JP2009078624A - Fuel cell vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fuel cell vehicle improved in vehicle motion performance and vehicle handling stability. <P>SOLUTION: The fuel cell vehicle 1 is provided with: a fuel cylinder 31 for storing a fuel gas such as a hydrogen gas; a fuel cell 32 for generating electricity, supplied with the fuel gas; and a secondary battery 33, and travels by driving a motor 34 with electric power generated by the fuel cell 32. At least the fuel cell 32, the fuel cylinder 31, and the secondary battery 33 are arranged and supported in the state that they are substantially overlap with each other, in the front position of a vehicle body between a head pipe 3 provided in the front end of a vehicle body frame 2 and supporting and steering a front wheel 12, and a driver seat 20 supported by the rear part of the vehicle body frame 2 above a rear wheel 19. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell vehicle.

  A fuel cell vehicle is a fuel cylinder that stores fuel gas (for example, hydrogen gas) as a main component, a fuel cell that generates power by receiving the supply of the fuel gas, a secondary battery such as a battery, and a prime mover of the vehicle. And a control device for controlling the motor and the fuel cell.

  Many motorcycle-type fuel cell vehicles have a scooter type vehicle in which most of the vehicle body is covered with a cover, and the main components can be arranged in the cover without exposing them to the outside, and the degree of freedom in layout is high.

As an example of the arrangement of each component of the scooter type fuel cell vehicle, for example, the fuel cell is arranged in front of the operation seat, while the fuel cylinder, the secondary battery, and the control device are distributed in front and below the operation seat. (See, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP 2005-28988 A JP 2007-83953 A

  However, if heavy components such as fuel cylinders and secondary batteries are dispersedly arranged in various parts of the vehicle, there is a possibility that the motion performance and steering stability of the vehicle will be lowered. In addition, the dispersed arrangement of components increases the number of assembly steps on the production line, such as complicated wiring of electric wires for connecting the components at the time of assembling the vehicle, and hinders reduction in the manufacturing cost of the vehicle.

  Furthermore, if a component is disposed below the operation seat, a container or the like cannot be formed in the space below the operation seat.

  By the way, for example, as a fuel cylinder for storing hydrogen gas, an ultra-high pressure cylinder is generally used so that high-pressure hydrogen gas can be stored in order to increase energy density. However, such a fuel cylinder does not have a degree of freedom of shape such as a part of which is recessed like a fuel tank that stores liquid fuel such as gasoline or methanol. As a result, for example, if a hydrogen fuel cylinder is disposed between the lower side of the driving seat and the rear wheel, the seating surface of the driving seat becomes high, and the foot-holding property when the vehicle stops is not good.

  In the case of a sports-oriented fuel cell motorcycle different from a scooter type fuel cell motorcycle, it is difficult to cover all components with a cover, and it is also difficult to disperse each component.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a fuel cell vehicle in which the motion performance and steering stability of the vehicle are improved.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, a fuel cell vehicle according to the present invention generates a power by receiving a fuel cylinder for storing a fuel gas such as hydrogen gas and the supply of the fuel gas. In a fuel cell vehicle that includes a fuel cell and a secondary battery and travels by driving a motor with electric power generated by the fuel cell, a head pipe provided at the front end of a vehicle body frame that supports a front wheel in a steerable manner; At least three of the fuel cell, the fuel cylinder, and the secondary battery are arranged on the vehicle body at a position in the front of the vehicle body above the rear wheel and the driving seat supported on the rear of the vehicle body frame. It is a support.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, as described in claim 2, the vehicle body frame includes the head pipe and a down extending from the rear surface of the head pipe toward the rear side of the front wheel. A frame member, a pivot bracket member that includes a swing pivot portion on which a front end of a rear swing arm that pivotally supports the rear wheel rotatably at the rear end is pivotally mounted, and extends rearward and upward; and the head pipe A main frame member extending linearly from the rear surface toward the front lower end portion of the pivot bracket member and obliquely downward after the vehicle side view, and a front end connected to a lower portion of the down frame member, and a rear end of the pivot bracket member A seat frame that is supported by the upper end of the pivot bracket member and extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle by intersecting in an X shape at a substantially middle portion of the main frame member. The fuel cell, the fuel cylinder, and the secondary battery, which are disposed on the vehicle body in a state of being substantially vertically overlapped with each other, have the fuel cylinder at the center portion, and the fuel cell or Each of the secondary batteries is disposed, and the fuel cylinder is disposed so as to overlap between the pair of left and right seat frame members.

  Furthermore, in order to solve the above-described problem, as described in claim 3, the fuel cell is provided with an air-cooling type cooling device, and the exhaust air after cooling the fuel cell is discharged toward the fuel cylinder. Thus, the fuel cell is disposed above the fuel cylinder.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, as described in claim 4, the fuel cell vehicle system control device includes a power control device that controls the generated power of the fuel cell, the power control device, and the power control device. A power conversion / distribution device that converts the power from the secondary battery into a 12V power source and supplies the power to each component, and converts the DC power supplied from the power conversion / distribution device into three-phase AC power to drive-control the motor. A motor controller and a vehicle controller that controls these in an integrated manner, the motor for driving the rear wheel is integrally attached to the rear swing arm to form a unit swing type swing arm, and the system control The power control device, the power conversion / distribution device, and the vehicle controller constituting the device are arranged above the fuel cylinder. Charge while disposed near the battery, the swing pivot portion is provided, it is obtained by arranging the motor controller and the secondary battery to the fuel cylinder lower.

  According to the fuel cell vehicle of the present invention, the assemblability and maintainability are improved, the space is efficiently used, and the vehicle performance and steering stability are improved by the concentration of mass.

  Further, the fuel cylinder is protected from an impact from the surroundings by the body frame. Further, the temperature reduction of the fuel cylinder is prevented, and the fuel can be stably supplied.

  Furthermore, the voltage drop of the current supplied from the motor controller to the motor is prevented, and accurate control of the motor and fuel saving are possible.

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

  FIG. 1 is a left side view showing an example of a motorcycle as a fuel cell vehicle to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the motorcycle 1 has a body frame 2. The body frame 2 of the motorcycle 1 mainly includes a head pipe 3, a down frame member 4, a pivot bracket member 5, a main frame member 6, and a seat frame member 7. The body frame 2 is covered with a cowling 8. The cowling 8 includes an upper cowling 9 that mainly covers the body frame 2 from above, and an under cowling 10 that covers the front lower portion of the body frame 2.

  A steering mechanism 11 is provided on the head pipe 3 provided at the foremost part of the vehicle body frame 2. The steering mechanism 11 is provided with a pair of left and right front forks 13, a handle bar 14, a front fender 15 and the like that support the front wheel 12 in a rotatable manner and are equipped with a front cushion unit (not shown). Thus, the front wheel 12 is steered so as to be able to turn left and right.

  FIG. 2 is a left side view of the motorcycle 1 with the cowling 8 removed. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a down frame member 4 extends from the rear surface of the head pipe 3 provided at the front portion of the vehicle body frame 2 toward the rear side of the lower front wheel 12. A pair of left and right pivot bracket members 5 are provided at the rear of the body frame 2 so as to extend rearward and upward.

  Further, a pair of left and right main frame members 6 extend linearly downward from the rear surface of the head pipe 3 toward the front lower end portion of the pivot bracket member 5 when viewed from the side of the vehicle. Then, a pair of left and right seat frame members 7 whose front ends are connected to the lower portion of the down frame member 4 and whose rear ends are supported by the upper end portion of the pivot bracket member 5 intersect in an X shape at a substantially middle portion of the main frame member 6. And it is extended in the front-back direction of a vehicle.

  The pivot bracket member 5 is provided with a swing pivot portion 16 at a lower portion thereof, and a front end of a rear swing arm 17 is pivotally attached to the swing pivot portion 16 and is attached to the vehicle body frame 2 via a rear cushion unit 18. Elastically supported. A rear wheel 19 is pivotally supported at the rear end of the rear swing arm 17 so as to be rotatable. An operation seat 20 is provided above the pivot bracket member 5.

  As shown in the system configuration diagram of FIG. 3, the motorcycle 1 as the fuel cell vehicle includes a fuel cylinder 31 that stores high-pressure hydrogen gas, which is a fuel gas, as main components, and supply and oxidation of the fuel gas. A fuel cell 32 that generates electric power by receiving supply of oxygen-containing air, a secondary battery 33 such as a battery that assists the output of the fuel cell 32, and a motor 34 that will be described later as a fuel cell 32 and a motor for the vehicle. And a system control device 35 for controlling each of them.

  The main component is a vehicle body between a head pipe 3 at the front end of the vehicle body frame 2 that supports the front wheel 12 in a steerable manner and a driving seat 20 that is disposed above the rear wheel 19 and is supported at the rear portion of the vehicle body frame 2. At least the three of the fuel cell 32, the fuel cylinder 31, and the secondary battery 33 are disposed and supported at a position in the front portion of the vehicle body surrounded by the frame 2 in a state where they substantially overlap each other.

  Specifically, the fuel cylinder 31 is in the center, the fuel cell 32 or the secondary battery 33 is on the upper side or the lower side, and in the present embodiment, the fuel cell 32 is on the upper side, and the secondary battery 33 is on the lower side. And the fuel cylinder 31 is overlapped between the pair of left and right seat frame members 7 and the main frame member 6 so that the longitudinal direction of the fuel cylinder 31 is along the longitudinal direction of the seat frame member 7. The fuel cylinder 31 is disposed in a forwardly inclined state.

  Further, the fuel cylinder 31 is held so that the front and rear thereof are sandwiched from the front and rear by the front cover 36 and the rear cover 37. Further, an intermediate portion of the fuel cylinder 31 is held from below by a stay 38 (or bracket) laid between the left and right seat frame members 7, for example.

  Between the fuel cylinder 31 and the fuel cell 32, a hydrogen shut-off valve 39 (see FIG. 3) for shutting off the fuel system when fuel leaks, and a regulator (pressure regulating valve) for adjusting the hydrogen supply pressure (see FIG. 3). (Not shown), a hydrogen filling port (not shown) is provided, and is connected by the fuel supply pipe 40, and also includes a pressure sensor 41, a temperature sensor 42, and the like for measuring the pressure and temperature of the supplied hydrogen ( 3) is also provided.

  The system control device 35 mainly converts a power control device 43 that performs power conversion control of the power generated by the fuel cell 32, converts power from the power control device 43 and the secondary battery 33 into a 12V power source, and supplies the power to each component. It is driven by the power conversion / distribution device 44, the motor controller 45 for driving and controlling the motor 34 by converting the DC power supplied from the power conversion / distribution device 44 into three-phase AC power, and the power supplied from the motor controller 45. The motor 34 and a vehicle controller 46 that controls the motor 34 are integrated, and each device is connected by an electric wire 47.

  The driving force generated by the motor 34 is transmitted to the rear wheel 19 which is a driving wheel via a transmission (not shown). Further, in addition to the drive control of the motor 34 described above, the motor controller 45 performs regenerative control that converts the negative torque of the motor 34 generated when the vehicle is decelerated into electric power, and supplies the electric power generated by the regeneration to the secondary battery 33. store.

  The vehicle controller 46 is a device that performs system control and vehicle control including the fuel cell 32, and includes, for example, a throttle sensor 48 (see FIG. 3) for transmitting the driver's intention to accelerate, the hydrogen pressure sensor 41, and the temperature. Sensors 42, sensors such as a hydrogen sensor 49 for detecting fuel leakage, and the hydrogen cutoff valve 39 are also connected to the vehicle controller 46. And system control and vehicle control are performed according to the information read via each sensor.

  The periphery of the fuel cell 32, the power control device 43, the power conversion / distribution device 44, the vehicle controller 46 and the hydrogen sensor 49 is covered from above by the upper cowling 9, and the motor controller 45 is disposed in the under cowling 10. .

  A motor 34 as a motor for driving the rear wheel 19 is integrally attached to the rear swing arm 17 to form a unit swing type swing arm. Further, the power control device 43, the power conversion / distribution device 44, and the vehicle controller 46 constituting the system control device 35 are in the vicinity of the fuel cell 32 disposed above the fuel cylinder 31, for example, the power control device 43 is located behind the fuel cell 32. The power conversion / distribution device 44 and the vehicle controller 46 are respectively disposed above the fuel cell 32, while the motor controller 45 and the secondary battery 33 support the swing pivot portion 16 that supports the front end of the rear swing arm 17 in a swingable manner. Are arranged in tandem below the fuel cylinder 31, for example, with the motor controller 45 on the front side and the secondary battery 33 on the rear side. At this time, the secondary battery 33 is disposed in a forwardly inclined state in accordance with the inclination of the fuel cylinder 31. The hydrogen sensor 49 is disposed at the uppermost part of the main component.

  On the side surface of the upper cowling 9, an outside air introduction port 50 for supplying air containing oxygen as an oxidant to the fuel cell 32 is opened. On the other hand, the fuel cell 32 applied to the present invention includes an air-cooled cooling device 51. Although not shown in detail, the cooling device 51 includes an electric cooling fan. The cooling fan is disposed on the lower surface of the fuel cell 32, that is, above the fuel cylinder 31.

  The cooling fan cools the fuel cell 32 by introducing the air taken in from the upper side of the fuel cell 32 to react with the fuel to the lower side of the fuel cell 32 and warms after the fuel cell 32 is cooled. The exhaust air is configured to be discharged toward the fuel cylinder 31.

  Although not shown in detail in the under cowling 10, another outside air inlet for taking in cooling air for cooling the motor controller 45 is formed.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  At least three of the fuel cell 32, the fuel cylinder 31 and the secondary battery 33 are positioned at the front portion of the vehicle body between the head pipe 3 provided at the front portion of the vehicle body frame 2 and the driving seat 20 provided at the rear portion of the vehicle body frame 2. The main components constituting the fuel cell vehicle are centrally arranged by arranging and supporting the person in a state of substantially overlapping each other. The centralized arrangement of the main components simplifies the arrangement of the fuel supply pipe 40 and the electric wires 47, improves the assemblability and maintainability, uses the space efficiently, and further reduces the mass due to the concentrated arrangement of heavy objects. Centralized and the load sharing to the front wheel 12 and the rear wheel 19 is optimized, and the motion performance and steering stability of the vehicle are improved.

  Further, the fuel cylinder 31 is disposed in the central portion, and the fuel cell 32 or the secondary battery 33 is disposed on the upper side or the lower side, and the fuel cylinder 31 is disposed at the intersection of the pair of left and right seat frame members 7 and the main frame member 6. Since the fuel cylinder 31 is disposed so that the longitudinal direction of the fuel cylinder 31 is along the longitudinal direction of the seat frame member 7, the fuel cylinder 31 is protected from the impact from the surroundings by the constituent members of the vehicle body frame 2. It is.

  Further, a motor 34 as a motor for driving the rear wheel 19 is integrally attached to the rear swing arm 17 to form a unit swing type swing arm, and a power control device 43 constituting a system control device 35, power conversion The distributor 44 and the vehicle controller 46 are disposed, for example, in the vicinity of the fuel cell 32 disposed on the upper side of the fuel cylinder 31, while the swing pivot portion 16 is provided that supports the front end of the rear swing arm 17 so as to be swingable. Since the motor controller 45 and the secondary battery 33 are disposed below the fuel cylinder 31, the length from the motor controller 45 to the motor 34 can be shortened. As a result, the voltage drop of the current supplied from the motor controller 45 to the motor 34 is prevented, and accurate control and fuel saving of the motor 34 are possible.

  By the way, the temperature of the fuel cylinder 31 decreases as the fuel is consumed (evaporative cooling), and there is a possibility that the stable supply of fuel may be hindered. However, the fuel cell 32 includes an air-cooled cooling device 51 and the fuel cell 32. If it is arranged above the fuel cylinder 31 so as to discharge the warm exhaust air after cooling the fuel cylinder 31 toward the fuel cylinder 31, the temperature reduction of the fuel cylinder 31 is prevented, and the fuel can be supplied stably.

  On the other hand, by disposing the motor controller 45 in the under cowling 10, the motor controller 45 can be protected from flying stones and the like that the front wheel 12 repels, and another outside air inlet is formed in the under cowling 10 to introduce cooling air. Alternatively, a cooling fin (not shown) provided on the motor controller 45 faces the outer surface of the under cowling 10 so that the motor controller 45 can be cooled, and the secondary battery 33 is inclined to the rear of the motor controller 45 with the fuel cylinder 31 inclined. Accordingly, each part of the secondary battery 33 can be effectively cooled by the cooling air that has passed through the sides of the motor controller 45.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a fuel cell two-wheeled vehicle has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a small movable body such as an electric wheelchair.

The figure which shows one Embodiment of the fuel cell vehicle which concerns on this invention. The left side view of the motorcycle with the cowling removed. The system block diagram of a fuel cell vehicle.

Explanation of symbols

1 Motorcycle (fuel cell vehicle)
2 Body frame 3 Head pipe 4 Down frame member 5 Pivot bracket member 6 Main frame member 7 Seat frame member 12 Front wheel 16 Swing pivot part 17 Rear swing arm 19 Rear wheel 20 Driving seat 31 Fuel cylinder 32 Fuel cell 33 Secondary battery 34 Motor 35 System control device 43 Power control device 44 Power conversion distribution device 45 Motor controller 46 Vehicle controller 51 Cooling device

Claims (4)

A fuel comprising a fuel cylinder for storing a fuel gas such as hydrogen gas, a fuel cell that generates electric power by receiving the supply of the fuel gas, and a secondary battery, and is driven by driving a motor with the electric power generated by the fuel cell In a battery-powered vehicle, at least at the position of the front part of the vehicle body between the head pipe provided at the front end of the vehicle body frame that supports the front wheels in a steerable manner and the driving seat supported on the rear part of the vehicle body frame above the rear wheels. A fuel cell vehicle characterized in that the fuel cell, the fuel cylinder, and the secondary battery are arranged and supported on the vehicle body in a state where they substantially overlap each other. The vehicle body frame includes the head pipe, a down frame member extending from the rear surface of the head pipe toward the rear side of the front wheel, and a rear swing that pivotally supports the rear wheel at the rear end. A pivot bracket member having a swing pivot portion pivotably attached to the front end of the arm and extending rearward and upward, and obliquely downward after the vehicle side view from the rear surface of the head pipe toward the front lower end portion of the pivot bracket member A main frame member extending linearly toward the front, a front end connected to the lower portion of the down frame member, a rear end supported by the upper end of the pivot bracket member, and a substantially intermediate portion of the main frame member X The fuel cell has a seat frame member that intersects in a letter shape and extends in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and is disposed on the vehicle body so as to substantially overlap vertically The three of the fuel cylinder and the secondary battery have the fuel cylinder at the center, the fuel cell or the secondary battery at the upper side or the lower side, and the fuel cylinder at the pair of left and right seat frame members. The fuel cell vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the fuel cell vehicle is disposed so as to overlap therewith. The fuel cell is provided with an air-cooling type cooling device, and the fuel cell is disposed above the fuel cylinder so as to discharge exhaust air after cooling the fuel cell toward the fuel cylinder. 2. The fuel cell vehicle according to 2. A system controller for the fuel cell vehicle, a power controller for controlling the power generated by the fuel cell, and a power converter that converts power from the power controller and the secondary battery into a 12V power source and supplies the power to each component. It comprises a distribution device, a motor controller that controls the drive of the motor by converting the DC power supplied from the power conversion / distribution device into three-phase AC power, and a vehicle controller that controls these motors collectively. The motor for driving the wheel is integrally attached to the rear swing arm to form a unit swing type swing arm, and the power control device, power conversion / distribution device and vehicle controller constituting the system control device are connected to the fuel. The swing pivot part is provided in the vicinity of the fuel cell disposed on the upper side of the cylinder. That the fuel cell vehicle according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the arranging the motor controller and the secondary battery to the fuel cylinder lower.

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