JP2013119338A - Vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To keep flexibility in design of a vehicle body floor and cabin by arranging only one through-hole the body floor.SOLUTION: In the vehicle in which a battery pack 100 for storing a battery module 101 and an electric device 102 is mounted under the vehicle body floor 2, inner air of the cabin is delivered into the battery pack 100 by a blower 3 arranged in the cabin as cooling air through an air intake passage 4, and the battery module 101 and then the electric device 102 are sequentially cooled by the cooling air in the battery pack 100. The vehicle includes a cooling air circulating passage in which the cooling air after cooling is circulated into the cabin through an exhaust passage 5. The vehicle body floor 2 includes the through-hole 1 passing through the vehicle body floor 2, into which the air intake passage 4 and the exhaust passage 5 are both inserted. A heat insulation material 6 is provided between the air intake passage 4 and the exhaust passage 5 in the through-hole 1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle equipped with a battery pack.

  A vehicle having an electric motor as a part of a driving source or the driving source itself, such as a hybrid vehicle, an electric vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid vehicle, is equipped with a battery for supplying electric power to the electric motor (for example, a motor generator or a motor). . As this battery, for example, a secondary battery represented by a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-hydrogen battery, a lithium ion battery, or the like that can be repeatedly charged and discharged is used.

  The secondary battery as described above is configured by a battery module in which battery cells are stacked, and this battery module is mounted on a vehicle in a state of being accommodated in a battery case. A battery pack in which the battery case and its associated electrical equipment are housed is referred to as a battery pack. In recent years, the battery pack tends to increase in size as the required capacity increases, and there is a case where the lower part of the vehicle body floor is selected as one of the mounting locations.

  The battery module housed in the battery pack generates heat due to an electrochemical reaction that occurs inside during charging and discharging, and its temperature rises. Since the electrochemical reaction at the time of charging / discharging is easily affected by temperature, the power generation function and the charging function are deteriorated when the battery module becomes high temperature. Therefore, for example, cooling air is introduced from the outside into the casing of the battery pack to cool the battery module.

  In addition, examples of the electrical equipment associated with the battery module include a battery monitoring unit, a system main relay, a DC-DC converter, a boost converter, and an inverter. Of these electric devices, converters, inverters, and the like having power elements therein generate heat due to current flowing into the power elements, and the temperature rises. Since these products have a high possibility of their function being reduced or being damaged at a high temperature, it is desired that these electric devices are also cooled.

  Conventionally, as a cooling structure for a battery pack mounted under the vehicle body floor, a convex portion protruding into the vehicle interior is provided at the vehicle width direction central portion of the vehicle body floor, and the battery pack is provided below the convex portion. There has been proposed a structure in which through holes through which each of an intake duct and an exhaust duct communicating with a vehicle interior are inserted are provided symmetrically on the left and right sides of the vehicle body floor (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-241515

  However, according to the above-described prior art, the inside air in the passenger compartment is used as the cooling air for the battery pack, so that it is not affected by the temperature of the outside air or the dust contained in the outside air. Since it is necessary to provide it, there existed a concern which led to the fall of the design freedom of a vehicle body floor and a vehicle interior.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a vehicle according to the present invention is a vehicle in which a battery pack containing a battery module and an electric device is mounted under a vehicle body floor. As shown in the figure, the electric device is sent into the battery pack through the intake passage, and the electric equipment is sequentially cooled by the cooling air in succession to the battery module in the battery pack. A cooling air circulation path that is circulated into the passenger compartment is provided, and the vehicle body floor is provided with a through hole that passes through the vehicle body floor and through which both the intake passage and the exhaust passage are inserted. A heat insulating material is provided between the intake passage and the exhaust passage.

  By this specific matter, the through hole provided in the vehicle body floor becomes one place, and the design freedom of the vehicle body floor and the passenger compartment can be maintained. Moreover, since the cooling air which cooled the battery module and raised the temperature is reused for cooling the electric device having a higher temperature, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the function of the electric device and extend the product life of the electric device. Furthermore, since the inside air of the vehicle interior is recirculated as cooling air, there is no risk of being affected by the temperature of the outside air or dust contained in the outside air, and it is also possible to prevent the air volume from being reduced due to negative pressure inside the vehicle interior. it can. In addition, since a heat insulating material is provided between the intake passage and the exhaust passage in the through hole, heat exchange between the cooling air in the intake passage and the cooling air in the exhaust passage can be suppressed, and the heat exchange Therefore, there is no concern that the cooling efficiency of the battery pack is lowered due to the temperature rise of the cooling air upstream.

  According to the present invention, since the through hole provided in the vehicle body floor is provided at one place, the design freedom of the vehicle body floor and the vehicle compartment can be maintained.

It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the upper side of the vehicle body floor in one Embodiment of the vehicle which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic sectional drawing in alignment with the II-II line in FIG. In addition, the arrow in a figure represents the direction through which cooling air flows. It is a schematic sectional drawing which follows the III-III line in FIG. In addition, the arrow in a figure represents the direction through which cooling air flows. It is sectional drawing which follows the IV-IV line in FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view showing an upper side of a vehicle body floor in a vehicle according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the vehicle according to the present invention is a vehicle in which a battery pack 100 containing a battery module 101 and an electric device 102 is mounted below the vehicle body floor 2. In such a vehicle, the inside air in the vehicle interior is sent as cooling air into the battery pack 100 through the intake passage 4 by the blower 3 disposed in the vehicle interior, and the cooling air is sent to the battery module 101 in the battery pack 100 by the cooling air. Subsequently, the electric equipment 102 is sequentially cooled, and a cooling air circulation path is provided in which the cooled air after the cooling is circulated through the exhaust passage 5 into the vehicle interior. The vehicle body floor 2 is provided with a through hole 1 that penetrates the vehicle body floor 2 and through which both the intake passage 4 and the exhaust passage 5 are inserted, and insulates between the intake passage 4 and the exhaust passage 5 in the through hole 1. A material 6 is provided.

  The battery pack 100 includes a housing 110 having a substantially trapezoidal cross section as an exterior member. The casing 110 is provided with a rainwater intrusion prevention duct 7 that extends upward at the rear end in the vehicle longitudinal direction and opens. The interior of the housing 110 is divided into a storage portion 115 provided at the rear in the vehicle front-rear direction and an upper-lower communication portion 116 provided at the front. The storage unit 115 is further divided into a lower storage unit 112 in which the battery module 101 is stored and an upper storage unit 113 in which the electric device 102 is stored by a partition wall 111 extending substantially horizontally. The upper-lower communication part 116 is a space that communicates the upper storage part 113 and the lower storage part 112, and the battery module 114 is stored in this space. The rear end of the lower storage portion 112 is connected to a lead-out portion 42 of the intake passage 4 described later, and the front end is opened to the upper-lower communication portion 116. The rear end of the upper storage portion 113 is connected to an introduction portion 52 of the exhaust passage 5 described later, and the front end is opened to the upper-lower communication portion 116.

  The battery modules 101 and 114 are configured by a group of modules in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked. As the battery cell, for example, a secondary battery such as a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-hydrogen battery, or a lithium ion battery can be used. The battery cell has a so-called square plate-like outer shape. A gap is formed between the modules, and the battery modules 101 and 114 are cooled by flowing cooling air through the gap.

  The electric device 102 is constituted by, for example, a DC-DC converter, a battery monitoring unit, or the like. The DC-DC converter steps down the direct current output from the battery module and supplies power to a computer, audio equipment, or the like. The battery monitoring unit measures the current value, voltage value, temperature, and the like of the battery module and transmits the measurement result to the computer. Among them, the DC-DC converter needs to be cooled because the power element in the DC-DC converter generates heat. For this cooling, the cooling air used for cooling the battery module is reused. The flow of the cooling air will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle body floor 2 is provided with a floor tunnel portion 8 that protrudes into the vehicle interior at the center in the vehicle width direction. A casing 110 of the battery pack 100 is fixed under the floor tunnel portion 8 with, for example, unillustrated bolts and nuts. The floor tunnel portion 8 is provided with a circular through hole 1, and as shown in FIG. 3, a rainwater intrusion prevention duct 7 is inserted into the through hole 1 with its upper end protruding into the vehicle interior. As described above, the rainwater intrusion prevention duct 7 is provided at a position higher than the vehicle body floor 2 so that the rainwater collected on the vehicle body floor 2 is blocked by the side surface of the rainwater ingress prevention duct 7. Intrusion into the battery pack 100 can be prevented.

  The intake passage 4 is formed of, for example, a duct, and includes an air suction portion 45 having an intake port 41 that opens laterally in the vehicle interior, and a horizontal extending in the vehicle front-rear direction in the vehicle interior adjacent to the air suction portion 45. A vertical portion 44 that extends in the vertical direction adjacent to the horizontal portion 43, and a lead-out portion 42 that extends obliquely downward adjacent to the vertical portion 44 and is opened at the rear end of the lower storage portion 112. Yes. A blower 3 is provided inside the horizontal portion 43. The vertical portion 44 is inserted into the rainwater intrusion prevention duct 7 inserted through the through hole 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the horizontal section of the vertical portion 44 has a chordal shape close to a semicircle.

  The exhaust passage 5 is formed of a duct, for example, and includes a discharge path 55 having an exhaust port 51 that opens obliquely downward in the vehicle interior, a horizontal portion 53 that extends adjacent to the discharge path 55 in the vehicle width direction, and A vertical portion 54 that extends in the vertical direction adjacent to the horizontal portion 53 and an introduction portion 52 that extends obliquely downward adjacent to the vertical portion 54 and is opened at the rear end of the upper storage portion 113 are provided. Similarly to the vertical portion 44 of the intake passage 4 described above, the vertical portion 54 is also inserted into the rainwater intrusion prevention duct 7 inserted through the through hole 1. As shown in FIG. 4, the horizontal section of the vertical portion 54 has a chorus-like shape close to a semicircle, similar to the horizontal cross section of the vertical portion 44.

  Since the vertical cross section of the vertical portion 44 of the intake passage 4 and the vertical portion 54 of the exhaust passage 5 are the same, the cross-sectional areas of the respective flow paths are made equal. As a result, it is possible to prevent the inside air supplied from the vehicle interior into the battery pack from staying in the battery pack and generating negative pressure in the vehicle interior.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a heat insulating material 6 is provided between the vertical portion 44 of the intake passage 4 and the vertical portion 54 of the exhaust passage 5. By providing the heat insulating material 6 between the vertical portion 44 and the vertical portion 45, heat exchange between the cooling air passing through the intake passage 4 and the cooling air passing through the exhaust passage 5 is suppressed. The temperature on the upstream side can be kept low. Thereby, the cooling efficiency of the battery pack 100 can be improved.

  When the blower 3 is driven, the inside air in the passenger compartment enters the intake passage 4 from the intake port 41 of the air suction portion 45 as cooling air, passes through the horizontal portion 43 and the vertical portion 44 of the intake passage 4, and is led out. To the lower storage portion 112 in the battery pack 100. The cooling air cools the battery module 101 in the lower storage part 112 while passing through the gaps between the modules of the battery module 101 stored in the lower storage part 112 from the rear to the front. Thereafter, the cooling air received from the battery module 101 decreases in density due to thermal expansion, and rises while passing through the gaps between the modules of the battery module 114 at the upper and lower communication portion 116. During the rise, the cooling air cools the battery module 114. Thereafter, the cooling air enters the upper storage portion 113 and cools the electric device 102 stored in the upper storage portion 113 while passing through the upper storage portion 113 from the front to the rear. Thereafter, the cooling air enters the exhaust passage 5 from the introduction portion 52, passes through the vertical portion 54 and the horizontal portion 53 of the exhaust passage 5, and returns to the vehicle interior from the exhaust port 51 of the discharge passage 55.

  Note that the electrical device 102 may include a smoothing capacitor, a boost converter, an inverter, and the like, and these heat generating elements may be cooled by the cooling air.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Through-hole 2 Vehicle body floor 3 Blower 4 Intake passage 5 Exhaust passage 6 Heat insulation material 100 Battery pack 101 Battery module 102 Electric equipment

Claims (1)

In a vehicle in which a battery pack containing a battery module and electrical equipment is mounted under the vehicle body floor,
The blower disposed in the vehicle interior sends the inside air of the vehicle interior as cooling air into the battery pack through the intake passage, and the cooling device sequentially cools the electric devices in the battery pack following the battery module. A cooling air circulation passage through which the cooled cooling air is circulated through the exhaust passage into the vehicle interior, and the vehicle body floor penetrates the vehicle body floor and both the intake passage and the exhaust passage are connected together. A vehicle is provided with a through hole inserted into the through hole, and a heat insulating material is provided between the intake passage and the exhaust passage in the through hole.

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