Vehicle lower part structure

Abstract

To provide a vehicle lower part structure which can prevent a battery cell from being exposed to a coolant leaking from a water passage when an impact is applied from the outside.SOLUTION: A vehicle lower part structure 1 includes: a battery cell 2; a battery lower cover 3; a battery upper cover 4; a junction box 10 provided at an upper part of the battery lower cover 3; a supply pipe 9 for supplying a refrigerant for cooling the junction box 10 and the battery cell 2; a water passage cover 8 which covers the supply pipe 9; a waterproof case 6 which shields facing surfaces on which the supply pipe 9 and a junction face each other; and a ring shaped cutoff member 5 which shields facing surfaces on the supply pipe 9 and the battery cell 2 face each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a vehicle undercarriage. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology in which a battery control unit is placed on top of a first cover attached to a housing case that has an opening located below the rear seat of a vehicle so as to cover the opening, and a battery module is housed in the sealed space formed by the first cover and the housing case. In this technology, a sealing member such as a rubber seal or weather strip is placed between the outer periphery of the first cover and the fastening flange of the housing case, and the first cover and the housing case are tightly attached via the sealing member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-153107 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In recent years, vehicles have been miniaturized and made more economical by integrating power converters, such as battery control units, with battery cells. For this reason, vehicles are provided with water channels to cool the power converters.

[0005] However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the sealing area where the sealing member is placed is single-layered, so if an external impact is applied and the water channel is damaged, there is a risk that the battery cells will be submerged in water due to cooling water leaking from the water channel.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to provide a vehicle undercarriage structure that can prevent battery cells from becoming wetted by cooling water leaking from a water channel in the event of an external impact. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the objectives, the vehicle undercarriage structure of the present disclosure is a vehicle undercarriage structure comprising: a battery cell; a housing case having an opening and housing the battery cell; a cover attached to the housing case so as to cover the opening; a junction box provided on top of the cover and controlling the battery cell; and a supply pipe for supplying a refrigerant to cool the junction box and the battery cell, and comprising: a first member covering the supply pipe; a second member blocking the opposing surfaces where the supply pipe and the junction box face each other; and a third member blocking the opposing surfaces where the supply pipe and the battery cell face each other.

[0008] In addition, the vehicle undercarriage structure according to the present disclosure is the same as that disclosed above, but further comprising: a housing case having an opening and housing the battery cells; a power conversion device that converts power from the battery cells; and a cover attached to cover the opening of the housing case, wherein the housing case has a first hole through which the supply pipe is inserted; the first member has a flow path through which at least a refrigerant can pass and is formed to cover an opposing surface that faces an upper surface of the power conversion device; the second member has a second hole through which the supply pipe can be inserted, is positioned on the upper surface of the cover, and houses the first member and the power conversion device; the supply pipe is connected to the first member via the first hole and the second hole and supplies the refrigerant to the first member.

[0009] In addition, in the vehicle undercarriage structure according to the present disclosure, in the above disclosure, the junction box is arranged on the upper surface of the second member, and the third member is between the cover and the second member and between the cover and the storage case, blocking the opposing surfaces where the supply pipe and the battery cell face each other. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present disclosure, when an external impact is applied and the water channel is damaged, it is possible to prevent the battery cells from being wetted by cooling water leaking from the water channel. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a general configuration of a vehicle underbody structure according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a ring-shaped water-stopping member provided in the vehicle undercarriage structure according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the action of the seal structure in the vehicle underbody structure according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Below, a vehicle undercarriage structure for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the components in the following embodiments include those that are easily replaceable by those skilled in the art, or those that are substantially identical. Furthermore, the drawings referred to in the following description merely show a schematic representation of the shape, size, and positional relationship to the extent that the contents of the present disclosure can be understood. In other words, the present disclosure is not limited to only the shape, size, and positional relationship illustrated in each drawing.

[0013] [General configuration of vehicle undercarriage] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a vehicle undercarriage according to one embodiment. The vehicle undercarriage 1 shown in Fig. 1 includes at least a battery cell 2, a battery lower cover 3, a battery upper cover 4, a ring-shaped water-stopping member 5, a waterproof case 6, a power conversion device 7, a water channel cover 8, a supply pipe 9, a junction box 10, and a device cover 11.

[0014] The battery cells 2 are configured using, for example, lithium ion secondary batteries or nickel-metal hydride secondary batteries.

[0015] The battery lower cover 3 is box-shaped with an opening and houses the battery cells 2 in the housing section 31. The battery lower cover 3 is box-shaped and has a first hole 32 in the center, into which the supply pipe 9 is inserted. Furthermore, a water-stopping member 33 is provided between the first hole 32 and the supply pipe 9 to prevent water from entering from the outside or water from inside from leaking to the outside. In one embodiment, the battery lower cover 3 functions as a housing case.

[0016] The battery upper cover 4 is attached in a state where it covers the opening of the battery lower cover 3 via a waterproof member 41. The battery upper cover 4 has a waterproof case 6 disposed on its upper surface. The waterproof member 41 is formed using, for example, a rubber seal or a weather strip.

[0017] The ring-shaped waterproofing member 5 blocks the opposing surfaces of the supply pipe 9 and the battery cell 2. Specifically, the ring-shaped waterproofing member 5 blocks the opposing surfaces of the supply pipe 9 and the battery cell 2 between the battery lower cover 3 and the battery upper cover 4. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the schematic configuration of the ring-shaped waterproofing member 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the ring-shaped waterproofing member 5 has a ring shape with a certain thickness. The ring-shaped waterproofing member 5 may be a rubber seal made of resin or EPDM (ethylene propylene rubber), a weather strip, or the like. In one embodiment, the ring-shaped waterproofing member 5 functions as a third member.

[0018] The waterproof case 6 is box-shaped and has a second hole 61 through which the supply pipe 9 is inserted, and houses the power conversion equipment 7 and the water channel cover 8 inside. The waterproof case 6 is placed on the upper surface of the battery upper cover 4 via a ring-shaped water stop member 62. Furthermore, the waterproof case 6 blocks the opposing surfaces of the water channel cover 8 including the supply pipe 9 and the junction box 10. In other words, the interior of the waterproof case 6 is formed as an airtight space by the battery lower cover 3, the battery upper cover 4, the ring-shaped water stop member 5, the water stop member 41, and the ring-shaped water stop member 5. This allows the waterproof case 6 to prevent foreign matter from entering the power conversion equipment 7 from the outside. In one embodiment, the waterproof case 6 functions as a second member.

[0019] The power converter 7 is electrically connected to the battery cells 2 via cables (not shown), and outputs the power from the battery cells 2 at a predetermined voltage or converts direct current into alternating current.

[0020] The water channel cover 8 is formed to cover a portion of the supply pipe 9. The water channel cover 8 is formed to cover the surface facing the upper surface of the power conversion device 7 so as to cover the supply pipe 9 exposed from the upper side of the power conversion device 7. The water channel cover 8 has one or more flow paths therein. In one embodiment, the water channel cover 8 functions as the first member.

[0021] The supply pipe 9 is arranged on a surface facing the top surface of the power conversion device 7 via the first hole 32, the second hole 61, and the power conversion device 7. The supply pipe 9 cools the junction box 10 and the battery cells 2 by circulating a coolant, such as water, supplied from a pump (not shown).

[0022] The junction box 10 is provided on top of the battery upper cover 4 and controls the battery cells 2. The junction box 10 is located on the upper surface of the waterproof case 6, facing the water channel cover 8 via the waterproof case 6. The junction box 10 is connected to the battery cells 2 and the power conversion equipment 7 via cables (not shown).

[0023] The device cover 11 is disposed on the upper surface of the battery upper cover 4 via a waterproof member 111 and is formed to cover the junction box 10 and the waterproof case 6.

[0024] The following describes the sealing structure in the vehicle underbody structure 1 configured as above. Figure 3 is a diagram for schematically explaining the action of the sealing structure in the vehicle underbody structure 1.

[0025] As shown in Figure 3, in the event of a water leak near the power conversion equipment 7, the location A1 between the supply pipe 9 and the ring-shaped water-stopping member 5 is doubly sealed by the supply pipe 9 and the ring-shaped water-stopping member 5. As a result, even if water leaks from the supply pipe 9, the vehicle undercarriage 1 can prevent water from entering the space K1 of the housing section 31 that houses the battery cells 2.

[0026] Furthermore, at point A2 between the water channel cover 8 and the waterproof case 6, the water channel cover 8 and the waterproof case 6 provide a double seal, so that even if water leaks from the supply pipe 9 or the water channel cover 8, water can be prevented from entering the space K2 in which the junction box 10 is housed.

[0027] According to the embodiment described above, the ring-shaped waterproofing member 5 blocks the opposing surfaces of the supply pipe 9 and the battery cell 2, providing a double seal. Therefore, if an external impact is applied and the supply pipe 9 is damaged, the battery cell 2 can be prevented from being wetted by cooling water leaking from the supply pipe 9.

[0028] Furthermore, according to one embodiment, the waterproof case 6 is arranged on the upper surface of the battery upper cover 4 via a ring-shaped waterproof member 62, and houses the power conversion equipment 7 and the water channel cover 8 inside, and blocks the opposing surfaces of the water channel cover 8 including the supply pipe 9 and the junction box 10, thereby preventing the junction box 10 from being wetted by cooling water leaking from the supply pipe 9.

[0029] Further advantages and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shown and described above. Accordingly, various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventive concept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

[0030] Although some of the embodiments of the present application have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, these are merely examples, and the present invention can be implemented in other forms that have undergone various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art, including the aspects described in the disclosure of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0031] 1 Vehicle undercarriage 2 battery cells 3 Battery lower cover 4 Battery upper cover 5 Ring-shaped waterproof member 6. Waterproof case 7 Power conversion equipment 8 Waterway Cover 9 Supply pipe 10 Junction Box 11 Equipment cover 31 Storage unit 32 Hole 1 33, 41, 111 Water-stopping materials 61 2nd hole 62 Ring-shaped water-stopping member

Claims

1. A battery cell; a housing case having an opening and housing the battery cell; a cover attached to the housing case in a state of covering the opening; a junction box provided on an upper portion of the cover and controlling the battery cells; a supply pipe for supplying a coolant for cooling the junction box and the battery cells; A vehicle undercarriage comprising: a first member covering the supply pipe; a second member that blocks the opposing surfaces of the supply pipe and the junction box; a third member that blocks the opposing surfaces of the supply pipe and the battery cell; Equipped with Vehicle undercarriage.

2. The vehicle underbody structure according to claim 1, a housing case having an opening and housing the battery cell; a power conversion device that converts power from the battery cell; a cover attached to cover the opening of the storage case; Furthermore, The storage case is a first hole into which the supply pipe is inserted; The first member is the power converter has at least a flow path through which a refrigerant can pass, and is formed to cover an opposing surface that faces an upper surface of the power converter; The second member is a second hole into which the supply pipe can be inserted, the second hole being disposed on the upper surface of the cover, and housing the first member and the power conversion device; The supply pipe the cooling medium is connected to the first member via the first hole and the second hole, and supplies a refrigerant to the first member; Vehicle undercarriage.

3. The vehicle underbody structure according to claim 2, The junction box is disposed on the upper surface of the second member, The third member is a shielding member that shields the supply pipe from the battery cell between the cover and the second member and between the cover and the housing case; Vehicle undercarriage.

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