Arrangement of an expansion tank in an engine compartment

Abstract

The invention relates to an arrangement (1) for an electric motor vehicle, characterized in that it comprises an electronic power controller (2), which is configured to supply an electric charging current to a battery of the vehicle, and an expansion tank (3) intended to contain cooling liquid, the expansion tank being fixed to a housing (4) of said electronic power controller.

Description

[0001] Arrangement of an expansion tank in an engine compartment

[0002] Technical field of the invention

[0003] The invention relates to an arrangement of an expansion tank of a cooling system in an engine compartment of an electric motor vehicle. The invention also relates to an electric motor vehicle comprising such an arrangement. The invention further relates to a method of assembling such an expansion tank.

[0004] State of the prior art

[0005] Electric motor vehicles require a cooling system to keep various components, including an electric motor or an electronic power controller, at a sufficiently low operating temperature. The cooling system typically includes a closed hydraulic circuit in which a coolant circulates. The cooling system also includes an expansion tank, commonly called an expansion reservoir or degassing tank. The expansion tank serves as a coolant reserve and must be positioned at a high point in the hydraulic circuit. It allows the cooling system to function properly by preventing the formation of air or gas bubbles in the hydraulic circuit due to the heating of the coolant.The expansion tank must also be easily accessible to allow the hydraulic circuit to be filled with coolant. However, it must remain at a sufficient distance from the hood to allow the latter to deform easily in the event of an impact with a pedestrian. Finally, the expansion tank must also be protected from mechanical vibrations. To meet these various requirements, the expansion tank is generally attached to the vehicle body, for example at the vehicle bulkhead or at the level of a wheel arch. However, this positioning hinders or restricts the integration of other components in the engine compartment. This problem is all the more critical if the expansion tank is bulky.

[0006] Presentation of the invention

[0007] The aim of the invention is to provide an arrangement of an expansion tank in an engine compartment of an electric motor vehicle which overcomes the above drawbacks and improves the arrangements known from the prior art.

[0008] More specifically, a first object of the invention is an arrangement of an expansion tank making it possible to optimize the volume available in the engine compartment while respecting the positioning and fixing constraints imposed on the expansion tank.

[0009] Summary of the invention

[0010] The invention relates to an arrangement for an electric motor vehicle, comprising an electronic power controller configured to supply an electric charging current to a battery of the vehicle, and an expansion tank intended to contain coolant, the expansion tank being fixed to a housing of said electronic power controller.

[0011] The arrangement may include a mounting bracket attached directly to the housing of the electronic power controller, the expansion tank being attached directly to the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket may further include fastening means for securing electrical wiring.

[0012] The mounting bracket can be screwed to the electronic power controller housing, and / or the expansion tank can be clipped onto the mounting bracket.

[0013] The electronic power controller housing may include a hydraulic inlet and a hydraulic outlet, the hydraulic inlet and the hydraulic outlet being hydraulically connected to the expansion tank via a hydraulic cooling circuit.

[0014] The housing of the electronic power controller may comprise a generally parallelepiped shape and the expansion tank may be attached to a lateral side of the housing.

[0015] The expansion tank may be configured to contain at least one liter of coolant. The expansion tank may be positioned substantially in the middle of an engine compartment of the vehicle along a transverse axis and / or substantially rearward of the engine compartment of the vehicle along a longitudinal axis. The expansion tank may comprise a generally elongated shape parallel to a transverse axis of the vehicle.

[0016] The electronic power controller can be attached to a vehicle body via a beam provided with mechanical vibration filtering means.

[0017] The invention also relates to an electric motor vehicle comprising an engine compartment in which an electric powertrain and an arrangement as defined above are arranged. The invention also relates to a method of assembling an arrangement as defined above, the assembly method comprising:

[0018] - a step of assembling the fixing bracket on the electronic power controller, then

[0019] - a step of mounting the electronic power controller equipped with the fixing bracket in an engine compartment of the vehicle, then

[0020] - a step of fixing the expansion tank to the fixing bracket, in particular by clipping the expansion tank to the fixing bracket according to a kinematics parallel to a transverse axis of the vehicle.

[0021] Presentation of figures

[0022] These objects, characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be explained in detail in the following description of a particular embodiment made without limitation in relation to the attached figures among which:

[0023] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an arrangement according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0024] Figure 2 is a side view of an electronic power controller according to one embodiment of the invention.

[0025] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the electronic power controller and a mounting vessel attached to the electronic power controller, with the expansion vessel shown transparently.

[0026] Figure 4 is a first perspective view of a mounting bracket for securing the expansion tank to the electronic power controller.

[0027] Figure 5 is a second perspective view of the mounting bracket.

[0028] Figure 6 is a top view of a portion of the expansion tank, with the expansion tank attached to the mounting bracket. Figure 7 is a perspective view of the expansion tank attached to the electronic power controller.

[0029] Detailed description

[0030] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an arrangement 1 according to one embodiment of the invention. The arrangement 1 comprises an electronic power controller 2 and an expansion tank 3. The arrangement 1 is integrated into an engine compartment of an electric motor vehicle. The electric motor vehicle is a vehicle comprising an electric powertrain. The electric powertrain comprises an electric motor powered by a battery, and is configured to drive drive wheels of the vehicle. The engine compartment is a volume in which various components of the vehicle are arranged, including said electric motor of the vehicle. The engine compartment may preferably be positioned at the front of the vehicle and be covered by a hood that extends below a windshield of the vehicle. The hood may be hinged between an open position and a closed position so as to provide access to the engine compartment.The hood can in particular be articulated in rotation around a transverse axis of the vehicle which extends substantially to the base of the windshield.

[0031] The electronic power controller 2 is a member configured to supply an electric charging current to the vehicle battery. For this purpose, it may comprise at least one electrical connector connected to a power outlet of the vehicle, the power outlet being intended to be connected to an external source of electric current, alternating or direct. The electronic power controller also comprises at least one electrical connector via which it is connected to the vehicle battery. The electronic power controller is configured to deliver a current whose voltage and intensity characteristics are adapted to the charging of the battery. The electronic power controller is therefore a charger and it may thus comprise at least one current transformer, and / or a current rectifier.The electronic power controller can also be used to deliver an electric current from the battery to the electric motor. For this purpose, it also includes an electrical connector through which it is connected to the electric motor. The electronic power controller can in particular include an inverter capable of converting a direct current supplied by the battery into an alternating current to drive the electric motor. The electronic power controller can include an AC / DC converter, but also a DC / DC converter, in particular to convert a voltage of 400V at the battery output into a voltage of 12V to power various elements of the on-board network. The electronic power controller can also include a DC / AC.

[0032] The electronic power controller 2 comprises a housing 4 of generally parallelepipedal shape. The various electrical connectors 5 of the electronic power controller can be arranged on the same lateral face of the housing 4. Advantageously, the housing 4 is metallic, which makes it possible to obtain effective mechanical protection and electromagnetic protection of the electronic components it contains.

[0033] Referring to Figure 2, the electronic power controller 2 is fixed to a body of the vehicle by means of a beam 6. The beam 6 is a metal structure which extends transversely in the engine compartment, under the electronic power controller 2. The beam 6 comprises two lateral ends 7 fixed to body elements and a central part 8, arranged between the two lateral ends 7, which supports the electronic power controller 2. In particular, the electronic power controller 2 is fixed to the beam 6 by a set of fixing screws passing through fixing holes 9 arranged at a lower face of the housing 4. The beam 6 may be provided with mechanical vibration filtering means 10, such as for example rubber pads. The filtering means 10 may for example be arranged at each end 7 of the beam 6.Despite these filtration means 10, the electronic power controller 2 may be subjected to a vibration regime, in particular due to vibrations caused by the electric motor in operation. This vibration regime is nevertheless sufficiently low to guarantee the durability of the electronic power controller.

[0034] The vehicle further comprises a cooling system of which the expansion tank 3 is a part. The cooling system comprises a closed hydraulic circuit hydraulically connected to the expansion tank 3 and to various components of the vehicle to be cooled. The cooling system may comprise a pump configured to circulate the coolant in the hydraulic circuit and a heat exchanger configured to cool the coolant. In particular, the cooling system is configured to cool the electric motor and the electronic power controller 2. For this purpose, the electronic power controller 2 comprises two hydraulic ports 11 forming a hydraulic inlet and a hydraulic outlet. The hydraulic ports 11 are therefore hydraulically connected to the expansion tank 3 via the hydraulic cooling circuit.The hydraulic ports 11 may be positioned on one or more side faces of the housing 4 and conduct the coolant into the interior of the housing. The housing may further comprise a purge means 12 (visible in FIG. 3), in particular a purge screw, configured to purge the housing 4 of the coolant it contains. The expansion tank 3, also called an expansion jar or degassing jar, is a container, in particular made of plastic, intended to contain coolant as well as air and / or gas. It may conventionally comprise a filling opening closed by a cap 13, as well as an inlet opening through which the coolant enters the expansion tank and an outlet opening through which the coolant leaves the expansion tank. It may be formed by two half-shells fitted one inside the other.It can be configured to hold at least one liter of coolant, which is a relatively large volume of liquid compared to the expansion tanks commonly used. The total volume that the expansion tank can hold can be greater than or equal to two liters.

[0035] The expansion tank 3 comprises a generally elongated shape parallel to the lateral side of the housing on which it is fixed. It is therefore positioned along a lateral side of the electronic power controller 2. Advantageously, the expansion tank 3 is positioned substantially in the middle of the engine compartment along a transverse axis and substantially towards the rear of the engine compartment of the vehicle along the longitudinal axis. It is specified that the longitudinal axis designates the axis in which the vehicle moves in a straight line. The front and the rear are defined with reference to the normal direction of progression of the vehicle, called "forward", the vehicle then progressing from the rear to the front. The transverse axis is a horizontal axis, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The vertical axis is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and to the transverse axis. The expansion tank 3 can in particular be positioned between the electronic power controller 2 and a bulkhead of the vehicle.In this area of ​​the engine compartment, the expansion tank can be positioned a short distance under the hood while still meeting passive safety requirements in the event of a pedestrian impact. This area is set back from the front of the vehicle and is therefore less exposed to the risk of impact with a pedestrian. In addition, the hood is not very susceptible to deformation due to the rigidity of the hood hinge.

[0036] Advantageously, the expansion tank 3 is fixed to the electronic power controller 2. The expansion tank 3 is therefore not fixed to the vehicle body, which frees up space for fixing other components. In addition, the expansion tank is fixed to a component that is cooled by the cooling system. The hydraulic lines of the hydraulic circuit can be shortened and the cooling system can be compacted. Advantageously, the maximum vibrations to which the electronic power controller 2 is likely to be subjected correspond to the maximum acceptable vibrations for the expansion tank 3. Thus, it is possible to fix the expansion tank 3 to the electronic power controller 2 while ensuring the proper functioning of the cooling system.

[0037] The expansion tank 3 is fixed to the electronic power controller 2 by means of a fixing lug 14. Advantageously, the fixing lug 14 may be a stamped metal part, that is to say a part formed from a cut and folded metal sheet. The fixing lug 14 comprises on the one hand first fixing means 15 cooperating with the electronic power controller 2, and on the other hand second fixing means 16 cooperating with the expansion tank 3. The fixing lug 14 is fixed directly to the housing 4 of the electronic power controller 2 and the expansion tank 3 is fixed directly to the fixing lug. The expansion tank 3 is not in direct contact with the housing 4. There is a space between the expansion tank 3 and the housing 4 in which the purge means 12 is located. The fixing lug 14 comprises a robustness adapted to support the weight of the expansion tank.The fixing lug 14 is illustrated in particular in Figures 4 and 5. It comprises a central body 17 of rectangular shape and extending transversely, from which the fixing means 15 and 16 extend.

[0038] The first fixing means 15 comprise two legs extending downwards from the central body 17, and each provided with a fixing hole 18. A lateral face of the housing 4 of the electronic power controller 2 comprises horizontally projecting studs 19 each provided with a threaded opening 20. The lateral face of the housing on which the fixing lug 14 is fixed extends to the rear of the housing 4, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. The studs 19 may be equipped with ribs 21 to increase their robustness. Advantageously, the studs 19 and the housing 4 form a single-piece assembly obtained by casting. The fixing holes 18 and the threaded openings 20 cooperate with fixing screws. According to the embodiment presented, the fixing lug 14 is fixed to the electronic power controller 2 by two fixing screws. This allows for rapid mounting of the fixing lug while ensuring good support.Alternatively, the number of fixing screws could be different. Advantageously, the fixing lug further comprises a positioning means 22 configured to facilitate the mounting of the fixing lug on the housing 4. In practice, this positioning means 22 may be formed by one or more tabs extending from each of said legs. These tabs are positioned in abutment against the ribs 21 and thus facilitate the assembly of the fixing lug 14 on the housing 4.

[0039] The second fixing means 16 comprise three arms extending downwards or upwards from the central body 17. These three arms each cooperate with a clip 23 formed in the expansion tank 3, in particular in a lower half-shell of the expansion tank 3. The three clips 23 of the expansion tank are arranged so that the expansion tank 3 is assembled to the fixing lug 14 according to a kinematics parallel to the transverse axis of the vehicle. The three clips 23 and the arms to which they are fixed are in particular clearly visible in FIG. 6. Advantageously, the three clips 23 are not positioned on the same axis, but on the contrary define a fixing plane, so that the expansion tank is well immobilized relative to the fixing lug, without risk of pivoting. Alternatively, the number of clips 23 and corresponding arms could be different.Preferably, at least one of the arms forming the second fixing means 16 has a bent shape. This bent shape forms a stop along the vertical axis for a clip 23. This results in the expansion tank being locked in position along the vertical axis.

[0040] With reference to Figures 4, 5 and 7, it is noted that the fixing lug 14 may further comprise third fixing means 24 for fixing electrical wiring 25. In practice, the third fixing means 24 comprise a set of tabs each comprising a hole 26 receiving a clip 27. The clips 27 may comprise an elastic clamp which holds a portion of electrical wiring 25. The portion of electrical wiring thus held extends transversely between the housing 4 of the electronic power controller 2 and the expansion tank 3. Thus, the fixing lug 14 combines the functions of holding the expansion tank 3 and the electrical wiring 25. Such an arrangement comprising the fixing lug 14, the expansion tank 3 and the electronic power controller 2, allows easy access for mounting the electrical cable 25.Furthermore, such an arrangement ensures pre-retention of the electrical wiring 25 between the expansion tank 3 and the housing 4 of the electronic power controller 2 so that the mounting of the wiring is facilitated. As a note, the integration of such third fixing means 24 is optional. Moreover, the fixing lug 14 illustrated in FIG. 3 does not include these third fixing means 24.

[0041] For the assembly of the electronic power controller 2 and the expansion tank 3 in the engine compartment of the vehicle, the following procedure can be used. In a first step, the electronic power controller 2, the expansion tank 3 and the fixing bracket 14 are provided separately. In a second step, the fixing bracket 14 is assembled on the electronic power controller 2. Advantageously, the positioning means 22 makes it possible to easily and quickly position the fixing bracket 14 before it is screwed onto the housing 4. This operation is preferably carried out outside the engine compartment. This provides a lot of space, which makes the operation of screwing the fixing bracket 14 particularly easy. In addition, it is no longer necessary to provide clearance around the expansion tank in the engine compartment to allow the assembly of the expansion tank in the engine compartment.Space can thus be gained in the engine compartment. Then, in a third step, the electronic power controller 2 equipped with the fixing bracket 14 is mounted in the engine compartment of the vehicle. Preferably, this step can be carried out with the assistance of a handling means, such as a robotic arm or a hoist, due to the high weight of the electronic power controller 2. Once correctly positioned in the engine compartment, the electronic power controller 2 is fixed to the beam 6 with suitable fixing screws. Then, in a fourth step, the expansion tank 3 is fixed to the fixing bracket 14. In particular, the fixing of the expansion tank is obtained by clipping the expansion tank to the fixing bracket according to a kinematics parallel to the transverse axis of the vehicle.That is, the expansion tank 3 is moved parallel to the transverse axis until the three clips 23 engage in the three corresponding arms of the fixing bracket 14. Finally, in a fifth step, the electronic power controller 2 can be electrically connected with electrical wiring. At least one of these electrical wirings 25 can be fixed to the fixing bracket by means of the clips 27. Furthermore, the electronic power controller 2 and the expansion tank 3 can be hydraulically connected to the cooling system. Finally, a simple assembly method is obtained. The expansion tank 3 is not fixed to the vehicle body but to the electronic power controller 2. This frees up space for the fixing of other vehicle components.

[0042] During operation of the vehicle, the expansion tank 3 is firmly held and benefits from the mechanical vibration filtration means 10 provided for the electronic power controller. The expansion tank 3 does not vibrate or vibrates sufficiently little to allow correct operation of the cooling system. The electronic power controller 2 and the electric motor can thus be efficiently cooled during their operation.

Claims

DEMANDS 1. Arrangement (1) for an electric motor vehicle, comprising an electronic power controller (2) configured to supply an electric charging current to a battery of the vehicle, and an expansion tank (3) for holding coolant, characterized in that the expansion tank is attached to a housing (4) of said electronic power controller, in that the arrangement includes a mounting bracket (14) attached directly to the housing (4) of the electronic power controller, the expansion tank (3) being attached directly to the mounting bracket, and in that the mounting bracket (14) further includes fastening means (24) for attaching electrical wiring.

2. Arrangement (1) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the fixing bracket (14) is screwed to the housing (4) of the electronic power controller (2), and / or in that the expansion vessel (3) is clipped onto the fixing bracket (14).

3. Arrangement (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the housing (4) of the electronic power controller (2) comprises a hydraulic inlet (11) and a hydraulic outlet (11), the hydraulic inlet and hydraulic outlet being hydraulically connected to the expansion vessel (3) via a hydraulic cooling circuit.

4. Arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the housing (4) of the electronic power controller (2) has an overall parallelepiped shape and in that the expansion vessel (3) is fixed to a lateral side of the CORRECTED SHEET (RULE 91) ISA / EP housing. Arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that: - the expansion tank (3) is configured to hold at least one liter of coolant, and / or - the expansion tank (3) is positioned substantially in the middle of the vehicle's engine compartment along a transverse axis and / or substantially towards the rear of the vehicle's engine compartment along a longitudinal axis, and / or - The expansion tank (3) comprises a generally elongated shape parallel to a transverse axis of the vehicle. An arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the electronic power controller (2) is fixed to a vehicle body by means of a beam (6) provided with mechanical vibration filtering means (10). An electric motor vehicle, characterized in that it comprises an engine compartment in which an electric powertrain and an arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims are arranged. A method for assembling an arrangement (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises: - a step of assembling the mounting bracket (14) onto the electronic power controller (2), then - a step of mounting the electronic power controller (2) equipped with the mounting bracket (14) in an engine compartment of the vehicle, then - a step of fixing the expansion vessel (3) onto the fixing bracket (14), in particular by clipping the expansion vessel to the mounting bracket in a kinematic parallel to a transverse axis of the vehicle.

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