JP5430592B2 - Cooling structure for vehicle battery - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery cooling structure applied to a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

  In an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, for example, a battery that is a drive energy source of an electric motor is mounted under the floor of a luggage space. Since the battery is a heat generating component that generates heat when charging / discharging is performed, it is necessary to cool the battery to maintain its performance, and it has been devised to cool with cooling air taken from the passenger compartment (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

  The cooling structure for a vehicle power supply unit described in Patent Document 1 takes air in a vehicle compartment from a suction port provided in the vicinity of a rear seat by a cooling fan and supplies the air as cooling air to a power supply unit including a battery for cooling. doing. The power supply unit housed in a waterproof case with a lid member is housed using a tire pan that houses a spare tire below the luggage space in a state of being suspended and supported by the rear side frame via a pair of suspension frames. A spare tire is accommodated above the power supply unit.

JP 2010-120397 A

  By the way, if an air intake duct that takes in air from the air intake port is arranged, there is a possibility that conductive foreign matters such as a ring may accidentally fall into the air supply duct from the air intake port. If it falls to the power supply unit side, there is a risk of short-circuiting the battery. In the cooling structure of the power supply unit for a vehicle described in Patent Document 1, nothing is described with respect to the foreign matter falling into the air supply duct.

  Further, it is preferable to secure the space for the luggage compartment or the cabin as wide as possible.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle that can include a foreign object storage portion that can store a foreign object that has fallen into an intake duct, and can secure a large space for a luggage compartment or a cabin. It is to provide a cooling structure for a battery.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1
A luggage compartment (for example, a luggage compartment 11 in the embodiment described later) or a battery (for example, a battery 12 in the embodiment described later) disposed under the floor of the cabin, and an intake port (for example, the intake port 14 in the embodiment described later). An air intake duct (for example, an air intake duct 15 in an embodiment described later) for supplying air to the battery as cooling air.
The intake duct includes a first duct member (for example, a first duct member 20 in an embodiment described later) and a second duct member (for example, an upstream second duct member 21 and a downstream second duct member in an embodiment described later). 22), and extends into a side wall surface (for example, a side wall surface 23 in an embodiment described later) that divides the cargo room or the cabin from under the floor,
In the intake duct, a foreign object storage part (for example, a foreign object storage part 30 in an embodiment to be described later) for storing the foreign material dropped from the intake port is a cooling air flow path (for example, a flow path 22b in an embodiment to be described later). provided so as to branch from,
Some of the intake duct is disposed under the front Symbol dust containing portion,
In the intake duct, a passage (for example, a passage 22a in an embodiment described later) and a cooling air flow path (for example, a flow path 22b in an embodiment described later) that are connected to the foreign substance accommodating portion are branched (for example, described later). Branching at 22c) in the embodiment of
A connecting portion (for example, a connecting portion 45 in an embodiment described later) connecting the first duct member and the second duct member is disposed on the downstream side of the branch portion,
The foreign matter storage part is disposed in the side wall surface and inside the connection part in the vehicle width direction,
The flow path upstream of the branch part extends in the vertical direction,
The flow path cross section on the downstream side of the branch section is offset from the cross section of the flow path upstream of the branch section as seen from the flow direction of the cooling air upstream of the branch section,
The foreign matter container overlaps with a flow path cross section upstream of the branch portion as viewed from the flow direction of the cooling air upstream of the branch portion.

In addition to the configuration of claim 1, the invention according to claim 2
The intake duct has a bent portion that is bent upward in the vertical direction (for example, a bent portion 24 in an embodiment described later),
At least a part of the bent portion is disposed below the foreign material container.

In addition to the configuration of claim 1 or 2, the invention according to claim 3
The foreign matter container is detachable.

In addition to the structure of any one of Claims 1-3, the invention which concerns on Claim 4
The foreign matter container may have a lower cross section that is smaller than an upper cross section.

The invention according to claim 5 includes, in addition to the configuration of claim 4,
The foreign matter container is configured such that the width of the wall in the front-rear direction of the vehicle (for example, an upper width W1 and a lower width W2 in an embodiment described later) is shorter at the lower portion than at the upper portion. .
In addition to the structure of any one of Claims 1-5, the invention which concerns on Claim 6 is
The second duct member includes an upstream second duct member (for example, an upstream second duct member 21 in an embodiment described later) and a downstream second duct member (for example, a downstream second duct member in an embodiment described later). 22),
The upstream second duct member has the intake port and is disposed substantially vertically along the side wall surface (for example, a straight portion 21a in an embodiment described later), and the vehicle width from the straight portion. An inclined portion that is inclined inward in the direction (for example, an inclined portion 21b in an embodiment described later), and a linear connecting portion that extends from the inclined portion and is arranged substantially vertically on the inner side in the vehicle width direction from the linear portion ( For example, a connecting portion 21c) in an embodiment described later is integrally formed,
The connecting portion is configured by a lower end of the downstream second duct member and an upper end of the first duct member.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, even if a foreign matter of a conductor such as a coin or a ring falls from the air inlet, it can be securely stored in the foreign matter storage portion to prevent occurrence of a short circuit of the battery. . In addition, since a part of the intake duct is disposed below the foreign material container, the space below the foreign material container can be used effectively, and a large space for the luggage compartment and the cabin can be secured.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the radius of curvature of the bent portion bent upward in the vertical direction from the lower floor portion of the intake duct can be increased, and the airflow resistance of the intake duct is reduced to efficiently cool the battery. be able to.

  According to invention of Claim 3, the foreign material accommodated in the foreign material accommodating part can be collect | recovered as needed.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to suppress the rebound of the foreign matter that has fallen into the foreign matter storage portion, and to reliably store the foreign matter in the foreign matter storage portion.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, there is a high possibility that a foreign object will come into contact with the front and rear wall surfaces when the vehicle is accelerated or decelerated. The rebound of the foreign matter that has fallen into the portion can be suppressed, and the foreign matter can be reliably secured in the foreign matter containing portion.

It is a perspective view which shows the vehicle rear part which removed the interior cover from the vehicle to which the cooling structure of the vehicle battery of one Embodiment of this invention is applied. In FIG. 1, it is sectional drawing cut | disconnected along the front-back direction so that the cross section of a battery can be seen. It is the sectional view on the AA line in FIG. In FIG. 1, it is sectional drawing cut | disconnected along the front-back direction so that the cross section of an intake duct may be seen. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a circle B in FIG. 3. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of a foreign material accommodating part.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings are viewed in the direction of the reference numerals.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the vehicle battery cooling structure of the present embodiment is arranged under the floor of the luggage compartment 11 behind the rear seat 10 and accommodated in a waterproof case 13 and an air inlet. 14, one end on the downstream side is connected to the waterproof case 13, an intake duct 15 that supplies the air taken in from the intake port 14 to the battery 12 as cooling air, and one end on the upstream side is connected to the waterproof case 13. And an exhaust duct 16 for discharging the cooling air that has cooled the battery 12 from the inside of the waterproof case 13. Note that the symbol F indicates the floor surface of the luggage compartment 11.

  The intake port 14 of the intake duct 15 communicates with the vehicle interior via an intake grill 41 formed in a mesh shape below the window frame of the quarter window 40.

  An electric fan 17 is provided on the upstream side of the exhaust duct 16, and cooling air is sucked into the intake duct 15 from the intake port 14 by the negative pressure generated by the fan 17. The battery 12 (waterproof case 13) is suspended and supported by the left and right rear side frames 19 via a pair of front and rear suspension frames 18 extending in the vehicle width direction. Note that the battery 12 may be provided alone in the waterproof case 13 or may be provided as a power supply unit that includes electrical components associated with the battery such as an inverter and a DC / DC converter in addition to the vehicle battery. Good.

  The intake duct 15 includes a first duct member 20 that is at least partially disposed substantially horizontally below the floor of the luggage compartment 11 and an upstream second duct member that is disposed substantially vertically along the right side wall surface 23 of the vehicle. 21 and the downstream second duct member 22, and the upstream second duct member 21, the downstream second duct member 22, and the first duct member 20 are connected in this order from the upstream side. The upstream second duct member 21 and the downstream second duct member 22 are partially curved along the wheel house 31 when viewed from the side (see FIG. 2), and partially viewed from the rear. Overlaps the wheel house 31 (see FIG. 5).

  As shown in FIG. 4, the first duct member 20 is formed in a flat shape in which a cross section perpendicular to the flow path of the portion arranged under the floor has a horizontal length L that is longer than a vertical height H. ing. The downstream end of the first duct member 20 is connected to the side surface of the waterproof case 13 in which the battery 12 is accommodated. As shown in FIG. 3, a bent portion 24 that rises vertically along the side wall surface 23 with a large radius of curvature is formed on the upstream side of the first duct member 20, and the downstream second duct member 22 is located above the bent portion 24. Are connected to the lower end of the connecting member 25 by a connecting member 25 (see FIG. 5). The connection member 45, the upper end of the first duct member 20, and the lower end of the downstream second duct member 22 constitute a connection portion 45.

  Referring also to FIG. 5, the connecting member 25 is provided with a concave groove 26 that engages with an engaging convex portion 27 provided at the lower end of the second downstream duct member 22 on the inner peripheral surface. Thereby, the 1st duct member 20 and the downstream 2nd duct member 22 are connected so that attachment or detachment is possible.

  The upstream second duct member 21 has an air inlet 14, a straight portion 21 a that is disposed substantially perpendicularly along the side wall surface 23, a slope portion 21 b that slopes inward in the vehicle width direction from the straight portion 21 a, and a slope A linear connecting portion 21c that extends from the portion 21b and is disposed substantially vertically on the inner side in the vehicle width direction from the straight portion 21a is integrally formed. The lower end of the upstream second duct member 21 is provided with a protrusion 29 that engages with a concave groove 28 provided at the upper end of the downstream second duct member 22, whereby the upstream second duct member 21 and the downstream side are disposed. The second duct member 22 is detachably connected.

  The downstream second duct member 22 includes a bag-like foreign material storage unit 30 that stores a foreign material (not shown) that has dropped from the air inlet 14. Specifically, the downstream second duct member 22 is provided with a branching portion 22c that branches into a passage 22a connected to the foreign matter storage portion 30 and a flow path 22b connected to the connection portion 45. It is arranged offset from the connecting portion 45 inward in the vehicle width direction. The branch portion 22c is formed with a large curved surface in order to eliminate an edge portion that is likely to cause noise.

  The foreign substance storage part 30 overlaps the flow path cross section upstream from the branch part 22c of the downstream second duct member 22 when viewed from the vertical direction. Further, the channel cross section on the downstream side of the branch portion 22c is offset from the channel cross section on the upstream side of the branch portion 22c when viewed from the vertical direction. The flow passage cross-sectional area downstream of the branching portion 22 c of the downstream second duct member 22 is substantially equal to the minimum flow passage cross-sectional area of the upstream second duct member 21.

  As described above, the foreign matter container 30 is arranged to be offset inward in the vehicle width direction, so that the connection portion 45 can be arranged at a position spaced outward from the waterproof case 13 in the vehicle width direction and connected from the connection portion 45. The radius of curvature of the bent portion 24 is increased to reduce the channel resistance. Further, the flow path cross-sectional area downstream of the branching portion 22c of the downstream second duct member 22 is made substantially equal to the minimum flow path cross-sectional area of the upstream second duct member 21, and the streamlines are made smooth to supply air. Loss is suppressed and noise generation is prevented.

  In addition, the foreign object storage unit 30 overlaps with the cross-section of the flow channel upstream of the branching part 22c of the second downstream duct member 22 when viewed from the vertical direction, so that the foreign object can be reliably contained in the foreign object storage unit 30. Can be accommodated. On the other hand, the channel cross section downstream from the branching portion 22c is offset from the channel cross section upstream of the branching portion 22c when viewed from the vertical direction, so that the foreign matter enters the channel downstream of the branching portion 22c. It is effectively prevented from falling.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the foreign material container 30, the vehicle front-rear direction width of the wall surface is shorter than the upper width W <b> 1 in the lower width W <b> 2, and the lower section is smaller than the upper section. This prevents the falling foreign matter from jumping out of the foreign matter container 30 by suppressing the rebound of the falling foreign matter that is likely to contact the front and rear walls during acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described. As indicated by a broken line arrow in FIG. 3, the electric fan 17 provided in the exhaust duct 16 is rotated to exhaust the air in the waterproof case 13 to a negative pressure. The air is sucked into the intake duct 15 (upstream second duct member 21) from the intake port.

  The air taken into the upstream second duct member 21 is supplied as cooling air to the waterproof case 13 via the downstream second duct member 22 and the first duct member 20, and the battery 12 in the waterproof case 13 is discharged. After cooling, the exhaust duct 16 is exhausted to the rear of a wheel house (not shown) on the side opposite to the wheel house 31 on the intake duct side.

  The cross-sectional area of the intake duct 15 is set so as to have substantially the same cross-sectional area at each part, and the curvature radius of each bent part is made as large as possible. And the generation of noise is suppressed.

  In the unlikely event that a foreign object such as a coin or a ring is dropped from the air inlet 14, the foreign object is surely placed in the foreign object container 30 located almost directly below the connecting part 21 c of the upstream second duct member 21. It is accommodated and does not enter the waterproof case 13, and a short circuit of the battery is prevented. Furthermore, the foreign matter accommodated in the foreign matter accommodation part 30 is taken out from the foreign matter accommodation part 30 and collected by removing the downstream second duct member 22 from the first duct member 20 and the upstream second duct member 21. Can do.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the foreign material container 30 may be formed to be detachable from the downstream second duct member 22. Thereby, the foreign substance accommodated in the foreign material accommodating part 30 can be taken out and collected without removing the downstream second duct member 22 from the first duct member 20 and the upstream second duct member 21.

  As described above, according to the cooling structure for a vehicle battery according to the present embodiment, the intake duct 15 extending from the underfloor into the side wall surface 23 that defines the luggage compartment 11 falls from the intake port 14. A foreign matter container 30 for containing foreign matter is provided to be branched from the cooling air flow path 22b. The foreign material container 30 is disposed in the side wall surface 23 and on the inner side of the flow path 22b in the vehicle width direction, and a part of the intake duct 15 is disposed below the foreign material container 30. Even if a foreign object such as a coin or a ring falls from the air inlet 14, it can be stored in the foreign object storage unit 30 to prevent the battery 12 from being short-circuited. In addition, since a part of the intake duct 15 is disposed below the foreign material container 30, the space below the foreign material container 30 can be used effectively, and the space for the luggage compartment 11 can be secured widely. .

  In addition, the intake duct 15 has a bent portion 24 bent upward in the vertical direction, and at least a part of the bent portion 24 is disposed below the foreign matter container 30, so that the radius of curvature of the bent portion 24 is increased. The air flow resistance of the intake duct 15 can be reduced and the battery 12 can be efficiently cooled.

  Furthermore, since the foreign material accommodating part 30 is removable from the intake duct 15, the foreign material accommodated in the foreign material accommodating part 30 can be collect | recovered as needed. Note that the foreign object storage section 30 is detachable from the intake duct 15, as in the above-described embodiment, a portion of the intake duct 15 including the foreign object storage section 30 (downstream second duct member 22) is the intake duct 15. It is a concept including being detachable from other parts (first duct member 20, upstream second duct member 21).

  In addition, since the foreign matter container 30 has a lower cross section that is smaller than the upper cross section, the foreign matter that has fallen into the foreign matter container 30 is prevented from rebounding, and the foreign matter is reliably contained in the foreign matter container 30. Can be kept.

  Furthermore, since the foreign material container 30 is configured such that the width of the wall in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is shortened at the lower part with respect to the upper part, the rebound of the foreign object dropped into the foreign object container 30 is suppressed, A foreign object can be reliably secured in the foreign object container 30.

  Further, the flow path cross section on the downstream side of the branching section 22c is offset from the flow path cross section on the upstream side of the branching section 22c when viewed from the vertical direction, and the foreign material container 30 is located upstream of the branching section 22c when viewed from the vertical direction. Therefore, the foreign matter dropped from the air inlet 14 can be reliably accommodated in the foreign matter accommodating portion 30 and the occurrence of a short circuit of the battery can be prevented.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and modifications, improvements, and the like can be appropriately made. In addition to the hybrid vehicle, the applicable vehicle may be an electric vehicle using only a motor as a drive source, for example.
Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the battery 12 was arrange | positioned under the floor of a luggage compartment, it may arrange | position not only to this but under the floor of a cabin, and you may make it keep the floor surface height of a cabin low.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Cargo compartment 12 Battery 14 Inlet 15 Intake duct 22a Passage 22b Flow path 22c Branch part 23 Side wall surface 24 Bending part 30 Foreign substance accommodating part W1 Upper part width (Width of the wall surface of the foreign substance accommodating part in the vehicle front-rear direction)
W2 Lower width (width of the wall in the vehicle front-rear direction of the foreign matter container)

Claims (6)

A vehicle battery cooling structure comprising: a battery disposed below a floor of a luggage compartment or cabin; and an intake duct having an intake port for supplying air in the passenger compartment as cooling air to the battery,
The air intake duct includes a first duct member and a second duct member, and extends from the bottom of the floor into a side wall surface that defines the luggage compartment or the cabin,
The intake duct is provided with a foreign object storage part for storing a foreign object dropped from the intake port, branched from the flow path of the cooling air ,
Some of the intake duct is disposed under the front Symbol dust containing portion,
In the intake duct, a passage that leads to the foreign matter storage part and a flow path of the cooling air are branched at a branch part,
The connecting portion that connects the first duct member and the second duct member is disposed downstream of the branch portion,
The foreign matter storage part is disposed in the side wall surface and inside the connection part in the vehicle width direction,
The flow path upstream of the branch part extends in the vertical direction,
The flow path cross section on the downstream side of the branch section connected to the connection section is offset from the cross section of the flow path upstream of the branch section as viewed from the flow direction of the cooling air upstream of the branch section,
The vehicle foreign matter cooling structure characterized in that the foreign substance accommodating portion overlaps a flow path cross section upstream of the branch portion as viewed from the flow direction of the cooling air upstream of the branch portion. The intake duct has a bent portion that is bent upward in the vertical direction;
The vehicle battery cooling structure according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the bent portion is disposed below the foreign material container.   The cooling structure for a vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the foreign matter container is detachable.   The cooling structure for a vehicle battery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the foreign matter container is configured such that a lower cross section is smaller than an upper cross section.   The vehicle battery cooling structure according to claim 4, wherein the foreign matter container is configured such that the width of the wall surface in the front-rear direction of the vehicle is shorter at the lower portion than at the upper portion.   The second duct member includes an upstream second duct member and a downstream second duct member,
  The upstream-side second duct member has the intake port and is disposed substantially perpendicularly along the side wall surface, an inclined portion that is inclined inward in the vehicle width direction from the linear portion, and the inclined portion Is formed integrally with a linear connecting portion that is extended from the linear portion and arranged substantially vertically on the inner side in the vehicle width direction from the linear portion,
  6. The cooling structure for a vehicle battery according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion is configured by a lower end of the second downstream duct member and an upper end of the first duct member.

Images