Waterproof structure for vehicle battery pack

Abstract

To prevent a liquid flowing from a high floor to a low floor from entering a battery pack without increasing the costs and weight of a battery case, for example, a method in which an entire rear end surface of the battery pack on the low floor is covered with a cover member, in a battery pack waterproof structure of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A battery pack waterproof structure includes a low floor 13 for occupants of a vehicle and a high floor 14 for a luggage chamber 12. A battery pack 50 is mounted on the low floor 13. A liquid guide part 20 which guides a liquid flowing from the high floor 14 to the low floor 13 from the low floor 13 to the outside of the vehicle is provided on the high floor 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a waterproof structure for a vehicle battery pack, and more particularly to a structure for preventing liquid from entering a battery pack provided on a low floor of a vehicle equipped with a low floor and a high floor. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a configuration in which the entire top surface of a battery pack placed under a vehicle seat is covered with a covering member, and a through hole is formed in the covering member at a position that does not overlap the battery pack when viewed from above. This configuration is said to be able to prevent water that passes through holes in the carpet above the covering member and reaches the top surface of the covering member from falling on the battery pack. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-147520 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A vehicle floor panel may include a low floor for passengers and a high floor for a luggage compartment, and a battery pack may be mounted on the low floor. In this case, if a container such as a cooler box, bucket, or plastic container falls over in the luggage compartment with the high floor, liquid such as water spilling from the container may flow forward. This liquid may flow over the high floor and fall onto the low floor, and the liquid may bounce off the low floor and enter the battery pack in front of it through a gap in the case. In order to ensure the safety of the battery pack, it is necessary to prevent such liquid from entering the battery pack.

[0005] One possible method for preventing liquid from entering the battery pack is to install a cover member behind the battery pack on the low floor, which covers the entire rear end face of the battery pack. However, in this case, if the battery pack is long in the left-right direction, the weight and cost of the cover member may increase significantly.

[0006] Other possible means for preventing liquid from entering the battery pack include increasing the overlap between the lower case and upper cover of the battery case of the battery pack, or forming a complex labyrinth structure between the lower case and upper cover; however, this could increase the cost and weight of the battery case.

[0007] The objective of the vehicle battery pack waterproof structure of the present invention is to prevent liquid flowing from the high floor toward the low floor from entering the inside of the battery pack without increasing the cost and weight of the battery case, such as by covering the entire rear end face of the battery pack on the low floor with a covering member. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The waterproof structure for a vehicle battery pack of the present invention includes a low floor for vehicle occupants and a high floor for a luggage compartment, and in a vehicle in which a battery pack is mounted on the low floor, the high floor is provided with a liquid guide section that guides liquid flowing from the high floor toward the low floor from the low floor to the outside of the vehicle. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The waterproof structure for a battery pack of a vehicle according to the present invention can prevent liquid flowing from the high floor toward the low floor from entering the inside of the battery pack without increasing the cost and weight of the battery case, such as by covering the entire rear end face of the battery pack on the low floor with a covering material. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic diagram showing a waterproof structure for a battery pack of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1 with the rear seat removed. [Diagram 3] 13 is a schematic diagram of a lower portion of a groove and a check valve in a waterproof structure for a battery pack according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Figure 4] 13 is a schematic diagram showing a waterproof structure of a battery pack according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 4 with the rear seats removed. [Figure 6] 13 is a schematic diagram showing a waterproof structure of a battery pack according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] (First embodiment) Hereinafter, the waterproof structure of a battery pack for a vehicle according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In this description, the specific shape, material, arrangement position, number, etc. are examples for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and can be appropriately changed according to specifications. In addition, the arrows Fr, Up, and Rh shown in each drawing indicate the front, upper, and right directions of the vehicle, respectively. In addition, the opposite directions of each of the arrows Fr, Up, and Rh respectively indicate the rear, lower, and left directions of the vehicle.

[0012] FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a waterproof battery pack structure 10 for a vehicle according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 shows a view from above with a rear seat 60 removed from FIG. 1. The waterproof battery pack structure 10 includes a low floor 13 for passengers provided on a floor panel 12 of the vehicle, and a high floor 14 for a luggage compartment having a portion inside a luggage compartment 17. A battery pack 50 is mounted on the low floor 13 below a seat surface 62 of a rear seat 60 provided from the low floor 13 to the high floor 14. The luggage compartment 17 is formed behind the rear seat 60 inside the vehicle, and is a space capable of carrying luggage. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a state in which a container 70 such as a bucket is mounted in the luggage compartment 17, but the container 70 falls forward due to vibration during driving, etc., causing liquid to flow from inside the container in the direction of the dashed arrow α. The configuration of this example aims to prevent liquid from entering the battery pack 50 mounted on the low floor 13 even if the container 70 falls over and liquid flows toward the low floor 13.

[0013] The battery pack 50 contains a battery module in which multiple battery cells are connected, or a battery stack in which multiple battery modules are connected, housed inside a lower case 53 covered by an upper cover 52 of a battery case 51. The battery pack 50 supplies power to an electric motor that is the driving source for an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, or the like. The battery pack 50 is mounted on the low floor 13 because the battery pack 50 has a large volume, and placing it on the high floor 14 would significantly reduce the volume of the luggage compartment 17.

[0014] The floor panel 12 has a high floor 14 on the rear side and a low floor 13 on the front side connected by a step surface portion 15. The step surface portion 15 is a plate portion along the vertical direction, but may be a plate portion inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

[0015] In the battery pack waterproof structure 10, a liquid guide section 20 is provided on the high floor 14 for guiding liquid flowing from the high floor 14 toward the low floor 13 to the outside of the vehicle.

[0016] The liquid guide section 20 has a groove 21 extending in the vehicle width direction and a liquid drain hole 22 formed in the bottom of the groove 21. Furthermore, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the liquid guide section 20 is provided forward of a rear end 61 of a rear seat 60 on the high floor 14, and further forward of a belt anchor hole 63 provided in a seat surface section 62. The belt anchor hole 63 is a hole formed for attaching a seat belt anchor to the vehicle body. Both left and right ends 21a, 21b of the groove 21 are located outside the left and right ends of the battery pack 50 in the vehicle width direction. This allows the liquid guide section 20 to guide the liquid to the outside of the vehicle.

[0017] According to the above-described battery pack waterproof structure 10, the liquid guide portion 20 is provided on the raised floor 14. As a result, when the container 70 falls over in the luggage compartment 17, the liquid that flows forward from the container 70 can be guided into the groove 21 behind the battery pack 50, as shown by the dashed-dotted arrow α in Fig. 1, and can be released from the groove 21 to the outside of the vehicle via the liquid drain hole 22. This prevents liquid from reaching the battery pack 50, thereby waterproofing the battery pack 50.

[0018] Furthermore, the liquid guide section 20 is provided on the high floor 14 forward of the rear end 61 of the rear seat 60. As a result, even if the container 70 falls over at any position in the luggage compartment 17 rearward of the rear end 61 of the rear seat 60, the liquid guide section 20 can prevent the liquid from the container 70 from reaching the battery pack 50.

[0019] Furthermore, the liquid guide section 20 is provided forward of the belt anchor hole 63 of the rear seat 60. As a result, when the container 71 falls over on the seat surface 62 of the rear seat 60, liquid flows out of the container 71 and falls onto the high floor 14 through the belt anchor hole 63, and flows forward, the liquid can be guided outside the vehicle by the liquid guide section 20.

[0020] Furthermore, there is no need to provide a covering member on the rear side of the battery pack 50 to cover the entire rear end surface of the battery pack 50. Also, when the battery case 51 covers the lower case 53 with the upper cover 52, there is no need to provide a large overlapping portion between the upper cover 52 and the lower case 53, or to provide a complex labyrinth structure between the upper cover 52 and the lower case 53. This makes it possible to suppress a significant increase in the weight and cost of the battery case 51.

[0021] The liquid guide section 20 may be provided behind the rear seat 60 of the high floor 14. With this configuration, the step surface section 15 connecting the high floor 14 and the low floor 13 can be moved further rearward than in the configuration of Fig. 1, so that the area of ​​the low floor 13 can be enlarged and the volume of the battery pack mounted on the low floor 13 can be increased accordingly.

[0022] (First example of another embodiment) FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of a lower portion of the groove 21 and a check valve 24 in a battery pack waterproof structure 10a of another example of the embodiment. In the configuration of this example, a check valve 24 for preventing the intrusion of liquid from outside the vehicle is provided in the liquid drain hole 22 of the groove 21 constituting the liquid guide portion 20a. The check valve 24 includes a valve body 25 provided in the center of the liquid drain hole 22 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, and a coil spring 29 provided between the valve body 25 and the bottom 21c of the groove 21. The valve body 25 has a shaft portion 26 that passes through the liquid drain hole 22, an upper plate 27 fixed to the upper end of the shaft portion 26, and a lower plate 28 fixed to the lower end. A seal ring 30 is provided on the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface of the lower plate 28. The coil spring 29 is provided between the lower surface of the upper plate 27 and the upper surface of the bottom 21c of the groove 21, and biases the valve body 25 upward. As a result, the lower plate 28 of the valve body 25 is pulled up and pressed against the lower surface of the bottom portion 21c via the seal ring 30. For this reason, the check valve 24 is normally closed to prevent liquid from entering the groove 21 from below outside the vehicle through the liquid drain hole 22, but if liquid enters the inside of the groove 21 from the high floor 14 and a predetermined weight or more of the liquid is applied to the upper side of the lower plate 28, the valve body 25 moves downward against the biasing force of the coil spring 29 to open, and discharges the liquid from the groove 21 to the outside of the vehicle.

[0023] According to the configuration of this example, when water such as rainwater is splashed upward by a rear wheel located on the lower periphery of groove 21 while the vehicle is running, the water can be prevented from entering groove 21 through liquid drainage hole 22 and flowing toward battery pack 50. In this example, other configurations and functions are similar to those of the configurations in Figs. 1 and 2.

[0024] (Second example of another embodiment) Fig. 4 shows a schematic configuration of a battery pack waterproof structure 10b according to another embodiment. Fig. 5 is a view from above with the rear seat 60 removed from Fig. 4. Unlike the configurations of the above examples, the configuration of this example does not have a liquid drain hole in the groove 33, which is the liquid guide portion 31. Instead, in the configuration of this example, the liquid guide portion 31 that guides liquid is provided from the high floor 14 to the inclined plate portion 18, which is a connecting portion that connects the high floor 14 and the low floor 13. The inclined plate portion 18 is provided at both ends in the left-right direction of the vehicle.

[0025] The liquid guide section 31 is provided on the raised floor 14 and is composed of a rib 32 extending in the left-right direction and protruding upward, a first guide groove 33 and a second guide groove 34 provided adjacent to the rib 32, and a third guide groove 35 provided in the inclined plate section 18.

[0026] First, the rib 32, the first guide groove 33, and the second guide groove 34 will be described. In Fig. 5, the rib 32 is indicated by a diagonal line. The rib 32 is a protrusion that is long in the left-right direction, and is provided on the underside of the rear seat 60. The upper edge of the rib 32 contacts the underside of the seat portion 62 of the rear seat 60 or faces it via a small gap.

[0027] The first guide groove 33 is provided on the raised floor 14 adjacent to the rear side of the rib 32 and extends along the rib 32. The second guide groove 34 is provided at the front end of the raised floor 14 so as to extend in the front-rear direction outboard of both left-right ends of the rib 32. The rear end of the second guide groove 34 communicates with the left-right ends of the first guide groove 33.

[0028] Furthermore, a third guide groove 35 is formed on the upper surface of the inclined plate portion 18, extending along the inclination direction of the inclined plate portion 18. The rear end of the third guide groove 35 communicates with the front end of the second guide groove 34, and the front end of the third guide groove 35 communicates with the outside of the vehicle.

[0029] As a result, as shown by dashed-dotted arrow γ1 in Figures 4 and 5, the liquid that flows through the high floor 14 toward the low floor 13 enters the first guide groove 33 behind the rib 32. At this time, even if the flow rate of the liquid is high, the presence of the rib 32 prevents the liquid from flowing forward beyond the first guide groove 33. In the first guide groove 33, as shown by dashed-dotted arrow γ2 in Figure 5, the liquid flows to both sides in the left-right direction, and then changes direction and flows forward in the second guide groove 34. The liquid then flows forward and downward through the third guide groove 35, and is discharged outside the vehicle through an opening (not shown) for the vehicle's entrance and exit at the front of the battery pack 50.

[0030] According to the configuration of this example, when the container 70 falls over in the luggage compartment 17, liquid that flows forward from the container 70 can be guided around the battery pack 50 by the liquid guide section 31 and then discharged outside the vehicle. This prevents liquid from reaching the battery pack 50, thereby waterproofing the battery pack 50. In this example, the other configurations and functions are the same as those of the configurations in Figs. 1 and 2.

[0031] (Third example of another embodiment) FIG. 6 shows a schematic configuration of a battery pack waterproof structure 10c of another embodiment. In the configuration of this example, unlike the configurations of FIGS. 4 and 5, the liquid guide portion 31a does not include a rib, and instead, a rod-shaped seal portion 36 is provided that is sandwiched between the upper surface of the raised floor 14 and the lower surface of the seat portion 62 of the rear seat 60 and extends in the left-right direction. The seal portion 36 is formed of a rod-shaped body of resin or rubber, for example, and seals between the upper surface of the raised floor 14 and the lower surface of the seat portion 62 at a position similar to that of the rib 32 in the configurations of FIGS. 4 and 5. The lower surface of the seat portion 62 is made of a resin such as polyurethane resin. According to the configuration of this example, the seal portion 36 provides higher adhesion to the lower surface of the seat portion 62 than the configurations of FIGS. 4 and 5 in which the rib 32 is provided, and therefore it is easier to prevent the liquid flowing from the rear side of the first guide groove 33 toward the front side from flowing over the first guide groove 33 to the front side. In this example, other configurations and operations are similar to those in the configurations of FIGS. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 10,10a,10b waterproof structure for battery pack, 12 floor panel, 13 low floor, 14 high floor, 15 step surface, 17 luggage compartment, 18 inclined surface, 20,20a liquid guide portion, 21 groove, 21a,21b end, 22 liquid drain hole, 24 check valve, 25 valve body, 26 shaft portion, 27 upper plate, 28 lower plate, 29 coil spring, 30 seal ring, 31,31a liquid guide portion, 32 rib, 33 first guide groove, 34 second guide groove, 35 third guide groove, 36 seal portion, 50 battery pack, 51 battery case, 52 upper cover, 53 lower case, 55 battery body, 60 rear seat, 61 rear end, 62 seat portion, 63 belt anchor hole, 70 container, 71 container.

Claims

1. A vehicle including a low floor for vehicle occupants and a high floor for a luggage compartment, the low floor being equipped with a battery pack, a liquid guide portion for guiding liquid flowing from the high floor toward the low floor to the outside of the vehicle from the low floor, The liquid guide portion includes a first guide groove extending in the left-right direction from one left-right end to the other left-right end of the upper surface of the raised floor, left and right second guide grooves arranged outside both left-right ends of the first guide groove, communicating with the left-right ends of the first guide groove and extending along the front-rear direction, and a rib or rod-shaped body provided on the upper surface of the raised floor adjacent to the front of the first guide groove and extending in the left-right direction, At both ends of the vehicle in the left-right direction, outside both ends of the battery pack in the left-right direction, left and right third guide grooves are provided in left and right inclined plate portions that connect the high floor and the low floor and are inclined downward toward the front, rear ends of the left and right third guide grooves communicate with front ends of the left and right corresponding second guide grooves; The front ends of the left and right third guide grooves communicate with the outside of the vehicle, The seat surface of the rear seat covers an upper side of a portion of the high floor where the first guide groove and the rib or the rod-shaped body are provided. Waterproof structure of vehicle battery pack.

2. The liquid guide portion includes the rod-shaped body, The rod-shaped body is sandwiched between the upper surface of the raised floor and the lower surface of the seat portion, and seals between the upper surface of the raised floor and the lower surface of the seat portion.

2. A waterproof structure for a vehicle battery pack according to claim 1.

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