Protective structure for high voltage components of vehicles

Abstract

A battery (26) and a DC / DC converter (28), which are high-voltage components, are disposed on a floor panel (14) immediately behind a rear seat (18) and are covered by a cover (30). A protective frame (36) protects the battery (26) and the DC / DC converter (28), which are high-voltage components, from a back panel (20) at the rear of the vehicle during a rear-end collision, and protects the high-voltage components from a reclining shaft (24) at the front of the vehicle. The protective frame (36) is attached to the floor panel (14) and is disposed inside of the cover (30).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a protective structure for high voltage components of a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicles are available in which high-voltage components such as a battery and a DC / DC converter are placed in the space behind the seats in the vehicle cabin. In this case, if the vehicle is involved in a rear-end collision, there is a risk that the high-voltage components will come into contact with the seats and peripheral components located at the rear of the vehicle, and therefore it is necessary to provide some protection for the high-voltage components. In view of this, a structure has been proposed in which high-voltage components are housed in a case made of a material with high strength and rigidity (see Patent Document 1). In addition, a structure has been proposed in which an upper member is provided between the seat and the high-voltage components to abut against the seat moving rearward in the event of a collision, thereby stopping the movement of the seat, and a lower member is provided between the high-voltage components and the engine located at the rear of the vehicle to abut against the engine moving forward in the event of a collision, thereby stopping the movement of the engine (see Patent Document 2). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-147593 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-77788 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 requires the provision of a dedicated case with high strength and rigidity that covers the entire high-voltage component. Furthermore, the technology described in Patent Document 2 has the disadvantage that a large occupied space must be secured between the seat and the engine, sufficient for installing the upper member and the lower member. Furthermore, neither technique provides any protection for high-voltage components against being pinched between the seat frame and surrounding components located at the front of the vehicle during a rear-end collision. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and has an object to provide a protective structure for high-voltage parts of a vehicle that is advantageous in terms of compactness of the occupied space while protecting high-voltage parts from the frame of a seat located at the front of the vehicle in the event of a rear-end collision. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, one embodiment of the present invention is a protective structure for high-voltage components of a vehicle having a seat and high-voltage components covered with a cover provided on a floor panel immediately behind the seat, wherein a protective frame attached to the floor panel is provided inside the cover, and the protective frame has a front portion extending in the vehicle width direction to cover the high-voltage components from the rear, and a pair of side portions extending forward of the vehicle from both ends in the extension direction of the front portion and directly facing a skeletal member of the seat. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is advantageous for the protective frame to protect high-voltage components when the high-voltage components are about to be pinched between surrounding components and a frame member of the seat during a rear-end collision. Since the protective frame is a compact member that is placed inside the cover, the protective frame can be placed in a small space. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a protective structure for a high-voltage component of a vehicle according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a cover and a protective frame are removed from the protective structure for a high-voltage component of a vehicle. [Diagram 3] 1 is a side view of a protective structure for high-voltage components of a vehicle according to an embodiment, as viewed from the vehicle width direction, illustrating a reinforcing member connected to a cross member; [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] 1A is a perspective view showing the base, the battery, the DC / DC converter, and the protective frame, and FIG. 1B is a front view of FIG. [Figure 7] 1A is a perspective view of the protective frame as seen from the front of the vehicle, FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the protective frame as seen from the rear of the vehicle, and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC of FIG. [Figure 8] 11 is a perspective view of a protective structure for high-voltage parts of a vehicle according to a second embodiment, as viewed from the rear of the vehicle. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] (First embodiment) DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A protective structure for high voltage components of a vehicle according to a first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the symbol FR indicates the front of the vehicle, the symbol UP indicates the upward direction, and the symbol HL indicates the vehicle width direction. In this embodiment, the vehicle is a pickup truck with an open cargo bed at the rear of the vehicle interior (cabin), and is a so-called mild hybrid vehicle that has the function of supplementing the engine's driving force when starting to drive or accelerating by supplying power to a motor (alternator) from a battery and a DC / DC converter described below.

[0009] As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 12 includes a pair of side members (not shown) extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle and spaced apart in the vehicle width direction, a floor panel 14 supported by the pair of side members and extending in the fore-and-aft direction and in the vehicle width direction, and a plurality of cross members 16 connecting the pair of side members at intervals in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 8, three rear seats 18 are arranged in a row in the vehicle width direction behind the floor panel 14. Behind the rear seats 18 is a back panel 20 that stands up from the rear end of the floor panel 14, extends in the vertical and width directions of the vehicle, and constitutes a peripheral component. An open luggage compartment (not shown) is provided behind the back panel 20. In other words, the cabin has a back panel 20 that rises from the rear end of the floor panel 14, forms the rear of the cabin, and separates the cabin from the luggage compartment.

[0010] As shown in Figures 1 and 8, the three rear seats 18 each include a seat cushion 1802 that forms the seating surface, a seat back 1804 that stands up from the rear of the seat cushion 1802, and a headrest 1806 that is provided at the upper end of the seat back 1804. As shown in FIG. 1, the rear portion of the frame (not shown) of the seat cushion 1802 is attached to the cross member 16 . As shown in FIG. 8, a seat back frame 22 that forms the framework of each seat back 1804 is provided inside each seat back 1804 . Each seat back frame 22 extends along the four sides of the seat back 1804 in a rectangular frame shape. As shown in Figures 1 and 8, the lower end of each seatback frame 22 is swingably connected to a pipe-shaped reclining shaft 24 that is provided at the rear of the seat cushion 1802 and extends across the entire width of the seatback 1804, so that the reclining angle of each seatback 1804 can be adjusted. The seat back frame 22 and the reclining shaft 24 form the framework of the rear seat 18.

[0011] 2 and 3, the battery 26 and DC / DC converter 28, which are high-voltage components, are disposed on the floor panel 14 between the rear seat 18 and the back panel 20, and are covered with a cover 30. That is, the high-voltage components are covered with the cover 30 on the floor panel 14 immediately behind the rear seat 18. The battery 26 and the DC / DC converter 28 are disposed on the floor panel 14 via a base 32 shown in FIG. 5, and directly below the floor panel 14 and below the base 32, a cross member 16 extends in the vehicle width direction, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In addition, a reinforcing member 34 extends from a portion of the cross member 16 directly below the battery 26 toward the front of the vehicle while being joined to the underside of the floor panel 14. The reinforcing member 34 extends toward the front of the vehicle from a portion of the cross member 16 that is located between a pair of side portions 40, which will be described later.

[0012] The cover 30 is made of a synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 4, the cover 30 has a lower mounting edge 3002 that is attached to the floor panel 14 with bolts, and a rear mounting edge 3004 that is attached to the back panel 20 with bolts. The portion surrounded by these mounting edges 3002, 3004 forms a cover main body 3006 that covers the battery 26 and DC / DC converter 28. The cover main body 3006 is provided with a placement section 3008 for a blower (not shown) that circulates air inside the cover main body 3006.

[0013] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the protective structure 10 for high-voltage components of a vehicle includes a protective frame 36 made of sheet metal. The protective frame 36 protects the high-voltage components, the battery 26 and the DC / DC converter 28, from the back panel 20 at the rear of the vehicle and from the reclining axis 24 at the front of the vehicle in the event of a rear-end collision. The protective frame 36 is attached to the floor panel 14 and disposed within the cover 30 . As shown in FIGS. 6(A) and 6(B) and 7(A) to 7(C), the protective frame 36 has a front portion 38 and a pair of side portions 40.

[0014] The front portion 38 extends in the vehicle width direction behind the battery 26 and the DC / DC converter 28, and covers the battery 26 and the DC / DC converter 28 from the rear of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 7(C), the front portion 38 is formed by stacking two steel plates, and includes a vertical plate portion 3802 that has a height in the up-down direction and extends in the vehicle width direction, and a horizontal plate portion 3804 that protrudes forward from the upper end of the vertical plate portion 3802, has a width in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, and extends in the vehicle width direction. The vertical plate portion 3802 has an opposing plate portion 3802A in which two steel plates face each other with a gap in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, and a bead portion 3802B extending along almost the entire length of the vertical plate portion 3802 is provided on the steel plate located at the rear of the vehicle in the vertical middle portion of the opposing plate portion 3802A. By providing the opposing plate portion 3802A and the bead portion 3802B, the rigidity of the front portion 38 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is increased.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 7(A) and 7(B), the pair of side surface portions 40 include a side surface plate main body 4002, a lower mounting plate portion 4004, and a rear mounting plate portion 4006. The side panel main body 4002 extends forward from both ends of the front portion 38 in the vehicle width direction, with a certain height in the up-down direction. When viewed in the vehicle width direction, the side panel body 4002 has a trapezoidal shape with the height of the front end of the vehicle being smaller than the height of the rear end of the vehicle. On the inner side of the side panel main body 4002, a bead portion 4002A is provided that extends in a substantially isosceles triangle shape with the apex of the isosceles facing toward the front of the vehicle. Bead portion 4002A is provided on side surface plate main body 4002, and side surface plate main body 4002 has a certain height in the up-down direction and extends forward of the vehicle, so that side surface plate main body 4002 has rigidity in the front-rear direction of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 1, a front edge 4002B of the side panel main body 4002 faces the reclining axis 24 from the rear, and the upper end of the front edge 4002B is located at a position higher than the center of the reclining axis 24 when viewed from the vehicle width direction. As shown in Figures 7(A) and (B), the lower mounting plate portion 4004 is provided on the lower edge of the side panel main body 4002, protrudes outward in the vehicle width direction from the lower edge, and extends along the entire length of the lower edge of the side panel main body 4002 with a uniform width. A bolt (not shown) is inserted into the lower mounting plate portion 4004, and as shown in FIG. 1, this bolt is inserted through the floor panel 14 and attached to the cross member 16. The rear mounting plate portion 4006 is provided on the vehicle rear edge of the side panel main body 4002, protrudes outward in the vehicle width direction from the vehicle rear edge, and extends over the entire length of the rear edge with a uniform width. The rear mounting plate portion 4006 is joined to the vertical plate portion 3802 of the front portion 38 by welding, and when the rear mounting plate portion 4006 and the vertical plate portion 3802 are joined in this manner, the lower edge of the front portion 38 is positioned at a distance above the floor panel 14.

[0016] According to this embodiment, when the high-voltage components, the battery 26 and the DC / DC converter 28, are about to be pinched between the back panel 20 and the reclining axis 24 of the rear seat 18 in the event of a rear-end collision, the protective frame 36 can advantageously protect these high-voltage components. In detail, the rear of the battery 26 and DC / DC converter 28 are covered by the front portion 38, and the front ends of a pair of side portions 40 extending in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle face directly opposite the reclining axis 24. Therefore, even if the battery 26 and DC / DC converter 28 move toward the front of the vehicle, the pair of side portions 40, which have rigidity in the fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle, are advantageous in preventing the battery 26 and DC / DC converter 28 from being pinched between the reclining axis 24 and the back panel 20 and being destroyed. Moreover, the protective frame 36 is a compact member that is disposed inside the cover 30 . This is advantageous in arranging the protective frame 36 in a small space.

[0017] In addition, since the pair of side portions 40 are connected to the cross member 16 extending in the vehicle width direction on the underside of the floor panel 14, the collision load during a rear-end collision can be distributed from the pair of side portions 40 to the cross member 16, which is advantageous in preventing the battery 26 and DC / DC converter 28 from being pinched and destroyed by the reclining axis 24 and the back panel 20.

[0018] In addition, the reinforcing member 34, which is connected to the cross member 16 located between the pair of side portions 40 and extends toward the front of the vehicle, is connected to the underside of the floor panel 14. This allows the collision load during a rear-end collision to be distributed from the pair of side portions 40 to the reinforcing member 34 via the cross member 16. This is advantageous in preventing the battery 26 and the DC / DC converter 28 from being pinched between the reclining axis 24 and the back panel 20 and being destroyed.

[0019] In addition, since the battery 26 and the DC / DC converter 28 are attached to the floor panel 14 via the base 32, these high-voltage components can be installed in the vehicle 12 with the battery 26 and the DC / DC converter 28 pre-assembled to the base 32, which is advantageous in terms of making the assembly work more efficient. In the first embodiment, the vehicle 12 is a pickup truck. However, the present invention can be applied to various vehicles other than pickup trucks. For example, In a hatchback type vehicle, the tailgate corresponds to the back panel 20 .

[0020] (Second embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the following embodiment, the same parts and members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted, and the description will focus on the differences. The second embodiment is a protective structure 10 for high-voltage components dedicated to a pickup truck having a cabin (vehicle compartment) and a luggage bed behind the cabin. That is, the peripheral part is the back panel 20 (see Figure 1) which rises from the rear end of the floor panel 14 and separates the cabin from the cargo area, and the cover 30 has mounting parts which are attached across the floor panel 14 and the back panel 20 (see Figure 1), i.e., a lower mounting edge 3002 and a rear mounting edge 3004 (see Figure 4). A protective frame 36 (see FIG. 1) is disposed inside the cover 30, similarly to the first embodiment. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, a subframe 42 is provided inside the cover 30, and has a plurality of front rods 4202 extending vertically along the back of the seat back 1804 of the rear seat 18 at multiple locations spaced apart in the vehicle width direction, a plurality of upper rods 4204 extending from the upper ends of each front rod 4202 toward the rear of the vehicle, and a rear rod 4206 extending in the vehicle width direction and connecting the rear ends of the multiple upper rods 4204. According to the second embodiment, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment, The subframe 42 is advantageous in terms of improving protection of the high voltage components.

[0021] In the embodiment, the high-voltage components are provided on the floor panel 14 immediately behind the rear seat 18, but the present invention is of course applicable to seats other than the rear seat 18.

[0022] Although various embodiments have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can come up with various modified or revised examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Furthermore, the components in the above-mentioned embodiments may be arbitrarily combined within the scope of the invention.

[0023] This application is based on a Japanese patent application (Patent Application No. 2022-040544) filed on March 15, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0024] 10. Protective structure for high voltage components of vehicles 12 Vehicles 14 Floor Panel 16 Cross member 18 Rear seat (seat) 1802 Seat cushion 1804 Seat back 1806 Headrest 20 Back panel (peripheral parts) 22 Seat back frame (framework) 24 Reclining axis (framework member) 26 Battery 28 DC / DC Converters 30 Cover 3002 Lower mounting edge 3004 Rear mounting edge 3006 Cover body 3008 Blower arrangement section 32 Pedestal 34 Reinforcement members 36 Protective Frame 38 Front 3802 Vertical plate 3802A Opposing plate part 3804 Horizontal plate part 40 Pair of side sections 4002 Side panel body 4002A Bead section 4002B leading edge 4004 Lower mounting plate 4006 Rear mounting plate 42 Subframe 4202 Front Rod 4204 Upper Rod 4206 Rear Rod

Claims

1. A protective structure for a high-voltage component of a vehicle, the high-voltage component being provided on a seat and a floor panel immediately behind the seat and covered with a cover, A protective frame is provided inside the cover and attached to the floor panel, the protective frame includes a front portion extending in a vehicle width direction and covering the high-voltage components from the rear, and a pair of side portions extending forward of the vehicle from both ends in an extending direction of the front portion and facing a frame member of the seat, The pair of side portions are connected to a cross member extending in the vehicle width direction on the lower surface of the floor panel. A protective structure for a high voltage component of a vehicle.

2. A reinforcing member is connected to a portion of the cross member located between the pair of side portions and extends forward of the vehicle and is connected to the underside of the floor panel.

2. The protective structure for a high voltage part of a vehicle according to claim 1.

3. The high voltage component is attached to the floor panel via a base.

3. The protective structure for a high voltage part of a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The vehicle is a pickup truck including a cabin and a cargo bed behind the cabin, the cabin has a back panel that stands up from a rear end of the floor panel, forms a rear portion of the cabin, and separates the cabin from the cargo bed; The cover has an attachment portion that is attached across the floor panel and the back panel, A ladder-shaped subframe is provided inside the cover and extends along the back panel.

3. The protective structure for a high voltage part of a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.

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