JP6363484B2 - Cooling blower - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling blower for sending air sucked from a passenger compartment to an in-vehicle secondary battery via an inlet port communicated with the passenger compartment.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electric vehicle equipped with a rotating electric machine is known as one of the power sources of the vehicle, such as a hybrid vehicle and an electric vehicle. In such an electric vehicle, a battery for supplying electric power for vehicle travel and a cooling blower for forcibly air-cooling the battery are mounted. The battery and the cooling blower are often installed below the rear seat. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle in which a battery and a cooling blower are installed below a rear seat. In Patent Document 1, a cooling blower sucks air in a vehicle compartment via an air intake and sends the air to a battery. Thereby, the battery can be cooled.

JP 2014-038882 A

  By the way, the intake port of the cooling blower communicates with the passenger compartment in order to take in the air in the passenger compartment. Therefore, when a liquid such as water is spilled into the passenger compartment, the liquid may enter the case of the cooling blower through the intake port. Depending on the amount of liquid that enters the case, there is a possibility that the motor unit including the motor and circuit board mounted on the cooling blower may be submerged.

  In order to avoid such a problem, it is conceivable to provide a drain hole at the bottom of the case. However, when the drainage hole is provided at the bottom of the case, wind leakage occurs, and there is a concern about a decrease in cooling performance due to a decrease in the air volume, or a whistling sound due to the wind passing through the drainage hole.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooling blower capable of preventing the motor unit from being submerged while preventing the performance of the cooling blower from being deteriorated.

A cooling blower according to the present invention is a cooling blower that sends air sucked from a passenger compartment to an in-vehicle secondary battery via an intake port communicated with the passenger compartment, and rotates about an axis substantially parallel to the vehicle longitudinal direction. A blower fan, a motor unit that is provided on the opposite side of the intake port across the blower fan and that rotationally drives the blower fan, and a case that houses the blower fan and the motor unit. A drainage hole for discharging liquid to the outside is formed at a position closer to the motor unit than the blower fan and at a position below the motor unit.

  According to the present invention, since the drainage hole is formed at a position closer to the motor unit than the blower fan and at a position below the motor unit, the motor unit can be submerged while preventing the cooling blower from degrading. It can be effectively prevented.

The figure explaining the arrangement position of a cooling blower. The schematic sectional drawing of a cooling blower.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the installation position of the cooling blower 10. FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the cooling blower 10.

  The cooling blower 10 is mounted to cool the on-vehicle battery pack 100. The battery pack 100 outputs energy used for running in a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, and is a rechargeable secondary battery. The battery pack 100 is disposed in a space formed below a seat in the vehicle interior, for example, the rear seat 102, and is fixed to the floor panel. In the present embodiment, the battery pack 100 is disposed below the rear sheet 102, but the battery pack 100 may be disposed in another space. For example, the battery pack 100 may be disposed in a luggage space located behind the rear seat 102.

  In the case of the battery pack 100, one or more cell stacks (not shown) in which a plurality of single cells (cells) are directly connected are accommodated. In order to cool the cell stack, a cooling blower 10 is also provided below the rear seat 102. The cooling blower 10 includes a case 16 made of resin, a blower fan 12 having a plurality of blades, a motor unit 14 that rotationally drives the blower fan 12, and the like. The blower fan 12 has a plurality of blades that are long in the direction of the rotation axis R arranged in a cylindrical shape. The blower fan 12 rotates around the rotation axis R to suck in air in the vehicle interior. The cooling blower 10 is arranged such that the rotation axis R of the blower fan 12 is substantially parallel to the FR direction of the vehicle.

  The motor unit 14 includes a blower motor that rotates the cooling blower 10 and a circuit board that controls the rotation of the blower motor. The rotation shaft R of the blower motor is directly connected to the rotation shaft R of the blower fan 12 or indirectly through a transmission. An ECU (not shown) monitors the temperature in the battery pack 100 and controls the drive of the blower motor according to the obtained temperature. The circuit board applies a driving voltage to the blower motor in accordance with a control signal sent from the ECU, and drives the blower motor.

  The case 16 of the cooling blower 10 has a substantially cylindrical shape made of resin or the like, and an air inlet 18 is formed on one end surface in the direction of the rotation axis R. Further, a connection port (not shown) with the intake duct is formed at a position facing the battery pack 100 on the peripheral surface of the case 16. The air inlet 18 is an air inlet for the passenger compartment, and is formed on the axial end surface of the substantially cylindrical case 16 on the side facing the passenger compartment. The intake port 18 is an opening having a diameter substantially the same as or slightly smaller than that of the blower fan 12 and communicates with the vehicle interior via an intake passage (not shown). The intake passage is a pipe having one end exposed in the vehicle interior and the other end connected to the intake port 18. An opening 19 is also formed on the surface of the case 16 facing the air inlet 18, that is, the other end surface in the direction of the rotation axis R. The substantially cylindrical motor unit 14 is inserted into the opening 19 and fixed. The opening 19 is closed.

  A connection opening for connecting to the intake duct is formed at a position substantially opposite to the battery pack 100 on the peripheral surface of the case 16. The intake duct is a pipe connecting the cooling blower 10 and the battery pack 100 and extends in the vehicle width direction. The intake air sent to the battery pack 100 through the intake duct exchanges heat with the battery cell in the process of passing through the flow path provided in the battery pack 100, thereby cooling the battery cell. In FIG. 1, white arrows indicate the flow of air sucked from the passenger compartment. The cooled exhaust gas flows into an exhaust duct (not shown) and is discharged into the vehicle compartment via the exhaust duct.

  By the way, as is clear from the above description, the cooling blower 10 of the present embodiment is in communication with the passenger compartment because the air is sucked from the passenger compartment. As a result, when a user spills liquid such as water in the passenger compartment, the liquid may enter the case 16 of the cooling blower 10 from the air inlet 18. If this liquid is applied to a blower motor or a circuit board constituting the motor unit 14 of the cooling blower 10, a malfunction may occur, and in some cases, the battery pack 100 may not be properly cooled.

  In order to avoid such a problem, it is conceivable that an intake passage communicating the vehicle interior and the intake port 18 becomes higher as the intake port 18 is approached. Thus, by making the intake passage have a height difference, it is possible to effectively prevent the liquid from entering the cooling blower 10. However, when such a height difference is provided, an extra space is required for the height difference, leading to a reduction in luggage space and cabin space.

  In addition, since the blower fan 12 in the cooling blower 10 does not have any problem even if it gets wet with liquid, it is conceivable to provide a waterproof seal member only around the motor unit 14. However, the installation of such a waterproof seal member causes new problems such as complicated manufacturing processes and increased manufacturing costs.

  Therefore, it has also been proposed to provide a drainage hole for discharging the liquid at a position directly below the blower fan 12 in the case 16, for example, at part A in FIG. 2. According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the electronic device from being flooded at a relatively low cost. However, the pressure directly below the blower fan 12 is relatively high in the pressure of the blown air (air blowing pressure). Therefore, when a hole is provided immediately below the blower fan 12, not only the liquid but also the wind escapes from the hole. As a result, there arises another problem such as a decrease in cooling performance due to a decrease in the amount of air sent to the battery pack 100 and the generation of noise such as whistling noise caused by the wind passing through the holes.

  In the present embodiment, in order to prevent water from entering the electronic device in the case 16 while avoiding such problems, the case 16 is positioned closer to the motor unit 14 than the blower fan 12 and below the motor unit 14. The drainage hole 20 for discharging the liquid to the outside is provided at the position. As shown in FIG. 2, the drain hole 20 is provided in the vicinity of a corner portion between the back surface and the peripheral surface of the substantially cylindrical case 16. More specifically, on the back surface of the case 16, a cylindrical portion 16 a that protrudes from the back side position from the blower fan 12 and is concentric with the rotation shaft R is provided. A drainage hole 20 that opens downward is formed on the bottom surface of the cylindrical portion 16a.

  Since the drainage hole 20 is provided at a position closer to the motor unit than the blower fan 12, even if the blower fan 12 rotates, there is almost no blowing pressure around the drainage hole 20. As a result, a part of the blown air hardly escapes from the drainage hole 20, and it is possible to effectively prevent a reduction in air volume and generation of noise.

  On the other hand, the drain hole 20 is located below the motor unit 14. Therefore, even if the liquid enters the case 16 and accumulates at the bottom of the case 16, the liquid is discharged to the outside from the drain hole 20 before reaching the motor unit 14. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the motor unit 14 from being flooded.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to effectively prevent the motor unit 14 from being flooded while preventing a decrease in the air volume and generation of noise. Moreover, in this embodiment, it is the structure which provided the drainage hole 20 in the predetermined position of the case 16, and it can implement | achieve easily only by changing the type | mold at the time of resin molding. In other words, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the motor unit 14 from being submerged and to effectively prevent an increase in manufacturing cost without separately adding parts or manufacturing steps.

  By the way, as shown in FIG. 2, if the axial position is deviated from the blower fan 12, the blowing pressure is lowered. Therefore, it is conceivable to provide the drainage hole 20 not at a position closer to the motor unit 14 than the blower fan 12 but at a position closer to the inlet 18 than the blower fan 12 (position B in FIG. 2). Even in this case, it is possible to prevent a decrease in air volume and generation of noise. However, in this case, when the vehicle takes an attitude where the motor unit 14 is lower than the air inlet 18 on a slope, there is a possibility that the liquid cannot be properly drained. On the other hand, when the drainage hole 20 is provided at a position closer to the motor unit 14 than the blower fan 12 as in the present embodiment, it is also appropriate when the vehicle takes a posture in which the motor unit 14 is lower than the intake port 18. Can drain. On the other hand, when the vehicle takes an attitude in which the intake port 18 is lower than the motor unit 14, the drainage from the drainage hole 20 is not possible. Infiltration of the unit 14 is prevented.

  The configuration described so far is merely an example, and a drain hole 20 for discharging liquid to the outside is formed at a position closer to the motor unit 14 than the blower fan 12 and at a position below the motor unit 14. Other configurations may be changed as appropriate. For example, in the present embodiment, the case 16 has a substantially cylindrical shape, but may have another shape, such as a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Further, in the present embodiment, the drainage hole 20 is provided at a position higher than the bottom of the case 16, but the drainage hole 20 may be provided at the bottom of the case 16.

  10 Cooling blower, 12 Blower fan, 14 Motor unit, 16 Case, 18 Air inlet, 20 Drain hole, 100 Battery pack, 102 Rear seat.

Claims (1)

A cooling blower that sends air sucked from a passenger compartment to an in-vehicle secondary battery through an intake port communicated with the passenger compartment,
A blower fan that rotates about an axis substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle ;
A motor unit that is provided on the opposite side of the intake port across the blower fan, and that rotationally drives the blower fan;
A case for housing the blower fan and the motor unit;
In the case, a drainage hole for discharging liquid to the outside is formed at a position closer to the motor unit than the blower fan and at a position below the motor unit. And cooling blower.