Wire protection structure

Abstract

To provide a wire protection structure capable of protecting, with a simple structure, a connection portion of an electric wire between itself and a control device even when a vehicle collision occurs.SOLUTION: In the wire protection structure, an L-shaped bent support portion extending from a first portion 15b to a second portion 15c of a protective member 15 is supported by a first support member 12, and a support portion of the first portion 15b of the protective member 15 on a side opposite to a side supported by the first support member 12, is supported by a second support member 13. Thereby, even when a vehicle collision occurs, the wire protection structure, with a simple configuration, maintains shock absorbing effect of a bent portion of a high-voltage harness 8 at a transition portion inside an engine compartment, and firmly maintains a fixing state of a tip portion of the high-voltage harness 8 to a housing 7a of a power control unit (PCU).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a wire protection structure that protects wires connecting a battery arranged outside an engine compartment at the front of a vehicle to a control device arranged inside the engine compartment. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in vehicles such as hybrid electric vehicles (hereinafter referred to as HEVs), in which a high-voltage HEV battery is placed under the floor of the passenger compartment separated by the dashboard, and control devices such as a power control unit are placed inside the engine compartment at the front, which is also separated by the dashboard, the battery and control devices are connected by high-voltage wires routed through the vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] This type of high-voltage wire is bent and routed inside the engine room, and one connector attached to the tip of the high-voltage wire is fitted into the other connector provided on the control device to electrically connect the battery and the control device. By bending the high-voltage wire inside the engine room, the movement of the high-voltage wire that is opposite to the movement of the vehicle body due to acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle can be absorbed, and excess load is reduced on the connection part of the high-voltage wire with the battery and the control device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-168284 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, as mentioned above, in an HEV vehicle, control devices such as the power control unit are located inside the engine compartment, so when a vehicle collision occurs, the dashboard separating the engine compartment will be deformed by the impact of the collision, and the bent part of the high-voltage wire may not be able to adequately absorb the impact, and the connection part of the high-voltage wire with the control device may not be protected from the impact. This may result in damage to the connection part of the high-voltage wire with the control device or to the high-voltage wire itself, which may lead to a situation that violates regulations, such as a poor connection or poor insulation.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and has an object to provide a simple structure that can protect the connection portion of the electric wire with the control device even when a vehicle collision occurs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the wire protection structure of the present invention is an electric wire connecting a battery arranged outside an engine room at the front of a vehicle and a control device arranged inside the engine room, the electric wire being arranged in a bent state inside the engine room, the electric wire protection structure comprising: a first support member forming an L shape attached to a rear side surface of a housing of the control device; a second support member attached to the rear side surface of the housing of the control device opposite the first support member; and a protective member arranged between the first and second support members and through which an end of the electric wire is inserted, the protective member having a first portion in the vertical direction through which the end of the electric wire is inserted in the vertical direction, and a second portion formed at a lower part of the first portion by bulging in the left-right direction to form an L shape and through which the end of the electric wire is inserted in the left-right direction, the L-shaped support point extending from the first portion to the second portion is supported by the first support member, and an unbent support point of the first portion opposite the support point by the first support member is supported by the second support member.

[0008] With this configuration, the L-shaped bent support point extending from the first part to the second part of the protective member is supported by the first support member, and the support point of the first part of the protective member opposite the support point by the first support member is supported by the second support member. Therefore, with this simple configuration, even in the event of a vehicle collision, the shock absorbing effect of the bent part of the electric wire inside the engine compartment can be maintained, while the tip part of the electric wire can be firmly maintained fixed to the housing of the control device, and the connection part of the electric wire with the control device and the electric wire itself can be protected.

[0009] In addition, an engaging portion may be formed on each of the first and second support members, and an engaged portion may be formed on the protective member with which the engaging portions of the first and second support members engage, and the engaging portions of the first and second support members may engage with the engaged portions of the protective member, so that the protective member is supported by the first and second support members.

[0010] According to this configuration, the engaging portions of the first and second support members engage with the engaged portions of the protective member, and the protective member is supported by the first and second support members, so that the protective member can be easily attached to the housing of the control device by the first and second support members. Effect of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, even if a vehicle collision occurs, the simple configuration can firmly maintain the fixed state of the electric wire to the housing of the control device, thereby protecting the connection portion of the electric wire with the control device. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which an embodiment of a wire protection structure according to the present invention is assembled to a vehicle. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of first and second support members. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of the first and second support members. [Diagram 5]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the protective member as viewed from the front side. [Figure 6] 6 is a perspective view of the protective member as viewed from the opposite side to that in FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] An embodiment of the wire protection structure according to the present invention applied to an HEV will be described in detail with reference to Figures 1 to 7. In this embodiment, front, rear, left and right refer to front, rear, left and right as viewed from a seated position.

[0014] As shown in Fig. 1, the body 1 of an HEV vehicle is divided by a dashboard 2 into a passenger compartment 3 and an engine room 4 in front of it, and an HEV battery 5 of, for example, several hundred volts is disposed approximately in the center under the floor of the passenger compartment 3, and an engine 6 is disposed approximately in the center inside the engine room 4, and a power control unit (hereinafter referred to as PCU) 7, which corresponds to the control device of the present invention, is disposed to the left of the engine 6. This PCU 7 is composed of an inverter, a DC-DC converter, etc. housed in a housing 7a, and controls voltage and current.

[0015] A high-voltage harness (corresponding to the "electric wire" in this invention) 8, which is a bundle of high-voltage electric wires, is routed under the floor of the passenger compartment 3, passing through the dashboard 2 under the floor within the engine compartment 4, one end of the high-voltage harness 8 is connected to the battery 5 via a connector 9, and inside the engine compartment 4, the other end of the high-voltage harness 8 is connected to a connector 10 attached to the top surface of the housing 7a of the PCU 7, and is electrically connected to the PCU 7.

[0016] At this time, the high-voltage harness 8 passes through approximately the center of the dashboard 2, with its front end portion disposed within the engine room 4, and as shown in Figure 1, in an area called a transition portion 11 between the dashboard 2 and the PCU 7 inside the engine room 4, the front end portion of the high-voltage harness 8 is bent to form a bent portion.

[0017] Meanwhile, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, first and second support members 12, 13 each having an L-shaped cross section and each having metal mounting portions 12a, 13a which are flat when viewed from the front and metal raised portions 12b, 13b which are integrally formed with each mounting portion 12a, 13a and rise upward toward the rear, are attached to the rear side of the housing 7a of the PCU 7.

[0018] At this time, the raised portions 12b, 13b of the first support member 12 and the second support member 13 are arranged opposite each other, and insertion holes 12c, 13c for bolts (not shown) or the like are formed in the mounting portions 12a, 13a of both support members 12, 13. With the mounting portions 12a, 13a abutting against the rear side of the housing 7a, the bolts or the like inserted into the insertion holes 12c, 13c are screwed into the rear side of the housing 7a, thereby attaching the first and second support members 12, 13 to the rear side of the housing 7a of the PCU 7.

[0019] The first support member 12 is L-shaped in front view from the rear to the front, and rectangular protruding pieces 12d, 12e protruding rearward are integrally formed at two locations, the upper and lower parts of the rising part 12b of the first support member 12, and a rectangular protruding piece 13d protruding rearward is integrally formed at the upper part of the rising part 12b of the second support member 13, similar to the protruding pieces 12d, 12e. These protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d correspond to the "engagement part" in the present invention, and the protective member is supported by the first and second support members 12, 13 by engaging with an engagement hole, which is an engaged part formed in the protective member described later.

[0020] Also, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, a resin protective member 15 is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the raised portions 12b, 13b of the first and second support members 12, 13, and as shown in particular in Figure 5, an insertion passage 15a, for example having a circular cross-section, is formed inside the protective member 15, through which the high-voltage harness 8 is inserted.

[0021] This protective member 15 has a first portion 15b in the vertical direction, through which the front end portion of the high-voltage harness 8 is inserted in the vertical direction, and a second portion 15c formed at the bottom of the first portion 15b by bulging out in the left-right direction to form an L-shape, through which the front end portion of the high-voltage harness 8 is inserted in the left-right direction.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 6, the front surface of the protective member 15 is formed with engagement holes 15d, 15e, 15f (corresponding to the "engaged portion" in the present invention) into which the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d of the first and second support members 12, 13 described above engage, respectively, and as shown in FIG. 7, the protruding pieces 12d, 12e of the first support member 12 are inserted into and engage with the engagement holes 15d, 15e of the protective member 15, and the protruding piece 13d of the second support member 13 engages with the engagement hole 15f of the protective member 15, so that the L-shaped bent support point extending from the first portion 15b to the second portion 15c is supported along the raised portion 12b of the first support member 12, and the support point of the first portion 15b on the opposite side to the unbent first support member 12 is supported by the second support member 13.

[0023] Here, it is desirable to form engagement protrusions on the outer surfaces of each of the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d of the first and second support members 12, 13, for example by cutting and raising, and to form engagement recesses into which these engagement protrusions engage on the sides that are not adjacent to the engagement holes 15d, 15e, 15f of the protective member 15.When the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d of the first and second support members 12, 13 are inserted into the engagement holes 15d, 15e, 15f of the protective member 15, the engagement protrusions of each of the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d fit into the engagement recesses of the engagement holes 15d, 15e, 15f, thereby firmly maintaining the engagement state between each of the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d and each of the engagement holes 15d, 15e, 15f.

[0024] Therefore, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, the L-shaped bent support point extending from the first part 15b to the second part 15c of the protective member 15 is supported by the first support member 12, and the support point of the first part 15b of the protective member 15 opposite the support point by the first support member 12 is supported by the second support member 13. Therefore, with this simple configuration, even in the event of a vehicle collision, the impact absorption effect of the bent part of the high-voltage harness 8 at the transition portion 11 inside the engine compartment 4 can be maintained, and the fixed state of the tip part of the high-voltage harness 8 to the housing 7a of the PCU 7 can be firmly maintained, making it possible to protect the connection part of the high-voltage harness 8 with the PCU 7 and the high-voltage harness 8 itself.

[0025] In addition, the protective member 15 can be supported by the first and second support members 12, 13 by engaging the respective engagement holes 15d, 15e, 15f of the protective member 15 with the respective protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d of the first and second support members 12, 13, so that the protective member 15 with the high-voltage harness 8 inserted therethrough can be easily attached to both support members 12, 13.

[0026] Furthermore, according to the above-described embodiment, the protective member 15 is L-shaped and the first support member 12 that supports it is also L-shaped when viewed from the front, so that sufficient flexure can be ensured at the crossing portion 11 of the high-voltage harness 8 in the engine compartment 4.

[0027] In addition, since the protective member 15 is L-shaped and supported by both support members 12, 13 with the high-voltage harness 8 inserted therein, the protective member 15 can be supported while absorbing variations in the length of the high-voltage harness 8, etc.

[0028] In addition, since protective member 15 is L-shaped and first support member 12 is also L-shaped, the strength of protective member 15 can be increased, and protective member 15 can be prevented from easily deforming due to the impact at the time of a vehicle collision.

[0029] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to an HEV vehicle, but the applicable vehicle is not limited to an HEV vehicle, and the control device is not limited to the PCU 7 described above.

[0030] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the support member supporting the protective member 15 is composed of two members, the first and second support members 12, 13. However, the first and second support members 12, 13 may be integrated so that they can be attached to the housing 7a of the PCU 7 while holding the protective member 15 in a sandwiched state.

[0031] In addition, in the above embodiment, each of the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d formed on the first and second support members 12, 13 is described as being rectangular in shape, but the shape of these protruding pieces is not limited to being rectangular, and the shape of the engagement hole of the protective member may be any shape that can engage with a protruding piece that is not rectangular.

[0032] In the above embodiment, the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d of the first and second support members 12, 13 are formed with engagement protrusions, and the engaging holes 15d, 15e, 15f of the protection member 15 are formed with engagement recesses into which the engagement protrusions engage. When the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d are fitted into the engaging holes 15d, 15e, 15f, respectively, the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d and the engaging holes 15d, 15e, 15f, respectively, are engaged with each other. Although an example has been described in which the engagement state with each of the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d can be firmly maintained, the means for firmly maintaining the engagement state between each of the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d and each of the engagement holes 15d, 15e, 15f is not limited to a combination of engagement protrusions and engagement holes, and in short, any configuration can be used as long as it can firmly maintain the engagement state between each of the protruding pieces 12d, 12e, 13d and each of the engagement holes 15d, 15e, 15f.

[0033] In addition, in the above embodiment, the protective member 15 is supported by the first and second support members 12, 13. However, ribs corresponding to the two support members 12, 13 may be formed in advance on the housing 7a of the PCU 7, and the protective member 15 may be supported by these ribs. In this way, there is no need to prepare separate support members 12, 13, which reduces the number of parts, and the strength of the housing 7a can be improved by the ribs.

[0034] The present invention can be applied to an electric wire protection structure that protects an electric wire that connects a battery located outside the engine compartment at the front of a vehicle and a control device located within the engine compartment, and that is bent and routed within the engine compartment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 1. Vehicle body 3...Vehicle compartment 4. Engine room 5. HEV battery 7 ... PCU (control unit) 8...High voltage harness 12 ... First support member 12d, 12e...Engaging piece (engaging part) 13 ... second support member 13d ... Engagement piece (engagement portion) 15 ...Protective material 15a ... Passageway 15b ... First part 15c …Second part 15d, 15e, 15f...Engagement hole (engaged part)

Claims

1. 1. A wire protection structure for protecting an electric wire connecting a battery arranged outside an engine room at a front part of a vehicle and a control device arranged inside the engine room, the electric wire being bent and routed inside the engine room, a first support member having an L-shape and attached to a rear side surface of a housing of the control device; a second support member attached to a rear side surface of a housing of the control device opposite to the first support member; a protective member disposed between the first and second support members and through which the end of the electric wire is inserted, The protective member is a first portion in a vertical direction through which an end of the electric wire is inserted in a vertical direction, and a second portion formed at a lower portion of the first portion so as to bulge in a horizontal direction to form an L shape, through which the end of the electric wire is inserted in a horizontal direction; A support point bent in an L shape extending from the first portion to the second portion is supported by the first support member, and a support point of the first portion, which is not bent, opposite to the support point by the first support member is supported by the second support member. A protective structure for an electric wire.

2. The wire protection structure according to claim 1, The first and second support members each have an engagement portion formed thereon, the protective member is formed with an engaged portion with which the engaging portion of each of the first and second support members engages; a first supporting member and a second supporting member, the first supporting member and the second supporting member being supported by the first supporting member and the second supporting member, the first supporting member and the second supporting member being supported by the first supporting member and the second supporting member, the second ...

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