JP3911724B2 - Battery cooling air discharge structure for electric vehicles - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a battery cooling air discharge structure for an electric vehicle.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an electric vehicle, since a vehicle-mounted battery occupies a considerable weight and mounting space, conventionally, a dedicated battery frame having a rigid structure is disposed on the lower side of the vehicle body floor, and a plurality of batteries are arranged on the battery frame. The battery is hermetically stored between the vehicle body floor and the battery frame.
[0003]
In this way, when a plurality of batteries are hermetically stored between the battery frame and the vehicle body floor, the batteries generate heat and the battery performance deteriorates. To avoid this, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-1973 As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-59204 and the like, an intake duct is connected in communication with the front end portion of the battery frame, and the intake duct is disposed upright along the dash panel. Cooling air is introduced through the front of the battery frame to cool the internal battery, and the air after heat exchange is discharged to the outside from an air discharge portion provided at the rear of the battery frame.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, the battery frame is disposed below the vehicle floor and has a low ground clearance. Therefore, when cooling air is discharged directly from the rear air discharge unit, the splash from the air discharge unit when driving in rainy weather. May enter, or the air discharge part may be submerged and water may enter the battery frame.
[0005]
Therefore, it has been proposed that an exhaust duct is connected to the air discharge portion, the exhaust duct is disposed along the lower surface of the floor panel, and cooling air is discharged from the rear portion of the vehicle body to the outside by the exhaust duct. If there is a rear suspension on the lower side of the rear floor where the exhaust duct is installed, the exhaust duct must be installed in the front-rear direction through this rear suspension mounting part, so that the layout becomes difficult. However, considering the vertical movement stroke of the rear suspension, the exhaust duct must be flattened to reduce the duct area, and the cooling air discharge efficiency is deteriorated.
[0006]
Further, if the type of the rear suspension differs depending on the vehicle type and specifications, it becomes necessary to change the shape and arrangement layout of the exhaust duct according to the corresponding rear suspension, which is inefficient and disadvantageous in terms of cost.
[0007]
Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to easily lay out the duct without being restricted by the rear suspension, to secure a sufficient duct area, to improve the cooling air discharge efficiency, and to other vehicle types having different rear suspension types. The present invention also provides a battery cooling air discharge structure for an electric vehicle that can be applied.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a plurality of batteries are housed in a sealed state and introduced into the battery frame at the rear of the battery frame that is fastened and fixed to the floor frame member on the lower surface of the floor panel of the vehicle body. In the structure provided with the air discharge part for discharging the air for cooling the battery, a cover plate is joined and arranged on the side surface of the passenger compartment of the floor panel, and the duct outlet opened to the rear part of the vehicle body by the floor panel and the cover plate is provided. And an exhaust duct having a duct inlet that passes through the floor panel and opens downward in a portion corresponding to the air exhaust part of the battery frame is provided in the front-rear direction, and the air exhaust part of the battery frame is connected to the duct inlet It is characterized by that.
[0009]
In claim 2, the exhaust duct according to claim 1 is provided with a front portion extending in the vehicle width direction with a duct inlet and a duct outlet at a rear end portion in the front-rear direction from the front portion. It is characterized by comprising a rear part that extends.
[0010]
According to claim 3, the air discharge part of the battery frame according to claim 2 is superposed along the lower surface of the kick-up part where the floor panel is offset in the vertical direction, and the front part of the exhaust duct is disposed at the front part. It is provided on the side of the passenger compartment of the kick-up part of the floor panel.
[0011]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the rear part of the exhaust duct according to the second and third aspects is arranged on both sides of the floor panel.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
According to claim 1, the exhaust duct is formed on the side surface of the passenger compartment of the floor panel, and the duct inlet penetrating the floor panel of the exhaust duct is connected to the air exhaust portion of the battery frame, so that the air exhaust Cooling air exhausted from the air is exhausted from the duct outlet at the rear of the vehicle body through the exhaust duct. Therefore, splashing from the air exhaust when traveling in the rain, etc. Any problem of water intrusion into the frame can be eliminated.
[0013]
Further, since the exhaust duct is provided on the side surface of the passenger compartment of the floor panel in this way, the layout of the exhaust duct is facilitated without being restricted by the rear suspension mounted below the floor panel. Of course, the cross-sectional area of the exhaust duct can be set sufficiently large to increase the exhaust efficiency, and thus the cooling performance of the battery can be further improved.
[0014]
In addition, since the exhaust duct is provided on the side of the passenger compartment of the floor panel, the layout of the exhaust duct can be easily arranged regardless of the rear suspension, and the cross-sectional area of the duct can be used regardless of the type of rear suspension. Can be set sufficiently large, and can be applied to other vehicle types.
[0015]
According to the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, since the front part of the exhaust duct is formed in the vehicle width direction, this front part functions as a vehicle width direction strength member to increase the vehicle body floor rigidity. be able to.
[0016]
According to claim 3, in addition to the effect of claim 2, the air discharge part of the battery frame and the front part of the exhaust duct are provided in the kick-up part of the floor panel which tends to cause stress concentration due to the longitudinal collision input. Therefore, the vehicle body floor rigidity can be further increased.
[0017]
According to the fourth aspect, in addition to the effects of the second and third aspects, the rear portion of the exhaust duct extends in the front-rear direction on both side portions of the floor panel, and these rear portions function as a vehicle body front-rear direction strength member. Therefore, the vehicle body floor rigidity can be further increased in cooperation with the side members that are the vehicle body longitudinal direction skeleton members that are joined and arranged on both sides of the lower surface of the floor panel.
[0018]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0019]
1 to 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a bottomed battery frame on which a plurality of batteries B are mounted, and a rigid body formed in a plane rectangle by the front and rear frames 3 and 3 and the left and right frames 4 and 4 and the bottom plate 5 having a closed cross-sectional structure. The frame body 2 having the structure and the front and rear frames 3 and 3 and the left and right frames 4 and 4 of the frame body 2 are fastened and fixed to cover a plurality of batteries B accommodated in the frame body 2 and stored in a sealed state. And a battery cover 6 made of synthetic resin.
[0020]
The battery frame 1 is fastened and fixed to a floor skeleton member joined to the lower surface of the floor panel 7 of the vehicle body by bolts, nuts, and the like. Specifically, the left and right frames 4 and 4 are skeleton members in the vehicle longitudinal direction. While superposed on the lower surface of the side members 8, 8, the front and rear frames 3, 3 are superposed on the lower surface of the front cross member (not shown), which is a frame member in the vehicle width direction on the front side of the floor panel 7. Fastened and fixed by nuts.
[0021]
At the rear end portion of the battery cover 6, there is provided an air discharge portion 9 for discharging battery cooling air introduced from an air introduction portion (not shown) provided at the front end portion of the battery frame 1.
[0022]
In the present embodiment, the air discharge part 9 is formed separately from the battery cover 6 with a fiber reinforced resin material mixed with reinforcing fibers such as glass fiber and carbon fiber, and connected to the rear end of the battery cover 6. It is.
[0023]
Specifically, the air discharge part 9 is formed in a rectangular box shape that is long in the vehicle width direction with the upper part open, and the fans 12 are arranged on both the left and right sides of the inside. The wall is formed with an opening 10 that is horizontally long in the vehicle width direction, and a hood 11 that covers the front of the opening 10 is integrally formed. A lower edge flange 11 a of the hood 11 is formed at the rear end of the battery cover 6. The outer edges of the formed notches 13 are superposed and bonded or fused together to be integrally connected and fixed.
[0024]
Further, the flange 9a at the upper peripheral edge of the air discharge part 9 is overlapped with a step part on the lower surface side of the kick-up part 7A where the front part of the floor panel 7 having a low ground height and the rear part having a high ground level are offset in the vertical direction. Protrusively molded at the height to be placed.
[0025]
On the other hand, the floor panel 7 has a vehicle width direction opening 14a having substantially the same opening area as that of the upper opening portion of the air discharge portion 9 and a front / rear direction opening 14b extending rearwardly connected to the vehicle width direction opening 14a. And a cover plate 15 having a substantially hat-shaped cross section formed in a substantially L-shaped plane so as to close the opening 14 from the passenger compartment side. The peripheral flange 15a is superposed on the peripheral edge of the opening 14 on the passenger compartment side.
[0026]
Further, the closing plate 17 is joined across the pair of rear side cross members 16 and 16 joined to the lower surface of the rear portion of the floor panel 7 in the vehicle width direction and joined to the side members 8 and 8 on both sides. The closing plate 17 closes the opening 14 except for the rear part of the vehicle width direction opening 14a and the front / rear direction opening 14b, and includes a duct inlet 19 on the side surface of the passenger compartment of the floor panel 7 so as to extend in the vehicle width direction. A planar substantially L-shaped exhaust duct 18 comprising a front portion 18A that is present and a rear portion 18B that includes a duct outlet 20 at the rear portion and extends in the front-rear direction from the front portion 18A is configured.
[0027]
When the battery frame 1 is mounted on the lower side of the vehicle body floor, the air discharge unit 9 overlaps and closely contacts the flange 9a on the upper periphery with the lower surface side periphery of the duct inlet 19, and the rear edge of the flange 9a is The front end and the joined portion of the floor panel 7 and the front edge of the rear side cross member 16 are fastened and fixed by bolts and nuts and connected to the duct inlet 19.
[0028]
According to the structure of the above embodiment, the cooling air in the battery frame 1 that flows into the air discharge portion 9 from the opening 10 by driving the fan 12 flows from the air discharge portion 9 to the exhaust duct 18 on the vehicle compartment side. It flows into the inlet 19, passes through the exhaust duct 18, and is discharged to the outside from the duct outlet 20 at the rear end portion of the floor panel 7.
[0029]
Accordingly, it is possible to completely eliminate the problem that the splash enters the air discharge unit 9 when traveling in the rain or the water enters the battery frame 1 from the air discharge unit 9 during the submerged road travel.
[0030]
Further, since the exhaust duct 18 is provided on the side surface of the passenger compartment of the floor panel 7, the duct layout can be easily performed without being restricted by a rear suspension (not shown) mounted on the lower side of the floor panel 7. The cross-sectional area of the exhaust duct 18 can be set sufficiently large to increase the exhaust efficiency. Therefore, the cooling performance of the battery B can be further improved. In this way, the exhaust duct 18 is connected to the floor panel 7. Since it is provided on the side of the passenger compartment, the layout of the exhaust duct 18 can be easily set regardless of the rear suspension and the cross-sectional area of the duct can be set sufficiently large even when the type of rear suspension differs depending on the vehicle type and style. It can be applied to other models.
[0031]
Here, in particular, in the present embodiment, since the front portion 18A of the exhaust duct 18 is formed in the vehicle width direction, this front portion 18A can function as a strength member in the vehicle width direction to increase the vehicle body floor rigidity. The front panel 18A extending in the vehicle width direction and the box-shaped air discharge section 9 made of a fiber reinforced resin material are used to kick up the floor panel 7 where stress concentration is likely to occur due to a longitudinal collision input during a vehicle collision. Since the closed cross-sectional portion extending in the vehicle width direction can be constituted by the front portion 18A and the air discharge portion 9 in the kick-up portion 7A provided in the portion 7A, the vehicle body floor rigidity can be further enhanced.
[0032]
FIGS. 7 and 8 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the rear portion 18B of the exhaust duct 18 in the above embodiment is placed from both sides of the front portion 18A to both sides of the floor panel 7. FIG. It is provided in the front-rear direction.
[0033]
Therefore, according to the structure of this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the above-described embodiment, the rear portions 18B and 18B of the exhaust duct 18 function as a vehicle body longitudinal direction strength member on both sides of the floor panel 7. The vehicle body floor rigidity can be further increased in cooperation with the side members 8 and 8 which are the vehicle body longitudinal direction skeleton members joined and arranged on both sides of the lower surface of the vehicle body 7. 7 and 8, T represents a spare tire, and F represents a floor board.
[0034]
The duct outlet 20 of the exhaust duct 18 is configured to open downward at the rear end portion of the floor panel 7 in each of the above-described embodiments. However, the duct outlet 20 penetrates the rear end panel and opens to the back side of the rear bumper. (The rear end panel and the rear bumper are both not shown).
[0035]
Further, without providing the opening 14 in the floor panel 7, a cover plate 15 is joined to the side surface of the passenger compartment of the floor panel 7 to form a box cross section, and the floor panel 7 is formed at a required portion at the front and rear portions of the box cross section. The exhaust duct 18 may be configured by forming a duct inlet 19 and a duct outlet 20 through the pipe.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an exhaust duct of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a main part showing a relationship between the battery frame and the air discharge part of the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the line AA in FIG. 3;
6 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to the line BB in FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Battery frame 7 Floor panel 7A Kick-up part 9 Air exhaust part 18 Exhaust duct 18A Front part 18B Rear part 19 Duct inlet 20 Duct outlet

Claims (4)

A plurality of batteries are stored inside in a sealed state, and air for cooling the battery introduced into the battery frame is discharged to the rear part of the battery frame fastened and fixed to the floor frame member on the lower surface of the floor panel of the vehicle body. In the structure provided with the air discharge part, a cover plate is joined and arranged on the side surface of the passenger compartment of the floor panel, and a duct outlet opened to the rear part of the vehicle body is provided by the floor panel and the cover plate , and the air discharge of the battery frame is performed. An electric vehicle characterized in that an exhaust duct having a duct inlet that passes through a floor panel and opens downward is provided in a front-rear direction at a portion corresponding to the section, and an air discharge portion of a battery frame is connected to the duct inlet. Battery cooling air discharge structure. The exhaust duct includes a front portion that includes a duct inlet and extends in the vehicle width direction, and a rear portion that includes a duct outlet at a rear end portion and extends in the front-rear direction from the front portion. Item 2. A cooling air discharge structure for an electric vehicle according to Item 1. The air discharge part of the battery frame is superposed along the lower surface of the kick-up part where the floor panel is offset in the vertical direction, and the front part of the exhaust duct is provided on the side of the passenger compartment of the kick-up part of the floor panel The battery cooling air discharge structure for an electric vehicle according to claim 2. 4. The battery cooling air discharge structure for an electric vehicle according to claim 2, wherein rear portions of the exhaust duct are disposed on both sides of the floor panel.

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