JP5316179B2 - vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle including a charging cable to supply power to a vehicle body from an external power source, an engine compartment arranged with a heating body and a cable storing part provided in the engine compartment to store the charging cable, with excellent workability during charging. <P>SOLUTION: This hybrid automobile includes the charging cable 21 to supply power to the vehicle body from the external power source, the engine compartment 42 arranged with the engine 104 to be the heating body, and the cable storing part 31 provided in the engine compartment 42 to store the charging cable 21. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention generally relates to a vehicle, and more particularly to a vehicle equipped with a charging cable for supplying electric power from an external power source to a vehicle body.

  With respect to conventional vehicles, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-255248 aims to prevent social losses such as accidents that may occur due to cold, and to prevent pollution by reducing warm-up operation. A warming-up device for a vehicle is disclosed (Patent Document 1). In the vehicle warm-up device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a reel for winding a cable is provided inside a bumper at the rear of the automobile. By connecting the cable drawn from the reel to an external power source, electric energy is guided to the warm-up operation control circuit of the vehicle.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-33121 discloses a charging device for an electric vehicle that can be used for charging a battery of an electric vehicle using a commercial power source supplied to each household as a charging power source, and is small and does not take up installation space. It is disclosed (Patent Document 2). In the charging device disclosed in Patent Document 2, a reel-type charging cable storage device is installed in a garage.

  Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-244832 discloses an electric vehicle aimed at suppressing heat generation of the cord during charging while reducing the storage space for the charging cord (Patent Document 3). The electric vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 3 is equipped with a windable cord used as a battery charging cord.

JP 2000-255248 A JP-A-8-33121 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-244832

  In recent years, hybrid vehicles that use both a motor and an engine for driving wheels have attracted attention as environmentally friendly vehicles. In such a hybrid vehicle, it is considered to have a configuration that can be charged from the outside. In this case, charging with a household power supply reduces the number of trips to the gas station for refueling, which is convenient for the driver, and it may be possible to meet the cost by using inexpensive late-night power. .

  On the other hand, in the automobile described in Patent Document 1 described above, a charging cable is mounted on the vehicle, and electric power is supplied from the external power source to the vehicle body side using this cable. However, since the reel for winding the cable is provided inside the bumper at the rear of the automobile, for example, when charging in a cold region, the cable becomes cold or the resin covering the cable is hard due to low temperature. It becomes. As a result, it becomes difficult for a person who performs charging to handle the cable, and workability during charging may be impaired.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems and to provide a vehicle having excellent workability during charging.

  A vehicle according to the present invention includes a charging cable for supplying electric power from an external power source to a vehicle body, an engine room in which a heating element is disposed, and a cable housing portion that is provided in the engine room and houses the charging cable. Prepare.

  According to the vehicle configured as described above, the cable housing portion is provided in the engine room where the temperature rises due to the heat generated from the heating element. Thereby, the temperature fall and hardening of a charging cable can be prevented, and workability | operativity at the time of handling a charging cable can be improved.

  Preferably, the cable housing portion is provided immediately above the heating element. According to the vehicle configured as described above, the heat generated by the heating element can be efficiently contributed to the prevention of the temperature decrease of the charging cable.

  Preferably, the hybrid vehicle further includes an engine hood that covers an opening of the engine room. The cable housing portion is provided on the back surface of the engine hood. According to the vehicle configured as described above, the engine hood is always kept at a high temperature by the heat generated from the heating element. For this reason, the temperature reduction and hardening of a charging cable can be prevented more effectively by providing a cable housing part on the back surface of the engine hood.

  Preferably, the cable housing portion has a cable reel. The cable reel includes a rotatable shaft member, and a charging cable is wound around the outer periphery of the shaft member. According to the vehicle configured as described above, workability when the charging cable is taken out or accommodated can be improved.

  Preferably, the vehicle further includes an actuator disposed in the engine room and provided for supplying the refrigerant. The shaft member is rotationally driven by the actuator. According to the vehicle configured as described above, the cable reel can be driven using an actuator provided for another purpose of supplying the refrigerant.

  Preferably, the vehicle further includes a power steering drive motor disposed in the engine room. The shaft member is rotationally driven by the motor. According to the vehicle configured as described above, the cable reel can be driven using a motor provided for another purpose of driving the power steering.

  Preferably, the heating element is an engine or an inverter. According to the vehicle configured as described above, it is possible to prevent the charging cable from being lowered in temperature and cured by the heat generated from the engine or the inverter.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a vehicle having excellent workability during charging.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a hybrid vehicle in Embodiment 1 of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the hybrid vehicle in FIG. It is a top view which shows the engine room of the hybrid vehicle in FIG. It is sectional drawing which looked at the engine room in FIG. 3 from the vehicle side. It is a top view which shows the engine room of the hybrid vehicle in Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which looked at the engine room in FIG. 5 from the vehicle side. It is the figure which represented typically the automatic winding apparatus of the cable reel shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. It is a flowchart figure which shows the flow of control of the automatic winding apparatus in FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a first modification of the hybrid vehicle in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a second modification of the hybrid vehicle in FIG. 5.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to below, the same or corresponding members are denoted by the same reference numerals.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a hybrid vehicle according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the hybrid vehicle in FIG.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, hybrid vehicle 100 uses an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine and a motor supplied with power from a chargeable / dischargeable battery (secondary battery) as a power source.

  First, the overall configuration of hybrid vehicle 100 will be described. Hybrid vehicle 100 includes engine 104, motor generators MG1 and MG2, power split mechanism 103, battery B, capacitor C, reactor L, converter 110, and inverter. 120 and 130 and a vehicle ECU (electronic control unit) 160.

  Power split device 103 is coupled to engine 104 and motor generators MG1, MG2, and distributes power between them. For example, as the power split mechanism 103, a planetary gear mechanism having three rotation shafts of a sun gear, a planetary carrier, and a ring gear is used. These three rotating shafts are connected to the rotating shafts of engine 104 and motor generators MG1, MG2. For example, engine 104 and motor generators MG1 and MG2 can be mechanically connected to power split mechanism 103 by making the rotor of motor generator MG1 hollow and passing the crankshaft of engine 104 through the center thereof.

  The rotating shaft of motor generator MG2 is coupled to wheel 102 by a reduction gear and a differential gear (not shown). A power reducer for the rotation shaft of motor generator MG2 may be further incorporated in power split device 103.

  Motor generator MG1 is incorporated in hybrid vehicle 100 so as to operate as a generator driven by engine 104 and to operate as an electric motor that can start engine 104. Motor generator MG <b> 2 is incorporated in hybrid vehicle 100 as an electric motor that drives wheels 102 that are drive wheels of hybrid vehicle 100.

  Motor generators MG1 and MG2 are, for example, three-phase AC synchronous motors. Motor generators MG1 and MG2 include a three-phase coil including a U-phase coil, a V-phase coil, and a W-phase coil as a stator coil.

  Motor generator MG1 generates a three-phase AC voltage using the engine output, and outputs the generated three-phase AC voltage to inverter 120. Motor generator MG1 generates driving force by the three-phase AC voltage received from inverter 120, and starts engine 104.

  Motor generator MG <b> 2 generates vehicle driving torque by the three-phase AC voltage received from inverter 130. Motor generator MG2 generates a three-phase AC voltage and outputs it to inverter 130 during regenerative braking of the vehicle.

  As the battery B, for example, a secondary battery such as a nickel metal hydride battery, a lithium ion battery, or a lead storage battery can be used. Further, instead of the battery B, a large-capacity electric double layer capacitor can be used.

  Hybrid vehicle 100 in the present embodiment is configured such that battery B can be charged by receiving power supply from an external power source such as a household power source.

  More specifically, hybrid vehicle 100 further includes a charging unit 191. An AC / DC converter 140 and a switching mechanism 150 are provided between the charging unit 191 and the battery B. The AC / DC converter 140 converts an alternating current supplied from an external power source through the charging unit 191 into a direct current and sets it to a predetermined voltage. The switching mechanism 150 is provided between the AC / DC converter 140 and the battery B. Switching mechanism 150 switches ON / OFF of the energized state between AC / DC converter 140 and battery B based on a signal from vehicle ECU 160.

  In hybrid vehicle 100 in the present embodiment, charging unit 191 is provided on the front fender on the driver seat side. The installation location of the charging unit 191 is not limited to the front fender on the driver seat side, and may be, for example, a front fender or a rear fender on the passenger seat side.

  Hybrid vehicle 100 further includes a charging cable 21. The charging cable 21 is formed from a long electric cable, and has a connector 22 and a connector 23 at both ends thereof.

  The connector 22 is provided so as to be connectable to an external power source such as a household power outlet. The connector 23 is provided so as to be connectable to a charging unit 191 provided on the vehicle main body side. When charging the battery B, the connector 22 and the connector 23 are inserted into the external power source and the charging unit 191, respectively, and power is supplied from the external power source to the vehicle body side through the charging cable 21.

  The charging cable 21 is always mounted on the hybrid vehicle 100, and is used by being lowered from the mounting location when the battery B is charged. Subsequently, a mounting structure of the charging cable 21 provided in the hybrid vehicle 100 will be described.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an engine room of the hybrid vehicle in FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the engine room in FIG. 3 as viewed from the side of the vehicle.

  Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, an engine room 42 that houses engine 104 is provided in the front portion of hybrid vehicle 100. The engine room 42 has an opening on the upper surface. The engine room 42 is provided with an engine hood (bonnet) 41 that can be freely opened and closed so as to cover the opening. A front grill 44 for taking outside air into the engine room 42 is provided on the vehicle front side of the engine room 42. Left and right front fenders 43 are provided on the side of the vehicle in the engine room 42.

  Hybrid vehicle 100 further includes a cable housing portion 31 for housing charging cable 21. The cable housing portion 31 is provided in the engine room 42.

  The structure of the cable housing portion 31 will be described more specifically. The cable housing portion 31 is configured to have a cable housing box 32. The cable storage box 32 has a box shape and is provided on the back surface of the engine hood 41 (the surface facing the inside of the engine room 42). The cable housing box 32 is provided immediately above the engine 104. That is, the cable housing box 32 is provided between the engine hood 41 and the engine 104. The charging cable 21 is housed inside the cable housing box 32 in a bundled state.

  In addition to engine 104, inverters 120 and 130 in FIG. The cable storage box 32 may be provided immediately above the inverters 120 and 130 as heating elements.

  In a hybrid vehicle configured to be able to supply power from an external power source, it is assumed that the charging cable 21 is mounted on a vehicle other than outdoors or in a vehicle interior. However, in this case, if the time is winter or the place is cold, the cable itself becomes low temperature and becomes hard. As a result, it is difficult to extend the charging cable 21, and the burden on the worker during the charging operation may increase, or the vehicle may be damaged by the hardened charging cable 21. In order to solve such a problem, a method of storing the charging cable 21 in the air-conditioned vehicle room is conceivable. In this case, however, the dirty charging cable 21 is stored in the vehicle room. There is a possibility of dirtying the room.

  In contrast, in hybrid vehicle 100 according to the present embodiment, cable housing box 32 is provided in engine room 42 that has become hot due to heat radiation from engine 104 or inverters 120 and 130. Thereby, it can prevent that the charging cable 21 accommodated in the cable accommodation box 32 becomes low temperature, and a cable becomes hard. In particular, in the present embodiment, the cable housing box 32 is provided on the back surface of the engine hood 41 that is always maintained at a high temperature, and is disposed immediately above the engine 104 that is a heating element. For this reason, the said effect which prevents the temperature fall and hardening of the charging cable 21 can be show | played more effectively.

  Further, in the case of a passenger car, the vicinity of the engine hood 41 where the cable housing box 32 is provided is a height from the knee of an adult to the waist. For this reason, the operation at the time of taking out or accommodating the charging cable 21 can be easily performed, and the burden on the operator at the time of charging can be reduced.

  The structure of the hybrid vehicle 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention described above will be described together. The hybrid vehicle 100 as a vehicle includes a charging cable 21 for supplying electric power from an external power source to the vehicle body, and heat generation. The engine room 42 in which the engine 104 as a body is disposed, and the cable housing part 31 that is provided in the engine room 42 and houses the charging cable 21 are provided.

  According to hybrid vehicle 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention configured as described above, temperature reduction and curing of charging cable 21 can be prevented by providing cable housing portion 31 in engine room 42. Thereby, handling of the charging cable 21 can be facilitated and workability during charging can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, the charging cable 21 is described as a type having connectors on the vehicle body side and the external power supply side, but the charging cable 21 may be a type having a connector only on the external power supply side. In this case, the charging cable 21 accommodated in the cable accommodating portion 31 is pulled out from the end portion on the connector 22 side, and the connector 22 is connected to an external power source, whereby the charging operation is performed.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing an engine room of the hybrid vehicle in the second embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the engine room in FIG. 5 as viewed from the side of the vehicle. Compared with hybrid vehicle 100 in the first embodiment, the hybrid vehicle in the present embodiment basically has the same structure. Hereinafter, the description of the overlapping structure will not be repeated.

  With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, in the present embodiment, a cable reel 35 is provided as the cable housing portion 31 in place of the cable housing box 32 in FIG. 4. The cable reel 35 has a reel shaft 36 that is rotatably supported. The charging cable 21 is wound on the outer periphery of the reel shaft 36. By rotating the reel shaft 36 in a predetermined direction with the charging cable 21 pulled out from the cable reel 35, the charging cable 21 is wound around the reel shaft 36.

  In the present embodiment, the cable reel 35 is disposed such that the rotation shaft of the reel shaft 36 extends in the vehicle front-rear direction. That is, in the present embodiment, the charging cable 21 is pulled out from the front fender 43 side provided on the vehicle side of the engine room 42 during the charging operation.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the cable reel automatic winding device shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. 5 to 7, the cable reel 35 is provided with a winding device for automatically winding the charging cable 21 around the reel shaft 36 after completion of charging. Hereinafter, the structure of the winding device will be described.

  The engine room 42 is provided with a water pump 51 for supplying cooling water to the engine 104 and the inverters 120 and 130 that generate heat. The water pump 51 includes a water pump motor 52 and a water pump main body 53 that pumps cooling water in accordance with the driving of the water pump motor 52.

  In the present embodiment, a driven shaft 38 is connected to the reel shaft 36 in the rotation axis direction. The driven shaft 38 is connected to the driving shaft 54 of the water pump motor 52 via an electromagnetic clutch 57 as a coupling mechanism. The electromagnetic clutch 57 connects the driven shaft 38 and the drive shaft 54, or releases the connection. When the driven shaft 38 and the drive shaft 54 are connected by the electromagnetic clutch 57, the rotational force of the water pump motor 52 is transmitted to the reel shaft 36 through the electromagnetic clutch 57.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the automatic winding device in FIG. Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the hybrid vehicle is provided with an automatic winding switch 62 and an ECU 61 as a control device.

  When the charging cable 21 is wound around the reel shaft 36 after the charging is finished, the operator operates the automatic winding switch 62 to turn it on. When the automatic winding switch 62 is turned on, the electromagnetic clutch 57 receives the connection signal from the ECU 61 and connects the driven shaft 38 and the drive shaft 54. Next, the water pump motor 52 receives the torque command from the ECU 61 and rotates with the torque A suitable for winding the charging cable 21. Thereby, the rotational force of the water pump motor 52 is transmitted to the reel shaft 36, and the charging cable 21 is sequentially wound around the reel shaft 36.

  On the other hand, when the automatic winding switch 62 is turned off, the connection between the driven shaft 38 and the driving shaft 54 is released. In this case, the water pump motor 52 receives the torque command from the ECU 61 and rotates with the torque B suitable for pumping the cooling water.

  According to such a configuration, the use of the cable reel 35 as the cable housing portion 31 makes it easier for the operator to pull out and house the charging cable 21, thereby further improving workability during charging. it can. At this time, since the water pump motor 52 provided in the engine room 42 is used as an automatic winding device for the cable reel 35, workability during charging can be improved with a simple configuration.

  In the present embodiment, the water pump motor 52 is used in the automatic winding device of the cable reel 35, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as an automatic winding device, a compressor for compressing and circulating a refrigerant of an air conditioner may be used, or a motor for driving a power steering may be used.

  FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a first modification of the hybrid vehicle in FIG. Referring to FIG. 9, in this modification, the cable reel 35 is arranged such that the rotation shaft of the reel shaft 36 extends in the vehicle width direction. That is, in this modification, the charging cable 21 is pulled out from the front grille 44 side provided in front of the vehicle in the engine room 42 during the charging operation.

  FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a second modification of the hybrid vehicle in FIG. Referring to FIG. 10, in the present modification, a cable outlet 66 is provided in the front grill 44. The cable outlet 66 is formed by an opening that allows communication between the interior of the engine room 42 and the external space. The charging cable 21 wound around the cable reel 35 is pulled out from the engine room 42 through the cable outlet 66. According to such a configuration, the charging cable 21 can be pulled out from the engine room 42 without opening the engine hood 41 during the charging operation.

  According to the hybrid vehicle according to the second embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, the effects described in the first embodiment can be similarly obtained.

  A new vehicle may be configured by appropriately combining the structures of the hybrid vehicles described in Embodiments 1 and 2 described above.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  The present invention is mainly used in a hybrid vehicle including an engine and a motor supplied with power from a battery as power sources.

  21 Charging cable, 22, 23 connector, 31 cable housing, 32 cable housing box, 35 cable reel, 36 reel shaft, 38 driven shaft, 41 engine hood, 42 engine room, 43 front fender, 44 front grill, 51 water Pump, 52 Water pump motor, 53 Blade water pump body, 54 Drive shaft, 57 Electromagnetic clutch, 62 Automatic winding switch, 66 Cable outlet, 100 Hybrid car, 102 Wheel, 103 Power split mechanism, 104 Engine, 110 Converter, 120, 130 inverter, 140 converter, 150 switching mechanism, 191 charging unit.

Claims (6)

A charging cable for supplying power to the vehicle body from an external power source;
An engine room where a heating element is placed;
A cable housing portion provided in the engine room for housing the charging cable ;
An engine hood that covers the opening of the engine room ;
The cable housing portion is a vehicle provided on a back surface of the engine hood .   The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the cable housing portion is provided immediately above the heating element. The cable housing includes a rotatable shaft member, said charging cable on the outer periphery of the shaft member has a cable reel being wound, the vehicle according to claim 1 or 2. An actuator disposed in the engine room and provided to supply a refrigerant;
The vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein the shaft member is rotationally driven by the actuator. A motor for driving a power steering disposed in the engine room;
The vehicle according to claim 3 , wherein the shaft member is rotationally driven by the motor. The vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the heating element is an engine or an inverter.

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