Electric vehicle

Abstract

To suppress wear of an on-vehicle component.SOLUTION: An electric vehicle has a power control unit for supplying power to a motor for traveling, and an on-vehicle component arranged adjacent to the power control unit. The power control unit has a protective member having a curved surface part which is convex to the side of the on-vehicle component. When the on-vehicle component approaches the power control unit by vibration when the electric vehicle travels, the curved surface part is brought into contact with the on-vehicle component. In the electric vehicle, the curved surface part is brought into contact with the on-vehicle component at the time of vibration, and accordingly wear of the on-vehicle component is suppressed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to an electric vehicle. In this specification, the term "electric vehicle" refers to a vehicle that runs by driving a motor with electric power. Electric vehicles include battery-electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, etc.

[0002] The vehicle disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a protector that prevents interference between the engine and on-board components during a collision, and the protector can suppress damage to the engine and on-board components during a collision. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-123499 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In an electric vehicle, the power control unit and on-board components may interfere with each other due to vibrations while the vehicle is running. Repeated interference between the on-board components and the power control unit may cause wear on the on-board components. This specification proposes a technology for suppressing wear on the on-board components. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The electric vehicle disclosed in this specification includes a power control unit that supplies power to a driving motor, and an on-board component disposed adjacent to the power control unit. The power control unit includes a protective member having a curved surface portion that is convex toward the on-board component. When the on-board component approaches the power control unit due to vibrations while the electric vehicle is traveling, the curved surface portion comes into contact with the on-board component.

[0006] In this electric vehicle, when vibrations cause the on-board component to approach the power control unit, the curved surface of the protective member comes into contact with the on-board component. Even if the curved surface comes into contact with the on-board component, scratches or the like are unlikely to occur on the on-board component. Furthermore, the curved surface comes into contact with the on-board component, which prevents other parts of the power control unit from coming into contact with the on-board component. Therefore, wear and tear on the on-board component is suppressed in this electric vehicle. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] Top view of the compartment of an electric car. [Diagram 2] Side view of the duct and power control unit. [Diagram 3] Enlarged view of Figure 2. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] The electric vehicle of the embodiment has a compartment in front of the cabin. FIG. 1 is a plan view of the inside of the compartment seen from above. In FIG. 1, an arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, a motor 10, a power control unit 20, and an air cleaner 50 are housed inside the compartment. The motor 10 drives the wheels of the electric vehicle. The power control unit 20 is a so-called PCU (Power Control Unit). The power control unit 20 is disposed on the upper part of the motor 10. The power control unit 20 has a built-in inverter and supplies AC power to the motor 10. The power control unit 20 controls the operation of the motor 10 by changing the frequency, amplitude, etc. of the AC power supplied to the motor 10. A duct 52 of the air cleaner 50 is disposed in front of the power control unit 20.

[0009] The power control unit 20 has a cover 22 and a protector 24. The cover 22 covers the upper part of the power control unit 20. The protector 24 covers the front part of the cover 22. A gap is provided between the power control unit 20 and the duct 52. Area A in FIG. 1 shows an area where the gap between the power control unit 20 and the duct 52 is narrowest. FIG. 2 shows the positional relationship between the power control unit 20 and the duct 52 at the position of area A. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a flange 22a is provided on the cover 22 of the power control unit 20. The front edge of the flange 22a is disposed forward of the protector 24. In area A, the front edge of the flange 22a extends linearly along the left-right direction of the electric vehicle. The protector 24 is disposed above the flange 22a. The protector 24 has a curved surface portion 24c that connects the front surface 24a and the upper surface 24b of the cover 22. The curved surface portion 24c is a convex curved surface. The curved surface portion 24 c is disposed at a position facing the duct 52 .

[0010] The duct 52 and the power control unit 20 each vibrate due to vibrations caused when the electric vehicle is traveling. The duct 52 and the power control unit 20 are likely to vibrate when the electric vehicle vibrates in the forward and backward directions. When the electric vehicle vibrates in the forward and backward directions, the duct 52 vibrates diagonally forward and backward as shown by the arrow C in FIG. 2. When the electric vehicle vibrates in the forward and backward directions, the power control unit 20 vibrates diagonally forward and backward at an angle smaller than that of the duct 52 as shown by the arrow D in FIG. 3. In addition, the duct 52 and the power control unit 20 each vibrate in a different phase. Therefore, when the electric vehicle vibrates, the relative positions of the duct 52 and the power control unit 20 change, and the interval between the duct 52 and the power control unit 20 changes. The circle B in FIGS. 2 and 3 indicates the range in which the duct 52 is displaced with respect to the power control unit 20 when the duct 52 and the power control unit 20 each vibrate. As shown in FIG. 3, the curved surface portion 24c is designed to be in contact with the circle B along a tangent line. Further, the portions of the power control unit 20 other than the curved surface portion 24c (for example, the flange 22a, etc.) are disposed at positions not in contact with the circle B.

[0011] When the duct 52 comes closest to the power control unit 20 due to vibration, the duct 52 comes into contact with the curved surface portion 24c as shown by circle B in Figs. 2 and 3. Since the curved surface portion 24c is a smooth curved surface, even if the curved surface portion 24c comes into contact with the duct 52, the duct 52 is hardly scratched. Furthermore, the duct 52 comes into contact with the curved surface portion 24c, thereby preventing the duct 52 from coming into contact with other parts of the power control unit 20. Therefore, the duct 52 is prevented from coming into contact with corners of the flange 22a, etc. This prevents the duct 52 from being scratched. Therefore, in the electric vehicle of the embodiment, the duct 52 is less likely to be worn out during traveling.

[0012] In the above embodiment, a description has been given of a technique for suppressing wear on the duct 52. However, wear on other on-board components of the electric vehicle may also be suppressed by the above-described technique.

[0013] Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of the claims. The technology described in the claims includes various modifications and changes to the specific examples exemplified above. The technical elements described in this specification or drawings exhibit technical utility alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technology exemplified in this specification or drawings achieves multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of the objectives itself has technical utility.

Claims

[Claim 1] An electric vehicle, a power control unit for supplying power to the driving motor; an on-vehicle component disposed adjacent to the power control unit; having The power control unit has a protective member having a curved surface portion that is convex toward the on-vehicle component, When the on-vehicle component approaches the power control unit due to vibrations while the electric vehicle is traveling, the curved surface portion comes into contact with the on-vehicle component. Electric car.

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