Battery pack exhaust structure

Abstract

To enable cooling air passing through a battery pack to be returned to a vehicle's interior while preventing a passenger of a vehicle from experiencing discomfort.SOLUTION: A battery pack exhaust structure comprises a battery pack, an air-conditioning device and a cooling air passage. The battery pack is mounted on a floor panel of a vehicle and has an exhaust port exhausting cooling air passing therethrough. The air-conditioning device performs air conditioning of a vehicle's interior. The cooling air passage communicates the exhaust port with the air-conditioning device. The cooling air passage is formed between the floor panel and a floor carpet laid thereon.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an exhaust structure for a battery pack. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a battery cooling structure. In this cooling structure, cooling air that has cooled the battery pack is guided to an air conditioner through an exhaust passage. The exhaust passage is formed by a center console box located between the driver's seat and the passenger seat of the vehicle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-260405 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] According to the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the cooling air that passes through the battery pack passes through the center console box. As a result, components (e.g., cup holders or shift levers) located inside or around the center console box are heated by the cooling air. This may cause discomfort to vehicle occupants.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an exhaust structure for a battery pack that allows cooling air that has passed through the battery pack to be returned to the vehicle cabin while minimizing discomfort to vehicle occupants. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The exhaust structure for a battery pack according to the present disclosure includes a battery pack, an air conditioner, and a cooling air passage. The battery pack is mounted on a floor panel of a vehicle and has an exhaust port for discharging cooling air that has passed through the battery pack. The air conditioner conditions the air inside the vehicle. The cooling air passage connects the exhaust port to the air conditioner. The cooling air passage is formed between the floor panel and a floor carpet laid on top of the floor panel.

[0007] The cooling air passage may be formed by utilizing a floor carpet formed to bulge upward relative to the floor panel.

[0008] The cooling air passage may be formed by utilizing a floor panel formed to be recessed downward from the floor carpet.

[0009] The air conditioner may be located forward of the battery pack. The exhaust port may be located below the driver's seat and passenger seat of the vehicle and between the driver's seat and passenger seat in the vehicle width direction, and may discharge cooling air toward the front of the vehicle. The cooling air passage may be formed to extend along the front-rear direction of the vehicle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the battery pack exhaust structure of the present disclosure, the cooling air passage formed between the floor panel and the floor carpet can be used to guide the cooling air from the exhaust port (i.e., the warm air after cooling the battery pack) to the air conditioning system. The cooling air passage is separated from the passenger space by the floor carpet. This prevents the cooling air from the battery pack from causing discomfort to the passengers. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing the interior of a vehicle to which an exhaust structure for a battery pack according to an embodiment is applied; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the battery pack shown in FIG. [Figure 3]2 is a view of the interior of the vehicle shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above the vehicle. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams for explaining a cooling air passage according to a modified example of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Elements common to the drawings will be designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted or simplified.

[0013] 1. Battery pack ventilation structure FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the interior of a vehicle 1 to which an exhaust structure for a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[0014] Inside the vehicle cabin, a driver's seat 2 and a passenger seat 3 are provided as front seats side by side in the vehicle width direction D1. The driver's seat 2 and the passenger seat 3 are each fixed to a floor panel 4. A floor carpet 5 is laid on the surface of the floor panel 4.

[0015] The vehicle 1 is equipped with a battery pack 10. The vehicle 1 is an electric vehicle that runs using power supplied from the battery pack 10, and is, for example, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) or a battery electric vehicle (BEV). The battery pack 10 is mounted on a floor panel 4 below a driver's seat 2 and a passenger seat 3. More specifically, the battery pack 10 is mounted on the floor panel 4 by being fixed to the floor panel 4 or by being fixed to a member that is joined to the floor panel 4 by fastening, welding, or the like. The battery pack 10 is covered by a floor carpet 5.

[0016] In addition, the battery pack 10 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. As shown in Fig. 1, for example, the battery pack 10 is arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the battery pack 10 is parallel to the vehicle width direction D1.

[0017] Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the battery pack 10 shown in Fig. 1. The battery pack 10 includes a battery pack body 11, an intake bezel 13 including an intake port 12, an intake duct 14, a cooling fan 15, and an exhaust port 16. The battery pack body 11 houses a plurality of stacked battery cells 17 (see Fig. 4).

[0018] The air intake 12 is provided to take in air (cooling air) from within the vehicle cabin. For example, the air intake 12 is provided at one end of the battery pack 10 in the vehicle width direction D1. The air intake duct 14 guides the cooling air taken in by the air intake 12 to the cooling fan 15. The cooling fan 15 is, for example, electrically driven, and supplies the cooling air from the air intake duct 14 into the battery pack main body 11. The battery pack main body 11 has an internal passage for cooling air formed around each battery cell 17.

[0019] The exhaust port 16 is provided to exhaust the cooling air that has passed through the inside (internal passage) of the battery pack 10 (battery pack body 11). As an example, the exhaust port 16 is provided in the upper part of the housing of the battery pack 10. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the cooling fan 15 is arranged on the upstream side of the battery pack body 11. However, the cooling fan provided in the battery pack 10 may be arranged on the downstream side of the battery pack body 11 (i.e., on the side of the exhaust port 16).

[0020] The vehicle 1 also includes an air conditioner 20 that conditions the air inside the vehicle cabin. The air conditioner 20 is housed in the instrument panel 6. More specifically, the air conditioner 20 is configured to be capable of performing at least a cooling operation to supply cool air into the vehicle cabin. The air conditioner 20 includes an inside air vent for introducing air from inside the vehicle cabin into the air conditioner 20, an outside air vent, and a fan that takes in air from a selected inside air vent or outside air vent. The inside air vent is located, for example, in front of the passenger seat 3 or between the passenger seat 3 and the driver's seat 2 (i.e., in the center in the vehicle width direction D1).

[0021] The vehicle 1 further includes a cooling air passage 30. The cooling air passage 30 is formed as a passage that connects the exhaust port 16 of the battery pack 10 with (the internal air port of) the air conditioner 20. The specific configuration of the cooling air passage 30 and its surroundings will be described below with additional reference to Figures 3 to 6 in addition to Figure 1. Figure 3 is a view of the interior of the vehicle shown in Figure 1 looking down from above the vehicle. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Figure 3. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in Figure 3. Note that the floor carpet 5 is not shown in Figure 3.

[0022] As shown in each figure, the cooling air passage 30 is formed between the floor carpet 5 and the floor panel 4. That is, the space between the floor carpet 5 and the floor panel 4 functions as the cooling air passage 30. More specifically, one end (upstream end) of the cooling air passage 30 is the exhaust port 16 of the battery pack 10. The other end (downstream end) of the cooling air passage 30 is the inside air vent of the air conditioner 20.

[0023] 6, in a position between the driver's seat 2 and the passenger seat 3 in the vehicle width direction D1, the floor carpet 5 is formed so as to bulge upward relative to the floor panel 4. The floor carpet 5 thus formed forms a cooling air passage 30.

[0024] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 and other figures, the air conditioner 20 is located on the vehicle front side with respect to the battery pack 10. The exhaust port 16 is provided below the driver's seat 2 and passenger seat 3 of the vehicle and between the driver's seat 2 and passenger seat 3 in the vehicle width direction D1. The exhaust port 16 discharges cooling air toward the front side of the vehicle. The cooling air passage 30 is formed to extend along the vehicle front-rear direction D2. In other words, the cooling air passage 30 is formed so that the cooling air discharged from the exhaust port 16 flows toward the front side of the vehicle. Note that a center console box may be disposed above the cooling air passage 30 with a floor carpet 5 interposed therebetween.

[0025] According to the vehicle interior structure of this embodiment described above, when the cooling fan 15 is driven, air (cooling air) inside the vehicle interior is taken into the intake duct 14 through the intake port 12. The cooling air taken into the intake duct 14 passes through the cooling fan 15 and is supplied into the battery pack main body 11. The cooling air supplied into the battery pack main body 11 then flows around each battery cell 17, cooling each battery cell 17, and is then discharged outside the battery pack 10 through the exhaust port 16.

[0026] The cooling air discharged from the exhaust port 16 flows toward the front of the vehicle through a cooling air passage 30 formed between the floor carpet 5 and the floor panel 4. The cooling air that has passed through the cooling air passage 30 is then guided into the space within the instrument panel 6. As a result, when the air conditioner 20 is operating, the cooling air is taken into the air conditioner 20 through the intake port. This causes the cooling air to be cooled by the air conditioner 20 and then returned to the vehicle interior.

[0027] 2.Effects As described above, the exhaust structure for the battery pack 10 according to this embodiment makes it possible to guide the cooling air from the exhaust port 16 (i.e., the warm air after cooling the battery pack 10) to the air conditioner 20 by utilizing the cooling air passage 30 formed between the floor panel 4 and the floor carpet 5. The cooling air passage 30 is separated from the passenger space 7 by the floor carpet 5. This prevents the cooling air (warm air) from the battery pack 10 from causing discomfort to the passengers.

[0028] Additionally, the exhaust structure of this embodiment does not use a center console box to exhaust cooling air. Therefore, this exhaust structure is applicable to vehicles that employ a walk-through structure without a center console box to facilitate passenger movement from the front seats to the rear seats. Furthermore, even if the center console box is located above the cooling air passage 30, the exhaust structure provides a floor carpet 5 between the cooling air passage 30 and the center console box. This prevents components (e.g., cup holders or a shift lever) located inside or around the center console box from being heated by the cooling air discharged from the exhaust port 16. This prevents passengers from feeling uncomfortable due to components inside or around the center console box being heated.

[0029] 3. Variations 7 is a diagram illustrating a cooling air passage 40 according to a modified example of the embodiment. Fig. 7 shows a cross section taken at the same position as the CC cross section shown in Fig. 6.

[0030] 7, in this modification, at a position between the driver's seat 2 and the passenger seat 3 in the vehicle width direction D1, the floor panel 8 is formed so as to be recessed downward relative to the floor carpet 9. A cooling air passage 40 is formed by utilizing the floor panel 8 formed in this manner.

[0031] Even in the above-described modified example, the cooling air passage 40 is separated from the passenger space 7 by the floor carpet 9. Therefore, even in this modified example, it is possible to prevent the cooling air (warm air) from the battery pack 10 from causing discomfort to the passenger.

[0032] In addition, the configuration shown in Figure 6 may be combined with the configuration shown in Figure 7. That is, in order to form the "cooling air passage" according to the present disclosure, the floor carpet may be formed so as to bulge upward relative to the floor panel, and the floor panel may be formed so as to be recessed downward relative to the floor carpet. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1 vehicle 2 Driver's seat 3 Passenger seat 4, 8 Floor panels 5, 9 Floor carpet 6. Instrument panel 7. Passenger space 10 Battery pack 15 Cooling fan 16 Battery pack exhaust vent 20 Air conditioner 30, 40 Cooling air passage

Claims

1. a battery pack mounted on a floor panel of a vehicle and having an exhaust port for discharging cooling air that has passed through the battery pack; an air conditioning device that conditions the air inside the vehicle; a cooling air passage that connects the exhaust port and the air conditioner; Equipped with The cooling air passage is formed between the floor panel and a floor carpet laid on the floor panel, The cooling air passage is formed by utilizing the floor panel that is recessed downward from the floor carpet. Battery pack exhaust structure.

2. the air conditioning device is located on the front side of the vehicle with respect to the battery pack, the exhaust port is provided below a driver's seat and a passenger seat of the vehicle and between the driver's seat and the passenger seat in a vehicle width direction, and discharges the cooling air toward a front side of the vehicle, The cooling air passage is formed to extend along the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The exhaust structure of a battery pack according to claim 1 .

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