JP2012101678A - Saddle-riding type electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a saddle-riding type electric vehicle that effectively cools a drive battery in a battery case while suppressing an increase in cost and weight.SOLUTION: This saddle-riding type electric vehicle includes a downframe 21 having a wind inlet 32a which introduces wind into the downframe 21 and a wind outlet 32b which discharges the wind introduced into the downframe 21. A battery 2 is stored in the battery case 23 having a cooling wind introduction section (lower projecting section 27). The wind outlet 32b is connected to the cooling wind introduction section.

Description

  The present invention relates to a saddle-ride type electric vehicle such as an electric motorcycle.

  Conventionally, there is a saddle-ride type electric vehicle in which a driving battery is disposed behind a down frame extending downward from a front portion of a body frame (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-182669 A

Incidentally, some drive batteries generate heat depending on their types, and therefore it is desirable to adopt a structure that takes into account cooling by running wind.
However, when the driving battery is accommodated in the battery case, if a cooling duct is simply provided in the battery case, there is a problem that the cost and weight of the battery unit and thus the entire vehicle are easily increased.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a saddle-ride type electric vehicle that can effectively cool a driving battery in a battery case while suppressing an increase in cost and weight.

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1 includes a down frame (21) extending downward from a front portion of the vehicle body frame (11), and a driving battery disposed behind the down frame (21). (1) a saddle riding type electric vehicle (1), wherein the down frame (21) has a traveling wind introduction port (32a) through which traveling wind can be introduced into the down frame (21); A battery case (23) having a driving air discharge port (32b) capable of discharging the driving wind introduced into the down frame (21), and wherein the driving battery (2) has a cooling air introduction part (27). ), And the running air outlet (32b) is connected to the cooling air inlet (27).
Note that the saddle-ride type electric vehicle includes all vehicles that ride across the vehicle body, and includes not only motorcycles but also three-wheelers (including front-wheel and rear-wheel vehicles as well as front-wheel and rear-wheel vehicles). Or a four-wheeled vehicle is also included.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, the down frame (21) includes a lower extending portion (21a) extending downward from a front portion of the vehicle body frame (11), and a lower end portion of the lower extending portion (21a). The drive battery (2) is disposed behind the downward extension (21a) and above the rear extension (21b). It is characterized by that.
The invention described in claim 3 is characterized in that the driving battery (2) is supported by the down frame (21).
The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the cooling air introduction part (27) is provided in a lower part of the battery case (23).
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the battery case (23) has an exhaust port (35) capable of discharging the cooling air therein, and the exhaust port (35) is provided on the battery case (23). It is provided in the upper part.
The invention described in claim 6 includes a vehicle body cover (9) that covers the vehicle body frame (11) and the drive battery (2), and travels to the vehicle body cover (9) behind the exhaust port (35). A running wind intake (9a) for guiding wind is provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the down frame of the vehicle body frame can be used as a cooling air introduction duct into the battery case, and the drive battery can be effectively cooled while suppressing an increase in cost and weight. Can do.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the influence of disturbance from the front and the bottom on the driving battery by the down frame.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the traveling wind outlet of the down frame and the cooling wind inlet of the battery case can be fixedly connected, and the connection structure can be simplified.
According to the fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, since the traveling wind introduced into the battery case is heated and raised by the heat of the driving battery, the cooling air in the battery case is utilized using this rising airflow. The driving battery can be efficiently cooled while the cooling fan is unnecessary or downsized.
According to the invention described in claim 6, it is possible to prevent the cooling performance of the control unit or the like disposed behind the drive battery from being hindered by the warm air from the exhaust port.

1 is a left side view of a saddle-ride type electric vehicle in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is III-III sectional drawing of FIG. It is IV-IV sectional drawing of FIG. It is VV sectional drawing of FIG. It is VI-VI sectional drawing of FIG. It is a left view which shows the cooling structure of the battery unit of the said saddle-ride type electric vehicle. It is VIII-VIII sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view of the down frame of the saddle-ride type electric vehicle. It is a perspective view which shows the 1st modification of the said down frame. The 2nd modification of the said down frame is shown, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is XI-XI sectional drawing of (a).

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the directions such as front, rear, left and right in the following description are the same as those in the vehicle described below unless otherwise specified. Further, in the drawings used for the following explanation, an arrow FR indicating the front of the vehicle, an arrow LH indicating the left side of the vehicle, and an arrow UP indicating the upper side of the vehicle are shown.

  A saddle-ride type electric vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a traveling battery (drive battery) 2 mounted on the front side of the vehicle body and a traveling motor unit 3 mounted on the rear side of the vehicle body. The motor unit (driving motor unit) 3 is driven by the electric power and the driving force is transmitted to the rear wheels 4 as driving wheels to travel.

  The saddle-ride type electric vehicle 1 is in the form of a motorcycle, the front wheel 5 of which is pivotally supported by the lower ends of a pair of left and right front forks 6, and the upper portion of the left and right front forks 6 is connected to the front end of the body frame 11 via a steering stem 7. The head pipe 12 is pivotally supported to be steerable. A steering handle 8 is attached to the upper portion of the steering stem 7.

  From the head pipe 12, a single main frame 13 extends rearwardly downward in the left-right center of the vehicle body. The upper end of the motor unit 3 is fixedly supported on the lower rear side of the main frame 13, and the front end of a swing arm (rear swing arm) 14 is supported so as to be able to swing up and down. A rear wheel 4 is pivotally supported at the rear end of the swing arm 14.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, front and rear motor support brackets 15 and 16 are respectively provided on the lower side of the rear portion of the main frame 13. The upper end portion of the motor unit 3 enters between the left and right front and rear motor support brackets 15 and 16 and is coupled by bolt fastening or the like, so that the upper end portion of the motor unit 3 is fixed to the lower rear side of the main frame 13. Supported by

  Referring also to FIG. 4, a pair of left and right pivot brackets 17 are provided between the front and rear motor support brackets 15 and 16 below the rear portion of the main frame 13. The front end portions of the left and right arms 14a of the swing arm 14 are located outside the left and right pivot brackets 17 in the vehicle width direction (left and right direction), and these are connected to each other via a pivot 17a made of, for example, a bolt. In addition, the code | symbol 14b in FIG. 3 shows the cross member which connects between the front parts of the left-right arm 14a.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a down frame 21 extends downward from the lower side of the front end of the main frame 13. The down frame 21 is curved and extends rearward at the lower portion of the vehicle body, and the rear end portion thereof is connected to the front side of the lower end portion of the motor unit 3 via the connection bracket 22. Hereinafter, a portion extending downward from the lower side of the front end of the main frame 13 in the down frame 21 is referred to as a downward extending portion 21a, and a portion extending rearward in the lower portion of the vehicle body is referred to as a rear extending portion 21b.

  A seat frame 18 extends rearward and rearward from the rear portion of the main frame 13. An occupant seat 18 a is supported on the seat frame 18. A cushion unit 19 is interposed between the seat frame 18 and the rear end of the swing arm 14. The vehicle body of the motorcycle 1 is appropriately covered with a vehicle body cover 9.

The battery 2 is mounted immediately below the front portion of the main frame 13 and immediately behind the downward extending portion 21 a of the down frame 21.
The battery 2 generates a predetermined high voltage (48 to 72V) by connecting, for example, a plurality of single batteries arranged vertically, and is a rectangular parallelepiped battery that rises along the downwardly extending portion 21a in a side view. Housed in the case 23. The battery 2 and the battery case 23 are handled as an integral battery unit 2A. The downward extending portion 21a and the battery case 23 are arranged in an inclined posture in which the longitudinal direction is slightly forward inclined with respect to the vertical direction in a side view. The single battery is an energy storage that can be charged and discharged as appropriate, and includes, for example, a lithium ion battery, a nickel metal hydride battery, a lead battery, or the like.

  Upper and lower connecting portions 24 and 25 connected to the lower extending portion 21a of the down frame 21 by bolt fastening or the like are integrally formed above and below the front portion of the battery 2 (battery case 23). On the rear side of the lower end portion of the battery 2 (battery case 23), a lower protruding portion (cooling air introduction portion) 27 connected to the rear end portion of the rearward extending portion 21b of the down frame 21 by bolt fastening or the like is integrated. It is formed. The battery 2 is fixedly and detachably supported by the vehicle body frame 11 and the motor unit 3 through the upper and lower connecting portions 24 and 25 and the downward projecting portion 27.

  The lower protruding portion 27 has a hollow shape communicating with the internal space of the battery case 23 (see FIG. 8), and the left and right rear end portions of the rearward extending portion 21b of the down frame 21 are respectively bolted to the left and right sides thereof. Connected. The front end portion of the connection bracket 22 is integrally connected to the rear end portion of the rearward extending portion 21 b by welding or joint fastening with the lower protruding portion 27. Thereby, the lower end part of the battery case 23 (battery 2) is fixedly and detachably supported by the down frame 21 and the motor unit 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the motor unit 3 has a motor main body 3a having a rotation center axis (drive axis) C1 extending in the left-right direction at the rear part thereof and a speed reduction mechanism 28 as a driven part thereof adjacent to the left and right. In addition, a control unit 29 in which a PDU (power driver unit) serving as a motor driver and an ECU (electric control unit) for controlling the motor driver are integrated is disposed at the front thereof, and a contactor 29a is provided immediately below the control unit 29. Are arranged, and these are accommodated in a single casing 31. 2 denotes a battery output cable from the battery 2 to the contactor 29a. The motor support brackets 15 and 16 and the connection bracket 22 are connected to a casing 31.

  The rotational driving force of the motor body 3a is output to the output shaft (which is also an external output part of the motor unit 3) 28a via the speed reduction mechanism 28 which is a parallel shaft gear mechanism, and further, for example, via the chain transmission mechanism 4a. It is transmitted to the rear wheel 4. The motor body 3a is controlled by, for example, VVVF (variable voltage variable frequency), but may be configured to have a manual or automatic transmission or clutch.

  The speed reduction mechanism 28 includes a small-diameter gear 28b provided at the tip of the drive shaft 3b of the motor body 3a, a large-diameter gear 28c meshing with the small-diameter gear 28b, a second small-diameter gear 28d adjacent to the right side of the large-diameter gear 28c, A second large-diameter gear 28e that meshes with the second small-diameter gear 28d. An output shaft 28a protrudes to the left of the second large diameter gear 28e. The idle shaft 28f that supports the large-diameter gear 28c and the second small-diameter gear 28d is disposed to be offset forward with respect to the drive shaft 3b and the output shaft 28a. Thereby, the reduction ratio can be gained while suppressing the height of the speed reduction mechanism 28.

  Referring also to FIG. 3, the motor body 3a is arranged offset to the right side with respect to the vehicle body left-right center CL. In order to accommodate the right side portion of the motor body 3a, a bottomed cylindrical motor housing portion 31a projecting rightward is formed on the rear right side of the lower portion of the casing 31. The casing 31 is divided into a left side portion 31b straddling the vehicle body left-right center CL, a right side portion 31c that forms the motor housing portion 31a, and a gear case 31d that houses the speed reduction mechanism 28.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the control unit 29 exposes the front surface of the outer case 29 c forward from the front surface of the casing 31 of the motor unit 3. A plurality of radiating fins 29d extending vertically are formed on the front surface of the outer case 29c. For example, traveling wind introduced into the cover from a traveling wind inlet 9 a provided in the vehicle body cover 9 is supplied to the heat radiation fins 29 d. Thereby, it is suppressed that the coolability of a control unit etc. is inhibited by the warm air from the exhaust port 35 of the battery case 23 mentioned later.

In addition, the air discharged from the exhaust port 35 is pulled by the traveling wind taken from the traveling wind intake port 9 a flowing downward along the heat radiation fins 29 d of the control unit 29, and the traveling wind of the air in the battery case 23 is drawn. Increase the flow rate of (cooling air).
In FIG. 6, reference numeral 29e denotes a three-phase motor cable from the control unit 29 to the motor main body 3a, and reference numeral 29f denotes a grommet attached to the casing 31 so as to insert the motor cable 29e.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the motor body 3a is arranged so that the upper end t1 thereof is located below the pivot 17a (that is, the entire motor body 3a is located below the pivot 17a). The As a result, the motor body 3a can be moved rearward as much as possible while suppressing the rearward movement of the pivot 17a.

  In FIG. 2, the motor body 3a is arranged such that its rear part is located behind the pivot 17a (and so that the drive axis C1 is located behind the pivot 17a). In FIG. 2, the front end t2 of the motor main body 3a is positioned forward of the pivot 17a, but the front end t2 is positioned rearward of the pivot 17a (the entire motor main body 3a is positioned rearward of the pivot 17a. It may be configured.

  Thus, while suppressing the rearward movement of the pivot 17a and suppressing the influence on the length of the swing arm 14 and the axial distance, the motor body 3a can be arranged as far back as possible to contribute to the expansion of the battery mounting space. In addition, the relatively heavy motor body 3a is disposed below, which can contribute to lowering the center of gravity of the saddle-ride type electric vehicle 1. Furthermore, the motor main body 3a and the speed reduction mechanism 28 that is a driven portion thereof are adjacent to each other in the left-right direction, so that an increase in the front-rear width and the vertical width around the motor main body 3a can be suppressed and the degree of freedom in arranging the pivot 17a can be improved.

  The output shaft 28a of the motor unit 3 is disposed so as to be positioned between the pivot 17a and the drive shaft 3b of the motor body 3a in the vertical direction. A drive sprocket 4b of the chain transmission mechanism 4a is attached to a projecting portion (left end portion) of the output shaft 28a from the casing 31 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). As a result, the drive sprocket 4b is disposed in the vicinity of the pivot 17a.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the down frame 21 also functions as a traveling air introduction duct for introducing traveling air for battery cooling into the battery case 23.
Referring also to FIG. 9, the down frame 21 is composed of, for example, a pair of left and right down tubes 32. Each of the left and right down tubes 32 is formed by bending a circular steel pipe into a desired shape, and its upper end is bent forward and opened forward of the vehicle, and its rear end is bent inward in the left and right direction. The lower projecting portion 27 is coupled to both the left and right sides. The upper end openings of these left and right down tubes 32 serve as traveling wind introduction ports 32a, and the rear end openings of the left and right down tubes 32 serve as traveling wind discharge ports 32b.

  A support bracket 33 is fixed to the upper end portion of the down frame 21, and the support bracket 33 is detachably fixed to the lower side of the front end portion of the main frame 13 by bolt fastening or the like (see FIG. 1). On the other hand, the rear end portion of the down frame 21 is detachably fixed to the lower projecting portion 27 of the battery case 23 by bolt fastening or the like as described above. In the figure, reference numeral 34 denotes a fixed flange fixed to the inner end of the rear end of the left and right down tubes 32.

  The battery 2 is accommodated in the battery case 23 with a predetermined gap. Then, the traveling wind introduced into the battery case 23 from the lower protrusion 27 through the down frame 21 rises in the battery case 23 while taking heat from the battery 2, and rises in the battery case 23. For example, it is discharged to the outside of the case from the air discharge port 35 formed on the rear side. In addition, in the battery case 23, a BMU (battery managing unit) (not shown) for monitoring the charge / discharge status, temperature, and the like of the battery 2 is also housed and handled integrally with the battery 2.

As described above, the saddle-ride type electric vehicle 1 according to the embodiment includes the down frame 21 extending downward from the front portion of the body frame 11 and the battery 2 disposed behind the down frame 21. The down frame 21 includes a traveling wind inlet 32a that allows the traveling wind to be introduced into the down frame 21, and a traveling wind outlet 32b that allows the traveling wind introduced into the down frame 21 to be discharged. The battery 2 is housed in a battery case 23 having a cooling air introduction part (lower projecting part 27), and the traveling air discharge port 32b is connected to the cooling air introduction part.
According to this configuration, the down frame 21 of the vehicle body frame 11 can be used as a cooling air introduction duct into the battery case 23, and the battery 2 can be effectively cooled while suppressing an increase in cost and weight.

Further, in the saddle-ride type electric vehicle 1, the down frame 21 includes a downward extending portion 21a extending downward from the front portion of the body frame 11, and a backward extending extending backward from a lower end portion of the downward extending portion 21a. The battery 2 is arranged behind the downward extension 21a and above the rear extension 21b.
According to this configuration, the down frame 21 can suppress the influence of disturbance from the front and the bottom on the battery 2.

In the saddle-ride type electric vehicle 1, the battery 2 is supported by the down frame 21.
According to this configuration, the traveling air discharge port 32b of the down frame 21 and the cooling air introduction portion (lower protruding portion 27) of the battery case 23 can be fixedly connected, and the connection structure can be simplified. it can.

Further, in the saddle-ride type electric vehicle 1, the cooling air introduction part (lower projecting part 27) is provided below the battery case 23, and the battery case 23 can discharge the cooling air inside thereof. The exhaust port 35 is provided on the upper part of the battery case 23.
According to this configuration, since the cooling air introduced into the battery case 23 is warmed by the heat of the battery 2 and rises, the flow of the cooling air in the battery case 23 can be promoted using this updraft, The battery 2 can be efficiently cooled after the cooling fan is unnecessary or downsized.

  Here, FIG. 8 shows a first modification of the down frame 21. The down frame 21 ′ has a configuration in which the upper portion of the lower extension portion 21 a is formed by a single pipe, and the lower portion of the lower extension portion 21 a is formed by branching into two pipes. As a result, the down frame 21 'can be reduced in weight and the left and right widths of the upper portion of the down frame 21' can be reduced. If the entire structure is composed of two pipes as in the down frame 21 of FIG. 7, the rigidity of the entire down frame 21 can be improved.

  FIG. 9 shows a second modification of the down frame 21. The down frame 21 ″ has a configuration in which the rear end portions of the left and right rearward extending portions 21b are bent inward in the left-right direction and then integrally joined by welding or the like in a state where they communicate with each other. By forming a nozzle-like traveling air discharge port 36 at the rear end portion of the rear extension portion 21b of the rear and extending the cooling air introduction port 37 formed in the lower protruding portion 27 of the battery case 23, The battery case 23 and the down frame 21 ″ can be easily attached and detached without requiring attachment or detachment of the fastening member.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, the saddle-ride type electric vehicle includes all vehicles that straddle the vehicle body, and includes not only motorcycles but also three-wheels (front and rear wheels). In addition to a two-wheel vehicle, a front two-wheel vehicle and a single rear wheel vehicle are also included.
And the structure in the said embodiment is an example of this invention, and it cannot be overemphasized that a various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary of the said invention.

1 saddle-ride type electric vehicle 2 battery (drive battery)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 9 Body cover 9a Running wind inlet 11 Body frame 21,21 ', 21 "Down frame 21a Downward extension part 21b Backward extension part 23 Battery case 27 Lower protrusion part (cooling wind introduction part)
32a Traveling air inlet 32b, 36 Traveling air outlet 35 Air outlet 37 Cooling air inlet (cooling air inlet)

Claims (6)

The saddle-ride type electric vehicle (1) includes a down frame (21) extending downward from a front portion of the body frame (11) and a driving battery (2) disposed behind the down frame (21). And
The down frame (21) has a running wind introduction port (32a) through which the running wind can be introduced into the down frame (21), and a running wind through which the running wind introduced into the down frame (21) can be discharged. The drive battery (2) is housed in a battery case (23) having a cooling air introduction part (27), and the traveling air discharge port (32b) is provided with the cooling air. A saddle-ride type electric vehicle connected to the introduction section (27).   The down frame (21) includes a downward extending portion (21a) extending downward from the front portion of the body frame (11), and a backward extending portion extending rearward from the lower end portion of the downward extending portion (21a). 21b), and the driving battery (2) is disposed behind the downward extension (21a) and above the rear extension (21b). The saddle-ride type electric vehicle described.   The saddle-ride type electric vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the driving battery (2) is supported by the down frame (21).   The saddle-ride type electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cooling air introduction section (27) is provided at a lower portion of the battery case (23).   The battery case (23) has an exhaust port (35) that can discharge cooling air therein, and the exhaust port (35) is provided at an upper portion of the battery case (23). The saddle-ride type electric vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4. A vehicle body cover (9) that covers the vehicle body frame (11) and the drive battery (2) is provided, and a vehicle air intake (9a) that guides vehicle air to the vehicle body cover (9) behind the exhaust port (35). The saddle-ride type electric vehicle according to claim 5, further comprising:

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