JP5020594B2 - Fuel cell vehicle - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fuel cell vehicle that runs on a motor using a fuel cell as a power source.

As a fuel cell automobile, a center console portion is formed by bulging the substantially center position of the floor panel in the vehicle width direction to the vehicle interior side, and the fuel cell is disposed in a concave space formed below the center console portion. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In this fuel cell vehicle, a hydrogen sensor is disposed at an upper position in the concave space, and a minute hydrogen gas leak from the fuel cell or the hydrogen supply pipe is detected by the sensor.
Japanese Patent No. 3770183

  However, although this conventional fuel cell vehicle can detect the hydrogen gas staying in the recessed space on the lower surface side of the center console portion by the hydrogen sensor, the remaining hydrogen gas is discharged from the inflow of natural wind or below the recessed space. The actual situation is that it is dependent on the traveling airflow and it is difficult to stably discharge the hydrogen gas staying at the deeper position in the upper part of the concave space.

  Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide a fuel cell vehicle capable of stably discharging the hydrogen gas remaining in the recessed space on the lower surface side of the center console portion to the outside.

The invention according to claim 1, which solves the above-described problem, has a center console portion (e.g., a center panel portion (e.g., A center console portion 14 in an embodiment described later is formed, and a fuel cell (for example, fuel in the embodiment described later) is formed in a recessed space (for example, a recessed space 15 in an embodiment described later) formed below the center console portion. In the fuel cell vehicle in which the battery 2) is disposed, a hat-shaped metal plate (for example, described later) along the rear wall (for example, the rear wall 14b in the embodiment described later) facing the concave space of the center console section. attaching a metal plate 30) in the embodiment, to form a closed cross section by the metal plate and the rear wall, and an upper position in between the concave space Traveling airflow generating portion of the exterior of the lower floor panel (e.g., the traveling airflow generating portion 19 in the embodiment) connected to the closed section, characterized in that the hydrogen gas discharge passage.
As a result, when a negative pressure is generated in the traveling airflow generation unit during traveling of the vehicle, the negative pressure acts on the upper position in the concave space through the hydrogen gas discharge passage, and the hydrogen gas staying in the concave space is generated. Sucked out.

According to the present invention, the hydrogen gas retained in the concave space on the lower surface side of the center console portion can be sucked out by the traveling airflow of the vehicle through the hydrogen gas discharge passage. It is possible to realize stable discharge.

Further , according to the present invention, the metal gas having a hat-shaped cross section is attached along the rear wall of the center console portion to form the hydrogen gas discharge passage having a closed cross section , so that the floor has a compact structure that does not require a large space. Reliable discharge of hydrogen gas can be realized on the lower side of the panel . And since the closed cross section formed by a metal plate and a rear wall is arrange | positioned at the vehicle outer side, the approach of hydrogen gas to the vehicle inner side can be prevented more reliably.

Hereinafter, the first and second reference examples based on the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the directions such as front, rear, left and right in the following description are the same as those in the vehicle unless otherwise specified. In the figure, the arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle, the arrow LH indicates the left side of the vehicle, and the arrow UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle.

First, a first reference example shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a fuel cell vehicle 1 as viewed from the side. The fuel cell vehicle 1 includes a fuel cell stack 2 (hereinafter referred to as a fuel cell 2) that generates power by an electrochemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, and is generated by the fuel cell 2. The electric motor 5 is driven with electric power to travel.

  The fuel cell 2 is a well-known polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEMFC) in which a large number of unit fuel cells (unit cells) are stacked. Hydrogen gas is supplied as a fuel gas to the anode side and oxidation is performed on the cathode side. By supplying air containing oxygen as the agent gas, electric power is generated along with the generation of water by an electrochemical reaction.

On the other hand, in the fuel cell vehicle 1, a front subframe 4A, a center subframe 4B, and a rear subframe 4C, which are frame units made of a plurality of beam members, are coupled to the left and right side frames 3, 3 (see FIG. 3). Has been.
The front subframe 4A mainly supports an electric motor 5 as a vehicle drive source in front of the vehicle compartment, and the center subframe 4B has the fuel cell 2 and its battery on the front side below the vehicle compartment. The auxiliary machines 7a and 7b are supported. The rear subframe 4C mainly supports a battery 8 and a hydrogen tank 9 for supplying hydrogen to the fuel cell 2 on the rear side below the passenger compartment. In FIG. 1, 10 is a radiator for cooling the cooling water for cooling the fuel cell, and 11F and 11R are a front seat and a rear seat in the vehicle interior.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a floor panel 13 facing the vehicle interior is attached from the side sills 12 on both the left and right sides of the vehicle to the upper surfaces of the side frames 3 and the center subframe 4B. A substantially central portion of the floor panel 13 in the vehicle width direction bulges in a substantially rectangular shape toward the upper side of the vehicle interior, and a bulge region forms a center console portion 14 that continues in the vehicle body front-rear direction. A concave space 15 is formed below the center console portion 14, and the fuel cell 2 and battery auxiliary devices 7a and 7b supported by the center subframe 4B are disposed inside the concave space 15. .

As shown in FIG. 2, the center console portion 14 protrudes from the vicinity of the feet of the passenger seated on the front seat 11F toward the rear side of the vehicle body at a substantially constant height, and rises one step higher near the seat back 11Fb of the front seat 11F. Later, it is lowered to the same height as the general surface of the floor panel 13 in front of the rear seat 11R. The raised portion 14a raised one step higher in the vicinity of the seat back 11Fb has an occupant's armrest 42 and the like attached to the upper surface thereof, and an area 15a (hereinafter referred to as an "expanded space portion") that is extended upwards in the concave space 15. 15a "), a control device (ECU) 16 for performing various controls of the fuel cell 2 is accommodated.
A rear floor panel 17 attached to the rear sub-frame 4C is integrally joined to the lower surface of the rear edge portion 13a of the floor panel 13. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, an under cover 18 is attached to the lower surface of the center subframe 4 </ b> B so as to cover at least the fuel cell 2 and the center console portion 14.

By the way, the rear edge portion 13a of the floor panel 13 attached to the vehicle body as described above is in a position that is substantially the end portion of the center sub-frame 4B, and is slightly recessed when viewed from the lower surface of the vehicle body. Yes. For this reason, the traveling airflow that flows along the lower surface of the vehicle body when the vehicle is traveling becomes a curved flow near the rear edge portion 13a on the lower surface side of the floor panel 13, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. Create negative pressure around. A region in the vicinity of the rear edge portion 13 a on the lower surface side of the floor panel 13 that creates this negative pressure is a traveling airflow generation portion 19.

Further, connecting plugs 20 and 21 are attached to the raised portion 14a of the center console portion 14 and the rear edge portion 13a of the floor panel 13, and each end portion of the gas exhaust pipe 22 piped to the vehicle interior side is provided. Connected to connection plugs 20 and 21. The lower end of the connection plug 21 protrudes below the rear edge portion 13 a of the floor panel 13, and the lower end opening (gas discharge port) faces the traveling airflow generation unit 19. The gas discharge pipe 22 connects the expansion space 15a below the center console section 14 and the traveling airflow generation section 19, and causes the negative pressure generated in the traveling airflow generation section 19 when the vehicle travels to act on the expansion space 15a. Hydrogen gas staying in the space 15a is forcibly discharged below the rear edge 13a of the floor panel 13 by the venturi effect.

The position of the opening of the connection plug 21 is determined according to the downward projecting amount of the fuel cell 2 with respect to the general surface of the floor panel 13. That is, on the vehicle rear side of the fuel cell 2, the region where the traveling airflow velocity is fast changes according to the downward protrusion amount of the fuel cell 2, and the region where the traveling airflow velocity is fast according to the increase of the downward protrusion amount of the fuel cell 2. Changes to the vehicle rear side. For this reason, the opening of the connection plug 21 is set so as to be on the vehicle rear side in accordance with an increase in the downward projecting amount of the fuel cell 2 in order to face the position where the flow velocity of the traveling airflow is faster.

As described above, in the fuel cell vehicle 1, when the vehicle travels, the negative pressure generated in the traveling airflow generation unit 19 on the lower surface of the floor panel 13 acts in the recessed space 15 of the center console unit 14 through the gas discharge pipe 22. Because the gas in the concave space 15 is forcibly sucked out, the hydrogen leaked from the fuel cell 2, the auxiliary machines 7a and 7b, the connecting pipes, etc. can be stably discharged without using an electric fan or the like. Can be discharged.
In particular, in this reference example , the connection plug 20 on the center console portion 14 side is provided facing the expansion space portion 15a having the highest inner wall height and in which hydrogen gas is likely to stay. The staying hydrogen gas can be efficiently discharged to the outside.

In this fuel cell vehicle 1, since the position of the opening of the connection plug 21 is determined according to the downward protrusion amount of the fuel cell 2, the large venturi effect due to the traveling airflow is effectively used for the forced discharge of hydrogen gas. be able to.

FIG. 5 shows a second reference example . In the following, the embodiment of the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to this reference example. However, the same parts as those in the first reference example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the overlapping parts will be omitted.
The fuel cell automobile 101 of this reference example has a basic configuration substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, but the gas discharge that connects the recessed space 15 in the center console section 14 and the traveling airflow generation section 19 outside the vehicle. The pipe 122 (hydrogen gas discharge passage) is different from the first reference example in that the pipe 122 (a hydrogen gas discharge passage) is piped from the lower surface of the center console portion 14 to the lower surface of the rear edge portion 13a of the floor panel 13.

In the fuel cell vehicle 101, as in the first reference example , hydrogen gas can be forcibly discharged from the recessed space 15 in the center console portion 14 using the traveling airflow, but the gas discharge pipe 122 is used. Is disposed outside the vehicle, it is possible to more reliably prevent hydrogen gas from entering the inside of the vehicle, and to increase the effective space inside the vehicle and improve the appearance.

6 to 8 show an embodiment of the present invention.
Fuel cell vehicles 201 of this embodiment, first, second reference example and the basic configuration is the same, also in that the hydrogen gas discharge passage is arranged in the vehicle outer side and the second reference example Although the same, the specific structure of the hydrogen gas discharge passage is different from that of the second reference example .
That is, in the fuel cell automobile 201 of this embodiment, the long metal plate 30 having a cross-sectional hat shape as shown in FIG. 7 is formed from the lower surface of the raised portion 14a of the center console portion 14 (floor panel 13) to the rear wall 14b (FIG. 8) , and a hydrogen gas discharge passage having a trapezoidal cross section is formed between the metal plate 30 and the floor panel 13. The hydrogen gas discharge passage is provided so as to connect the extended space 15a in the center console portion 14 and the traveling airflow generation portion 19 of the rear edge portion 13a of the floor panel 13.

Since this fuel cell automobile 201 has a hydrogen gas discharge passage arranged outside the vehicle as in the second reference example, it can more reliably prevent hydrogen gas from entering the inside of the car. Since the metal plate 30 having a hat-shaped cross section is attached from the lower surface of the raised portion 14a of the center console portion 14 along the rear wall 14b to form the hydrogen gas discharge passage, the hydrogen gas discharge passage on the lower surface side of the floor panel 13 is occupied. Space can be reduced .

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, A various design change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory side view of a fuel cell vehicle according to a first reference example . Sectional drawing of the principal part of the fuel cell vehicle of the reference example . Sectional drawing corresponding to the AA cross section of FIG. 2 which shows the same reference example . The perspective view which looked at the floor of the fuel cell vehicle of the reference example from diagonally upward. The principal part sectional drawing of the fuel cell automobile of the 2nd reference example . 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention . The expanded sectional view corresponding to the BB section of Drawing 6 showing the embodiment. The perspective view which looked at the floor of the fuel cell car of the embodiment from the back side.

201 ... Fuel cell vehicle 2 ... Fuel cell 13 ... Floor panel 14 ... Center console section
14b ... rear wall 15 ... concave space 19 ... traveling airflow generating part 30 ... metal plate

Claims (1)

A center console portion is formed by bulging upward substantially the center position in the vehicle width direction of the floor panel,
In a fuel cell vehicle in which a fuel cell is disposed in a recessed space formed below the center console portion,
A cross section hat-shaped metal plate is attached along the rear wall facing the concave space of the center console portion, and a closed cross section is formed by the metal plate and the rear wall,
A fuel cell vehicle characterized in that a hydrogen gas discharge passage is formed by connecting an upper position in the recessed space and a traveling airflow generating portion on the outside of the vehicle below the floor panel to the closed cross section .

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