JP2013103587A - Protection structure of power control unit for electric vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a structure for preferably protecting a power control unit.SOLUTION: The structure is configured such that a back surface of a PCU housing faces a dash panel 5; the housing is mounted with a heatsink housing that exposes at least part of the outer periphery of the housing to the outside of the heatsink housing and also has a heatsink portion for cooling electric devices on the inner side of the heatsink housing; a projection 50 projecting toward the dash panel 5 is provided at the outer periphery of the heatsink casing; and also a stud bolt 51 projecting toward the PCU is provided at the dash panel 5. A length in a projecting direction of the projection 50 is set longer than a length in a projecting direction of the stud bolt 51.

Description

  The present invention relates to a protective structure for a power control unit for an electric vehicle.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a hybrid vehicle in which an engine and a power control unit (hereinafter, PCU (Power Control Unit)) that controls a driving motor are arranged side by side.

JP 2006-248313 A

  In the structure in which members are arranged side by side as in Patent Document 1, adjacent members may interfere with each other due to a collision or the like. For example, in the structure of Patent Document 1, the PCU moves to the engine side. It may be possible to collide directly with the engine.

  In order to prevent the interference as described above, it is preferable to provide a sufficient gap between the members. However, for example, when a stud bolt protrudes from one of the adjacent members, a sufficient gap is provided between the members. It becomes more difficult to ensure. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the other member receives a large impact locally from the one member.

  Therefore, the present invention improves the power control unit even when the power control unit of the electric vehicle is disposed adjacent to the dash panel, and the stud bolt that projects toward the power control unit is provided on the dash panel. An object of the present invention is to provide a protective structure for a power control unit for an electric vehicle that can be protected.

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a plurality of electric devices and a casing (for example, the casing 21 in the embodiment) that houses the electric devices, and an electric vehicle ( For example, a protection structure for a power control unit for an electric vehicle disposed in a motor room (for example, the motor room 6 in the embodiment) of the electric vehicle 1) in the embodiment, and the motor room is located behind the power control unit. A dash panel (for example, a dash panel 5 in the embodiment) that divides the passenger compartment is disposed, and a rear surface of the casing faces the dash panel, and the casing includes at least a part of an outer peripheral portion thereof. A heat sink casing (for example, the heat sink casing 22 in the embodiment) is attached to expose the casing to the outside of the casing. The heat sink casing has a heat sink portion (for example, a recess 36 in the embodiment) for cooling the electric device on the inner side of the casing, and the outer peripheral portion of the heat sink casing exposed to the outside of the casing. Are provided with a protruding portion (for example, the protruding portion 50 in the embodiment) protruding toward the dash panel, and the dash panel has a stud bolt (for example, a stud bull in the embodiment) protruding toward the power control unit. 51) is provided, and the length of the protruding portion in the protruding direction is set to be larger than the length of the stud bolt in the protruding direction. .
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the protective structure for a power control unit for an electric vehicle, a rear end of a frame member that supports the power control unit is located behind the rear surface of the housing. The distance from the rear surface of the housing to the rear end of the frame member is made larger than the length of the stud bolt in the protruding direction.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the power control unit moves to the dash panel side, the protrusion comes into contact with the dash panel before the stud bolt contacts the casing of the power control unit. Therefore, the stud bolt can be prevented from coming into contact with the power control unit. As a result, the power control unit can be well protected without having to increase the strength of the casing of the power control unit, and the cost and weight can be reduced.
According to invention of Claim 2, it can prevent that a stud bolt contacts a power control unit more reliably.

1 is a front top view of an electric vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the power control unit with which the electric vehicle concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention is provided. It is a rear view of the power control unit. It is a top view of the heat sink housing | casing which is a part of housing | casing of the said power control unit. It is a bottom view of the heat sink housing | casing which is a part of housing | casing of the said power control unit. It is the upper surface schematic of the said power control unit rear part and the dash panel of the back. FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of FIG. 6. FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a rear portion of the power control unit and a rear dash panel. It is a front top view of the electric vehicle which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is the perspective view which showed the connection connector with which the power control unit which concerns on 2nd Embodiment for connecting with the cable for charging is provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the drawings used below, arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle, arrow UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle, and arrow LH indicates the left side of the vehicle.

<First Embodiment>
FIG. 1 shows a vehicle front portion of an electric vehicle 1 to which the structure according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied. A left front fender 3 and a right front fender 4 that cover the left and right front wheels 2 and 2 are provided at the front of the vehicle body of the electric vehicle 1. The left front fender 3 and the right front fender 4 are connected to a dash panel 5 extending in the vehicle width direction at the rear of each, and the left front fender 3, the right front fender 4, and the dash panel 5 are not shown in the front of the vehicle. A motor room 6 for accommodating a driving motor and the like is formed.

  The motor room 6 is separated from the rear passenger compartment by a dash panel 5. Note that reference numeral 7 in the drawing indicates a headlight connected to the front end portions of the left front fender 3 and the right front fender 4. A bumper (not shown) is provided between the headlights 7.

  A pair of left and right side frames 8, 8 extend in the vehicle front-rear direction at a lower portion in the motor room 6, and a front beam 9 is installed between the front portions of the side frames 8, 8. A power control unit (hereinafter referred to as a PCU (Power Control Unit)) 10 that mainly controls the motor is located between the side frames 8 and 8 when viewed from above, in the center of the motor room 6 in the vehicle width direction. Has been placed. The electric vehicle 1 has a left handle specification, and H in the figure indicates a handle provided in the passenger compartment.

  The PCU 10 has a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above, and a radiator 11 is disposed in front of the PCU 10. The radiator 11 cools the coolant of the drive train including the motor and the PCU 10 and the coolant of the power storage device (not shown) by exchanging heat with the outside air that is traveling wind.

  The PCU 10 is supported by a unit support frame 12 that has a rectangular frame shape when viewed from above, and the unit support frame 12 is disposed so as to surround the four sides of the PCU 10. The unit support frame 12 is formed by joining a plurality of steel pipe members, and includes a front extension portion 13 located in front of the front wall of the PCU 10, a rear extension portion 14 located in the rear of the rear wall of the PCU 10, A left extension 15 that connects the left end of the front extension 13 and the left end of the rear extension 14, and the right end of the front extension 13 and the right end of the rear extension 14 And a right extending portion 16 to be coupled.

  The front left leg 17, the front right leg 18, and the rear are connected to each corner where the front extension 13, the rear extension 14, the left extension 15, and the right extension 16 are coupled. The left leg portion 19 and the rear right leg portion 20 are formed so as to extend downward, and the unit support frame 12 has the lower ends of the leg portions 17 to 20 fastened to the side frames 8 and 8. The posture is maintained. The PCU 10 is fastened at appropriate positions of the front extension 13, the rear extension 14, the left extension 15, and the right extension 16, and is supported by the unit support frame 12.

  2 shows a perspective view of the PCU 10, and FIG. 3 shows a rear view of the PCU 10. As shown in FIG. The PCU 10 includes a housing 21 that houses a plurality of electrical devices. In the housing 21, for example, an inverter (a switching module 25 described later) that converts power from a power storage device from direct current to alternating current, and the inverter are controlled. A control device and the like are accommodated.

  The housing 21 includes an upper case 23 disposed on the upper side and a lower case 24 disposed on the lower side, and a plate-shaped heat sink housing 22 is attached between the upper case 23 and the lower case 24. ing. The heat sink housing 22 is positioned at an intermediate position in the vertical direction of the housing 21, and an outer peripheral portion thereof is exposed to the outside to constitute a part of the outer wall of the housing 21. The electrical devices in the casing 21 are covered with an upper case 23 and a lower case 24, respectively.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the heat sink housing 22, and FIG. 5 shows a bottom view of the heat sink housing 22. The heat sink housing 22 is made of a material having high thermal conductivity such as an aluminum alloy, and is formed by molding such as die casting. As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of electrical devices are fixed to the upper surface of the heat sink housing 22.
4 and 5, a plurality of bolt insertion holes 38... Penetrating in the vertical direction are formed in the outer peripheral portion of the heat sink housing 22. Referring to FIG. 3, the heat sink housing 22, the upper case 23, and the lower case 24 are integrated by bolts passed through the bolt insertion holes 38.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a switching module 25 that converts a direct current supplied from a power storage device (not shown) into a three-layer alternating current and supplies it to the motor is installed in a substantially central region on the upper surface of the heat sink housing 22. On the right side of the module 25, a negative contactor 26 and a positive contactor 27 are installed side by side in the vehicle width direction. The minus-side contactor 26 and the plus-side contactor 27 are electrically connected to a diode 28 installed behind the minus-side contactor 26, and a current suddenly flows in the power storage device when charging from a relatively high-voltage fast-charging power source. Switch so that it does not flow.

  A substrate 31 is installed behind the diode 28, and a heater high voltage cable 32 and a compressor high voltage cable 33 (not shown) are connected to the substrate 31. A heater fuse 34 and a compressor fuse 35 are provided on the substrate 31, respectively. The heater high-voltage cable 32 and the compressor high-voltage cable 33 are electrically connected to these.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, a recess 36 that is recessed upward is formed in a relatively wide area on the lower surface of the heat sink housing 22 that faces the area where the switching module 25 is installed. Constitutes a water jacket through which cooling water flows between the upper surface of the lower case 24. With this water jacket, the electrical device installed on the upper surface of the heat sink housing 22 is cooled.

  Next, electrical devices in the upper case 23 and the lower case 24 will be described. A capacitor (not shown) is accommodated in the upper case 23. The lower case 24 houses a downverter and a charger (not shown). The capacitor is disposed above the switching module 25 and electrically connected thereto, and smoothes the current supplied to the switching module 25. This capacitor is housed in a space formed by the heat sink housing 22 and the upper case 23.

  Further, the downverter and the charger are accommodated in a space formed by the heat sink casing and the lower case 24. The downverter is a device that steps down the power from the power storage device. The charger is a device that enables charging from a household power source, and includes an AC / DC converter and the like.

  Next, referring to FIG. 3, the rear extension 14 of the unit support frame 12 located above the upper case 23 is provided with a connection connector 42 for connection to a household power source. Although not shown in the drawing, a cable extending to a charging port provided at an appropriate position of the vehicle body is connected for connection with a household power source. The connection connector 42 integrally has a charge cable 43 extending in the PCU 10 at the right end with the cable attachment port directed to the left. The charge cable 43 extends upward along the rear surface from an insertion hole 44 formed on the right side of the rear surface of the lower case 24 toward the inner side in the vehicle width direction, and is integrated with the connection connector 42 at the upper end thereof. On the inside, it is connected to the charger.

  Further, in the upper case 23, a protruding wall portion 45 that protrudes slightly upward in a rectangular cross section and forms a storage space for the minus side contactor 26 and the plus side contactor 27 is formed on the front side of the upper right side thereof. The minus side contactor 26 and the plus side contactor 27 are located immediately below the upper surface of the portion 45. On the rear surface of the protruding wall portion 45, a minus connector 46 and a plus connector 47 connected to the minus side contactor 26 and the plus side contactor 27 are provided so that the mounting opening is directed rearward. Although not shown in the drawings, the minus connector 46 and the plus connector 47 are connected to a cable extending to a charging port provided at an appropriate position on the vehicle body for connection with a power supply for quick charging.

A communication hole 48 through which the heater high-voltage cable 32 and the compressor high-voltage cable 33 are drawn out of the housing is formed on the right side of the rear surface of the upper case 23 located behind the rear portion of the protruding wall 45. The high-pressure cable 32 for compressor and the high-pressure cable 33 for compressor are drawn out through the communication hole 48.
The heater high-voltage cable 32 is routed so as to extend downward along the rear surfaces of the heat sink housing 22 and the lower case 24 and then extend forward along the lower surface of the lower case 24. On the other hand, the high-pressure cable for compressor 33 is routed so as to extend forward along the rear surface of the upper case 23 and then forward.

  Here, a projecting portion 50 that protrudes rearward in the vehicle front-rear direction is integrally formed at a portion of the rear surface of the heat sink housing 22 that is located on the lower left side of the communication hole 48, and the projecting portion 50 is formed in the communication hole 48. It is located so as to be adjacent to the heater high-voltage cable 32 drawn from the vehicle width direction, and is formed so as to protrude toward the dash panel 5 with reference to FIGS. Here, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, one of the bolt insertion holes 38 is formed in the protrusion 50. Further, the protrusion 50 is positioned so as to be adjacent to the charge cable 43 in the vehicle width direction.

  7 and 8, the length A in the vehicle front-rear direction from the base portion to the tip portion of the protrusion 50 is set to be larger than the diameter R of the heater high-voltage cable 32. The length A is a length from the rear surface of the heat sink housing 22 facing in the vehicle front-rear direction to the front end of the protrusion 50 at the position in the height direction where the protrusion 50 is formed. That is, the length A is based on a reference line L1 along the rear surface of the heat sink housing 22 where the heater high-voltage cable 32 faces in the vehicle front-rear direction at the position where the protrusion 50 is formed in FIGS. This is the length from the reference line L1 to the tip of the protrusion 50 in the direction orthogonal to the reference line L1. Similarly, the length A in the vehicle front-rear direction from the base to the tip of the protrusion 50 is larger than the diameter of the charge cable 43.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the rear right leg portion 20 of the unit support frame 12 is located to the right of the communication hole 48 in the rear view, and as shown in FIGS. The rear right leg 20 is located close to the right side of the cable 32. Here, the rear right leg portion 20 is positioned rearward of the reference line L1 in the vehicle front-rear direction and extends in the vertical direction, and the rear end portion of the rear right leg portion 20 and the reference line L1. The distance B in the vehicle longitudinal direction is larger than the diameter R of the high voltage cable 32 for the heater.

  Further, in this embodiment, a stud bolt 51 that protrudes toward the PCU 10 is provided on the dash panel 5 that faces the rear surface of the PCU 10, and this stud bolt 51 holds the harness by placing the harness upward. Or when fixing a bracket for holding a harness.

  Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the stud bolt 51 is provided on the dash panel 5 at a position substantially opposed to the protrusion 50, and C in the drawing indicates the length of the stud bolt 51 in the protruding direction from the dash panel 5. Show. The length C is a length from the front surface in the direction orthogonal to the front surface to the tip of the stud bolt 51 with respect to the front surface of the dash panel 5 where the stud bolt 51 is fixed. Here, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the length A from the reference line L <b> 1 of the protrusion 50 to its tip is set larger than the length C of the stud bolt 51 in the protruding direction. Furthermore, the distance B in the vehicle front-rear direction between the rear end of the rear right leg 20 and the reference line L1 is also larger than the length of the stud bolt 51 in the protruding direction.

  As described above, in the electric vehicle 1, the dash panel 5 that partitions the motor room 6 and the passenger compartment is disposed behind the PCU 10, and the rear surface of the casing 21 of the PCU 10 faces the dash panel 5. The housing 21 has at least a part of the outer peripheral portion exposed to the outside of the housing 21 and a recess 36 (heat sink portion) for cooling the electric device on the inner side of the housing 21. The heat sink housing 22 is attached to the outer periphery of the heat sink housing 22 exposed to the outside of the housing 21, and a protrusion 50 that projects toward the dash panel 5 is provided on the dash panel 5. A stud bolt 51 projecting toward the projecting portion 50 is provided, and the length of the projecting portion 50 in the projecting direction is set larger than the length of the stud bolt 51 in the projecting direction. There.

  In such a structure, when the PCU 10 moves to the dash panel 5 side, the protrusion 50 can come into contact with the dash panel 5 before the stud bolt 51 contacts the housing 21 of the PCU 10. It is possible to prevent the stud bolt 51 from contacting the PCU 10. Thereby, the PCU 10 can be well protected without the need to increase the strength of the casing of the PCU 10, and further, the cost and weight can be reduced. Further, the charge cable 43 is also protected by the protrusion 50.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the rear end of the unit support frame 12 that supports the PCU 10 (the rear end of the rear right leg portion 20) is located behind the rear surface of the housing 21, and the rear surface of the housing 21 The distance from the rear end of the rear right leg 20 to the rear end of the rear right leg 20 is larger than the length of the stud bolt 51 in the protruding direction. This can more reliably prevent the stud bolt 51 from coming into contact with the PCU 10.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the arrangement of the connection connector 42 is different from that of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, in the present embodiment, a plate-like bracket 42 </ b> B is attached to the rear portion of the protruding wall portion 45 of the upper case 23 so as to extend rearward, and the connection connector 42 is attached to the rear portion of the bracket 42 </ b> B. It is attached. The connection connector 42 has a mounting opening directed to the right, and a charge cable 43 is connected to the left end. The charge cable 43 extends upward along the rear wall of the upper case 23, and then extends to the right and is coupled to the connection connector 42.

  Also in the second embodiment described above, the dash panel 5 that partitions the motor room 6 and the passenger compartment is disposed behind the PCU 10, and the rear surface of the casing 21 of the PCU 10 faces the dash panel 5. The housing 21 has at least a part of the outer periphery exposed to the outside of the housing 21 and has a recess 36 (heat sink portion) for cooling the electric device on the inner side of the housing 21. A protrusion 50 is provided on the outer periphery of the heat sink housing 22 that is attached to the housing 21 and is exposed to the outside of the housing 21. The protrusion 50 projects toward the dash panel 5. The dash panel 5 faces the PCU 10. A protruding stud bolt 51 is provided, and the length of the protruding portion 50 in the protruding direction is set to be larger than the length of the stud bolt 51 in the protruding direction. Going on.

  Therefore, when the PCU 10 moves to the dash panel 5 side, the protrusion 50 can come into contact with the dash panel 5 before the stud bolt 51 contacts the casing 21 of the PCU 10. Contact with the PCU 10 can be prevented. Thereby, the PCU 10 can be well protected without the need to increase the strength of the casing of the PCU 10, and further, the cost and weight can be reduced. Further, although the wiring of the charge cable 43 is different from that of the first embodiment, the charge cable 43 is also protected by the protrusion 50.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the structure that configures the heat sink portion that cools the electrical device by flowing cooling water through the recess 36 provided in the heat sink housing 22 has been described. However, for example, fins are provided to secure the surface area. A heat sink that exchanges heat may be provided inside the heat sink housing 22.

1 Electric Vehicle 5 Dash Panel 6 Motor Room 10 Power Control Unit (PCU)
21 Housing 22 Heat sink housing 23 Upper case (housing)
24 Lower case
36 Concave part (heat sink part)
50 Projection 51 Stud bolt

Claims (2)

A protective structure for a power control unit for an electric vehicle, comprising a plurality of electric devices and a housing for storing the electric device, and disposed in a motor room of the electric vehicle,
A dash panel that divides the motor room and the passenger compartment is disposed behind the power control unit,
A rear surface of the housing faces the dash panel;
A heat sink casing that exposes at least a part of an outer periphery of the casing to the outside of the casing is attached to the casing, and the heat sink casing is used for cooling the electric device on the inner side of the casing. Having a heat sink,
A protrusion projecting toward the dash panel is provided on an outer peripheral portion of the heat sink casing exposed to the outside of the casing, and a stud bolt projecting toward the power control unit is provided on the dash panel. Provided,
The protection structure for a power control unit for an electric vehicle, wherein a length of the protruding portion in the protruding direction is set larger than a length of the stud bolt in the protruding direction. The rear end of the frame member that supports the power control unit is located behind the rear surface of the housing,
The protective structure for a power control unit for an electric vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a distance from a rear surface of the housing to a rear end of the frame member is larger than a length of the stud bolt in a protruding direction.

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