump 42A and passed through the fuel cell stack 10 is radiated by a radiator 43A provided at the front portion of the vehicle body 2 to be circulated at a low temperature. Ions are removed from the coolant by an ion exchanger 47 provided in the bypass passage in the middle.

In the second cooling unit 40B, the coolant is circulated by the second pump 42B to cool the high-voltage device 54A (see fig. 1) in which the converter 54 and the like are collected, the drive device 5, and the like. Specifically, the coolant having a high temperature obtained by integrating the high-voltage device 54A such as the converter 54 and the drive device 5 is radiated by the radiator 43B to have a low temperature and circulates.

7. The effect of the impact on the side surface of the fuel cell vehicle 1

It is assumed that an external force due to an impact acts on the side surface of the fuel cell vehicle 1 due to a collision or the like. Even in such a case, the radiator 43B attached to the outside of the fuel tank 31 in the vehicle width direction W deforms and serves as a shock absorbing member for the fuel tank 31. As a result, the impact on the fuel tank 31 can be reduced.

Here, since the flow path through which the coolant flows is formed in the radiator main body 43a, the radiator main body is easily deformed by an external force. However, a portion (for example, a rotation shaft body) of the fan 43b that blows air toward the radiator main body 43a, which portion is along the rotation shaft of the motor 43c, is less likely to deform than the radiator main body 43a. Even in such a case, since the axial center CL of the cylindrical portion 31a of the fuel tank 31 and the rotation axis RA of the fan 43b are offset, a portion along the rotation axis slides on the circumferential surface of the fuel tank 31, so that the impact on the fuel tank 31 can be reduced, and deformation and breakage can be suppressed.

The boundary 31d between the cylindrical portion 31a and each dome portion 31b of the fuel tank 31 is a portion having a lower strength than other portions of the fuel tank 31. However, since this portion is covered by the radiator main body 43a, deformation and breakage of the fuel tank 31 can be prevented even if an external force is applied by an impact.

While one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention described in the claims.

For example, the protrusion of the fan protruding toward the fuel tank may be a protrusion such as a casing covering the rotary shaft body, instead of the rotary shaft body itself.

Description of the reference numerals

1: fuel cell vehicle, 1A: fuel cell module, 2: vehicle body, 3: body frame, 3A: longitudinal beam, 5: drive device, 31: fuel tank, 31a: cylindrical portion, 31b: dome portion, 31d: interface, 40: cooling system, 43A, 43B: heat sink, 43a: radiator main body, 43b: fan, 43c: an electric motor.

Claims

1. A fuel cell vehicle is provided with: a vehicle main body; a drive device that drives the vehicle main body; a fuel cell system that supplies electric power to the drive device; and a cooling system that cools at least one of the drive device and constituent devices of the fuel cell system, characterized in that,

the vehicle body includes a vehicle body frame at a lower portion of the vehicle body,

the fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack and a plurality of fuel tanks for supplying fuel gas to the fuel cell stack,

the fuel tank has a cylindrical portion and a pair of dome portions formed at both ends of the cylindrical portion,

the vehicle body frame has a pair of side members extending in a front-rear direction of the vehicle body,

the cooling system is provided with a radiator which is provided with a radiator,

the fuel tank is attached to the vehicle body at an outer side of the side member in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle body such that an axial center of the cylindrical portion is along the front-rear direction,

the radiator is attached to the vehicle body at a position further outside in the vehicle width direction than the fuel tank so as to be aligned with the fuel tank.

2. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1,

the radiator is provided with a radiator main body for cooling liquid to flow and a fan for blowing air to the radiator main body,

the fan is disposed such that a rotation shaft of the fan is at a position offset in the vertical direction with respect to the axis of the cylindrical portion of the fuel tank.

3. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 2,

the radiator main body is disposed so as to cover a boundary between the cylindrical portion and each dome portion when the vehicle main body is viewed in a side view.