JP2006335212A - Fuel cell automobile - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect an apparatus such as a fuel cell installed under a body floor. <P>SOLUTION: A fuel cell automobile is driven by a fuel cell 2 to generate electric power through electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, in which a sub-frame 30 to which the fuel cell 2 is mounted is attached from below to the floor frame of an automobile body. The sub-frame 30 for the fuel cell is composed of left and right side frames 31 extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the body and a plurality of cross members extending across an automobile width and coupling the left and right side frames 31, and an under-guard 70 inclining downward as going toward the back of the body is installed in the front of the sub-frame 30 in such an arrangement that the tail of the under-guard 70 is tied with the cross-member located in the forefront of the body while the front end of the under-guard 70 is tied with the body frame. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell vehicle that travels by driving a driving motor with a fuel cell.

In this type of fuel cell vehicle, a sub-frame on which a fuel cell and its auxiliary equipment are mounted is fastened to a vehicle body skeleton member from below and disposed under the vehicle body floor (for example, Patent Documents). 1).
JP 2003-182624 A

By the way, when the fuel cell or the like is mounted on the subframe and disposed below the vehicle body floor as described above, it is necessary to consider that an obstacle on the road does not interfere with the fuel cell or the like.
One method is to cover the entire device such as a fuel cell mounted on the subframe with a cover, but there is a problem that the weight increases.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a fuel cell vehicle capable of protecting a fuel cell or the like from an obstacle or the like under a vehicle body floor while being lightweight and simple in structure.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a fuel cell sub-frame (for example, a fuel cell 2 in an embodiment to be described later) on which a power generation is performed by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. For example, a fuel cell vehicle (for example, fuel in an embodiment described later) in which a fuel cell subframe 30 in an embodiment described later is attached to a floor frame of the vehicle body (for example, a floor frame 19 in an embodiment described later) from below. In the battery car 1), the fuel cell sub-frame includes left and right side frames extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body (for example, a side frame 31 in an embodiment described later) and the left and right side frames extending in the vehicle width direction. Are connected to a plurality of cross members (for example, cross members 40A to 40E in the embodiments described later). An under guard (for example, an under guard 70 in an embodiment to be described later) is provided in front of the fuel cell subframe, and the rear end of the under guard is It is connected to the cross member (for example, the cross member 40A in the embodiment described later) disposed on the most front side of the vehicle body, and the front end of the under guard is connected to the vehicle body frame (for example, the lower cross 100 in the embodiment described later). This is a fuel cell vehicle.
With this configuration, when an obstacle exists under the vehicle body floor when the vehicle moves forward, the obstacle can be guided to the lower side of the subframe by the under guard, and the fuel mounted on the subframe It is possible to prevent devices such as batteries from interfering with obstacles. The under guard is lightweight and can be easily constructed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the fuel cell or the like mounted on the subframe from interfering with an obstacle under the vehicle floor, so that the fuel cell or the like can be protected.

Embodiments of a fuel cell vehicle according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings of FIGS. Note that the front, rear, left and right arrows in the figure indicate the front, rear, left and right of the vehicle body, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 1, a fuel cell vehicle 1 is equipped with a fuel cell 2 that generates electricity by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, and travels by driving a traveling motor 3 with electric power generated by the power generation. To do.

  An outline of the fuel cell system will be described with reference to FIG. 2. Air containing oxygen that has been pressurized by the compressor 4 is humidified by a humidifier 5 and supplied to the cathode of the fuel cell 2. After being discharged from the battery 2 and flowing through the humidifier 5 as a humidification source, it is discharged via the pressure control valve 6. On the other hand, the hydrogen gas in the hydrogen tank 7 is decompressed by the regulator 8 and supplied to the anode of the fuel cell 2 via the ejector 9, and the surplus hydrogen gas is discharged from the fuel cell 2 and sucked into the ejector 9. 7 joins with fresh hydrogen gas sent out from the fuel cell 7 and is supplied to the fuel cell 2 again. In the following description, the devices related to air supply / discharge such as the humidifier 5 and the pressure control valve 6 are collectively referred to as the air supply / exhaust device 10, and the devices related to hydrogen supply such as the regulator 8 and the ejector 9 are hydrogen-circulated. Collectively referred to as device 11.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the traveling motor 3 and the compressor 4 are mounted on a motor subframe 16 (see FIG. 3) and are installed in the vicinity of the front tire 15A. 2, the high-voltage equipment 12, 12 for controlling the fuel cells 2, 2, the air supply / exhaust device 10, and the hydrogen circulation device 11 are mounted on the fuel cell sub-frame 30 (see FIG. 3) and below the front seat S. The hydrogen tank 7 is mounted on the hydrogen tank subframe 90 (see FIG. 3) together with the capacitor 13 and is installed in the lower floor area below the rear floor 18 at the rear of the vehicle body. Yes. The capacitor 13 stores regenerative power from the traveling motor 3 when the fuel cell vehicle 1 is decelerated. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 14 denotes a radiator for cooling the cooling water circulating through the fuel cell 2 and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a floor frame 19 having a hat-shaped cross section extending in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body is joined to the left and right sides of the lower surfaces of the front floor 17 and the rear floor 18 by a flange portion 19a. A vehicle body frame portion 20 is formed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body by the rear floor 18. A fuel cell subframe 30 is fastened to the lower wall 19b of the floor frame 19 from below by bolts 55 and nuts 56. Similarly, although not shown, the lower frame 19b of the floor frame 19 is viewed from below. The hydrogen tank subframe 90 is fastened by bolts and nuts. The fuel cell sub-frame 30 and the hydrogen tank sub-frame 90 are arranged slightly apart from each other in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the fuel cell subframe 30 includes a pair of left and right side frames 31, 31 that extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and the left and right side frames 31, 31 that extend in the vehicle width direction. Five cross members 40A, 40B, 40C, 40D, and 40E (hereinafter referred to as cross members 40 if there is no need to distinguish between them) and the lower part of the cross member 40 so as to block between the adjacent cross members 40 and 40 The four bottom plates 60, 60,.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the side frame 31 is formed by welding an upper side frame 32 and a lower side frame 33 having a hat-shaped cross-section formed by press molding or hydroforming aluminum at a flange portion 34. It is comprised by the substantially rectangular closed cross-sectional shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the fuel cell sub-frame 30 is disposed between the front tire 15A and the rear tire 15B slightly forward of the center, and the upper surface of the side frame 31 is the front and rear of the vehicle body. The height from the tire contact surface G is constant at any position in the direction, but the lower surface of the side frame 31 is curved, and the tire contact is made at the substantially central portion C of the front tire 15A and the rear tire 15B. The height from the ground G is the highest, and the height of the lower surface of the side frame 31 gradually decreases as the vehicle moves forward or backward from the body. In this embodiment, the member dimension in the height direction of the lower side frame 33 is constant over the entire length in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the member dimension in the height direction of the upper side frame 32 depends on the position in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Have changed.

On the other hand, the cross member 40 is formed by extruding aluminum into a substantially rectangular closed cross-sectional shape, and has a flange portion 41 at the bottom. And the opening 35a is formed inside the peak part 35 in the upper side frame 32, and the edge part of the cross member 40 is inserted from this opening 35a.
The third cross member 40C from the front side of the vehicle body is disposed in the vicinity of the portion C where the height of the lower surface of the side frame 31 is the highest. The member dimension in the height direction of the cross member 40C is five. It is the smallest among the cross members 40A to 40E. The member dimension in the height direction of the cross member 40A arranged at the most front side of the vehicle body is larger than that of the cross member 40C, and the member dimension in the height direction of the second cross member 40B from the vehicle body front side is that of the cross member 40A. Smaller than that of the cross member 40C. Further, the member dimension in the height direction of the cross member 40E arranged on the rearmost side of the vehicle body is larger than that of the cross member 40C, and the member dimension in the height direction of the second cross member 40D from the vehicle body rear side is It is smaller than that of the member 40E and larger than that of the cross member 40C.

  The end of each cross member 40 is inserted into the side frame 31 from the opening 35 a of the upper side frame 32, and is fastened to the floor frame 19 together with the side frame 31. More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the end of the cross member 40 and the portion inserted into the side frame 31 extend from the lower wall 43 of the cross member 40 to the side walls 44, 44. An opening 45 is formed, and a bolt insertion hole 42 a is formed in the upper wall 42. Further, the lower side frame 33 is provided with a circular hole 37 at a portion facing the opening 45 of the cross member 40, and a recess 38 is formed around the hole 37 to be recessed toward the upper side frame 32.

  A stepped cylindrical collar 50 is inserted into the hole 37 from the lower side of the lower side frame 33. The collar 50 is made of aluminum, and a large-diameter cylindrical portion 51 whose outer diameter is larger than the dimension between the side walls 44 and 44 of the cross member 40 and a small-diameter cylindrical portion 52 that can be inserted between the side walls 44 and 44 are connected coaxially. A flange portion 53 is formed in an annular shape at the lower end of the large diameter cylindrical portion 51, and has a through hole 54 that penetrates the small diameter cylindrical portion 52. The large-diameter cylindrical portion 51 and the small-diameter cylindrical portion 52 are inserted into the side frame 31 through the hole 37, and the flange portion 53 is in contact with the concave portion 38 of the lower side frame 33 and fixed by welding. The large diameter cylindrical portion 51 is inserted into the opening 45, and the upper wall 51 a of the large diameter cylindrical portion 51 is abutted against the upper edge 45 a of the opening 45 in the side wall 44 of the cross member 40, and between the side walls 44, 44 of the cross member 40. The upper wall 52 a of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 52 inserted into the upper surface of the cross member 40 is abutted against the inner surface of the upper wall 42 of the cross member 40. The seated bolt 55 is inserted from below the collar 50 into the through hole 54 of the collar 50, the bolt insertion hole 42a of the cross member 40, the bolt insertion hole 35b of the upper side frame 32, and the bolt insertion hole of the floor frame 19. (Not shown) is inserted and screwed into a nut 56 welded to the floor frame 19 (see FIG. 4). As a result, the cross member 40 is pressed upward by the collar 50, and the upper wall 42 of the cross member 40 comes into pressure contact with the upper wall 36 of the peak portion 35 of the upper side frame 32.

Each bottom plate 60 is riveted to the flange portion 34 of the side frame 31 and the flange portion 41 of the cross member 40.
In the fuel cell subframe 30 configured as described above, the upper side frame 32 and the lower side frame 33 sandwich the end of the cross member 40 with the collar 50 interposed therebetween. The ends of the frame 33 and the cross member 40 are integrally fastened to the floor frame 19 by a common bolt 55.

As shown in FIG. 7, the fuel cells 2 and 2 are disposed between the second and third cross members 40B and 40C from the front side of the vehicle body in the fuel cell subframe 30, and as shown in FIG. The lower ends 2a of the fuel cells 2, 2 are positioned between the lower ends and the upper ends of the cross members 40B, 40C. Then, the brackets 58, 58 are fixed to the front wall and the rear wall of the fuel cell 2 with bolts 57, and the brackets 58, 58 are fixed to the upper walls 42 of the cross members 40B, 40C with bolts 59. , 2 are attached to the sub-frame 30 for the fuel cell. That is, in this embodiment, the fuel cells 2 and 2 are fastened to the cross member 40C disposed at the rear end portion in the vicinity of the center between the front and rear wheel tires 15A and 15B, and more than the center between the front and rear wheel tires 15A and 15B. It arrange | positions at the vehicle body front side, and is arrange | positioned under the front seat S as shown in FIG.
Since the lower part of the fuel cells 2 and 2 is buried in the subframe 30 as described above, the fuel cell subframe 30 and the fuel cells 2 and 2 are partially overlapped in the height direction. The height dimension as a unit from the lower surface of the subframe 30 to the upper surfaces of the fuel cells 2 and 2 can be kept low, and as a result, the height of the front floor 17 can be reduced to reduce the vehicle floor. it can.
Further, since the lower surface of the side frame 31 is curved as described above, the road surface and the side frame 31 at the center portion between the front and rear wheel tires 15A and 15B even when the vehicle runs on a road surface that is convexly curved upward. It is possible to reduce the floor of the vehicle while ensuring the necessary minimum clearance with the lower end of the vehicle.

  The high voltage electrical equipments 12 and 12 are disposed on the front side of the vehicle body relative to the fuel cells 2 and 2 and are mounted between the cross members 40A and 40B. The air supply / exhaust device 10 and the hydrogen circulation device 11 are located on the vehicle body side of the fuel cells 2 and 2. It arrange | positions at the rear side and is attached on cross member 40D, 40E. In the figure, reference numeral 21 denotes a piping space in which a manifold and the like are arranged.

As shown in FIG. 3, an under guard 70 is provided immediately in front of the fuel cell subframe 30. FIG. 11 is a side view of the under guard 70, and FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the under guard 70 attached to the fuel cell subframe 30 as viewed obliquely from below.
The under guard 70 is made of aluminum, the front end side is arranged higher than the rear end side, and is formed in a shape that inclines downward as it proceeds to the rear of the vehicle body. More specifically, the under guard 70 is disposed on the front end side and has a flat plate-like mounting flange portion 71 that is inclined downward as it advances toward the rear of the vehicle body, and a vertical portion 72 that extends vertically downward from the rear end of the mounting flange portion 71. The inclined portion 73 is connected to the lower end of the vertical portion 72 and inclines downward as it advances toward the rear of the vehicle body, and the overhang portion 74 extends horizontally from the rear end of the inclined portion 73 to the rear of the vehicle body. A plurality of reinforcing ribs 79 are provided at predetermined intervals in the vehicle width direction at the connecting portion between the portion 72 and the inclined portion 73, and a horizontal wall portion 75 a is provided at the connecting portion between the inclined portion 73 and the overhang portion 74. Concave portions 75 are provided at predetermined intervals in the vehicle width direction. Further, the under guard 70 is formed with an opening 76 through which the piping such as a refrigerant pipe for circulating the cooling water between the radiator 14 and the fuel cell 2 is inserted from the mounting flange portion 71 to the inclined portion 73. The opening 76 is provided with a rib 80 over the entire circumference, and a predetermined portion of the rib 80 is provided with an attachment hole 80a for stopping refrigerant piping, electric wiring, and the like.

The horizontal wall portion 75a of the recess 75 is disposed below the flange portion 41 of the cross member 40A disposed on the most front side of the vehicle body, and is fastened to the flange portion 41 by bolts 77a and nuts 77b. It covers the lower side of the front end of the lower wall 43 of the cross member 40A. The mounting flange portion 71 is fastened to a lower cross (body frame) 100 constituting a dashboard skeleton by bolts 78a and nuts 78b. That is, the rear end of the under guard 70 is connected to the cross member 40A disposed on the most front side of the vehicle body, and the front end is connected to the vehicle body frame.
By providing the under guard 70 in front of the fuel cell subframe 30 as described above, when there is an obstacle under the vehicle body floor when the vehicle is moving forward, the obstacle is detected by the under guard 70. As a result, it is possible to prevent the devices mounted on the fuel cell subframe 30 such as the high-voltage piezoelectric device 12 and the fuel cell 2 from interfering with an obstacle. Further, since the fixing bolt 77a is provided on the horizontal wall 75a of the recess 75 recessed inward from the inclined portion 73, when the under guard 70 guides the obstacle downward, the head of the bolt 77a. Will not interfere. Further, since the under guard 70 is only disposed in a limited area in front of the fuel cell subframe 30, the structure is simplified and the weight can be reduced.

Further, the cross member 40E disposed on the most rear side of the vehicle body in the subframe 30 is connected to the hydrogen tank subframe 90 via the two connecting arms 22 and 22, as shown in FIGS. .
The hydrogen tank sub-frame 90 is made of aluminum, and has six posts 91, 91... And main members 92, 92. .. Are fastened to the lower wall 19b of the floor frame 19 from below by bolts (not shown). The hydrogen tank subframe 90 has a capacitor 13 attached to the front side of the vehicle body with respect to the member 92 disposed in the center, and the hydrogen tank 7 is fixed to the rear side of the vehicle body with respect to the member 92 by a band 93. The total weight of the devices (hydrogen tank 7 and capacitor 13) mounted on the hydrogen tank subframe 90 is sufficiently larger than the total weight of the devices (fuel cells 2, 2 etc.) mounted on the fuel cell subframe 30. Accordingly, the hydrogen tank subframe 90 is designed to have a mechanical strength greater than that of the fuel cell subframe 30. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14, when the member 92 disposed on the most front side of the vehicle body in the hydrogen tank subframe 90 and the cross member 40E disposed on the most rear side of the vehicle body in the fuel cell subframe 30 are compared, No. 92 has an extremely large cross-sectional secondary moment than the cross member 40E.

  In this embodiment, the cross member 40E is connected by a connecting arm 22 to a member 92 arranged on the most front side of the vehicle body in the hydrogen tank subframe 90. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the connecting arm 22 has a substantially L shape, one end of which is fixed to the rear wall of the cross member 40E by a bolt 23a and a nut 23b, and the other end by a bolt 25a and a nut 25b. It is fixed to a pedestal 94 fixed to the lower wall of the member 92 by welding. Since the cross member 40E of the fuel cell subframe 30 is connected to the member 92 of the hydrogen tank subframe 90 in this manner, the load load on the cross member 40E can be reduced, so that the strength of the cross member 40E can be reduced. Thus, the weight of the fuel cell subframe 30 can be reduced and the weight can be reduced. For example, in this embodiment, the cross member 40E is formed in a closed cross-sectional shape like the other cross members 40A to 40D, but the cross member 40E can also be formed in an open cross-sectional shape.

[Other Examples]
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.
For example, the cross-sectional shapes of the side frames and cross members of the sub-frame for fuel cells are not limited to those of the embodiments. Further, the number of cross members is not limited to five in the embodiment.

It is the equipment arrangement figure which looked at the fuel cell automobile concerning this invention from the side. It is a schematic block diagram of the fuel cell system mounted in the said fuel cell vehicle. FIG. 3 is a layout view of each subframe in the fuel cell vehicle. It is a figure which shows the attachment state to the vehicle body of the sub-frame for fuel cells in the said fuel cell vehicle seen from the vehicle rear. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the fuel cell subframe. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the fuel cell subframe. It is a top view of the sub-frame for fuel cells in a device mounting state. It is a perspective view of the connection part of the side frame and cross member in the said sub-frame for fuel cells. It is sectional drawing of the said connection part. It is a side view which shows the mounting state to the sub-frame for fuel cells of the said fuel cell. It is a side view of the under guard provided in front of the fuel cell subframe. It is the perspective view which looked at the said under guard attached to the said sub-frame for fuel cells from diagonally downward. It is a top view of the connection part of the sub-frame for fuel cells and the sub-frame for hydrogen tanks. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Fuel cell vehicle 2 Fuel cell 19 Floor frame 30 Subframe 31 for fuel cells Side frame 40, 40A-40E Cross member 70 Under guard 100 Lower cross (body frame)

Claims (1)

A fuel cell vehicle in which a fuel cell subframe equipped with a fuel cell that generates electricity by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen is attached to the floor frame of the vehicle body from below,
The fuel cell subframe includes left and right side frames extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and a plurality of cross members extending in the vehicle width direction and connecting the left and right side frames.
An under guard that inclines downward as it advances toward the rear of the vehicle body is provided in front of the fuel cell subframe, and a rear end of the under guard is connected to the cross member that is disposed on the most front side of the vehicle body. The front end of the fuel cell vehicle is connected to a vehicle body frame.

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