JP6740914B2 - In-vehicle structure of power control device - Google Patents

Description

The present specification discloses a vehicle-mounted structure of a power control device that controls power supplied to a traveling motor.

Various devices are installed in the front compartment of an automobile. Some devices mounted in the front compartment are arranged in front of the cowl panel (for example, Patent Document 1). The cowl panel is a member located between the rear end of the front compartment of the vehicle and the front edge of the front windshield, and both ends of the cowl panel are connected to the suspension tower or the front pillar.

On the other hand, many electric vehicles equipped with a traveling motor are equipped with a power control device for controlling the power supplied to the traveling motor in the front compartment of the vehicle. In the power control devices disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3, a connector is attached to the rear portion of the upper surface. Note that the “electric vehicle” in the present specification also includes a vehicle having both a running motor and an engine.

JP, 2013-095153, A JP, 2005-133803, A JP, 2012-095482, A

When the connector is attached to the upper rear part of the casing of the power control device and the cowl panel is located behind the connector due to the restriction of the layout of the front compartment and the layout of the components inside the power control device. Can occur. When the vehicle collides with an obstacle ahead, the power control device mounted in the front compartment may be retracted due to the impact of the collision. When the power control device is retracted, the connector attached to the rear portion of the upper surface of the power control device may interfere with the cowl panel, and the connector may be damaged. On the other hand, the power control device includes a capacitor charged by a battery that stores electric power supplied to the traveling motor, and a discharge circuit that discharges the capacitor in the event of a collision. At the time of collision, the power control device receives a discharge command from the outside through the connector and discharges the capacitor. If the connector is damaged during a collision, the discharge command may not be transmitted to the discharge circuit and the capacitor may not be discharged. The present specification provides a technique for protecting the connector at the rear of the upper surface from collision with the cowl panel when the power control device is retracted.

In the vehicle-mounted structure disclosed in this specification, the power control device for the traveling motor is mounted in the front compartment of the vehicle. A connector is attached to the rear portion of the upper surface of the casing of the power control device. The cowl panel is located behind the connector. A pair of protrusions is provided on the housing of the power conversion device. Each of the pair of protrusions is arranged so as to be located on each side of the connector. Each of the pair of protrusions has a rear end located rearward of the connector and an upper end located higher than the connector so that the corners of the upper rear portion of the connector are hidden when viewed from the side of the vehicle. ..

According to the above-described vehicle-mounted structure, when the power control device retracts due to the impact of a collision, the protrusions on both sides of the connector come into contact with the cowl panel earlier than the connector and push it away (or push it up) to protect the connector. Details of the technology disclosed in the present specification and further improvements will be described in the following “Description of Embodiments”.

It is a block diagram of the electric power system of the hybrid vehicle which adopted the in-vehicle structure of an example. It is a perspective view showing a situation of a front compartment of a hybrid vehicle including an in-vehicle structure of an example. It is a top view of the power control device mounted in the vehicle. It is a side view of the power control device mounted in the vehicle. It is a side view which shows the state which the electric power control apparatus retracted. It is a partial perspective view of the periphery of the protrusion of the power control device.

An on-vehicle structure according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle-mounted structure of the embodiment is applied to a hybrid vehicle 100 including a traveling motor and an engine. First, the electric power system of the hybrid vehicle 100 will be described. FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a power system of the hybrid vehicle 100. It should be noted that in the block diagram of FIG. 1, some of the components that are not necessary for explaining the technology disclosed in this specification are omitted.

The hybrid vehicle 100 includes an electric motor 8 (traveling motor 8) and an engine 13 for traveling. In the following, for simplicity of description, the traveling motor 8 is simply referred to as the motor 8. The electric power control device 5 is connected to the motor 8. The power control device 5 controls the power supplied to the motor 8. Specifically, the power control device 5 converts the DC power of the high voltage battery 3 into AC power for driving the motor. The output of the motor 8 and the output of the engine 13 are combined by the power distribution mechanism 9 and output to the axle 11. The power distribution mechanism 9 may distribute the output torque of the engine 13 to the axle 11 and the motor 8. At this time, the motor 8 generates electric power by a part of the output torque of the engine 13. When the driver steps on the brake pedal, the motor 8 uses the kinetic energy of the vehicle to generate electricity. The electric power (regenerative electric power) obtained by the power generation is supplied to the high-voltage battery 3 via the electric power control device 5. The AC regenerative power generated by the motor 8 is converted into DC power by the power control device 5 and supplied to the high voltage battery 3.

The engine controller 12 is attached to the housing of the engine 13. The engine controller 12 is connected to the HV controller 6 that controls the entire vehicle by an engine wire harness 28. The engine wire harness 28 is a communication cable for transmitting various signals between the HV controller 6 and the engine controller 12.

The power control device 5 includes a voltage converter circuit and an inverter circuit. The voltage converter circuit boosts the power of the high voltage battery 3 to a voltage suitable for driving the motor 8. The output voltage of the high-voltage battery 3 is, for example, 300 volts, and the boosted voltage is, for example, 600 volts. The inverter circuit converts the boosted DC power into three-phase AC power having a frequency suitable for driving the motor 8. The inverter circuit also has a function of converting AC power generated by the motor 8 into DC power. The voltage converter circuit also has a function of stepping down the voltage of the electric power converted to DC by the inverter circuit to the voltage of the high voltage battery 3. That is, the voltage converter circuit built in the power control device 5 is a bidirectional DC-DC converter. Detailed description of the voltage converter circuit and the inverter circuit is omitted.

The power control device 5 is provided with a capacitor 16 that smoothes the current of the high voltage battery 3. Further, the power control device 5 is provided with a discharge circuit 17 that discharges the capacitor 16 in the event of a vehicle collision. The discharge circuit 17 is, for example, a discharge resistor. Alternatively, the boost converter circuit or the inverter circuit described above may be used as the discharging circuit.

The capacitor 16 is in a state of being charged by the high voltage battery 3, and the discharge circuit 17 discharges the capacitor 16 in the event of a collision, so that the safety of the power control device 5 is ensured. A discharge command for activating the discharge circuit 17 to discharge the capacitor 16 is transmitted from the HV controller 6 to the power control device 5. When the HV controller 6 receives a signal indicating that the vehicle has collided from the airbag controller 18, the HV controller 6 transmits a discharge command to the power control device 5. At the same time, the HV controller 6 opens the system main relay 4, which electrically connects the high-voltage battery 3 and the power control device 5. When the system main relay 4 is opened, the power control device 5 is disconnected from the high voltage battery 3, the power supply to the capacitor 16 is stopped, and the capacitor 16 can be discharged. The airbag controller 18 includes an acceleration sensor that detects a collision, and when the acceleration sensor detects an acceleration of a predetermined magnitude or more, it transmits a signal indicating that the vehicle has collided to the HV controller 6.

The high voltage battery 3 and the power control device 5 are connected by a high voltage power line 24. The high voltage connector 22 is connected to one end of the high voltage power line 24, and the high voltage connector 22 is attached to the power control device 5. That is, the high-voltage power line 24 and the high-voltage connector 22 transfer the power of the high-voltage battery 3 to the power control device 5. The system main relay 4 is provided in the middle of the high voltage power line 24.

The power control device 5 also accommodates a control circuit driven at a low voltage. Here, the low voltage means a voltage lower than the output voltage of the high voltage battery 3 described above. The power control device 5 is also connected to the auxiliary battery 7 in order to supply power to the control circuit. The output voltage of the auxiliary battery 7 is lower than the output voltage of the high-voltage battery 3, and is 12 volts, for example. The auxiliary battery 7 is connected to the power control device 5 via the auxiliary common power line 14 and the low-voltage power line 26. A low voltage connector 21 is connected to one end of the low voltage power line 26, and the low voltage connector 21 is attached to the power control device 5. Auxiliary equipment common power line 14 is a power line that runs all over the vehicle and supplies electric power to various auxiliary equipment. “Auxiliary equipment” is a general term for a device group that is driven at a low voltage. An example of the auxiliary device is the car navigation device 15. A control circuit that is a circuit mounted on the power control device 5 and that operates at a low voltage also belongs to the “auxiliary equipment”.

In addition to the low voltage power line 26, a signal wire harness 27 is connected to the low voltage connector 21. The signal wire harness 27 is a communication cable for exchanging various signals between the power control device 5 and the HV controller 6. The discharge command described above is also transmitted from the HV controller 6 to the power control device 5 through the signal wire harness 27. If the low-voltage connector 21 is damaged before the HV controller 6 sends a discharge command to the power control device 5 when the vehicle collides, the power control device 5 cannot properly receive the discharge command and the capacitor 16 is discharged. May not be implemented. The hybrid vehicle 100 has a structure in which the low-voltage connector 21 is less likely to be damaged in the case of a collision from the front. Next, the vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the power control device 5 will be described.

The vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the power control device 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a device layout in the front compartment 90 of the hybrid vehicle 100. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the power control device 5 mounted in the front compartment 90. FIG. 4 is a side view of the power control device 5 mounted in the front compartment 90. FIG. 5 is a side view when the power control device 5 is retracted. FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the upper rear portion of the power control device 5. In the plan view of FIG. 3, only the power control device 5 and its periphery are drawn. Reference numeral 43 in FIG. 4 indicates a hood that covers the front compartment 90. The hood 43 is not shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. Further, reference numeral 10 indicates a housing of the power control device 5.

The coordinate system in the figure will be described. The F axis of the coordinate system indicates the front of the vehicle, the H axis indicates the vehicle width direction, and the V axis indicates the upper side of the vehicle. Hereinafter, “front” in the present specification means “front” in the vehicle front-rear direction, and “rear” means “rear” in the vehicle front-rear direction. The front compartment 90 corresponds to the vehicle front space.

The front compartment 90 stores the engine 13, the transaxle 30, the power control device 5, and the auxiliary battery 7. Although various components are stored in the front compartment 90, the description of components other than the components described above will be omitted here. Illustration of the cable of the auxiliary battery 7 and the like is omitted.

The transaxle 30 houses a traveling motor 8, a power distribution mechanism 9, and a differential gear. That is, the transaxle 30 is also a housing that houses the traveling motor 8. The transaxle 30 is connected to the engine 13 in the vehicle width direction. The output torque of the engine 13 and the output torque of the motor 8 are combined by the power distribution mechanism 9 in the transaxle 30 and transmitted to the axle via the differential gear.

The engine 13 and the transaxle 30 are suspended below the front compartment 90 between two side members 92 extending in the vehicle front-rear direction. Note that in FIG. 2, one side member is hidden and invisible. The power control device 5 is fixed on the transaxle 30.

The housing 10 of the power control device 5 is fixed to the transaxle 30. More specifically, the housing 10 of the power control device 5 is fixed above the transaxle 30 by a front bracket 31 and a rear bracket 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the front bracket 31 and the rear bracket 32 secure a gap between the housing 10 of the power control device 5 and the transaxle 30. That is, the casing 10 of the power control device 5 does not directly touch the transaxle 30, but is supported by the transaxle 30 via the front bracket 31 and the rear bracket 32. This is to protect the power control device 5 from the vibration of the engine 13 and the vibration of the motor 8. Although illustration is omitted, a vibration-proof bush is incorporated between the front bracket 31 and the housing 10 and between the rear bracket 32 and the housing 10. When a collision load is applied from the front, the front bracket 31 and the rear bracket 32 may be deformed (or broken) and the power control device 5 may retract.

A low voltage connector 21 is attached to the rear portion of the upper surface of the casing 10 of the power control device 5. The low-voltage connector 21 is a connector that connects the low-voltage power line 26 connected to the auxiliary battery 7 and the signal wire harness 27 connected to the HV controller 6 to the power control device 5, as described above. is there.

As shown in FIG. 4, a high voltage connector 22 is attached to the rear surface of the housing 10 of the power control device 5. The high-voltage connector 22 is a connector that connects the high-voltage power line 24 connected to the high-voltage battery 3 (FIG. 1) to the power control device 5.

A metal cowl panel 44 is disposed on the vehicle rear side of the front compartment 90. The cowl panel 44 is connected to a front compartment 90 and a dash panel 48 that partitions a vehicle compartment. The cowl panel 44 extends in the vehicle width direction, and both ends of the cowl panel 44 are connected to the suspension tower 53 via stays 52. Further, both ends of the cowl panel 44 are also connected to the front pillar 51.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the cowl panel 44, a cross section cut by a plane extending in the vehicle front-rear direction (F axis direction in the drawing) and the vehicle vertical direction (V axis direction in the drawing) opens upward. It has a curved shape. In other words, the “curved shape that is open upward” is a curve that is convex downward. The rear edge of the cowl panel 44 is in contact with the lower edge of the windshield 46, and the hood 43 covering the front compartment 90 is in contact with the front edge thereof (see FIG. 4).

A cowl top panel 45 made of resin covers the upper side of the cowl panel 44 that is open upward. A wiper pivot 41 is arranged above the cowl panel 44 (inside the curve). The wiper pivot 41 is supported by a pivot holder 49. The pivot holder 49 is fixed to the cowl panel 44. The wiper pivot 41 penetrates the cowl top panel 45, and a part thereof is exposed. The wiper pivot 41 is an actuator that rotates a wiper arm. The wiper pivot 41 and the wiper arm are not shown in FIG. 3, and the wiper arm is not shown in FIG. The cowl panel 44 is a component that covers a gap between the rear end of the hood 43 and the front end of the windshield 46 at the rear end of the front compartment 90 and stores the wiper pivot 41 that is a main component of the wiper. ..

As shown in FIG. 4, a cowl panel 44 is located behind the low voltage connector 21. Reference numeral 44 a denotes a portion (opposing portion 44 a) of the cowl panel 44 that faces the low voltage connector 21 at the same height as the low voltage connector 21. In FIG. 3, the facing portion 44a is shown by a broken line. The facing portion 44a indicates a range in the cowl panel 44, which has the same height as the low-voltage connector 21 and has the same position in the vehicle width direction as the low-voltage connector 21. When the hybrid vehicle 100 collides with an obstacle ahead, the impact may deform (or break) the brackets 31 and 32, and the power control device 5 may retract. When the power control device 5 retracts, the low-voltage connector 21 may come into contact with the metal cowl panel 44 (opposing portion 44a). If the low voltage connector 21 is damaged by contact with the cowl panel 44, the discharge command sent from the HV controller 6 through the signal wire harness 27 may not be transmitted to the discharge circuit 17 inside the power control device 5. Therefore, the vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the power control device 5 employs a structure that avoids contact with the cowl panel 44 of the low-voltage connector 21 when the power control device 5 retracts.

A pair of protrusions 33 and 34 are provided on the rear portion of the upper surface of the casing 10 of the power control device 5. Each of the pair of protrusions 33, 34 is located on each side of the low-voltage connector 21 in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the rear ends of the protrusions 33, 34 have a pair of protrusions 33, 34 so that at least an upper rear corner of the low-voltage connector 21 is hidden when viewed from the vehicle width direction. It is located rearward of the low-voltage connector 21 and the upper end thereof is located higher than the low-voltage connector 21. Although FIG. 4 is a side view seen from the left side of the vehicle, the low voltage connector 21 cannot be seen hidden by the right protrusion 33 when seen from the right side of the vehicle.

Due to the positional relationship between the pair of protrusions 33 and 34 and the low-voltage connector 21, the pair of protrusions 33 and 34 come into contact with the cowl panel 44 before the low-voltage connector 21 when the power control device 5 retracts. When the power control device 5 is further retracted, the pair of protrusions 33 and 34 on both sides of the low voltage connector 21 push the cowl panel 44 backward or upward. If the strength of the cowl panel 44 can bear the load received from the power control device 5, the power control device 5 stops moving backward. If the strength of the cowl panel 44 cannot withstand the load received from the power control device 5, the cowl panel 44 is pushed backward or upward. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the facing portion 44a of the cowl panel 44 is deformed upward and rearward due to the collision of the pair of protrusions 33 and 34. In any case, when the power control device 5 is retracted, the low voltage connector 21 is protected from contact with the cowl panel 44.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view around the protrusions 33, 34 of the power control device 5 (upper rear portion). In FIG. 6, the illustration of the cable connected to the low voltage connector 21 is omitted. The low-voltage connector 21 is attached to the rear of the upper surface (upper cover 10a) of the housing 10 of the power control device 5. The upper cover 10a is made of aluminum by injection molding, and the pair of protrusions 33 and 34 are made at the same time as the upper cover 10a. The inside of each of the protrusions 33 and 34 is hollow for weight reduction. The left protrusion 34 is provided with a notch 34a at the front for passing a cable. The pair of protrusions may be integrally formed with the upper cover, or may be attached to the upper cover with a bolt or the like.

The features of the vehicle-mounted structure 2 described in the embodiments are summarized below. The power control device 5 is fixed in the front compartment 90 on a housing (transaxle 30) housing the traveling motor 8. The power control device 5 includes a capacitor 16 that smoothes the current of the DC power supply (high-voltage battery 3) and a discharge circuit 17 that discharges the capacitor 16. A wire harness (signal wire harness 27) that transmits a discharge command for discharging the capacitor 16 from another device (HV controller 6) is attached to the rear portion of the upper surface of the casing 10 of the power control device 5 (low voltage connector 21). ) Is connected to the power control device 5. The cowl panel 44 is located behind the low-voltage connector 21 in the front compartment 90. A pair of protrusions 33 and 34 that protect the low-voltage connector 21 are provided on the rear portion of the upper surface of the housing 10 of the power control device 5. Each of the pair of protrusions 33, 34 is located on each side of the low-voltage connector 21 when viewed from the front of the vehicle. The rear ends of the pair of protrusions 33 and 34 are located rearward of the low-voltage connector 21 in the vehicle. The upper ends of the pair of protrusions 33 and 34 are located above the low-voltage connector 21. The respective protrusions 33 and 34 are arranged so as to hide the upper rear corners of the low voltage connector 21 when viewed in the vehicle width direction.

Specific examples of the present invention have been described above in detail, but these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes of the specific examples illustrated above. The technical elements described in the present specification or the drawings exert technical utility alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. Further, the technique illustrated in the present specification or the drawings can simultaneously achieve a plurality of objects, and achieving the one object among them has technical utility.

2: Vehicle-mounted structure 3: High-voltage battery 4: System main relay 5: Power control device 6: HV controller 7: Auxiliary battery 8: Motor 9: Power distribution mechanism 10: Housing 10a: Upper cover 11: Axle 13: Engine 14: Auxiliary common power line 16: Capacitor 17: Discharge circuit 18: Airbag controller 21: Low voltage connector 22: High voltage connector 27: Signal wire harness 28: Engine wire harness 30: Transaxle 31, 32: Brackets 33, 34 : Protrusion 44: Cowl panel 44a: Opposing part 45: Cowl top panel 48: Dash panel 49: Pivot holder 51: Front pillar 52: Stay 53: Suspension tower 90: Front compartment 92: Side member 100: Hybrid vehicle

Claims (1)

It is an in-vehicle structure of an electric power control device that controls electric power supplied to a traveling motor,
The power control device is mounted in the front compartment of the vehicle,
A connector is attached to the rear portion of the upper surface of the casing of the power control device,
A cowl panel is located behind the connector,
A pair of protrusions is provided on the upper surface of the housing so as to be located on each side of the connector,
Each of the pair of protrusions has a rear end located rearward of the connector and an upper end located higher than the connector so that a corner of an upper rear portion of the connector is hidden when viewed from the side of the vehicle. Is located ,
At least one of the pair of protrusions has a notch in front thereof, and the notch is positioned so that a part of the connector can be seen through the notch when viewed from the side of the vehicle. In-vehicle structure.

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