Engine compartment mounted structure

Abstract

To obtain an engine compartment mounted structure which can efficiently secure a space for routing a charging cable in an engine compartment.SOLUTION: An engine compartment mounted structure 10 includes: an engine 20 mounted in an engine compartment 14 of a vehicle 12; a charger 26 mounted on the vehicle upper side of a transaxle 22 mounted in the engine compartment 14 and arranged side by side with the engine 20 in a vehicle width direction in a plan view; and a charging cable 30 arranged from the charger 26 to a charging port 28 for external power supply connection provided on an outer plate of the vehicle 12; and a charging cable 30 arranged between the engine 20 and the charger 26 through a space S.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an engine room mounting structure. [Background technology]

[0002] Hybrid vehicles in which a charging cable is mounted in an engine compartment in which the engine is mounted at the front of the vehicle, for supplying power from an external power source to a battery (charger) provided at the rear of the vehicle, have been known for some time (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-241291 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the case of plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) that are capable of charging, many parts, such as the engine and transaxle, are installed in the engine compartment, making it difficult to efficiently secure space within the engine compartment to route the charging cable.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an engine room mounting structure that can efficiently secure space for routing a charging cable within the engine room. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the engine room mounting structure of a first aspect of the present invention comprises an engine mounted in the engine room of a vehicle, a charger mounted above the vehicle of a transaxle mounted in the engine room and aligned with the engine in the vehicle width direction in a plan view, and a charging cable routed from the charger to a charging port for connecting to an external power source provided on the outer panel of the vehicle, the charging cable being routed through the space between the engine and the charger.

[0007] According to the first aspect of the invention, a charger is mounted in the engine compartment, and a charging cable connecting the charger to a charging port for connecting to an external power source is routed through the space between the engine and the charger. In this way, even if the charger is mounted in the engine compartment, space for routing the charging cable is efficiently secured within the engine compartment.

[0008] In addition, an engine room mounting structure of a second aspect of the present invention is the engine room mounting structure of the first aspect, wherein the charging cable exits from the side of the charger that faces the engine in the vehicle width direction and is routed toward the rear of the vehicle.

[0009] According to the second aspect of the invention, the charging cable is routed from the side of the charger that faces the engine in the vehicle width direction to the rear of the vehicle, so that the charger can be mounted in the engine compartment even if there is no space in the front, rear, or upper sides of the vehicle.

[0010] In addition, an engine room mounting structure of a third aspect of the present invention is the engine room mounting structure of the second aspect, wherein the charging cable, which exits from the side of the charger opposite the engine in the vehicle width direction and is routed toward the rear of the vehicle, is fixed to the dash panel in a bent state.

[0011] According to the third aspect of the invention, the charging cable exiting the charger on the side opposite the engine in the vehicle width direction and routed toward the rear of the vehicle is fixed to the dash panel in a bent state, which makes the charging cable less susceptible to engine vibrations than if the charging cable were fixed to the dash panel without being bent. Effect of the Invention

[0012] As described above, according to the present invention, a space for routing a charging cable can be efficiently secured within an engine compartment. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view showing an engine room mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 1 is an enlarged schematic plan view showing an engine room mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an enlarged engine room mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] 1 is an enlarged schematic side view showing an engine room mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, the arrow UP shown in each drawing indicates the vehicle upward direction, the arrow FR indicates the vehicle forward direction, and the arrow RH indicates the vehicle rightward direction. Therefore, in the following explanation, unless otherwise specified, when the up / down, front / rear, and left / right directions are described, they refer to the up / down, front / rear, and left / right directions of the vehicle. In addition, the left / right direction is synonymous with the vehicle width direction.

[0015] As shown in Figures 1 to 4, the engine room mounting structure 10 of this embodiment includes an engine 20 mounted in an engine room 14 at the front of a vehicle 12, a transaxle 22 mounted in the engine room 14 adjacent to the engine 20 in the vehicle width direction in a plan view, a charger 26 mounted above the transaxle 22 and adjacent to the engine 20 in the vehicle width direction in a plan view, and a charging cable 30 routed from the charger 26 to a charging port 28 for connecting to an external power source provided on the outer panel of the vehicle 12.

[0016] For example, in the case of a right-hand drive vehicle 12, the charging port 28 is provided on an upper portion of a left front fender (not shown) which is an outer panel of the vehicle 12. A battery 32 (see FIG. 1) that is charged via a charger 26 is mounted in approximately the center of the vehicle 12 in the front-rear direction. In other words, the vehicle 12 according to this embodiment is a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) that can be charged.

[0017] The charger 26 is formed in a generally rectangular box shape with a predetermined thickness (low height) (see FIG. 3). The charger 26 is positioned such that its longitudinal direction is along the front-rear direction, and is disposed on the upper surface of the transaxle 22 via a support member (not shown). The transaxle 22 in this embodiment is disposed on the left side of the engine 20 in the engine compartment 14.

[0018] Additionally, in the engine compartment 14, a radiator 24 (see FIGS. 2 and 4) and a cooling device (not shown) for cooling the charger 26 are disposed in front of the engine 20 and the transaxle 22 (charger 26) (at the front end of the engine compartment 14). The cooling device and the charger 26 are connected by piping (not shown) through which a refrigerant passes.

[0019] Additionally, within the engine compartment 14, a cowl 16 (see FIG. 4, omitted in FIG. 2) extending in the vehicle width direction is disposed behind the engine 20 and the charger 26 in a plan view (at the rear end of the engine compartment 14). Additionally, the engine compartment 14 is covered from above by a substantially flat engine hood 13 (see FIG. 4). In other words, above the engine 20 and the charger 26, the engine hood 13 extending in the front-rear direction and the vehicle width direction is disposed.

[0020] 1 to 3, in plan view, between the upper part of the engine 20 and the charger 26 (parts facing each other in the vehicle width direction), there is formed a space S (a gap that is a dead space) that is long in the front-rear direction and has a width (length along the vehicle width direction) greater than the outer diameter of the charging cable 30. In this embodiment, the charging cable 30 is routed through this space S.

[0021] More specifically, a connector 27 is provided at one end of the charging cable 30, the other end of which is connected to the charging port 28, and the connector 27 is connected, for example, to a portion of the upper surface of the charger 26, approximately in the center in the front-rear direction, away from the engine 20. The charging cable 30 exits from the side of the charger 26 that faces the engine 20 in the vehicle width direction, and is routed toward the rear.

[0022] That is, the charging cable 30 is pulled out from the connector 27 toward the engine 20 in the vehicle width direction, and then bent rearward and routed through the space S. The charging cable 30 routed rearward through the space S is then bent downward at the front side of the cowl 16.

[0023] The part of the charging cable 30 that is bent downward is bent so as to have a certain amount of slack. A middle portion of the charging cable 30 below the bent portion (hereinafter sometimes referred to as "excess length portion 30A") is fixed to the dash panel 18 by a fixing device 19 such as a clip (see FIG. 2).

[0024] Here, the engine 20 and the transaxle 22 are supported via mounts (not shown) on a pair of left and right front side members (not shown) or the like, and vibrations from the engine 20 are transmitted to the transaxle 22. Therefore, vibrations from the engine 20 are also transmitted to the charger 26 disposed above the transaxle 22.

[0025] However, as described above, the charging cable 30 pulled out from the charger 26 has a part thereof bent (has an excess length 30A). Therefore, even if vibrations of the engine 20 are transmitted to the charger 26 via the transaxle 22, the vibrations can be absorbed by a part of the charging cable 30.

[0026] That is, even if the engine 20 vibrates (even if the charger 26 moves relative to the charging cable 30), the vibration will not affect the charging cable 30. Note that in this embodiment, the bend (excess length 30A) of the charging cable 30 refers to the formation of, for example, a substantially arcuate loop shape (see FIG. 4).

[0027] Next, the operation of the engine room mounting structure 10 according to this embodiment configured as above will be described.

[0028] In the vehicle 12 of this embodiment, the transaxle 22 is made smaller and its height is reduced, so that the charger 26 is disposed above it. Therefore, compared to a PHEV vehicle (not shown) in which the charger 26 is disposed at the rear of the vehicle, the length of the charging cable 30 connecting the charger 26 and the charging port 28 can be shortened, and the length of the piping connecting the charger 26 and the cooling device can be shortened.

[0029] 4, in the engine compartment 14 of this embodiment, the radiator 24 is disposed in front of the charger 26, the cowl 16 is disposed behind the charger 26, and the engine hood 13 is disposed above the charger 26. Therefore, it is difficult to pull out and route the charging cable 30 from the charger 26 to the front, rear, or upward direction.

[0030] Therefore, in this embodiment, the charging cable 30 is pulled out from the side of the charger 26 that faces the engine 20 in the vehicle width direction and routed toward the rear side. That is, the charging cable 30 in this embodiment is routed through the space S (dead space) between the engine 20 and the charger 26.

[0031] In this way, even if the charger 26 is mounted inside the engine compartment 14, the space S for routing the charging cable 30 can be efficiently secured inside the engine compartment 14. In other words, even if there is no space in front of, behind, or above the charger 26 for drawing out the charging cable 30, the charger 26 can be mounted inside the engine compartment 14.

[0032] Furthermore, compared to the case where the charging cable 30 is pulled out and routed from the charger 26 to the front or rear, or upward, it is not necessary to make the length of the engine room 14 long in the front-to-rear direction and the height of the engine room 14 in the up-to-down direction large, so that it is possible to reduce the length of the front-to-rear direction and the height in the up-to-down direction of the front of the vehicle 12. In other words, the engine room mounting structure 10 according to this embodiment can also reduce the size of the front of the vehicle 12.

[0033] Furthermore, charging cable 30, which is pulled out from the side of charger 26 facing engine 20 in the vehicle width direction and routed rearward, is in a partially bent state, and a portion below the bent portion (excess length 30A) is fixed to dash panel 18. Therefore, compared to a case in which charging cable 30 is fixed to dash panel 18 without being bent (with tension applied), a portion of charging cable 30 can absorb vibrations of engine 20, and charging cable 30 can be prevented from being affected by vibrations of engine 20 (e.g., charging cable 30 can be prevented from breaking).

[0034] The above describes the engine room mounting structure 10 according to this embodiment based on the drawings. However, the engine room mounting structure 10 according to this embodiment is not limited to the one shown in the drawings, and can be appropriately modified in design within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

[0035] For example, charging port 28 may be provided on the upper part of a right front fender (not shown) serving as an outer panel of vehicle 12. Even in this case, charging cable 30 is routed in the same manner as described above. Moreover, since space S is long in the front-rear direction, charging cable 30 can be routed even in a configuration in which connector 27 is connected to the front end portion on the top surface of charger 26, for example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 10 Engine room mounting structure 12 Vehicles 14 Engine Room 18 Dash Panel 20 Engine 22 Transaxle 26 Charger 28 Charging port 30 Charging cable S Space

Claims

1. An engine mounted in an engine compartment of a vehicle; a charger mounted on the vehicle upper side of a transaxle mounted in the engine room and aligned with the engine in a vehicle width direction in a plan view; a charging cable arranged from the charger to a charging port for connecting to an external power source provided on an outer panel of the vehicle; Equipped with An engine room mounting structure, in which the charging cable is routed through a space between the engine and the charger.

2. 2. The engine room mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the charging cable exits from a side of the charger that faces the engine in a vehicle width direction and is routed toward a rear side of the vehicle.

3. 3. The engine room mounting structure according to claim 2, wherein the charging cable extending from the side of the charger opposite the engine in the vehicle width direction and routed toward the rear of the vehicle is fixed to a dash panel in a bent state.

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