JP2020163904A - On-vehicle structure of power converter - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a technology for enhancing an impact resistance property of a power converter mounted to a front compartment.SOLUTION: In this power converter of an on-vehicle structure, an upper box body 30 and a lower box body 40 are fastened with a plurality of bolts 31. Two pieces of connector openings 41, 52 which adjoin each other in a vehicle fore-and-aft direction are formed at one side face which is oriented to the lower box body 40 in a vehicle width direction. Characteristics of the on-vehicle structure are the following two points. (1) Fastening points 21c, 21d at both sides in the vehicle width direction out of fastening points 21a to 21f of the upper box body 30 and the lower box body 40 are fastened with two pieces of bolts 31 at a rear side of a vehicle. (2) Diameters of bolt insertion holes of the fastening points 21a, 21b which adjoin the connector opening 41 located at a vehicle front side out of the fastening points 21a to 21f of the upper box body 30 and the lower box body 40 are larger than diameters of bolt insertion holes of the other fastening points 21c to 21f.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The techniques disclosed herein relate to in-vehicle construction of power converters in the front compartment.

The electric vehicle is equipped with a power converter that converts the DC power of the battery into the driving power of the motor for traveling. The power converter may be mounted in the front compartment of a vehicle (Patent Document 1). The electric vehicle in the present specification includes a hybrid vehicle equipped with an engine together with a traveling motor, and a fuel cell vehicle equipped with a fuel cell as a power source.

JP-A-2014-0431124

When mounting the power converter in the front compartment, it is important to improve the impact resistance characteristics in the event of a vehicle collision. The present specification provides a technique for enhancing impact resistance in an in-vehicle structure of a power converter mounted in a front compartment. In particular, the housing is divided into an upper housing and a lower housing, and two openings adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are provided on one side of the housing facing the vehicle width direction. Provide technology to improve the impact resistance characteristics of vessels.

In the power converter in the vehicle-mounted structure disclosed in the present specification, the upper housing and the lower housing are fastened with a plurality of bolts. As described above, two openings adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are provided on one side surface of the housing facing the vehicle width direction. The features of the in-vehicle structure disclosed in the present specification are the following two points. (1) Of the fastening points of the upper housing and the lower housing, the fastening points on both sides in the vehicle width direction at the rear of the vehicle are fastened with two bolts arranged close to each other. (2) Of the fastening points of the upper housing and the lower housing, the diameter of the bolt insertion hole at the fastening point adjacent to the opening located on the front side of the vehicle is larger than the diameter of the bolt insertion hole at the other fastening points.

A collision load is applied to the power converter mounted on the front compartment from the front side of the vehicle in the event of a collision. Due to the feature (1) above, the fastening points on both sides at the rear of the vehicle are strengthened, and the impact resistance characteristics against a collision load from the front are enhanced. Further, when there are two openings on the side surface, the strength of the side surface is reduced. Due to the feature (2) above, the timing at which the bolts at the fastening points adjacent to the opening on the front side of the vehicle receive the load due to the collision is slightly later than the timing at which the bolts at the other fastening points receive the load. That is, after the bolts at the fastening points other than the fastening points adjacent to the opening receive the load, the bolts at the fastening points adjacent to the opening receive the load. Therefore, the load received by the bolts at the fastening points adjacent to the opening is reduced. This contributes to suppressing the stress generated around the opening and enhances the impact resistance characteristics of the side surface where the opening is provided.

Details and further improvements to the techniques disclosed herein will be described in the "Modes for Carrying Out the Invention" section below.

It is a perspective view of the front compartment of the hybrid vehicle which adopts the in-vehicle structure of an Example. It is a side view of the power converter fixed on the transaxle. It is a side view of a power converter (with a connector removed). It is a top view of the power converter. It is a top view of the lower housing.

The vehicle-mounted structure of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle-mounted structure of the embodiment is applied to the hybrid vehicle 10. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the front compartment 11 of the hybrid vehicle 10. The front compartment 11 of the hybrid vehicle 10 is equipped with a power converter 2, a transaxle 13, and an engine 16. Two motors 14 and 15 for traveling are housed in the housing of the transaxle 13. The hybrid vehicle 10 can travel with low fuel consumption by appropriately using the two motors 14, 15 and the engine 16.

The power converter 2 is a device that converts the electric power of a battery (not shown) into the driving electric power of the motors 14 and 15. The power converter 2 is mounted in the front compartment 11 of the hybrid vehicle 10. The power converter 2 is fixed on the transaxle 13 by the front bracket 17 and the rear bracket 18. The coordinate system of FIG. 1 shows the front, rear, right, left, top, and bottom of the vehicle. The same coordinate system is used for all figures.

The transaxle 13 is connected to the engine 16. The transaxle 13 and the engine 16 are supported by a pair of side members 12 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. In FIG. 1, one side member is hidden behind the engine and cannot be seen.

FIG. 2 shows a side view of the power converter 2 fixed on the transaxle 13. The housing 20 of the power converter 2 is divided into a lower housing 40 and an upper housing 30. The lower housing 40 and the upper housing 30 are connected by a plurality of bolts 31.

The housing 20 of the power converter 2 is supported by the front bracket 17 and the rear bracket 18 with a gap between the transaxle 13. The upper surface 13a of the transaxle 13 is inclined forward downward, and the housing 20 is also supported in a forward downward posture. The front bracket 17 and the rear bracket 18 are connected to the lower housing 40.

The connectors 51 and 52 are connected to the side surface of the lower housing 40. A power cable 53 that supplies electric power to the traveling motors 14 and 15 is connected to the connector 51. A signal line and a power cable are connected to the connector 52. The power cable connected to the connector 52 is a cable for transmitting low voltage power. In FIG. 2, the signal line and the power cable connected to the connector 52 are not shown.

The arrow F in FIG. 2 schematically shows the collision load when the vehicle collides forward. Since the power converter 2 is fixed on the transaxle 13 in a forward-down posture, the collision load is concentrated on the front upper corner. As described above, the housing 20 is divided into an upper housing 30 and a lower housing 40, and a collision load is applied to the boundary between the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40. That is, the collision load is concentrated on the fastening portion between the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40. Next, the impact resistance characteristics of the housing 20 of the power converter 2 will be described.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the power converter 2. As described above, the power converter 2 is fixed in a forward-down posture with respect to the vehicle front-rear direction. However, in order to help understanding, in FIG. 3 and thereafter, the power converter 2 is the bottom surface of the housing 20. Is shown in the posture along the vehicle front-rear direction of the coordinate system.

In FIG. 3, the connectors 51 and 52 (see FIG. 2) attached to the side surface of the housing are removed. On the side surface of the lower housing 40, connector openings 41 and 42 for attaching the connectors 51 and 52 are provided. The parts inside the connector openings 41 and 42 are not shown. In the housing 20, the side surface provided with the connector openings 41 and 42 is the side surface far from the vehicle center line in the vehicle width direction.

As described above, the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40 are connected by a plurality of bolts 31. A flange 34 extending laterally outward is provided at the lower end of the upper housing 30, a flange 44 extending laterally outward is provided at the upper end of the lower housing 40, and the bolt 31 is a flange 34 and a flange 44. Penetrates. The flanges 34 and 44 are fastened by the bolts 31 and nuts 48, and the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40 are connected.

The upper housing 30 also has an opening at the upper part, and the opening at the upper part is covered with a cover 32. The cover 32 is fixed to the upper housing 30 with a plurality of bolts 33.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the power converter 2. The collision load applied from the front is distributed to a plurality of bolts 31 connecting the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40. The flanges 34 and 44 fastened by the bolt 31 and the nut 48 project outward at the portion where the bolt 31 is fixed. The flange 34 of the upper housing 30 is provided with six protrusions 34a-34f. FIG. 5 shows a top view of the lower housing 40. The parts inside the housing are not shown. The flange 44 of the lower housing 40 is provided with six protrusions 44a-44f so as to correspond to the protrusions 34a-34f of the flange 34 of the upper housing 30. The protrusion 34a and the protrusion 44a overlap, and the bolt 31 and the nut 48 fasten them. Each of the protrusions 34b-34f and each of the protrusions 44b-44f are similarly overlapped, and bolts 31 and nuts 48 fasten them. The protruding portion 34a (34b-34f) and the protruding portion 44a (44b-44f) are referred to as a fastening portion 21a (21b-21f).

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the fastening points 21c and 21d on both sides in the vehicle width direction at the rear of the vehicle are fastened by two bolts 31 arranged in close proximity to each other. Further, the fastening portion 21b at the center of the vehicle in the front-rear direction on the left side is also fastened with two bolts 31 arranged adjacent to each other. At the front of the vehicle, the fastening points 21a and 21f on both sides in the vehicle width direction are fastened with one bolt 31. The central fastening portion 21e in the front-rear direction of the vehicle on the right side is fastened by two bolts 31 arranged slightly apart from each other.

The bolt insertion hole through which the bolt 31 is inserted will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, bolt insertion holes 45a and 45b are provided in each of the protruding portions 44a-44f of the flange 44 of the lower housing 40. The hole diameter D1 of the bolt insertion hole 45a is larger than the hole diameter D2 of the bolt insertion hole 45b. The bolt insertion holes 45a having a large hole diameter are used at the fastening points 21a and 21b adjacent to the connector opening 41 on the front side of the vehicle on the side surface. In other words, among the fastening points 21a-21f of the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40, the diameter D1 of the bolt insertion holes 45a of the fastening points 21a and 21b adjacent to the connector opening 41 located on the front side of the vehicle is the other. It is larger than the diameter D2 of the bolt insertion hole 45b of the fastening portion 21c-21f.

Bolt insertion holes are also provided in the protrusions 34a-34f of the upper housing 30 so as to correspond to the bolt insertion holes 45a and 45b of the protrusions 44a-44f of the lower housing 40. The diameter of the bolt insertion holes provided in the protrusions 34a and 34b adjacent to the connector opening 41 on the front side is larger than the diameter of the bolt insertion holes provided in the other protrusions 34c-34f.

The in-vehicle structure of the embodiment has the following two features. (1) Of the fastening points 21a-21f of the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40, the fastening points 21c and 21d on both sides in the vehicle width direction at the rear of the vehicle are fastened with two bolts 31 arranged close to each other. To. (2) Of the fastening points 21a-21f of the upper housing 30 and the lower housing 40, the diameter D1 of the bolt insertion holes 45a of the fastening points 21a and 21b adjacent to the connector opening 41 located on the front side of the vehicle is the other fastening. It is larger than the diameter D1 of the bolt insertion hole 45b at location 21c-21f. Similarly, for the bolt insertion holes of the protruding portions 34a-34f of the upper housing 30, the diameters of the bolt insertion holes of the fastening portions 21a and 21b (protruding portions 34a and 34b) are the same as those of the other fastening portions 21c-21f (protruding portions 34c). It is larger than the diameter of the bolt insertion hole of −34f).

The above-mentioned features (1) and (2) give the following advantages. A collision load F (see FIG. 2) is applied to the power converter 2 mounted on the front compartment from the front side of the vehicle in the event of a collision. Due to the feature of (1) above, the fastening points 21c and 21d on both sides at the rear of the vehicle are strengthened, and the impact resistance characteristic against the collision load F from the front is enhanced. Further, when the connector opening 41 is provided in front of the side surface, the rigidity of the side surface is lowered. Due to the feature (2) above, the timing at which the bolts 31 at the fastening points 21a and 21b adjacent to the connector opening 41 receive the load due to the collision is slightly smaller than the timing at which the bolts 31 at the other fastening points 21c-21f receive the load. Become slow. That is, after the bolts 31 of the fastening points 21c-21f other than the fastening points 21a and 21b adjacent to the connector opening 41 receive the load, the bolts 31 of the fastening points 21a and 21b adjacent to the connector opening 41 receive the load. Therefore, the load received by the bolts 31 of the fastening points 21a and 21b adjacent to the connector opening 41 is reduced. This contributes to suppressing the stress generated around the connector opening 41 and enhances the impact resistance characteristics of the side surface having the connector opening.

The points to be noted regarding the technique described in the examples will be described. The connector openings 41 and 42 are provided on the side surface of the power converter 2 that is far from the center of the vehicle, out of the two side surfaces in the vehicle width direction. What often occurs in a vehicle collision form is a form in which an obstacle collides diagonally from the front. In such a case, the power converter 2 is subjected to a high collision load at the corners on both sides of the front side far from the center of the vehicle. When a connector opening is provided on the side surface on the side where a high load is generated, making the diameter of the bolt insertion hole at the fastening point adjacent to the front connector opening larger than the diameter of the other bolt insertion holes is impact resistant. It greatly contributes to the improvement of characteristics.

Although specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of claims. The techniques described in the claims include various modifications and modifications of the specific examples illustrated above. The technical elements described herein or in the drawings exhibit their technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the techniques illustrated in the present specification or drawings can achieve a plurality of purposes at the same time, and achieving one of the purposes itself has technical usefulness.

2: Power converter 10: Hybrid vehicle 11: Front compartment 13: Trans axle 14, 15: Motor 16: Engine 17: Front bracket 18: Rear bracket 20: Housing 21a-21f: Fastening point 30: Upper housing 31, 33: Bolt 32: Cover 34, 44: Flange 34a-34f, 44a-44f: Protruding part 40: Lower housing 41, 42: Connector opening 45a, 45b: Bolt insertion hole 48: Nut 51, 52: Connector

Claims (1)

In-vehicle structure to the front compartment of the power converter,
The housing of the power converter is divided into an upper housing and a lower housing, and both are fastened with a plurality of bolts.
Two openings adjacent to each other in the front-rear direction of the vehicle are provided on the side surface of the housing in the vehicle width direction.
Of the fastening points where the upper housing and the lower housing are connected, the fastening points on both sides in the vehicle width direction at the rear of the vehicle are fastened with two bolts arranged close to each other.
Of the fastening points of the upper housing and the lower housing, the diameter of the bolt insertion hole of the fastening point adjacent to the opening located on the front side of the vehicle is larger than the diameter of the bolt insertion hole of the other fastening points. , In-vehicle structure.

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