JP2006240472A - Vehicle rear part structure - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle rear part structure capable of preventing breakage of a power supply without occurrence of any electric failure of a driving system of a vehicle when the vehicle is subjected to an impact from a rear side. <P>SOLUTION: An inverter 16 to control the supply of the power to a drive motor 13 from a high-voltage battery 15 arranged in a rear part 11b of a vehicle 11 is stored in a storage part 21 provided below a trunk room 17, and an airbag 19 to be developed so as to absorb the impact load received from a lower part 22a of a rear bumper 22 via a rear wall 21a of the storage part 21 when the vehicle 11 is subjected to an impact from the rear side. When an airbag 19 is developed, the inverter 16 is pushed upwardly to the position higher than the lower part 22a of the rear bumper 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to the structure of the rear part of a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a hybrid-type automobile that includes an engine and a drive motor as a vehicle driving source and can switch the driving of the vehicle between an engine driving and a motor driving according to the driving state of the vehicle (for example, Patent Document 1). In this hybrid vehicle, a power source for supplying drive power to the drive motor is disposed at the rear of the vehicle, and a spare tire is disposed behind the power source.

  This hybrid vehicle also prevents the spare tire from interfering with the power supply when the vehicle receives an impact from the rear and the spare tire moves forward due to the impact load acting on the spare tire. In order to achieve this, a jumping member is provided for springing up the spare tire so as to avoid the power supply by using an impact load acting on the spare tire. Thereby, when the vehicle receives an impact from the rear, it is possible to prevent damage to the power source due to interference of the spare tire with the power source.

In addition, since the spare tire itself is not a part that is electrically incorporated in the vehicle, even if it is damaged due to an impact load that is received during a collision from the rear of the vehicle, the failure causes an electrical failure in the vehicle. There is nothing.
JP 2004-58696 A (page 3-5, FIG. 1)

  However, since the spare tire is moved by utilizing the impact load acting on the spare tire when the vehicle receives an impact from the rear, the drive motor from the power source is replaced with the spare tire on the vehicle rear side of the power source. In a vehicle in which a control device that electrically controls the supply of electric power to the vehicle is disposed, if the control device is damaged by an impact load that is applied when the vehicle receives an impact from the rear, the drive system of the vehicle is electrically Failure will occur.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to cause an electrical failure of the drive system of the vehicle due to breakage of the control device even when the control device is disposed on the vehicle rear side of the power source when the vehicle receives an impact from the rear. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle rear structure that can prevent the power supply from being damaged.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a power source for supplying driving power to a drive motor that is disposed at the rear of a vehicle and that drives the vehicle, and is disposed behind the power source, from the power source. A control device for controlling the supply of electric power to the drive motor, and for absorbing the impact load so as to reduce the impact load acting on the control device when the vehicle receives an impact from behind. And an airbag.

  In the above configuration, when the vehicle receives an impact from behind, the impact load received from the rear of the vehicle is absorbed by the airbag, so that the impact load acting on the control device can be reliably reduced as compared with the conventional case. it can. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the control device from being damaged by the impact load acting on the control device when the vehicle receives an impact from the rear. Therefore, when the vehicle receives an impact from behind, an electrical failure of the drive system of the vehicle due to breakage of the control device can be reliably prevented.

  In addition, even if the control device interferes with the power supply, the shock load is absorbed by the airbag before the control device interferes with the power supply because the control device moves toward the front of the vehicle due to the impact load received by the airbag. As a result, the impact load acting on the control device is reduced, so that damage to the power source due to the control device interfering with the power source can be reliably suppressed.

  According to the present invention, even when a control device for controlling the supply of electric power from the power source to the drive motor is arranged on the rear side of the power source for driving the drive motor, the vehicle receives an impact from the rear side. In addition, the power supply can be reliably prevented from being damaged without causing an electrical failure of the vehicle drive system due to the damage of the control device.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

  FIG. 1 shows an example in which a vehicle rear structure 10 according to the present invention is applied to a hybrid type vehicle 11. The hybrid vehicle according to the present invention includes, for example, a gasoline engine 12 and an electric drive motor 13 that are travel drive sources. The engine 12 and the drive motor 13 are disposed in an engine room 14 provided in the front portion 11a of the vehicle 11, respectively.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 11 according to the present invention includes a power source 15 for supplying drive power to the drive motor 13 and a control device for controlling the supply of power from the power source to the drive motor 13. 16.

  In the illustrated example, the power source 15 is configured by a well-known high voltage battery 15 having a voltage higher than that of a battery used in a normal vehicle 11 driven by, for example, a gasoline engine 12. Has been placed. The rear portion 11b of the vehicle 11 is provided with a well-known trunk room 17 for accommodating luggage, for example, and a power source 15, that is, a high voltage battery 15 is provided in the trunk room 17 as shown in FIG. It is arranged in the vicinity of the partition wall 17a that separates the vehicle compartment 18 from the vehicle. On the high voltage battery 15, an airbag control device 20 for controlling the deployment of an airbag 19 described later is disposed.

  In the illustrated example, the control device 16 for controlling the power supply from the high voltage battery 15 to the drive motor 13 is a well-known inverter 16 that controls the power supply to the drive motor 13 by changing the duty ratio. And is stored in a storage portion 21 provided below the trunk room 17.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the storage portion 21 has a box shape that opens upward, and the opening edge portion 21 a is provided in contact with the rear floor 17 b that defines the bottom of the trunk room 17. The rear floor 17b is set to be cleaved by an upward pressing force received from the airbag 19 when the airbag 19 described later is deployed. A rear bumper 22 is attached to the rear wall 21a located on the rear side of the storage portion 21 when the vehicle 11 receives an impact from behind. The rear bumper 22 has a U-shaped longitudinal section that opens toward the inside of the vehicle 11, and is attached to the rear wall 21 a of the storage portion 21 at a lower portion 22 a thereof. Thereby, the impact load received by the rear bumper 22 when the vehicle receives an impact from behind is transmitted from the lower portion 22a of the rear bumper 22 to the rear wall 21a of the storage portion 21.

  An impact sensor 23 that detects that the vehicle 11 has received an impact from the rear is disposed inside the rear bumper 22. When the vehicle 11 receives an impact from behind, the impact sensor 23 sends a signal indicating that to the airbag control device 20.

  Further, in the storage portion 21, the above-described airbag 19 for absorbing an impact load that acts on the lower side 22 a of the rear bumper 22 via the rear wall 21 a of the storage portion 21 below the control device 16, that is, the inverter 16. Is arranged. The airbag 19 is deployed under the control of the airbag control device 20 when the vehicle 11 receives an impact from behind. In the illustrated example, the size of the vehicle 19 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle when the airbag 19 is deployed is larger than the width dimension of the inverter 16 disposed on the airbag 19 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. Is set to a size that pushes up the inverter 16 to a height position higher than the lower portion 22 a of the rear bumper 22.

  The high voltage battery 15 and the inverter 16 are connected to each other by a wire harness 24 for driving and controlling the drive motor 13. As shown in FIG. 2, the wire harness 24 extends from the high voltage battery 15 through the rear floor 17b of the trunk room 17 into the storage portion 21, and is connected to the inverter 16 through the storage portion. The wire harness 24 is divided into a first harness 25 whose one end 25 a is connected to the high voltage battery 15 and a second harness 26 whose one end 26 a is connected to the inverter 16. In the illustrated example, connectors 27a and 27b that can be connected to each other are provided at the other ends 25b and 26b of the first and second harnesses 25 and 26, respectively. The first and second harnesses 25 and 26 are detachably connected to each other by connecting the connectors 27a and 27b to each other. Each connector 27a, 27b constitutes a connecting portion 27 that connects the first and second harnesses 25, 26 to each other. The connectors 27a and 27b are disconnected from each other by the upward pulling force received from the inverter 16 when the inverter 16 is pushed upward when the airbag 19 is deployed.

  In the hybrid vehicle according to the present invention, for example, when the vehicle 11 is started or accelerated, a load is applied to the engine 12 and the fuel consumption increases, so that the high voltage battery 15 and the wire harness 24 are controlled under the control of the inverter 16. Then, drive power is supplied to the drive motor 13, thereby driving the drive motor 13. As a result, the drive source of the vehicle 11 is switched from the engine 12 to the drive motor 13, or the drive motor 13 is driven together with the engine 12, so that the burden on the engine 12 can be reduced and the fuel consumption can be reduced. it can.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the airbag 19 when the vehicle 11 receives an impact from behind will be described. When the vehicle 11 receives an impact from the rear, as described above, the impact sensor 23 provided inside the rear bumper 22 detects the impact, and a signal indicating that the vehicle 11 has received an impact from the rear is sent to the air. Send to bag control device 20. When receiving the signal from the impact sensor 23, the airbag control device 20 deploys the airbag 19 as described above. Since the size of the vehicle 19 in the vertical direction when the airbag 19 is deployed is set to a size that pushes up the inverter 16 to a height position higher than the lower portion 22a of the rear bumper 22, as described above. As shown in FIG. 3, the inverter 16 is pushed upward to open the rear floor 17 b of the trunk room 17 and move from the storage portion 21 into the trunk room 17. Thereby, it is possible to avoid the inverter 16 directly receiving an impact load from the lower portion 22a of the rear bumper 22 through the rear wall 21a of the storage portion 21. At this time, as described above, the connection of the connectors 27a and 27b for detachably connecting the first and second harnesses 25 and 26 to each other is pulled from the inverter 16 moved upward by the deployment of the airbag 19. It is released by force. Thereby, when the airbag 19 is deployed, disconnection of the wire harness due to a load applied to the wire harness 24 due to the tensile force received from the inverter 16 is prevented. Further, since the size of the vehicle 19 in the front-rear direction when the airbag 19 is deployed is larger than the width dimension of the inverter 16 disposed on the airbag 19 in the vehicle front-rear direction, as described above, The impact load received from the rear bumper 22 through the wall 21a can be more reliably absorbed by the airbag 19 without directly acting on the inverter 16.

  Thus, when the vehicle 11 receives an impact from the rear, the airbag 19 disposed below the inverter 16 is deployed, so that the impact load is absorbed by the airbag, and the inverter 16 is connected to the rear bumper 22. Since it is pushed up to a height position higher than the lower portion 22a, the impact load acting on the inverter 16 from the rear bumper 22 through the rear wall 21a of the storage portion 21 can be reliably reduced as compared with the conventional case. As a result, the inverter 16 is prevented from being damaged by the impact load from the rear bumper 22. Therefore, when the vehicle 11 receives an impact from behind, the inverter 16 is damaged and the electric drive system of the vehicle 11 is electrically A failure can be reliably prevented.

  Further, when the inverter 16 on the airbag 19 moves toward the front of the vehicle 11 due to the impact load received from the rear bumper 22 when the vehicle 11 receives an impact from the rear, the inverter 16 controls the high voltage battery 15 and the airbag control. Even if it interferes with the device 20, since the impact load from the rear bumper 22 is absorbed by the airbag 19 before the inverter 16 interferes with the high voltage battery 15 and the airbag control device 20, the inverter 16 becomes high voltage battery. Damage to the high-voltage battery 15 and the airbag control device 20 due to interference with 15 can be reliably suppressed.

  Therefore, when the vehicle 11 receives an impact from the rear, the inverter 16 disposed on the vehicle rear side of the high voltage battery 15 is damaged, and the high voltage battery does not cause an electrical failure of the drive system of the vehicle 11. 15 can be reliably prevented.

  Further, as described above, the connection of the connectors 27a and 27b that detachably connect the first harness 25 and the second harness 26 is received from the inverter 16 pushed upward by the deployment of the airbag 19. Since it is released by the upward pulling force, disconnection of the wire harness 24 due to the pulling force from the inverter 16 can be reliably prevented. Also, since the first and second harnesses 25 and 26 are connected to each other by the connectors 27a and 27b, when the connectors 27a and 27b are released and then connected again, special repairs are made. Without application, the first and second harnesses 25 and 26 can be easily connected to each other.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the inverter 16 is accommodated in the accommodating portion 21 provided below the trunk room 17 is shown, but instead, the inverter 16 can be disposed in the trunk room 17, for example. In this case, when the airbag 19 disposed below the inverter 16 is deployed, the height of the inverter 16 is above the high voltage battery 15 and below the trunk lid that covers the trunk room 17 from above. The bag 19 can be deployed. Thus, as described above, when the vehicle 11 receives an impact from the rear, it is possible to reliably prevent the inverter 16 from being damaged by the impact load received from the rear of the vehicle 11, and from the rear of the vehicle 11. By absorbing the impact load by the airbag 19, the impact on the high voltage battery 15 can be more reliably mitigated.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the example in which the airbag 19 is disposed below the inverter 16 has been shown, but instead, for example, the airbag 19 can be disposed on the vehicle rear side of the inverter 16.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the rear floor 17b of the trunk room 17 is torn by the deployment of the airbag 19 is shown, but instead, an opening that allows the inverter 16 to be inserted is formed in the rear floor 17b, A door that opens the opening by an upward pressing force received from the airbag when the airbag 19 is deployed can be provided. Thereby, when the airbag 19 is deployed at the time of a collision from the rear of the vehicle 11, the inverter 16 can be reliably moved from the storage portion 21 into the trunk room 17.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a hybrid vehicle including the engine 12 and the drive motor 13 as a travel drive source has been described. Instead, the drive motor is used without using the engine 12 as a travel drive source. The present invention can be applied to an electric vehicle using only 13.

1 is a plan view schematically showing a vehicle in which a vehicle body rear structure according to the present invention is used. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along the II line | wire of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which the airbag which concerns on this invention expand | deployed.

Explanation of symbols

11 Vehicle 11b Rear portion 13 Drive motor 15 Power supply (high voltage battery)
16 Control device (inverter)
22 Rear Bumper 19 Airbag 10 Vehicle Rear Structure 24 Wire Harness 25 First Harness 26 Second Harness 27 Connection Portion

Claims (4)

  A power source disposed at the rear of the vehicle for supplying drive power to a drive motor for running the vehicle, and disposed behind the power source for controlling power supply from the power source to the drive motor And a airbag for absorbing the impact load so as to reduce the impact load acting on the control device when the vehicle receives an impact from behind the vehicle. Construction.   The control device is disposed between a rear bumper provided at the rear portion of the vehicle and the power source so as to mitigate the impact when the vehicle receives an impact from behind, and the airbag. Is arranged below the control device, and when the vehicle receives an impact from behind, the control device is moved upward to a height position higher than the rear bumper. The vehicle rear structure according to claim 1.   The control device and the power source are connected to each other by a wire harness to control driving of the drive motor, and the wire harness includes a first harness including one end connected to the power source, and the control device. A second harness including the other end connected to the first harness, wherein the first harness and the second harness are detachably connected to each other via a connection portion. The vehicle rear part structure according to claim 1 or claim 2.   4. The connection of the connecting portion is released by an upward pulling force received from the control device by the upward movement of the control device when the airbag is deployed. The vehicle rear structure as described.

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