Electronic control unit and fixing bracket for a car heater and method of installation

Abstract

The application discloses an electronic control unit and a fixing support and mounting method of a car heater, which comprises an ECU support and a PTC support; three supporting legs are arranged on the ECU support and are connected with the PTC support, a front cabin longitudinal beam and a left suspension respectively; three supporting legs are arranged on the PTC support and are connected with the ECU support, the front cabin longitudinal beam and a front end frame respectively; the ECU support and the PTC support share one mounting point, so that the ECU support and the PTC support form a cavity structure facing each other; the application can meet the strength, rigidity and other performances of the fixing support, avoid the bolt loosening, support cracking and abnormal sound after long-term use, and prevent the electronic components from being damaged and the user's usability from being seriously affected.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of automobile parts, in particular to an electronic control unit and a fixing bracket and mounting method of an automobile heater. BACKGROUND

[0002] The automobile electric heater and the electronic control unit are important in the whole automobile manufacturing process, and play a crucial role in controlling the engine running state, passenger cabin heating and battery pack heating. The electronic control unit, namely ECU, mainly receives signals from various sensors to control the running state of the engine, including ignition, fuel injection, air-fuel ratio, idling speed, etc., to ensure the normal operation of the engine. The high-voltage electric heater, namely PTC, mainly heats the coolant, so that the automobile heater delivers warm air to the driver's cabin, improves the temperature in the vehicle, and also provides heating for the battery pack, reduces the endurance loss of the battery pack in a low temperature environment, improves the charging and discharging efficiency of the battery pack, and prolongs the service life of the battery.

[0003] The heater and the electronic control unit are generally installed on their respective fixing brackets by bolts, and the fixing brackets are installed on the front cabin longitudinal beam. These fixing brackets need sufficient strength and rigidity to avoid the excitation frequency transmitted by the engine and the road surface, and to avoid bolt loosening, abnormal noise and other situations after long-term use of the vehicle, which affect the driving experience and damage the electronic components. In the prior art, two completely independent fixing brackets are usually used to realize the fixed installation of the PTC and the ECU.

[0004] Due to the large volume of the PTC, it occupies a lot of internal space in the front engine compartment, causing difficulty in arranging the parts in the front engine compartment. At the same time, the PTC mounting bracket structure can only cooperate with the front engine compartment, and it is difficult to install the PTC in other existing spaces of the vehicle to realize the reasonable setting of the PTC on the vehicle, resulting in space waste. As for the ECU, due to the limitation of the engine compartment space and the waterproof requirement of the ECU wire harness connector, the ECU fixing bracket is usually arranged vertically or at an angle, which usually occupies a large space. At the same time, the PTC fixing bracket and the ECU fixing bracket have the problem of unreasonable structure, which not only affects the installation and arrangement of other parts in the front cabin, but also makes it difficult to ensure the strength of the fixing bracket, and long-term use may cause bolt loosening, bracket cracking, abnormal noise and other situations that cause damage to electronic components and seriously affect the user's usability. SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the present application provides an electronic control unit and a fixing bracket and mounting method of an automobile heater, which can meet the strength, rigidity and other performance of the fixing bracket, avoid bolt loosening, bracket cracking, abnormal noise and other situations that cause damage to electronic components and seriously affect the user's usability after long-term use.

[0006] The technical scheme of the present application is as follows:

[0007] In the first aspect of the present application, an electronic control unit and a fixed support of a car heater are provided, comprising an ECU support and a PTC support; three legs are arranged on the ECU support, and the three legs are connected with the PTC support, a front cabin longitudinal beam and a left suspension respectively; three legs are arranged on the PTC support, and the three legs are connected with the ECU support, the front cabin longitudinal beam and a front end frame respectively; the ECU support and the PTC support share an installation point, so that the ECU support and the PTC support form a cavity structure facing each other.

[0008] In some embodiments of the present application, the three legs on the ECU support are located at the upper part, the right part and the lower part of the ECU support respectively, and an installation hole is arranged on each leg; a reinforcing rib is arranged at the position where the leg is connected with the ECU support.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present application, the leg at the upper part is connected with the PTC support through a bolt, the leg at the right part is connected with the left suspension through a bolt, and the leg at the lower part is connected with the front cabin longitudinal beam through a bolt.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present application, a flange, a wire harness bayonet support, a device installation hole and a weight reduction hole are arranged on the ECU support.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present application, the three legs on the PTC support are located at the upper part, the left part and the lower part of the PTC support respectively, and an installation hole is arranged on each leg; a reinforcing rib is arranged at the position where the leg is connected with the ECU support.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present application, the leg at the upper part is connected with the ECU support through a bolt, the leg at the left part is connected with the front end frame through a bolt, and the leg at the lower part is connected with the front cabin longitudinal beam through a bolt.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present application, a flange, a wire harness bayonet support, a device installation hole and a weight reduction hole are arranged on the PTC support.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present application, the ECU support and the PTC support are both made of an integral sheet metal part and are integrally formed through a stamping process.

[0015] In some embodiments of the present application, the ECU is fixedly installed on the ECU support by a projection welding nut matched with a bolt, and the PTC is fixedly installed on the PTC support by a projection welding nut matched with a bolt.

[0016] In the second aspect of the present application, a mounting method of an electronic control unit and a fixed support of a car heater is provided according to any one of claims 1-9, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

[0017] The right part of the ECU support is bolted on the left suspension, and the lower part is bolted on the front cabin longitudinal beam;

[0018] The left part of the PTC support is bolted on the front end frame, and the lower part is bolted on the front cabin longitudinal beam;

[0019] The upper part of the ECU support and the upper part of the PTC are bolted;

[0020] The ECU is mounted on the ECU support and the wire harness is fixed by the wire harness socket support; the PTC is mounted on the PTC support and the wire harness is fixed by the wire harness socket support.

[0021] The one or more technical solutions of the present application have the following beneficial effects:

[0022] (1) The fixed support provided by the present application adopts three-point installation for the ECU support and the PTC support, wherein the uppermost point is a common point, and the remaining points are mounted on the front cabin longitudinal beam and the front end plastic module. The common point can connect the two supports together to form a nearly face-to-face closed cavity, which becomes an integral whole that can reinforce each other. In addition, the process can save the additional mounting holes on the vehicle body structure and reduce the complexity of the support structure form. At the same time, the support can be disassembled separately, so that the whole is not replaced when it is replaced due to external factors, thereby saving maintenance costs.

[0023] (2) The fixed support provided by the present application has many flanges, ribs and weight reduction holes on the surface of the support in order to improve the strength, rigidity and weight of the support. The installation of the support also considers reserving fixing socket holes for the nearby wire harness, which is convenient for the fixation and beauty of the wire harness. All the above structural parts give the highest cost-effective thickness and material through reasonable optimization analysis, thereby well controlling the weight and cost.

[0024] (3) The fixed support provided by the present application is composed of the vehicle body structure, the ECU fixed support, the PTC fixed support, the ECU&PTC equipment and the surrounding wire harness. The ECU&PTC fixed support is designed with a series of topographic features to improve the strength and rigidity of the structure. Each fixed support is designed with several support legs and mounting holes for fixed connection with the vehicle body. In order to reduce weight, several weight reduction holes are opened in the relatively unimportant area of the related parts.

[0025] (4) The fixed support provided by the application is formed by welding, stamping, hot forming and the like processes and through welding studs and welding nuts. The structure after design is simple and does not need too complex process technology. Through CAE analysis, the fixed support for installing ECU and PTC can meet the requirements of strength, rigidity and mode, and better avoid the situation that the fastener is loose, the ECU and PTC equipment is damaged and the sheet metal part is cracked after long-term use, which seriously affects the usability of the user.

[0026] (5) The fixed support provided by the application installs the ECU and PTC equipment on the front compartment longitudinal beam between the front end frame and the left suspension. The whole space occupancy is very small, the layout is compact and reasonable, the arrangement and related professional cooperation difficulty are reduced, manpower and material resources are saved, the generalization degree is high, can be applied to different vehicle models of the same platform, does not need too complex mold, and the development and manufacturing cost of the vehicle model is reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 is a schematic view of the fixed support of the application installed on the vehicle body;

[0028] Figure 2 is a partial structure schematic view of the fixed support of the application installed on the vehicle body;

[0029] Figure 3 is a structure schematic view of the ECU support of the application;

[0030] Figure 4 is a structure schematic view of the PTC support of the application;

[0031] Figure 5 is a whole structure schematic view of the fixed support of the electronic control unit and the automobile heater of the application.

[0032] In the figure: 1, front end frame;

[0033] 2, ECU support; 21, upper leg; 22, lower leg; 23, right leg; 24, first ECU mounting hole; 25, second ECU mounting hole; 26, third ECU mounting hole; 27, fourth ECU mounting hole; 28, first wire harness bayonet support; 29, second wire harness bayonet support; 210, third wire harness bayonet support; 211, first reinforcing rib; 212, second reinforcing rib; 213, third reinforcing rib; 214, first flange;

[0034] 3, PTC support; 31, left side leg; 32, upper side leg; 33, lower side leg; 34, first PTC mounting hole; 35, second PTC mounting hole; 36, third PTC mounting hole; 37, fourth PTC mounting hole; 38, fifth PTC mounting hole; 39, sixth PTC mounting hole; 310, first flange and reinforcing rib; 311, fourth reinforcing rib; 312, second flange and reinforcing rib; 313, fifth reinforcing rib; 314, fourth wire harness bayonet support;

[0035] 4, left suspension;

[0036] 5, front compartment longitudinal beam. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The application will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments.

[0038] Embodiment 1

[0039] Generally, the ECU support and the PTC support are arranged and installed separately at relevant positions. Such an arrangement form brings great challenges to the arrangement space and difficulty for the overall arrangement. There are many complex electrical devices and wire harnesses around the ECU in the front compartment area, and separate arrangement will leave two areas in the front compartment part for arranging the ECU support and the PTC support, which will increase the cooperation and compromise of multiple professional directions to finally achieve the purpose.

[0040] In view of the above problems and the problems mentioned in the background art, in a typical embodiment of the application, an electronic control unit and automobile heater fixing support is provided, as shown in Figures 1-5 The ECU support 2 is provided with three legs, and the three legs are connected with the PTC support 3, the front compartment longitudinal beam 5 and the left suspension 4, respectively. The PTC support 3 is provided with three legs, and the three legs are connected with the ECU support 2, the front compartment longitudinal beam 5 and the front end frame 1, respectively. The ECU support 2 and the PTC support 3 share an installation point, so that the ECU support 2 and the PTC support 3 form a cavity structure facing each other.

[0041] Specifically, as shown in Figure 3 The three legs of the ECU support 2 are located at the upper part, the right part and the lower part of the ECU support, i.e. the upper leg 21, the lower leg 22 and the right leg 23 in the figure, and each leg is provided with a mounting hole. The positions where the legs are connected with the ECU support are provided with reinforcing ribs, specifically including the first reinforcing rib 211, the second reinforcing rib 212 and the third reinforcing rib 213.

[0042] Further, the upper leg 21 is connected to the PTC bracket 3 by bolts, the right leg 23 is connected to the left suspension 4 by bolts, and the lower leg 22 is connected to the front cabin longitudinal beam 5 by bolts.

[0043] In the embodiment, the ECU bracket 2 is further provided with a flange, a wire harness socket bracket, an equipment mounting hole and a weight reduction hole, specifically including a first flange 214, a first wire harness socket bracket 28, a second wire harness socket bracket 29, a third wire harness socket bracket 210, a first ECU mounting hole 24, a second ECU mounting hole 25, a third ECU mounting hole 26 and a fourth ECU mounting hole 27.

[0044] The ECU is fixed on the ECU bracket through the ECU mounting hole, and the specific installation process can adopt projection welding nut combined with bolt installation. Since the ECU is connected to a large number of wire harnesses, the wire harness socket bracket can fix the wire harnesses, prevent the wire harnesses from loosening to cause circuit failure, and also play an aesthetic role. The flange and the reinforcing rib can enhance the rigidity and strength of the entire bracket. In order to achieve the effect of weight reduction, two large weight reduction holes are opened on the surface of the bracket in non-critical areas.

[0045] As shown in Figure 4 The three legs of the PTC bracket 3 are located at the upper part, the left part and the lower part of the PTC bracket, i.e. the left leg 32, the left leg 31 and the lower leg 33 in the figure, and each leg is provided with a mounting hole; the position where the leg is connected to the ECU bracket is provided with a reinforcing rib, specifically including a first flange and a reinforcing rib 310, a fourth reinforcing rib 311, a second flange and a reinforcing rib 312 and a fifth reinforcing rib 313.

[0046] Further, the upper leg 32 is connected to the ECU bracket 2 by bolts, the left leg 31 is connected to the front end frame 1 by bolts, and the lower leg 33 is connected to the front cabin longitudinal beam 5 by bolts.

[0047] Further, the PTC bracket 3 is further provided with a flange, a wire harness socket bracket, an equipment mounting hole and a weight reduction hole, specifically including a first PTC mounting hole 34, a second PTC mounting hole 35, a third PTC mounting hole 36, a fourth PTC mounting hole 37, a fifth PTC mounting hole 38, a sixth PTC mounting hole 39, a first flange and a reinforcing rib 310, a fourth reinforcing rib 311, a second flange and a reinforcing rib 312, a fifth reinforcing rib 313 and a fourth wire harness socket bracket 314.

[0048] The PTC is fixed on the PTC support through the PTC mounting hole, and a specific mounting process can adopt a projection nut matched with a bolt mounting. The wire harness can be fixed through the wire harness bayonet support, so that the wire harness is prevented from loosening to cause a circuit failure and the wire harness bayonet support can also play an aesthetic role. The flange and the reinforcing rib can enhance the rigidity and strength of the whole support. In order to achieve the weight reduction effect, two large weight reduction holes are opened on the surface of the support in a non-key area.

[0049] In the embodiment, the ECU support and the PTC support are integrally formed by stamping process through a whole sheet metal part.

[0050] The fixing support provided in the embodiment is a composite form. Compared with a single form, the support in the composite form only needs to demarcate one area for arrangement space, and two supports share one mounting point, so that the arrangement and related professional cooperation difficulty are reduced, and manpower and material resources are saved.

[0051] The composite structure of the ECU support and the PTC support connects the two supports together to form a cavity approximately closed in face-to-face, so that the two supports become a whole which can mutually reinforce. The upper leg 21 on the ECU support and the upper leg 32 on the PTC support finally share one point, so that the whole support is supported on the left side by the left leg 31 of the PTC support and on the right side by the right leg 23 of the ECU support. The structure form can make the structure stable and can save the material cost and process complexity caused by the additional mounting points compared with single development. The single support can be separately disassembled, so that the whole support does not need to be replaced when the support is replaced due to external factors, and the maintenance cost is saved.

[0052] In order to improve stability, the single mounting support is generally made into a four-point mounting form, that is, four points in the upper, lower, left and right. At least eight mounting points are needed for separately arranging the ECU and PTC mounting supports. The composite support adopted in the application shares the upper point, the left mounting point is arranged on the PTC support, and the right mounting point is arranged on the ECU support, so that three mounting points can be saved. Comprehensive consideration of process and cost can bring considerable profitability.

[0053] The above structure is verified by process department analysis, is simple in structure, is high in generalization degree, can meet the use of multiple vehicle models of the same platform, and reduces the mold development cost.

[0054] Embodiment 2

[0055] In a typical embodiment of the application, an installation method of the electronic control unit and the fixing support of the automobile heater is provided, and the installation method comprises the following steps:

[0056] The right leg of the ECU support is mounted on the left suspension through a bolt, and the lower leg is mounted on the front compartment longitudinal beam through a bolt.

[0057] The left leg of the PTC bracket is bolted to the front end frame, and the lower leg is bolted to the front cabin longitudinal beam;

[0058] The upper leg of the ECU bracket and the upper leg of the PTC are bolted together;

[0059] The ECU is mounted on the ECU bracket and the wire harness is fixed by the wire harness clamp bracket; the PTC is mounted on the PTC bracket and the wire harness is fixed by the wire harness clamp bracket.

[0060] The above mounting method is assembled by welding, stamping, heat forming and welding studs and nuts. The designed structure is simple to install and does not require too complex technology. Through CAE analysis, the fixing bracket for mounting ECU & PTC can meet the requirements of strength, stiffness and modal, and can better avoid the situation that the fasteners are loose, the ECU & PTC equipment is damaged, the sheet metal parts are cracked and other serious conditions that seriously affect the usability of the user after long-term use.

[0061] Although the specific embodiments of the present application have been described above with reference to the drawings, the present application is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications or changes can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An electronic control unit and a fixing bracket for a car heater, characterized by, ECU support and PTC support; three legs are arranged on the ECU support, and the three legs are connected with the PTC support, the front cabin longitudinal beam and the left suspension respectively; three legs are arranged on the PTC support, and the three legs are connected with the ECU support, the front cabin longitudinal beam and the front end frame respectively; the ECU support and the PTC support share an installation point, so that the ECU support and the PTC support form a cavity structure facing each other; The three legs on the ECU support are located at the upper part, the right part and the lower part of the ECU support respectively, and mounting holes are arranged on each leg; a reinforcing rib is arranged at the position where the leg is connected with the ECU support; The upper leg is connected with the PTC support through a bolt, the right leg is connected with the left suspension through a bolt, and the lower leg is connected with the front cabin longitudinal beam through a bolt; The three legs on the PTC support are located at the upper part, the left part and the lower part of the PTC support respectively, and mounting holes are arranged on each leg; a reinforcing rib is arranged at the position where the leg is connected with the ECU support; The upper leg is connected with the ECU support through a bolt, the left leg is connected with the front end frame through a bolt, and the lower leg is connected with the front cabin longitudinal beam through a bolt.

2. The electronic control unit and the fixing bracket for a car heater according to claim 1, wherein The ECU support is provided with a flange, a wire harness bayonet support, an equipment mounting hole and a weight reduction hole.

3. The electronic control unit and the fixing bracket for a car heater according to claim 1, wherein The PTC support is provided with a flange, a wire harness bayonet support, an equipment mounting hole and a weight reduction hole.

4. The electronic control unit and the fixing bracket for a car heater according to claim 1, wherein The ECU support and the PTC support are integrally formed by stamping process.

5. The electronic control unit and the fixing bracket for a car heater according to claim 1, wherein The ECU is fixedly installed on the ECU support by a projection welding nut and a bolt, and the PTC is fixedly installed on the PTC support by a projection welding nut and a bolt.

6. A method of mounting an electronic control unit and a fixing bracket of a car heater according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized by, The method comprises the following steps: The right leg of the ECU support is installed on the left suspension through a bolt, and the lower leg is installed on the front cabin longitudinal beam through a bolt; The left leg of the PTC support is installed on the front end frame through a bolt, and the lower leg is installed on the front cabin longitudinal beam through a bolt; The upper leg of the ECU support and the upper leg of the PTC are connected through a bolt; The ECU is installed on the ECU support, and the wire harness is fixed through the wire harness bayonet support; the PTC is installed on the PTC support, and the wire harness is fixed through the wire harness bayonet support.

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