JP6561809B2 - Cooling system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device, and more particularly to a cooling device for a battery mounted on a vehicle.

  A battery mounted on a vehicle generates heat by a chemical reaction. In order to prevent overheating of the battery, a cooling device for cooling the battery is used. Regarding a battery cooling apparatus, conventionally, a structure has been proposed in which a blower that moves air toward a battery is arranged in a space formed between a floor panel of a vehicle and a seat positioned above the floor panel. (For example, refer to JP2012-201269A (Patent Document 1)).

JP 2012-201269 A

  In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, an air intake duct that takes in air according to the drive of the blower is disposed in a space formed between the seat and the floor panel. The seat is slidable in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The intake duct is deformed by the sliding of the seat, and the intake duct and the intake opening can be seen, which may deteriorate the appearance.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device that does not deteriorate the appearance even when a sheet is moved.

  The cooling device according to the present invention is a cooling device for a battery mounted on a vehicle. The vehicle includes an underbody that forms the bottom of the vehicle body, a floor panel that is positioned above the underbody, and a seat on which an occupant of the vehicle sits. The seat is disposed above the floor panel and is movable relative to the floor panel. The cooling device includes a blower that is housed in a hollow space between the underbody and the floor panel and supplies air to the battery, and an intake duct that is disposed through the floor panel and through which the air flowing into the blower flows. Yes. The intake duct includes an intake port provided below the seat, an exhaust port provided in the hollow space, a mounting portion that is attached to the lower surface of the seat so as not to move relative to the seat, and closer to the exhaust port than the mounting portion And a stretchable part that can be stretched.

  According to the cooling device configured as described above, since the attachment portion of the intake duct is attached to the lower surface of the seat, the intake duct moves integrally with the seat when the seat is moved relative to the floor panel. To do. Even if the seat moves, the air intake duct remains located below the seat, so that the air intake duct is not visible from the seat. Even if the seat moves, the expansion and contraction of the expansion / contraction part can absorb the displacement of the attachment part of the intake duct with respect to the floor panel, so that excessive stress can be avoided from acting on the intake duct, and the reliability of the intake duct can be improved. Can be improved.

  According to the cooling device of the present invention, even when the seat is moved relative to the floor panel, the intake duct is not seen from the seat, so that the appearance is not deteriorated.

It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the cooling device which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a perspective view of an intake duct. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the sheet | seat moved. It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the cooling device of a modification.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cooling device according to the present embodiment. The battery 42 cooled by the cooling device of the present embodiment is mounted on the vehicle 10. The vehicle 10 is a hybrid vehicle that can travel using the power of at least one of a motor and an engine (not shown). The vehicle 10 may be an electric vehicle that travels with a driving force obtained by electric energy, including an electric vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, and the like in addition to a hybrid vehicle.

  The vehicle 10 includes an underbody 15 that constitutes the bottom of the vehicle body, and a floor panel 30 that constitutes a floor surface of a passenger compartment (occupant's living space). Below the underbody 15, wheels 11 are arranged. The floor panel 30 is located above the underbody 15. A hollow space 16 is formed between the underbody 15 and the floor panel 30.

  The vehicle compartment is partitioned from the hollow space 16 by the floor panel 30. A floor carpet may be provided on the surface of the floor panel 30 facing the passenger compartment.

  A seat 20 on which an occupant of the vehicle 10 is seated is disposed in the passenger compartment. The seat 20 has a seat part where the occupant sits down, a backrest part that supports the back of the occupant, and a headrest that supports the head of the occupant. The seat 20 may be either a driver seat or a passenger seat. Alternatively, the seat 20 may be a rear seat of the vehicle 10.

  The seat 20 is disposed above the floor panel 30. The seat 20 is disposed at a distance from the floor panel 30 via a support structure (not shown). The seat 20 is fixed to the floor panel 30 via a seat slide (not shown). The seat slide is used for sliding the seat 20 in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10. The seat 20 is provided so as to be movable relative to the floor panel 30.

  The seat portion of the seat 20 has a lower surface 21. The lower surface 21 faces the upper surface of the floor panel 30.

  The battery 42 is typically composed of a secondary battery such as nickel hydride or lithium ion, or a power storage device such as an electric double layer capacitor. Although not shown, the battery 42 is composed of a plurality of battery cells that are stacked and electrically connected to each other in series. A gap for circulating cooling air is formed between adjacent battery cells.

  The battery 42 is accommodated in the hollow space 16 between the underbody 15 and the floor panel 30. The arrangement of the battery 42 is not limited to this example. For example, the battery 42 may be accommodated in a center console box provided between the driver seat and the passenger seat. The battery 42 may be mounted at any position inside the vehicle 10.

  The cooling device for the battery 42 includes a blower 41 and an intake duct 50. The blower 41 is accommodated in the hollow space 16 between the underbody 15 and the floor panel 30. The intake duct 50 passes through the floor panel 30 and is disposed across the vehicle compartment and the hollow space 16. The blower 41 is disposed between the intake duct 50 and the battery 42.

  The intake duct 50 has a duct shape through which air can flow. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the intake duct 50. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, intake duct 50 has an intake port 51 and an exhaust port 52. The intake port 51 is formed at one end of the intake duct 50. The exhaust port 52 is formed at the other end of the intake duct 50. The intake port 51 is disposed in the vehicle interior. The exhaust port 52 is disposed in the hollow space 16. The intake port 51 is open in the vehicle interior. The exhaust port 52 is open in the hollow space 16.

  The intake duct 50 has a curved shape between one end where the intake port 51 is formed and the other end where the exhaust port 52 is formed. The intake duct 50 has a substantially Z-shape.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the air inlet 51 is provided in a space between the seat portion of the seat 20 disposed in the vehicle interior and the floor panel 30. The intake port 51 is provided below the seat 20. The intake port 51 opens toward the floor panel 30. The intake port 51 opens downward. The flow of air flowing into the intake duct 50 via the intake port 51 forms an upward flow. As shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust port 52 is provided in the hollow space 16 between the underbody 15 and the floor panel 30.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the intake duct 50 has a mounting portion 53. The attachment portion 53 of the present embodiment has a plate shape protruding from the outer surface of the intake duct 50. A through-hole penetrating the plate-like attachment portion 53 in the thickness direction is formed. The attachment portion 53 is attached to the lower surface 21 of the seat 20 by engaging the attachment portion 53 with the lower surface 21 of the seat 20. The attachment portion 53 may be fixed to the lower surface 21 of the sheet 20 using a clip or the like.

  In a state where the attachment portion 53 is attached to the lower surface 21 of the sheet 20, the attachment portion 53 cannot be moved relative to the sheet 20. Therefore, when the seat 20 slides in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, the attachment portion 53 moves integrally with the seat 20.

  Alternatively, a configuration may be adopted in which a part of the intake duct 50 moves integrally with the seat 20 by arranging a part of the intake duct 50 through the seat 20.

  The intake duct 50 further has a telescopic portion 54. The extension / contraction part 54 is formed to be extendable / contractible in the direction in which the intake duct 50 extends. The elastic part 54 has, for example, a bellows shape. The stretchable part 54 is disposed closer to the exhaust port 52 than the mounting part 53. A general portion 55 of the intake duct 50 that cannot be expanded and contracted is provided on the side closer to the intake port 51 than the expandable portion 54. A general portion 56 of the intake duct 50 that cannot be expanded and contracted is provided closer to the exhaust port 52 than the expansion and contraction portion 54. The attachment portion 53 is provided on the outer surface of the general portion 55.

  The intake duct 50 having the expansion / contraction part 54 and the general parts 55 and 56 may be formed by two-color molding. Or you may form the intake duct 50 by connecting the expansion-contraction part 54 and the general parts 55 and 56 using a hose clip.

  Air in the passenger compartment is sucked into the intake duct 50 through the intake port 51 as the blower 41 is driven. Air flowing in the intake duct 50 flows out of the intake duct 50 and flows into the blower 41. The blower 41 supplies the air in the vehicle compartment sucked through the intake duct 50 to the battery 42 as cooling air. The cooling air exchanges heat with the battery 42 while flowing through the gap between adjacent battery cells. The heat generated in the battery 42 is dissipated to the cooling air, whereby the battery 42 is cooled. Thereby, the temperature rise of the battery 42 is suppressed.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which the sheet 20 has moved. In FIG. 3, the sheet 20 arranged in the same manner as in FIG. 1 is illustrated by broken lines. The seat 20 indicated by a solid line in FIG. 3 slides rearward of the vehicle 10 as compared with the arrangement of the seat 20 indicated by a broken line. The general portion 55 of the intake duct 50 moves to the rear of the vehicle 10 together with the seat 20 because the attachment portion 53 is attached to the lower surface 21 of the seat 20. The general portion 56 of the intake duct 50 passes through the floor panel 30 and is disposed at the same position as in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the entire intake duct 50 is positioned below the seat 20 even when the seat 20 is moved relative to the floor panel 30. Since the state where the intake duct 50 is covered with the seat 20 from above is maintained, the intake duct 50 does not appear to protrude from the seat 20. Therefore, even when the seat 20 is moved, the appearance does not deteriorate, and the design of the vehicle interior can be improved.

  The expansion / contraction part 54 provided in the intake duct 50 is extended as compared with FIG. 1 when the seat 20 shown in FIG. 3 is moved relative to the floor panel 30. Even if the seat 20 is displaced with respect to the floor panel 30, the function of the intake duct 50 is maintained by the expansion / contraction part 54 extending. As described above, since the displacement of the intake duct 50 with respect to the floor panel 30 can be absorbed, it is possible to avoid excessive stress from acting on the intake duct 50 even when the seat 20 is moved. Therefore, damage to the intake duct 50 can be suppressed, and the reliability of the intake duct 50 can be improved.

  The intake port 51 is disposed at a position away from the floor panel 30 and opens downward. Therefore, water can be prevented from entering the intake duct 50 from the intake port 51 and foreign matter can be prevented from entering, so that the intake duct 50 can be prevented from being blocked and cooling air can be reliably supplied to the battery 42. . When a floor carpet is attached to the upper surface of the floor panel 30, the sound absorption effect is exhibited by opening the intake port 51 toward the floor carpet. Therefore, the operation sound of the blower 41 and the intake duct 50 are reduced. It becomes difficult for the passengers in the vehicle cabin to hear the intake air of the flowing cooling air.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a cooling device according to a modification. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust port 52 of the intake duct 50 opens in the accommodating space 16 between the underbody 15 and the floor panel 30, and the blower 41 is disposed at a position away from the intake duct 50. It was. Not limited to this configuration, the exhaust port 52 of the intake duct 50 may be connected to the blower 41 as shown in FIG. In this case, since the air flow generated by driving the blower 41 directly acts on the intake duct 50, the air in the vehicle compartment can be efficiently sucked by the intake duct 50.

  In the above description, the example in which the expansion / contraction part 54 of the intake duct 50 has a bellows shape has been described. The extension / contraction part 54 may be realized by an arbitrary configuration as long as the length in the extending direction of the intake duct 50 can be changed. For example, the expansion / contraction part 54 may be formed of a multiple tube or a flexible tube that can expand and contract. Further, for example, the stretchable portion 54 may be formed by using a material of the intake duct 50 as a stretchable material such as an elastomer typified by rubber, and the extension length of the intake duct 50 is sufficiently increased. The expansion / contraction part 54 may be formed by using a material having flexibility for the intake duct 50.

  The embodiment disclosed this time is to 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 can be suitably applied to a vehicle including a motor powered by a battery as a power source.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle, 11 Wheel, 15 Underbody, 16 Hollow space, 20 Seat, 21 Lower surface, 30 Floor panel, 41 Blower, 42 Battery, 50 Intake duct, 51 Inlet, 52 Exhaust, 53 Mounting part, 54 Extendable part, 55,56 General part.

Claims (1)

An underbody that forms the bottom of the vehicle body, a floor panel that is positioned above the underbody and that forms the floor of the passenger compartment, and is disposed above the floor panel and is relatively movable with respect to the floor panel A battery cooling device mounted on a vehicle comprising a seat on which a vehicle occupant is seated,
A blower housed in a hollow space between the underbody and the floor panel to supply air to the battery;
An air intake duct that is disposed through the floor panel and through which air flowing into the blower flows,
The air intake duct is provided below the seat, opens toward the floor panel in the vehicle interior, and is provided in the hollow space, an air intake port through which air in the vehicle interior flows into the air intake duct , An exhaust port through which air flows out from the intake duct, a mounting portion that is attached to the lower surface of the seat so as not to move relative to the seat, and an expandable / contractible extension formed closer to the exhaust port than the mounting portion And a cooling device.

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