JP4050451B2 - Hybrid vehicle - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hybrid vehicle in which front wheels are driven by an engine and rear wheels are driven by an electric motor, and more particularly to a layout of a power plant including an electric motor.
[0002]
[Prior art]
An electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle performs energy input / output adjustment between an energy storage unit (hereinafter referred to as “enest”) such as a battery and a capacitor, an electric motor that performs traction and regenerative power generation, and the battery and the electric motor. The power plant includes a power drive unit (hereinafter referred to as “PDU”) that controls the operation of the electric motor. In this case, the enest and the PDU are generally connected by a DC high-voltage line, and the PDU and the electric motor are generally connected by an AC three-phase line. For example, when driving a vehicle, the enest and the PDU are connected via the DC high-voltage line. The high-voltage DC power supplied in this way is converted into three-phase AC power by the PDU and supplied to the electric motor via the AC three-phase line. How to arrange such a power plant in a vehicle has a great influence on mountability and assemblability on these vehicles, and is very important in designing the vehicle.
[0003]
For this reason, the present applicant has already proposed an electric vehicle equipped with such a power plant, for example, in JP-A-7-156826. In this electric vehicle, the battery is disposed under the floor of the passenger compartment, the electric motor is disposed in the motor room at the front of the vehicle, and the PDU is disposed above the electric motor. Further, as other layouts of power plant parts, for example, those in which an enest is disposed at the rear of the vehicle interior, and those in which a module in which the enest and PDU are integrated are disposed in the rear of the vehicle interior are known.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, when the PDU is arranged on the upper side of the electric motor in the motor room, the DC high-voltage line connecting the PDU and the enest arranged under the floor becomes long, and the wiring becomes complicated. In addition, when this layout is applied to a hybrid vehicle, the PDU is arranged on the upper side of the engine in the engine room, so that the installation space of peripheral parts such as an engine driving auxiliary machine and an air cleaner is compressed, There is room for improvement in these respects because it hinders the downsizing of the engine room and the downsizing of the vehicle.
[0005]
Next, when the enest is arranged at the rear part of the vehicle interior, the DC high-voltage line connecting the enest and the PDU becomes longer, and a separate structure for penetrating the interior and exterior of the vehicle interior is required for the wiring. This causes an increase in cost. Further, when the enest is arranged at the rear part of the vehicle interior in this way, in a hybrid vehicle, in general, the fuel tank is often arranged at the rear part under the floor, and in this case, the DC high-voltage line from the enest is arranged in a complicated manner around the fuel tank. Wiring between parts must be wired to the PDU, which further complicates the wiring.
[0006]
Furthermore, when a module in which the enest and the PDU are integrated is arranged at the rear part of the vehicle interior, it is necessary to provide a floor penetration structure for passing an AC three-phase line that connects the PDU and the electric motor arranged under the floor. , Which causes an increase in cost. Further, since the AC three-phase line becomes long, there is a drawback that a high-frequency AC current becomes a radio noise generation source. Furthermore, as the number of power plant parts arranged in the vehicle interior increases, the vehicle interior space that can be effectively used is reduced accordingly.
[0007]
In addition, since PDUs and electric motors generate heat as they operate, it is common to provide a cooling device for cooling them. In that case, a water-cooled type is usually employed to reduce the size of the PDU / electric motor and reduce power consumption. However, in a hybrid vehicle, a radiator for an engine or a heat sink equivalent to that of a gasoline vehicle is provided, so it is often difficult to add a radiator for a PDU / electric motor. Further, when this radiator is added, the added radiator and the existing engine radiator and condenser affect each other, thereby reducing the heat dissipation capability of each. As a result, it becomes difficult for the engine to maintain its original output, and in many cases, it is necessary to install an engine having a smaller output as compared with a gasoline vehicle of the same vehicle type.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and by shortening the wiring length of the power plant and simplifying the wiring structure, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, the radio noise can be reduced, An object of the present invention is to provide a hybrid vehicle capable of efficiently cooling a power plant.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve this object, a hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 of the present invention includes an engine 1 that drives the front wheels 2 and 2, an electric motor 5 that drives the rear wheels 3 and 3, and electric power supplied to the electric motor 5. , A power drive unit 13 that controls the operation of the electric motor 5, and an air-cooled cooling system that cools the power storage device and the power drive unit 13 (cooling) Device 18), the power storage device, the power drive unit 13 and the electric motor 5 are arranged in order from the front side in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1 and are arranged under the floor of the passenger compartment 11, and the cooling system is under the floor of the passenger compartment 11. In addition, the intake ports 20a, 21a, and 22a are arranged in front of the power storage device.
[0010]
According to this hybrid vehicle, the power storage device, the power drive unit, and the electric motor are arranged under the floor of the passenger compartment in a state where they are arranged in this order from the front side in the front-rear direction, so that they can be arranged close to each other. It becomes possible. As a result, both the wiring connecting the power storage device and the power drive unit, for example, the DC high-voltage line, and the wiring connecting the power drive unit and the electric motor, for example, the AC three-phase line can be shortened. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform these wirings, and it is possible to reduce radio noise caused by high-frequency AC current that is likely to occur when the AC three-phase line is long.
[0011]
In addition, since these power drive units are all located under the floor of the passenger compartment, there is no need for a through structure for passing a DC high-voltage line or an AC three-phase line between the interior and exterior of the vehicle interior. Is possible. For the same reason, there is no need to place a power drive unit in the engine room, which increases the degree of freedom in design, such as enabling the engine room and thus the size of the vehicle to be reduced, and there are no power plant parts in the vehicle interior. Thus, the effective space in the passenger compartment can be expanded.
[0012]
In addition, the cooling system that cools the power storage device and the power drive unit is also located under the floor of the passenger compartment, so there is almost no adverse effect from the heat dissipation of the cooling system to the radiator and condenser for existing engines. It will be possible to install an engine with the same output as a gasoline vehicle. In addition, since the cooling system intake port is disposed in front of the power storage device located at the forefront, the cooling air introduced from the intake port can be sent to the power storage device and the power drive unit with a short pipe length. Thus, the cost can be reduced and these can be efficiently cooled.
[0013]
The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1 of the present invention further includes a fuel tank 15 disposed under the floor of the vehicle compartment 11 and an exhaust pipe 9 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 11 in the hybrid vehicle according to claim 1. The drive unit 13 is arranged on the opposite side of the exhaust pipe 9 with the fuel tank 15 therebetween in the left-right direction of the vehicle 1.
[0014]
According to this configuration, since the power storage device and the power drive unit are disposed on the opposite side of the exhaust pipe with the fuel tank in between, the adverse effect due to the heat of the exhaust pipe on the power storage device, the power drive unit, the cooling system, etc. Can be suppressed. In addition, since the power storage device, the power drive unit, and the fuel tank can be arranged together under the floor of the passenger compartment, the degree of freedom in design can be increased, for example, the floor structure of the passenger compartment can be simplified.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a configuration of a hybrid vehicle to which the present invention is applied. In this hybrid vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as “vehicle”) 1, front wheels 2 and 2 are driven by an engine 4, and rear wheels 3 and 3 are driven by an electric motor (Mot) (hereinafter simply referred to as “motor”) 5. Of the type. The engine 4 is housed in an engine room 6 at the front of the vehicle 1 and is connected to the front wheels 2 and 2 via a transmission 7 and a differential differential 8. Further, the exhaust pipe 9 of the engine 4 extends in the front-rear direction along the inside of the right side frame 10.
[0016]
On the other hand, the motor 5 is located between the rear wheels 3 and 3, is disposed under the floor of the passenger compartment 11, and is connected to the rear wheels 3 and 3 through a differential differential 12 and the like. On the front side of the motor 5, a power drive unit (hereinafter referred to as “PDU”) 13 and a battery (Batt) 14 (power storage device) are sequentially arranged in a state of being arranged close to each other in the front-rear direction. The PDU 13 and the battery 14 are arranged along the inside of the left side frame 10 and under the floor of the passenger compartment 11 like the motor 5. A fuel tank (Fuel) 15 is disposed under the floor of the passenger compartment 11 between the PDU 13 and the battery 14 and the exhaust pipe 9.
[0017]
The PDU 13 constitutes a power plant together with the motor 5 and the battery 14. The PDU 13 is connected to the battery 14 via the DC high-voltage line 16 and is connected to the motor 5 via the AC three-phase line 17. Electrical input / output adjustment between the motor 5 and the motor 5 is performed. Thereby, the operation of the motor 5, that is, the driving of the rear wheels 3 and 3 and the regenerative power generation by the motor 5 are controlled, and the battery 14 supplies power to the motor 5 when driving the rear wheels and is regenerated during the regenerative power generation. Stores power.
[0018]
According to the vehicle 1 having the above configuration, the battery 14, the PDU 13, and the motor 5 are arranged in the front-rear direction so as to be adjacent to each other in this order from the front side. , And the wiring length of the AC three-phase line 17 that connects the PDU 13 and the motor 5 can be shortened. Therefore, it is possible to easily perform these wirings, and it is possible to reduce radio noise caused by high-frequency AC current that is likely to occur when the AC three-phase wire 17 is long.
[0019]
Further, since the battery 14, the PDU 13, and the motor 5 are all disposed under the floor of the vehicle compartment 11, a through structure for passing the DC high voltage line 16 and the AC three-phase wire 17 between the inside and outside of the vehicle compartment 11 is unnecessary. Thus, the manufacturing cost can be reduced accordingly. For the same reason, it is not necessary to place the PDU 13 in the engine room 6, so that the engine room 6 and thus the vehicle 1 can be miniaturized. Since there are no parts, the effective space in the passenger compartment 11 can be expanded.
[0020]
Further, since the PDU 13 and the battery 14 are arranged on the opposite side of the exhaust pipe 9 with the fuel tank 15 in between in the left-right direction of the vehicle 2, the PDU 13 and the battery 14, the cooling device 18 described below, etc. An adverse effect due to heat of the exhaust pipe 9 can be suppressed. In addition, since the PDU 13, the battery 14, and the fuel tank 15 can be arranged together under the floor of the passenger compartment 11, the floor structure of the passenger compartment 11 can be simplified and the degree of freedom in design can be increased. .
[0021]
In addition, it is preferable that the motor 5, PDU13, and battery 14 which comprise the said power plant become a system which can be added to a gasoline vehicle. In other words, when developing a model of a vehicle, a space for installing the power plant is secured in advance when a gasoline vehicle is laid out. By adding a power plant based on the gasoline vehicle, the vehicle can be converted into a hybrid vehicle. This can reduce the development man-hours. Along with this, it is preferable that the control system should be as complete as possible on the motor control side, so that it is only necessary to connect a communication line to the engine control system. Can be further reduced.
[0022]
A cooling device 18 (cooling system) for cooling the PDU 13 and the battery 14 is further provided under the floor of the passenger compartment 11. As shown in FIG. 3, the cooling device 18 is of an air cooling type, extends between the outside of the vehicle compartment 11 and the battery 14, and air outside the vehicle compartment 11 through an intake port 20 a to which a filter 19 is attached. The main passage 20 for introducing (outside air) and the upstream and downstream portions of the main passage 20 are joined together, and the air (inside air) in the passenger compartment 11 is supplied from the intake ports 21a and 22a opened in the passenger compartment 11, respectively. First and second inside air introduction passages 21 and 22 to be introduced, a branch passage 23 branched from the downstream side of the joining portion of the first inside air introduction passage 21 of the main passage 20, and a branch passage 23 from the battery 14 via the PDU 13. A circulation passage 24 is provided to return to.
[0023]
Further, first and second switching valves 25 and 26 for switching the air to be introduced to the inside air or the outside air are provided at the junctions between the first and second inside air introduction passages 21 and 22 and the main passage 20, respectively. It has been. The branch passage 23 is divided into two parts by a partition wall 23a, and an air volume control valve 27 is provided in one part thereof. The circulation passage 24 joins the downstream side of the air volume control valve 27. The air volume control valve 27 is for controlling the amount of air blown to the downstream fan 29 described later, and the opening degree and switching of the inside / outside air switching valves 25 and 26 are controlled by respective actuators (not shown). Controlled by
[0024]
Further, a fan 29 of the air conditioner unit 28 is provided together with the fan motor 30 on the downstream side of the junction of the circulation passage 24 of the branch passage 23, and the fan 29 includes the evaporator 30 and the air conditioner unit 28. The heater units 31 are connected in order, and the air conditioner outlet 28a faces the vehicle interior 11. Further, an outside air temperature sensor 33 for detecting the outside air temperature is provided outside the outside air introduction passage 20, and an inside air temperature sensor 34 for detecting the inside air temperature is provided in a suitable place in the passenger compartment 11, for example, the first inside air introduction passage 21. Is provided.
[0025]
FIG. 4 shows a control table of the cooling device 18. That is, the cooling device 18 is operated by switching to the first to third cooling modes. The first cooling mode is executed when the driver selects the inside air circulation mode by operating the air conditioner. In this case, the first and second switching valves 25 and 26 are connected to the first and second switching valves 25 and 26, respectively. While switching to the open position (position A) for opening the second inside air introduction passages 21 and 22, the opening degree of the air volume control valve 27 is controlled.
[0026]
Thereby, the inside air is introduced into the first and second inside air introduction passages 21 and 22 from the intake ports 21a and 22a by the blowing of the fan 29. The inside air introduced into the second inside air introduction passage 22 is sequentially sent from the main passage 20 to the battery 14 and the PDU 13 and cools them. Thereafter, it returns to the upstream side of the fan 29 through the circulation passage 24. On the other hand, the inside air introduced into the first inside air introduction passage 21 passes through the branch passage 23, is sent to the fan 29 side with an air flow amount corresponding to the opening degree of the air amount control valve 27, and merges with the air from the PDU 13 side. The merged air is sequentially sent to the evaporator 30 and the heater unit 31 of the air conditioner unit 28. At that time, for example, after being cooled by the evaporator 30, the air is blown into the vehicle compartment 11 from the air conditioner outlet 28a.
[0027]
The blown air circulates in the passenger compartment 11 and is then reintroduced into the first and second inside air introduction passages 21 and 22 to cool the battery 14 and the PDU 13 as described above. The arrows in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicate the flow of the cooling air as described above. Further, the opening degree of the air volume control valve 27 is controlled according to the temperature on the battery 14 side. For example, when the temperature is high and the battery 14 or the like is sufficiently cooled, the opening degree is larger, that is, on the battery 14 side. The amount of cooling air sent to is controlled to be smaller.
[0028]
The second cooling mode is executed when the outside air temperature detected by the outside air temperature sensor 33 is lower than the inside air temperature detected by the inside air temperature sensor 34 when the driver has selected the outside air introduction mode. In this case, the first and second switching valves 25 and 26 are respectively switched to a closed position (position B) for closing the first and second inside air introduction passages 21 and 22, and the air flow control valve 27 The opening is controlled.
[0029]
Thereby, the outside air introduced into the main passage 20 from the intake port 20a is sequentially sent to the battery 14 and the PDU 13 to cool them. Thereafter, it returns to the upstream side of the fan 29 via the circulation passage 24. A part of the introduced air passes through the branch passage 23, is throttled by the air volume control valve 27, is sent to the fan 29 side, is sent to the air conditioner unit 28 together with the air from the PDU 13 side, and the temperature is adjusted. Then, it is blown out into the passenger compartment 11.
[0030]
The third cooling mode is executed when the outside air temperature is higher than the inside air temperature when the driver has selected the outside air introduction mode. In this case, the first switching valve 25 is switched to the closed position, the second switching valve 26 is switched to the open position, and the air volume control valve 27 is closed.
[0031]
As a result, the outside air introduced into the main passage 20 is sent to the air conditioner unit 28 via the branch passage 23, cooled, and then blown out into the passenger compartment 11. The blown cooling air circulates in the passenger compartment 11 and is then introduced into the second inside air introduction passage 22 to cool the battery 14 and the PDU 13. Thereafter, the air is sent to the air conditioner unit 28 through the circulation passage 24.
[0032]
As described above, according to the cooling device 18 of the present embodiment, when the driver selects the outside air introduction mode, when the outside air temperature is low, the introduced outside air is reduced by executing the second cooling mode. While directly used for cooling, when the outside air temperature is high, the third cooling mode is executed, so that the outside air is once cooled by the air conditioner unit 28 and then introduced as inside air and used for cooling. It can be efficiently cooled according to the outside temperature.
[0033]
Further, since the cooling device 18 is arranged under the floor of the passenger compartment 11, there is almost no adverse effect due to the heat radiation of the cooling device 18 to an existing radiator or condenser for an engine, and an engine having an output equivalent to that of a gasoline vehicle of the same grade. Can be installed. Further, since the intake ports 20a, 21a, and 22a of the cooling device 18 are disposed on the front side of the battery 14 positioned in the forefront, the cooling air introduced from these intake ports 20a, 21a, and 22a is short. The pipe length can be sent to the battery 14 and the PDU 13, thereby reducing costs and efficiently cooling them.
[0034]
FIG. 5 shows a cooling device according to the second embodiment. The cooling device 38 is different from the air conditioning unit 28 in that the cooling device 18 is connected to the air conditioner unit 28 and controlled according to the setting condition of the air conditioner. is there. Of the components of the cooling device 38, the same components as those of the cooling device 18 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. As can be seen from comparison with FIG. 3, the cooling device 38 is obtained by omitting the air conditioner unit 28, the second inside air introduction passage 22, the second switching valve 26, the branch passage 23, and the air volume production valve 27 from the cooling device 18. It is. A fan 29 and a fan motor 30 are provided on the downstream side of the circulation passage 24, and a discharge port 29 a on the downstream side faces the vehicle interior 11.
[0035]
According to this configuration, when the inside air temperature is lower than the outside air temperature, the first switching valve 25 is switched to the open position, so that the inside air is introduced into the main passage 20 by the fan 29 and the battery 14 and After cooling the PDU 13, it returns to the upstream side of the fan 29 through the circulation passage 24 and is discharged into the vehicle compartment 11 from the discharge port 29 a. On the other hand, when the outside air temperature is lower than the inside air temperature, the first switching valve 25 is switched to the closed position, so that the outside air is introduced into the main passage 20 and the battery 14 and the PDU 13 are cooled. Is discharged into the passenger compartment 11.
[0036]
Therefore, according to the cooling device 38 of the present embodiment, the above-described effects by the above-described cooling device 18 can be obtained similarly. In addition to this, in the present embodiment, the PDU 13 and the like can be cooled with a simple configuration using the lower one of the inside air and the outside air. In addition, since the fan 29 is arranged on the downstream side of the PDU 13, unlike the case where it is arranged on the upstream side of the battery 14, for example, it is possible to avoid the heat generated from the fan 29 from adversely affecting the cooling and efficiently perform the cooling. It can be carried out.
[0037]
FIG. 6 shows an example in which the cooling device for the PDU 13 and the battery 14 is configured as a water cooling type. In this example, the motor 5, the PDU 13, the battery 14, and the fuel tank 15 are arranged in the same manner as the vehicle 1 in FIG. Further, a cooling water passage (not shown) is circulated through the PDU 13 and the battery 14, and a water pump 39 and a radiator (RAD) 40 are disposed in the vicinity of the PDU 13 in the middle thereof. The water pump 39 and the radiator 40 are provided independently of the cooling system such as the engine radiator 41 and the air conditioner condenser 42 disposed in the engine room 6. Therefore, even with this configuration, it is possible to maintain the respective heat dissipating ability satisfactorily without affecting the engine cooling system.
[0038]
In addition, this invention can be implemented in various aspects, without being limited to the described embodiment. For example, in the cooling device of the embodiment, the battery and the PDU are cooled, but the motor may be cooled together by extending the cooling passage to the motor. Of course, a capacitor may be used as the power storage device instead of the battery of the embodiment. In addition, it is possible to appropriately change the detailed configuration within the scope of the gist of the present invention.
[0039]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the hybrid vehicle of the present invention, the power storage device, the power drive unit, and the electric motor are arranged under the floor of the passenger compartment in a state where they are arranged in this order from the front side in the front-rear direction. Since the wiring length can be shortened, wiring can be performed easily and radio noise can be reduced. In addition, a through structure for passing these wires between the vehicle interior and the exterior becomes unnecessary, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced accordingly. In addition, since it is not necessary to place a power drive unit in the engine room, the engine room and thus the vehicle can be downsized. The effective space in the passenger compartment can be expanded.
[0040]
In addition, the cooling system that cools the power storage device and the power drive unit is also located under the floor of the passenger compartment, so there is almost no adverse effect from the heat dissipation of the cooling system to the radiator and condenser for existing engines. It will be possible to install an engine with the same output as a gasoline vehicle. In addition, since the cooling system intake port is disposed in front of the power storage device located at the forefront, the cooling air introduced from the intake port can be sent to the power storage device and the power drive unit with a short pipe length. Thus, the cost can be reduced and these can be efficiently cooled.
[0041]
In addition, since the power storage device and the power drive unit are arranged on the opposite side of the exhaust pipe with the fuel tank in between, the adverse effect of the heat of the exhaust pipe on the power storage device, the power drive unit, the cooling system, etc. can be suppressed. it can. In addition, since the power storage device, the power drive unit, and the fuel tank can be arranged together under the floor of the passenger compartment, the degree of freedom in design can be increased, for example, the floor structure of the passenger compartment can be simplified.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing a hybrid vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, focusing on its layout.
2 is a plan view schematically showing the hybrid vehicle of FIG. 1. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a cooling device for a power drive unit.
4 is a control table showing a cooling mode of the cooling device of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a cooling device according to a second embodiment.
6A is a side view of a vehicle, and FIG. 6B is a plan view of a power drive unit and the like, showing an example in which a cooling device for a power drive unit is configured as a water cooling type.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hybrid vehicle 2 Front wheel 3 Rear wheel 4 Engine 5 Electric motor 9 Exhaust pipe 11 Car compartment 13 Power drive unit 14 Battery (power storage device)
15 Fuel tank 18 Cooling device (cooling system)
20a Inlet 21a Inlet 22a Inlet

Claims (2)

An engine that drives the front wheels;
An electric motor that drives the rear wheels;
A power storage device for storing electric power to be supplied to the electric motor;
A power drive unit for controlling the operation of the electric motor;
An air-cooled cooling system for cooling the power storage device and the power drive unit,
The power storage device, the power drive unit and the electric motor are arranged in order from the front side in the front-rear direction of the vehicle and are arranged under the floor of the passenger compartment.
The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cooling system is disposed under the floor of the passenger compartment, and an intake port thereof is disposed in front of the power storage device. A fuel tank disposed under the floor of the vehicle compartment, and an exhaust pipe extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle;
2. The hybrid vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the power storage device and the power drive unit are disposed on the opposite side of the exhaust pipe with the fuel tank in between in the left-right direction of the vehicle.

Images