JP6930379B2 - In-vehicle structure of power control device - Google Patents

Description

The present specification discloses an in-vehicle structure of a power control device that controls a driving power of a traveling motor.

Many electric vehicles equipped with a traveling motor are equipped with a traveling motor and a power control device for controlling the driving power of the traveling motor in the front space of the vehicle. In order to reduce the transmission loss of the power supplied to the traveling motor, the power control device is fixed on the housing accommodating the traveling motor (for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2). The power control device disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is provided with a connector at the rear upper portion thereof.

For example, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique for protecting a connector in the event of a vehicle collision. In Patent Document 3, in order to protect the connector connected to the case of the traveling motor from the impact of a vehicle collision, a protector that protects the connector is attached in the vicinity of the connector of the case.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2015-133803 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2012-095482 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2013-129220

The electric power control device mounted in the front space of the vehicle may retreat due to an impact in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle. When the power controller retracts, it can interfere with other devices and components located behind the power controller, damaging the connector on the upper rear of the power controller. As in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 3, it is conceivable to attach a protector in the vicinity of the connector of the power control device to protect the connector. The protector must be firmly fixed to the power controller (housing) so that it can withstand the impact of a collision. The protector may be fixed with multiple bolts, but that does not improve the workability of installing the protector. The present specification provides a technique for achieving both ease of attachment to a power control device and robustness for a protector that protects a connector.

In the vehicle-mounted structure disclosed herein, the power control device is fixed in the front space of the vehicle on a housing accommodating a traveling motor. A connector is provided behind the upper surface of the power control device, and a pair of protectors that protect the connector are attached. A pair of protectors are attached to the rear of the power controller on both sides of the connector in the vehicle width direction. The pair of protectors has a rear end located posterior to the rear end of the connector and extend upward. At least one protector extends above the top surface of the power control device, is secured by a single bolt on the side or top surface of the power control device, and fits into a hole provided in the rear surface of the power control device. It has a matching protrusion.

According to the above-mentioned in-vehicle structure, when the power control device retracts due to the impact of a collision, the protectors on both sides of the connector collide with the device (or component) behind the power control device first and push it away to protect the connector. do. Since at least one protector is fixed with one bolt on the side surface or the upper surface of the power control device, it is excellent in mountability. On the other hand, when a device (or a part) collides with the protector extending upward, a moment about the vehicle width direction is applied. Fixing with a single bolt may not be sufficiently robust against the above moments. Therefore, in the in-vehicle structure disclosed in the present specification, at least one protector is provided with a protrusion that fits into a hole provided on the rear surface of the power control device. Both bolts and protrusions withstand moments about the width of the vehicle, improving robustness. In the in-vehicle structure disclosed in the present specification, the protector that protects the connector is both easy to attach to a power control device and robust. Details of the techniques disclosed herein and further improvements will be described in the "Modes for Carrying Out the Invention" below.

It is a perspective view which shows the device arrangement in the front compartment of the hybrid vehicle including the vehicle-mounted structure of an Example. It is a top view of the PCU (power control device) mounted on the vehicle. It is a side view of the PCU mounted on the vehicle. It is a perspective view of the upper rear part of the PCU (with the left protector removed). It is a perspective view of the upper rear part of the PCU (with the left protector attached). FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the left protector.

The vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the embodiment is adopted in a hybrid vehicle 100 including a traveling motor and an engine. The vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the embodiment is applied to the power control device 5 mounted on the front compartment of the hybrid vehicle 100. The electric power control device 5 is a device that controls the driving power of the traveling motor, and is fixed on the transaxle 30 accommodating the traveling motor 8 in the front compartment. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, the power control device 5 will be referred to as a PCU 5 (Power Control Unit), and the transaxle 30 will be referred to as a TA 30.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a device layout in the front compartment 90 of the hybrid vehicle 100. First, the coordinate system in the figure will be described. The positive direction of the F axis of the coordinate system indicates the front of the vehicle, the H axis indicates the vehicle width direction, and the positive direction of the V axis indicates the upper side of the vehicle. The positive direction of the H axis indicates the left side of the vehicle. Hereinafter, in the present specification, "front" 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 front space of the vehicle.

The front compartment 90 is equipped with an engine 13, a TA30 (traveling motor 8), a PCU5, an auxiliary battery 7, and the like. Although various other parts are mounted on the front compartment 90, the description thereof is omitted here except for the above-mentioned parts. The TA30 houses a traveling motor 8, a gear set 9, and a differential gear. That is, the TA30 is also a housing for accommodating the traveling motor 8. The TA30 is connected to the engine 13 in the vehicle width direction. The output torque of the engine 13 and the output torque of the traveling motor 8 are combined by the gear set 9 in the TA30 and transmitted to the axle via the differential gear.

The engine 13 and TA30 are suspended between two side members 92 extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle in the front compartment 90. In FIG. 2, one side member is hidden and cannot be seen. PCU5 is fixed on TA30.

FIG. 2 shows a plan view of the PCU 5 mounted on the front compartment 90. FIG. 3 shows a side view of the PCU 5 mounted on the front compartment 90. The vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the PCU 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The PCU 5 is fixed above the TA 30 by the front bracket 31 and the rear bracket 32. As shown in FIG. 3, a gap is secured between the upper surface of the TA 30 and the PCU 5. That is, the PCU 5 does not directly touch the TA 30, but is supported by the TA 30 via the front bracket 31 and the rear bracket 32. This is to protect the PCU 5 from the vibration of the engine 13 and the vibration of the traveling motor 8. Although not shown, anti-vibration bushes are incorporated between the front bracket 31 and the PCU 5 and between the rear bracket 32 and the PCU 5. Since the PCU 5 is supported by the front bracket 31 and the rear bracket 32, the PCU 5 may retreat when a collision load is received from the front during a vehicle collision.

A low-voltage connector 23 is provided on the rear upper portion (upper surface rear) of the PCU 5. The low-voltage connector 23 is a connector for connecting the low-voltage power line 26 connected to the auxiliary battery 7 and the PCU wire harness 27 connected to the HV controller (not shown) to the PCU 5.

As shown in FIG. 3, a high voltage connector 21 is provided on the rear surface of the PCU 5. The high-voltage connector 21 is a connector for connecting a high-voltage power line 24 connected to a high-voltage battery (not shown) to the PCU 5. In FIG. 2, the high-voltage connector 21 and the high-voltage power line 24 are not shown.

A metal cowl panel 44 is arranged on the rear side of the vehicle in the front compartment 90. The cowl panel 44 is connected to the front compartment 90 and the dash panel 48 that separates the passenger compartment. The cowl panel 44 extends in the vehicle width direction, and as shown in FIG. 3, is a plane extending in the vehicle front-rear direction (F-axis direction in the figure) and the vehicle vertical direction (V-axis direction in the figure). The cut cross section has a curved shape that opens upward. In other words, the "curved shape that opens upward" means that it is curved so as to be convex downward. The trailing edge of the cowl panel 44 is in contact with the lower edge of the windshield 46, and the leading edge thereof is in contact with the hood 43 covering the front compartment 90 (see FIG. 3).

The upper part of the cowl panel 44 that is open upward is covered with the cowl top panel 45 made of resin. Further, the wiper pivot 34 is arranged above the cowl panel 44 (inside the curve). The wiper pivot 34 is supported by the pivot holder 49. The pivot holder 49 is fixed to the cowl panel 44. The wiper pivot 34 penetrates the cowl top panel 45, and a part thereof is exposed. The wiper pivot 34 is a component that serves as a rotation axis of the wiper arm. In FIG. 2, the wiper pivot 34 and the wiper arm are not shown, and in FIG. 3, the wiper arm is not shown.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cowl panel 44 is located behind the low voltage connector 23. When the PCU 5 retracts due to the impact of a head-on collision, the low voltage connector 23 may come into contact with the metal cowl panel 44. The PCU 5 is provided with a pair of protectors 51 and 52 on both sides of the low-voltage connector 23 in order to suppress damage to the low-voltage connector 23 when the PCU 5 retracts. In FIG. 3, a part of the low-voltage connector 23 that is hidden by the left protector 52 and cannot be seen is drawn by a broken line.

The pair of protectors 51 and 52 are fixed to the rear upper part of the side surface of the PCU5. The broken line HL in FIG. 2 is a line extending the rear end of the low voltage connector 23 in the vehicle width direction. The pair of protectors 51, 52 are arranged on both sides of the low-voltage connector 23 in the vehicle width direction, and at the same height as the low-voltage connector 23, the rear end is located behind the rear end of the low-voltage connector 23. ing. The shape of the left protector 52 will be described in detail later, but the main body 522 is located at the same height as the low voltage connector 23.

Since the rear ends of the protectors 51 and 52 are located behind the rear ends of the low-voltage connectors 23, when the PCU 5 is retracted, the protectors 51 and 52 are rear of the left and right before the low-voltage connectors 23. The edge contacts the cowl panel 44. When the PCU 5 retracts, the protectors 51 and 52 push the cowl panel 44 backward to prevent the cowl panel 44 from coming into contact with the low voltage connector 23. When the PCU 5 retracts and the protectors 51 and 52 come into contact with the cowl panel 44, a gap is secured between the low voltage connector 23 and the cowl panel 44 so that the PCU wire harness 27 and the low voltage power line 26 can pass through. The rear end positions of the protectors 51 and 52 are defined.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, the low voltage connector 23 and the protectors 51 and 52 are schematically drawn to help understanding. A more detailed structure of the left protector 52 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the upper rear portion of the PCU 5 with the left protector 52 removed. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the upper rear portion of the PCU 5 with the left protector 52 attached. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the left protector 52 in the side view of FIG. In FIGS. 4 to 6, the PCU wire harness 27 and the low voltage power line 26 are removed from the low voltage connector 23.

The left protector 52 is made of die-cast aluminum. The left protector 52 includes a base 521 fixed to the PCU 5, a main body 522 extending upward from the base 521, and a rear 523 wrapping around from the base 521 to the rear of the PCU 5. The base portion 521 is provided with a through hole 521a. The base portion 521 of the left protector 52 is fixed to the bolt seat 5b provided on the left side surface 5a of the PCU 5 with a bolt 54. The main body 522 extends upward from the base 521, and its upper end extends to a position higher than that of the low voltage connector 23. The rear portion 523 of the left protector 52 is provided with a protrusion 524 extending forward, and the protrusion 524 fits into a hole 5d provided in the rear surface 5c of the PCU 5. The hole 5d is used for fixing the jig for transporting the PCU 5 before attaching the protectors 51 and 52.

The left protector 52 is fixed to the left side surface 5a of the PCU 5 with one bolt 54. Since it can be fixed with only one bolt 54, the left protector 52 has good mounting workability. On the other hand, when the vehicle collides with the main body 522 of the left protector 52 extending upward and the PCU 5 retracts, the cowl panel 44 collides with the main body 522 from the rear. The arrow A1 in FIG. 6 schematically represents the collision load received from the cowl panel 44. Due to the collision load A1 that the upper part of the main body 522 receives from the rear, a moment with the vehicle width direction (H axis of the coordinate system in the figure) as the rotation axis acts on the left protector 52. The arrow A2 in FIG. 6 represents the moment generated by the collision load A1.

The left protector 52 receives the moment A2 by both the bolt 54 and the protrusion 524 fitted in the hole 5d of the rear surface 5c of the PCU 5. Although the left protector 52 is fixed by only one bolt 54, it is robust against the collision load A1 (moment A2) because it receives the moment A2 generated by the collision at two places.

The base portion 521 of the left protector 52 abuts on the bolt seat 5b provided on the left side surface 5a of the PCU 5, and is fixed by the bolt 54 from above. The moment A2 generated by the collision acts to press the base 521 against the bolt seat 5b from above. The contact between the base portion 521 and the bolt seat 5b also contributes to receiving the moment A2.

As described above, in the vehicle-mounted structure 2 of the embodiment, by providing the pair of protectors 51 and 52 on both sides of the low-voltage connector 23 of the PCU 5, the low-voltage connector 23 is caused by a collision with the cowl panel 44 in the event of a collision. Prevents damage. In particular, the left protector 52 includes a protrusion 524 that fits into a hole 5d provided on the rear surface of the PCU 5. Since the left protector 52 can be fixed to the PCU 5 with one bolt 54, it is excellent in mounting workability. In addition, the left protector 52 receives the collision load at two places, the bolt 54 and the protrusion 524, and is therefore excellent in robustness.

The points to be noted regarding the technique described in the examples will be described. In the description, the description regarding the right protector 51 has been omitted. If it is assumed that the same load is applied to both the left protector 52 and the right protector 51 at the time of a collision, the right protector 51 may have the same structure as the left protector 52. On the other hand, if it is assumed that the right protector 51 is not loaded as much as the left protector 52 at the time of a collision, the structure of the right protector 51 may be different from the structure of the left protector 52. Further, when it is assumed that a load larger than that of the left protector 52 is applied to the right protector 51, the right protector 51 has the above-mentioned structure of the left protector 52, and the left protector 52 has a different structure. You may have.

The front compartment 90 corresponds to the "vehicle front space". The TA30 (transaxle 30) corresponds to an example of a housing for accommodating a traveling motor. The in-vehicle structure disclosed herein can also be applied to an electric vehicle without an engine.

Although specific examples of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of claims. The techniques described in the claims include various modifications and modifications of the specific examples illustrated above. The technical elements described herein or in the drawings exhibit their technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the techniques illustrated in the present specification or drawings can achieve a plurality of purposes at the same time, and achieving one of the purposes itself has technical usefulness.

2: In-vehicle structure 5: Power control device (PCU)
5a: Left side 5b: Bolt seat 5c: Rear surface 5d: Hole 7: Auxiliary battery 8: Traveling motor 9: Gear set 13: Engine 21: High voltage connector 23: Low voltage connector 24: High voltage power line 26: Low voltage Power line 27: PCU wire harness 28: Engine wire harness 30: Transaxle (TA)
31: Front bracket 32: Rear bracket 44: Cowl panel 51: Protector (right protector)
52: Protector (left protector)
53, 54: Bolt 90: Front compartment 92: Side member 100: Hybrid vehicle 521: Base 522: Body 523: Rear 524: Protrusion

Claims (1)

It is an in-vehicle structure of a power control device that controls the driving power of a traction motor.
The power control device is fixed in the front space of the vehicle on a housing accommodating the traveling motor.
A connector is provided behind the upper surface of the power control device.
A pair of protectors whose rear ends are located behind the rear end of the connector and extend upward are attached to both sides of the connector in the vehicle width direction behind the power control device.
At least one protector extends above the upper surface of the power control device, is fixed by one bolt on the side surface or the upper surface of the power control device, and is provided on the rear surface of the power control device. In-vehicle structure of a power control device with protrusions that fit into the holes.

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