JP6984365B2 - Vehicle power supply - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle power supply.

In a hybrid vehicle that combines a traction drive motor and an internal combustion engine, the power supply device for the traction drive motor is housed inside a resin center console box between the driver's seat and the passenger seat. Then, in order to cool the power supply device, an air introduction slit for taking in air is formed in the center console box, and the power supply device in which this slit opens toward the rear of the vehicle of the center console box is disclosed. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-299592

In the conventional device, the air introduction slit is configured to open toward the feet of the rear seat occupants behind the vehicle. Therefore, in winter, when the heater is turned on, warm air flows to the feet of the rear seat occupants, and there is a problem that the warmed air is taken in from the air introduction slit.

This disclosure focuses on the above problems, and when the air that cools the power supply equipment is taken in, the power supply of the vehicle that reduces the intake ratio of the warmed air while suppressing the generation of air convection near the front seats. The purpose is to provide the device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present disclosure is a power supply device for a vehicle, a center console installed at a position between a driver's seat and a passenger seat, and a cooling duct housed inside the center console for air cooling. It is provided with a power supply device having a slit and a slit.
As a slit provided in the console box of the center console and taking in air for cooling the power supply device, it has a rear slit that opens toward the rear of the vehicle and a side slit that opens toward the width of the vehicle. The rear slit is arranged at a position facing the air intake port of the cooling duct. The opening area of the side slit is set to be larger than the opening area of the rear slit, and the passage from the side slit to the air intake port is formed so that the passage area decreases from the side slit to the air intake port.

As a result, when the air for cooling the power supply device is taken in, the ratio of taking in the warmed air can be reduced while suppressing the generation of air convection in the vicinity of the front seats. In addition, when the amount of cooling air is small, the ratio of the amount of air taken in from the rear slit can be increased, and when the amount of cooling air is large, the ratio of the amount of air taken in from the side slit can be increased.

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view showing a driver's seat, a passenger seat, and a center console installed on a floor panel in a vehicle interior of a hybrid vehicle to which the power supply device of the first embodiment is applied. FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view showing a state in which the passenger seat is removed. FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of a hybrid vehicle equipped with the power supply device of the first embodiment in a longitudinal view from the vehicle side. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the center console in FIG. 3 as viewed from the side of the vehicle. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the center console in FIG. 3 as viewed from the front of the vehicle. It is an operation block diagram which shows the cooling system operation of a DC / DC converter. It is a comparative characteristic diagram which shows the relationship characteristic of the pressure loss coefficient with respect to the wind speed of a rear surface slit and a side surface slit. It is a comparative characteristic diagram which shows the case where the flow path of a side slit is reduced in the relational property of the pressure loss coefficient with respect to the wind speed of a rear surface slit and a side surface slit.

Hereinafter, a mode for implementing the vehicle power supply device according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the first embodiment shown in the drawings.

The configuration of the first embodiment will be described.
The power supply device in the first embodiment is applied to a hybrid vehicle in which a traveling drive motor and an internal combustion engine are combined. Hereinafter, the configuration of the first embodiment will be described separately by dividing it into an “overall configuration” and a “power supply device configuration”.

[overall structure]
FIG. 1 shows a driver's seat, a passenger seat, and a center console installed on a floor panel in the passenger compartment of a hybrid vehicle to which the power supply device of the first embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the passenger seat is removed in FIG. Hereinafter, the overall configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the hybrid vehicle includes a driver's seat 1, a passenger seat 2, a center console 3, and a power supply cover 4.

The driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2 are provided side by side on the floor panel 5 in the vehicle width direction, and the center console 3 is installed at a position between the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2. The driver's seat 1 includes a seat cushion 1a and a seat back 1b. The passenger seat 2 includes a seat cushion 2a and a seat back 2b.

Under the seat cushion 1a of the driver's seat 1 and the seat cushion 2a of the passenger seat 2, a high-power battery 6 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) as a power source for a traveling drive motor (not shown) is mounted, respectively.

Inside the center console 3, a DC / DC converter 7 (see FIGS. 3 to 5) that converts a DC voltage as a power supply device is housed. A tray 8 is set on the upper surface of the center console 3.

The power supply cover 4 is a cover member that covers the upper surfaces of the high-power battery 6 that is a power source and the DC / DC converter 7 that is a power source device. The power supply cover 4 has two battery boxes 9 for accommodating the high-power battery 6 inside and one console box 10 for accommodating the DC / DC converter 7 inside, and is integrally molded with resin.

The console box 10 is provided with a rear slit 11 and a side slit 12 for taking in air for cooling the DC / DC converter 7.

The rear slit 11 is provided at the rear position of the console box 10 and opens toward the rear of the vehicle. The side slits 12 are provided at the left and right side surface positions of the console box 10, and are open toward the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2 in the vehicle width direction, respectively. The opening area of the side slit 12 is set to be larger than the opening area of the rear slit 11.

Hot air outlets 13 for heating the rear seats are opened at the rear positions of the two battery boxes 9 toward the rear of the vehicle. The two warm air outlets 13 are arranged at positions separated from each other on both sides of the rear slit 11 arranged at the center position in the vehicle width direction.

Inside the two battery boxes 9, a cooling fan 14 that supplies cooling air to the DC / DC converter 7 is mounted. The fan motor of the cooling fan 14 protruding from the upper surface of the battery box 9 is controlled by the cooling fan controller 15 that outputs an operation instruction in response to a cooling request from the DC / DC converter 7.

[Power supply configuration]
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of the hybrid vehicle equipped with the power supply device of the first embodiment, which is viewed vertically from the vehicle side. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 in the vicinity of the center console as viewed from the side of the vehicle. FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of FIG. 3 in the vicinity of the center console as viewed from the front of the vehicle. Hereinafter, the power supply device configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 5.

The center console 3 has a console box 10 in which the tray 8 is set as the outermost layer. A converter cover 16 fixed to the floor panel 5 is provided inside the console box 10, and the outer periphery of the converter cover 16 is covered with a carpet 17.

The DC / DC converter 7 is housed in a box-shaped case and is installed inside a space 18 surrounded by a floor panel 5 and a converter cover 16. In the DC / DC converter 7, a cooling duct 19 for taking in cooling air inside the case is attached to the rear surface position of the converter cover 16 through the carpet 17.

The air intake port 19a of the cooling duct 19 is attached to face the rear slit 11 opened in the console box 10. That is, the structure is such that the air taken in from the rear slit 11 is taken into the case of the DC / DC converter 7 via the cooling duct 19. The DC / DC converter 7 is provided with a temperature sensor 20 for detecting the converter temperature inside the case. The DC / DC converter 7 is provided with a microcomputer 21 that outputs a cooling request to the cooling fan controller 15 based on the temperature information from the temperature sensor 20.

As shown in FIG. 3, a warm air outlet 13 is installed in the lower part of the front seats of the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2 toward the rear of the vehicle, and the heated air 22 emitted from the warm air outlet 13 is provided. It stays at the feet of the occupants in the rear seat 23.

An instrument panel 24 is arranged in front of the vehicle in the driver's seat 1, and an air conditioning unit 25 is housed in a space provided by the instrument panel 24 and a dash panel (not shown). An electric heater 26 for heating is installed inside the air conditioning unit 25, and the heated air 22 emitted from the air conditioning unit 25 stays at the feet of the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2. That is, when the DC / DC converter 7 is cooled, the heated air 22 is taken in from the rear slit 11.

The high-power battery 6 has a battery pack structure in which a battery module is housed in a battery case. The upper surface of the high-power battery 6 is covered with the battery box 9, and the side surface of the battery case is fixed to the floor panel 5 to be attached. That is, the lower portion including the bottom surface of the high-power battery 6 is arranged so as to be exposed to the outside air from the floor panel 5 so as to air-cool the high-power battery 6 by the running wind.

As shown in FIG. 5, the side slit 12 has a height lower than the position of the seat surface 1a'of the seat cushion 1a of the driver's seat 1 and the height position of the seat surface 2a'of the seat cushion 2a of the passenger seat 2. It is set to the position. That is, the side slit 12 takes in the air in the region where the heated air does not directly hit.

The gap t between the tray 8 and the carpet 17 on the upper surface of the center console 3 is set narrow as shown in FIG. That is, the passage from the side slit 12 to the air suction port 19a is formed so that the passage area decreases from the side slit 12 toward the air suction port 19a. Therefore, the air taken in from the side slit 12 flows to the cooling duct 19 through the gap t in which the passage area is reduced.

The operation of the first embodiment will be described separately for "DC / DC converter cooling system operation" and "characteristic operation of the power supply device".

[DC / DC converter cooling system operation]
The operation of the cooling system of the DC / DC converter 7 is shown with reference to FIG.
When the driver turns on the air conditioning unit 25 for heating in winter or the like, the electric heater 26 is instructed to operate. The electric heater 26 requests the required electric power from the DC / DC converter 7.

When the internal temperature sensor 20 detects that the DC / DC converter 7 generates heat due to the power supply and reaches a predetermined temperature, the microcomputer 21 of the DC / DC converter 7 requests the cooling fan controller 15 to cool the DC / DC converter 7.

Upon receiving the request, the cooling fan controller 15 instructs the cooling fan 14 to operate, and the cooling air is supplied to the DC / DC converter 7.

Since the electric heater 26 consumes a large amount of electric power, the amount of power generated by the DC / DC converter 7 increases, and accordingly, the amount of heat generated by the DC / DC converter 7 also increases, and the cooling requirement also increases.

However, when the electric heater 26 is operating, warm air is blown from the warm air outlets 13 below the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2, which are the front seats, to warm the vicinity of the feet of the rear seats. Therefore, warmed air is taken in from the rear slit 11 of the center console 3.

As a result, since the temperature of the DC / DC converter 7 does not decrease, the cooling requirement becomes higher and the air volume of the cooling fan 14 increases.

Here, the pressure loss of the cooling air passing through the rear surface slit 11 and the side surface slit 12 can be expressed by the following equation.

(When the wind speed is low)
Cf ＝ A ・ {(Re ・ β ^ 2) / (1-β)} ^ (-X)
Re ＝ (u ・ d) / ν
However, Cf: pressure loss coefficient, A, X: constant, Re: Reynolds number, β: aperture ratio, u: wind speed, d: hole diameter, ν: kinematic viscosity coefficient.

(When the wind speed is high)
Cf ＝ {B ・ (1-β)} / β ^ 2
However, B: is a constant.

Therefore, when the aperture ratio β11 of the rear slit 11 is made smaller than the aperture ratio β12 of the side slit 12 (β11 <β12), the characteristics of the pressure loss coefficient Cf are as shown in FIG. That is, the pressure loss coefficient characteristic of the rear surface slit 11 is higher than the pressure loss coefficient characteristic of the side slit 12 in the entire region from the region where the wind speed is low to the region where the wind speed is high.

As described above, the two pressure drop coefficient characteristics show the relationship of pressure loss coefficient characteristic (rear surface slit)> pressure loss coefficient characteristic (side surface slit). Therefore, when the cooling requirement becomes high and the air volume of the cooling fan 14 increases, the pressure loss of the rear slit 11 becomes high and the amount of air taken in from the side slit 12 increases.

The air taken in from the side slit 12 is more unaffected by heating than the air taken in from the rear slit 11. Therefore, the temperature of the air taken in from the side slit 12 is lower than the temperature of the air taken in from the rear slit 11, and the temperature of the DC / DC converter 7 can be effectively lowered.

Further, in a normal state where the cooling requirement is low and the air volume of the cooling fan 14 is small, a large amount of air is taken in from the rear slit 11 and a small amount of air is taken in from the side slit 12. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of air convection in the vicinity of the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2, which are the front seats. As a result, the wind does not flow in the vicinity of the seat surfaces 1a'and 2a' of the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2, and the discomfort given to the occupant can be suppressed.

Further, the air taken in from the side slit 12 passes through the flow path formed by the narrow gap t between the tray 8 and the carpet 17, and flows to the cooling duct 19. In addition to this, since the air suction port 19a of the cooling duct 19 is attached toward the rear slit 11, the passage from the side slit 12 to the air suction port 19a of the cooling duct 19 has a high pressure loss. ..

Here, the pressure loss coefficient Cf of the side slit 12 can be determined to be a constant value by setting the ratio between the cross-sectional area of the side slit 12 and the cross-sectional area of the gap t between the tray 8 and the carpet 17. Therefore, the pressure loss coefficient characteristic (side slit) in FIG. 7 is offset to the side where the pressure loss coefficient Cf is increased, such that the dotted line characteristic in FIG. 8 shifts to the solid line characteristic. As a result, the pressure loss coefficient characteristic (rear surface slit) and the pressure loss coefficient characteristic (side slit + flow path reduction) are made to intersect each other in the wind speed range between the low wind speed and the high wind speed as shown in FIG. be able to.

Therefore, in the normal case where the cooling requirement is low and the air volume of the cooling fan 14 is small, as shown in FIG. 8, the pressure loss of the rear slit 11 is lower than the pressure loss of the side slit 12. Therefore, the amount of air taken in from the rear slit 11 increases, and the influence of convection on the occupant can be further suppressed.

On the other hand, in the case of heating in which the temperature of the DC / DC converter 7 rises and the air volume increases, as shown in FIG. 8, the pressure loss of the side slit 12 is larger than the pressure loss of the rear slit 11. It gets lower. Therefore, the amount of air taken in from the side slit 12 is increased, the amount of warmed air taken in from the rear slit 11 is suppressed to a low level, and the cooling of the DC / DC converter 7 can be promoted.

[Characteristics of power supply]
For example, a comparative example is one having a cooling structure in which an air introduction slit opens toward the foot behind the vehicle. In the case of this comparative example, when the heating is turned on in winter, warm air flows to the feet of the rear seats, so that the warmed air is taken in only from the air introduction slit.

On the other hand, in electric vehicles such as hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles, an electric heater may be used for heating, but in that case, a power supply device such as a DC / DC converter has a high load and a large amount of heat is generated. It has become. In such a case, if warm air is taken in, cooling cannot be performed and the DC / DC converter enters the temperature protection control mode, which causes a problem that the electric heater cannot be used.

The first embodiment is made by paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and has a rear slit 11 opening toward the rear of the vehicle and a rear slit 11 opening toward the rear of the vehicle as a slit for taking in air for cooling the DC / DC converter 7, and toward the vehicle width direction. It has a side slit 12 that is open. The rear slit 11 adopts the cooling structure of the DC / DC converter 7 arranged at a position facing the air intake port 19a of the cooling duct 19 of the DC / DC converter 7.

That is, since the DC / DC converter 7 is a component having a high voltage portion and the DC / DC converter 7 is a component that generates heat during operation, it is necessary to take in air for cooling.

On the other hand, among the slits provided in the console box 10 in which the DC / DC converter 7 is installed, the rear slit 11 is arranged at a position facing the cooling duct 19 of the DC / DC converter 7. Therefore, when the electric heater 26 is not operating and the DC / DC converter 7 does not require a large amount of cooling air, air is positively taken in from the rear slit 11 and air is taken in from a position far from the front seat occupant. The amount will increase. For this reason, air convection does not occur near the front seats, and it is possible to suppress an unpleasant effect on the occupants.

On the other hand, when operating the electric heater 26 in winter or the like, the DC / DC converter 7 requires a large amount of cooling air. On the other hand, the console box 10 is provided with a side slit 12 in addition to the rear slit 11. Therefore, when the inflow amount of the rear surface slit 11 is saturated, air is also taken in from the side surface slit 12. As a result, the ratio of taking in the air warmed by the electric heater 26 from the rear side slit 11 can be reduced by taking in the air from the side surface slit 12.

In the first embodiment, the opening area of the side slit 12 is set to be larger than the opening area of the rear slit 11. The passage from the side slit 12 to the air suction port 19a adopts a cooling structure of the DC / DC converter 7 formed so that the passage area is reduced from the side slit 12 toward the air suction port 19a.

That is, when the heat generation amount of the DC / DC converter 7 is large and the cooling air amount is increased for quick cooling, the opening area of the rear slit 11 is made smaller than the opening area of the side slit 12. Therefore, the pressure loss when the air is taken in from the rear slit 11 becomes high, and the amount of air taken in from the rear slit 11 is saturated by the increase in the cooling air amount. On the other hand, since the opening area of the side slit 12 is larger than the opening area of the rear slit 11, the required air volume can be secured. Further, by reducing the passage area from the side slit 12 to the air suction port 19a of the cooling duct 19, a certain pressure loss will occur.

Therefore, in the pressure loss characteristics due to the rear surface slit 11, the side surface slit 12, and the passage area, when the cooling air volume is small (when the wind speed is low), the ratio of the air amount taken in from the rear surface slit 11 is large. On the other hand, when the cooling air volume is large (when the wind speed is high), the ratio of the air volume taken in from the side slit 12 becomes large. As a result, the amount of air taken in from the side slit 12 is larger than that in the rear slit 11, so that the ratio of taking in warm air can be reduced.

That is, in a normal scene where the calorific value of the DC / DC converter 7 is small, the amount of air taken in from the rear slit 11 is secured, so that air convection does not occur near the front seats, which may have an unpleasant effect on the occupants. It can be suppressed. In a heating scene where the amount of heat generated by the DC / DC converter 7 is large, the amount of warm air at the feet of the rear seats is reduced from the rear slit 11, and more air with a relatively low temperature can be taken in from the side slit 12. ..

In the first embodiment, the height of the side slit 12 adopts the cooling structure of the DC / DC converter 7 which is located below the seat surfaces 1a'and 2a'of the seat cushions 1a and 2a of the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2. ..

That is, even when the amount of heat generated by the DC / DC converter 7 is large and the amount of air taken in from the side slit 12 increases, the height of the side slit 12 is lowered to reduce the convection of air near the front seat occupants. Can be done. Further, by setting the setting position of the side slit 12 to a position where it is difficult for the occupant to see, the influence on the appearance can be suppressed.

As described above, the power supply device of the hybrid vehicle of the first embodiment has the effects listed below.

(1) A power supply device for a vehicle (hybrid vehicle), a center console 3 installed between the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2, a power supply device (DC / DC converter 7), and a slit (rear surface). A slit 11 and a side slit 12) are provided.
The power supply device (DC / DC converter 7) is housed inside the center console 3 and has a cooling duct 19 for air cooling.
The slits (rear surface slit 11, side slit 12) are provided in the console box 10 of the center console 3 and take in the air that cools the DC / DC converter 7.
The slits include a rear surface slit 11 that opens toward the rear of the vehicle and a side slit 12 that opens toward the vehicle width direction.
The rear slit 11 is arranged at a position facing the air intake port 19a of the cooling duct 19 (FIG. 2).
Therefore, when the air for cooling the power supply device (DC / DC converter 7) is taken in, the ratio of taking in the warmed air can be reduced while suppressing the generation of air convection in the vicinity of the front seat.

(2) The opening area of the side slit 12 is set to be larger than the opening area of the rear slit 11.
The passage from the side slit 12 to the air suction port 19a is formed so that the passage area decreases from the side slit 12 toward the air suction port 19a (FIG. 5).
Therefore, when the amount of cooling air is small, the ratio of the amount of air taken in from the rear slit 11 can be increased, and when the amount of cooling air is large, the ratio of the amount of air taken in from the side slit 12 can be increased.

(3) The height of the side slit 12 is lower than the seat surfaces 1a'and 2a'of the seat cushions 1a and 2a of the driver's seat 1 and the passenger seat 2 (FIG. 5).
For this reason, it is possible to reduce the convection of air in the vicinity of the front seat occupants, and it is also possible to suppress the influence on the appearance.

(4) The power supply device (DC / DC converter 7) includes a microcomputer 21 that outputs a cooling request to the cooling fan controller 15 when the internal temperature sensor 20 detects that the predetermined temperature has been reached.
The cooling fan controller 15 receives a cooling request, instructs the cooling fan 14 to operate, and supplies cooling air to the power supply device (DC / DC converter 7).
The vehicle (hybrid vehicle) is equipped with an air conditioning unit 25 that allows warm air warmed by the electric heater 26 to flow from the warm air outlet 13 at the lower part of the front seat of the vehicle to the feet of the rear seats.
The electric heater 26 requests the required electric power from the power supply device (DC / DC converter 7) when there is an operation instruction by the heating operation (FIG. 6).
Therefore, in the heating scene in which the warm air warmed by the electric heater 26 is sent to the feet of the rear seats, the cooling of the power supply device (DC / DC converter 7) is ensured to prevent the electric heater 26 from becoming unusable. Can be done.

The vehicle power supply device of the present disclosure has been described above based on the first embodiment. However, the specific configuration is not limited to the first embodiment, and design changes and additions are permitted as long as the gist of the invention according to each claim is not deviated from the claims.

In the first embodiment, an example of a DC / DC converter 7 is shown as a power supply device housed inside the center console 3. However, the power supply equipment housed inside the center console is not limited to the DC / DC converter, and may be other power supply equipment such as an inverter or a relay circuit, or a power supply in which the inverter and the converter are integrated. It may be an equipment unit.

In the first embodiment, an example is shown in which the warm air warmed by the electric heater 26 is applied to a vehicle equipped with an air conditioning unit 25 that flows from the warm air outlet 13 at the lower part of the front seat of the vehicle to the feet of the rear seats. However, it can also be applied to a vehicle equipped with an air conditioning unit equipped with a heat exchanger for heating using engine cooling water.

In the first embodiment, an example is shown in which the power supply device of the vehicle of the present disclosure is mainly used as a motor power source of a traveling drive motor, and is applied to a hybrid vehicle in which a traveling drive motor and an internal combustion engine are combined. However, the vehicle power supply of the present disclosure can also be applied to other electric vehicles such as electric vehicles and engine vehicles.

1 Driver's seat 1a Seat cushion 1a'Seat surface 2 Passenger seat 2a Seat cushion 2a' Seat surface 3 Center console 6 High-power battery 7 DC / DC converter (power supply equipment)
8 Tray 10 Console box 11 Rear slit 12 Side slit 13 Warm air outlet 14 Cooling fan 15 Cooling fan controller 16 Converter cover 17 Carpet 20 Temperature sensor 21 Microcomputer 25 Air conditioning unit 26 Electric heater

Claims (3)

It ’s a vehicle power supply.
A center console installed between the driver's seat and the passenger seat,
A power supply device housed inside the center console and having a cooling duct for air cooling,
It is provided in the console box of the center console and is provided with a slit for taking in air for cooling the power supply device.
The slit has a rear surface slit that opens toward the rear of the vehicle and a side slit that opens toward the vehicle width direction.
The rear slit is arranged at a position facing the air intake port of the cooling duct .
The opening area of the side slit is set to be larger than the opening area of the rear slit.
A vehicle power supply device characterized in that the passage from the side slit to the air intake port is formed so that the passage area is reduced from the side slit to the air intake port. In the vehicle power supply according to claim 1,
A vehicle power supply device characterized in that the height of the side slit is lower than the seat surface of the seat cushions of the driver's seat and the passenger's seat. In the vehicle power supply according to claim 1 or 2.
The power supply device includes a microcomputer that outputs a cooling request to the cooling fan controller when the internal temperature sensor detects that the temperature has reached a predetermined temperature.
The cooling fan controller receives a cooling request, instructs the cooling fan to operate, and supplies cooling air to the power supply device.
The vehicle is equipped with an air-conditioning unit that allows warm air warmed by an electric heater to flow from the hot air outlet at the bottom of the front seats of the vehicle to the feet of the rear seats.
The electric heater is a power supply device for a vehicle, characterized in that when an operation instruction is given by a heating operation, the power supply device is required to have necessary electric power.

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