Vehicle structure

Abstract

To provide a vehicle structure having sufficient protection function for a controller and in which connector protection is considered.SOLUTION: A vehicle structure includes, in a room R in which a driving source is mounted at a vehicle front part, a battery 1, a controller 2 configured to control the driving source and the battery 1, and a protector 3 fixed to a cowl panel P to hold the controller 2. The controller 2 is disposed on a vehicle rear side of the battery 1 and includes connectors 4 at the vehicle front part thereof. The protector 3 includes an extended part 5 extending toward the vehicle forward side further than the connectors 4. In particular, for the case at a vehicle front collision, the protection function for the controller 2 including the connectors 4 is improved by a relatively simple structure.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an improvement in a vehicle structure provided with a battery and a controller in a room where a drive source is mounted at the front of the vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a vehicle structure as described above, for example, there is one described in Patent Document 1. Patent Document 1 describes a structure in which a controller is held in an inclined state by a bracket provided on an inclined portion of a cowl panel in a vehicle provided with a battery and a controller (EUC) disposed behind the vehicle in an engine room.

[0003] In the vehicle structure of Patent Document 1, when a vehicle undergoes a frontal collision, if the battery moves rearward of the vehicle and interferes with the controller, the controller is slid obliquely rearward of the vehicle and detached from the cowl panel together with the bracket, thereby reducing the load applied to the battery and the controller.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the above-described conventional vehicle structure, when the vehicle undergoes a frontal collision, the moving battery directly interferes with the controller, so it is difficult to say that the protection function of the controller is sufficient, and the protection of the connector of the controller, which is relatively vulnerable to interference, is not considered, so there is room for improvement.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional situation, and aims to provide a vehicle structure that, at the time of a frontal collision of a vehicle, can enhance the protection function of a controller including a connector by avoiding direct interference between a battery and the controller with a relatively simple structure.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The present invention includes a battery, a controller that controls a drive source and the battery, and a protector that is fixed to a cowl panel and holds the controller in a space in a vehicle room where a drive source is mounted at a front part of the vehicle. The vehicle structure is characterized in that the controller is disposed behind the battery in the vehicle, has a connector at a front part of the vehicle, and the protector has an overhanging portion that extends forward of the vehicle more than the connector.

Effects of the Invention

[0008] When a frontal collision of the vehicle occurs, according to the vehicle structure of the present invention, when the battery moves rearward in the vehicle, the load is alleviated by causing the battery to interfere with the overhanging portion of the protector. As a result, the vehicle structure can enhance the protection function of the controller including the connector by avoiding direct interference between the battery and the controller with a relatively simple structure.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] <First Embodiment> Figs. 1 and 2 are a plan view and a side view showing the main part in the first embodiment of the vehicle structure, omitting the drive source such as an engine or a motor and other devices. Also, the left direction in each figure is the vehicle front direction. In particular, Fig. 1 shows the strut housing S on the left side of the vehicle.

[0011] In the vehicle structure of the illustrated example, in a room R where a drive source is mounted at the front of the vehicle, there are a battery 1, a controller (PCM: Power Control Module) 2 that controls the drive source and the battery 1, and a protector 3 that is fixed to a cowl panel P that is the rear wall of the room R and holds the controller 2.

[0012] The controller 2 is arranged behind the battery 1 in the vehicle. Considering the arrangement in the narrow and limited space in the room R and the connection work of cables and the like, it has a connector 4 at the most convenient front part of the vehicle. Although there are no high-rigidity devices in the space between the battery 1 and the controller 2, some cables C and piping are arranged.

[0013] And the vehicle structure has an overhanging portion 5 where the protector 3 extends forward of the vehicle more than the connector 4. The protector 3 in the illustrated example has an upper wall 3A, a lower wall 3B, and a pair of left and right side walls 3C, 3C that face the upper surface, the lower surface, and the pair of left and right side surfaces of the controller 2 respectively. The upper wall 3A is fixed to the cowl panel P, and an overhanging portion 5 is provided on the lower wall 3B so as to extend the entire width in the vehicle left-right direction forward of the vehicle.

[0014] Also, as shown particularly in Fig. 1, in the vehicle structure, the protector 3 is provided at a position corresponding to the vehicle lateral direction of the strut housing S on the left side of the vehicle. On the other hand, the protector 3 has an extension portion 5A where the overhanging portion 5 extends to the side of the strut housing (lower side in Fig. 1) at the front part of the vehicle, and the side wall 3C on the side of the strut housing S extends to the vehicle front end of the extension portion 5A. In the protector 3 shown in Fig. 1, the side wall (upper side wall in the figure) 3C on the side opposite to the strut housing S also extends to the vehicle front end of the extension portion 5A to further enhance the rigidity.

[0015] Furthermore, the vehicle structure is such that the battery 1 has an external terminal 6 at the rear part of the vehicle, and includes a second protector 7 that covers the rear side of the vehicle of the external terminal 6. Note that the second protector 7 may be configured to be fixed to a bracket for holding cables connected to the battery 1, or may be configured to be integrated with the bracket. This second protector 7 moves rearward of the vehicle integrally with the battery 1 during a frontal collision.

[0016] In the vehicle structure of the illustrated example, as a more preferable embodiment, an electrical insulator 8 is interposed between the battery 1 and the second protector 7. Further, the second protector 7 has a bent portion 7A that covers the side of the vehicle (the upper side in FIG. 1) in addition to the rear of the vehicle of the external terminal 6. That is, the second protector 7 forms a shape that surrounds the external terminal 6, and may be configured to cover both left and right side surfaces of the vehicle of the end terminal 6.

[0017] In the vehicle structure having the above configuration, even when the battery 1 moves rearward during a frontal collision of the vehicle, since the battery 1 interferes with the overhanging portion 5 of the protector 3, it is possible to prevent the battery 1 from interfering with the connector 4 of the controller 2, protect the connector 4, and at the same time prevent a situation where the connector 4 is short-circuited.

[0018] In this way, the above vehicle structure has a relatively simple structure, can avoid direct interference between the battery 1 and the controller 2, and can enhance the protection function of the controller 2 including the connector 4.

[0019] In addition, in the above vehicle structure, the upper wall 3A of the controller 2 is fixed to the cowl panel P, and the overhanging portion 5 is provided on the lower wall 3B. Therefore, in addition to the protection function of the connector 4, the workability when connecting the cable C to the connector 4 can be enhanced.

[0020] That is, in the vehicle body structure, at the time of assembly, after fixing the controller 2 and the protector 3 to the cowl panel P in an integrated state, the cable C is connected to the connector 4. At this time, in the vehicle structure, since the overhanging portion 5 is provided on the lower wall 3B of the protector 3 and the front end of the vehicle of the upper wall 3A is in an open state, the visibility of the connector 4 is good, and the connection work of the cable C to the connector 4 can be easily performed.

[0021] Furthermore, in the above vehicle structure, the controller 2 is provided at a position corresponding to the vehicle lateral direction of the strut housing S, the overhanging portion 5 of the protector 3 has an extension portion 5A, and has a side wall 3C extending to the front end of the vehicle of the extension portion 5A. Therefore, the rigidity of the overhanging portion 5 can be improved, and further improvement in the protection performance of the connector 4 during a frontal collision can be realized.

[0022] Moreover, in the above vehicle structure, during a side collision of the vehicle, the connector 4 can be prevented from interfering with the strut housing S, and the area where the protector 3 abuts against the strut housing S can be increased to disperse the load input to the protector 3. Therefore, the protector 3 can be made lighter accordingly. That is, an increase in weight due to reinforcement of the protector 3 can be prevented.

[0023] Furthermore, in the above vehicle structure, since the battery 1 has an external terminal 6 and is provided with a second protector 7 that covers the rear side of the vehicle, during a frontal collision, the overhanging portion 5 of the protector 3 is prevented from directly interfering with the battery 1, particularly the external terminal 6 of the battery 1, and a situation where the external terminal 6 is short-circuited is prevented in advance. Thereby, the above vehicle structure can further enhance the protection function of the battery 1 including the external terminal 6 and the controller 2 including the connector 4 in combination with the protection function of the controller 2 by the protector 3.

[0024] Furthermore, in the above vehicle structure, since the insulator 8 is interposed between the battery 1 and the second protector 7, during a frontal collision of the vehicle, direct interference between the external terminal 6 of the battery 1 and the second protector 7 can be suppressed, and a short circuit of the external terminal 6 can be prevented.

[0025] Note that depending on the mode of collision of the vehicle, the direction in which the battery 1 moves backward varies. Therefore, in a configuration where the insulator 8 is provided for the component with which the battery 1 interferes, it is necessary to provide the insulator 8 over a wide range, increasing the cost. However, if the insulator 8 is provided on the second protector 7 that moves integrally with the battery 1 as in this embodiment, it is not necessary to provide the insulator 8 over a wide range, so that an increase in cost can be prevented accordingly.

[0026] Furthermore, in the above vehicle structure, the second protector 7 covers one side on the left and right sides of the vehicle in addition to the rear side of the vehicle of the external terminal 4, and by surrounding the external terminal 6 of the battery 1 with the second protector 7, it is possible to prevent the external terminal 6 from interfering with other components and protect the external terminal 6 during both frontal collision and side collision.

[0027] The vehicle structure according to the present invention is not limited only to the details of the above embodiment, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0028] P Cowl Panel R Room for Drive Source S Strut Housing 1 Battery 2 Controller 3 Protector 3A Upper Wall 3B Lower Wall 3C Side Wall 4 Connector 5 Overhanging Portion 5A Extension Portion 6 External Terminal 7 Second Protector 8 Insulator

Claims

1. In a room where a drive source is mounted at the front of a vehicle, there are a battery, a controller that controls the drive source and the battery, and a protector that is fixed to a cowl panel and holds the controller, wherein the controller is disposed behind the battery in the vehicle and has a connector at the front part of the vehicle, and the protector has an overhanging portion that extends forward of the vehicle from the connector, characterized in that it is a vehicle structure.

2. The protector has an upper wall, a lower wall, and a pair of left and right side walls that face the upper surface, the lower surface, and the pair of left and right side surfaces of the controller, respectively. The upper wall is fixed to the cowl panel, and the overhanging portion is provided on the lower wall. The vehicle structure according to claim 1, characterized in that

3. The protector is provided at a position corresponding to the lateral direction of the vehicle of the strut housing, the overhanging portion of the protector has an extension portion that extends toward the strut housing side at the front part of the vehicle, and the side wall of the protector on the strut housing side extends to the front end of the vehicle of the extension portion. The vehicle structure according to claim 2, characterized in that

4. The battery has an external terminal at the rear part of the vehicle, and is provided with a second protector that covers the rear side of the vehicle of the external terminal. The vehicle structure according to claim 1, characterized in that

5. An insulator is interposed between the battery and the second protector. The vehicle structure according to claim 4, characterized in that

6. The second protector covers the rear and side of the vehicle of the external terminal. The vehicle structure according to claim 4, characterized in that

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