Protective structure for in-vehicle components

Abstract

To provide a protective structure for on-vehicle parts capable of appropriately protecting on-vehicle parts from a collision.SOLUTION: A protective structure comprises: a first on-vehicle part; a second on-vehicle part that is protected from a collision of the first on-vehicle; and a protector that is arranged between the first on-vehicle part and the second on-vehicle part so as to face the first on-vehicle part, and slides the first on-vehicle part so as to divert a movement direction of the first on-vehicle part from the second on-vehicle part when colliding with the first on-vehicle part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a protective structure for an in-vehicle component. [Background technology]

[0002] Regarding a protective structure for on-board components, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a structure in which a fuel supply system component attached to an engine head cover is covered with a protector, and its end is abutted against a thick portion of the head cover to support a collision load and protect the fuel supply system component. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-8769 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when the end of the protector abuts against the thick portion of the head cover, it applies an impact to the engine, and there is a risk that the impact may also be applied to fuel supply system components on the head cover.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a protective structure for vehicle-mounted parts that can adequately protect vehicle-mounted parts from collisions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The protective structure for an on-vehicle part of the present invention includes a first on-vehicle part, a second on-vehicle part that is protected from a collision of the first on-vehicle part, and a protector that is disposed between the first on-vehicle part and the second on-vehicle part so as to face the first on-vehicle part, and that slides the first on-vehicle part so as to divert the direction of movement of the first on-vehicle part away from the second on-vehicle part when the first on-vehicle part collides with the first on-vehicle part. a support member disposed between the protector and the second vehicle-mounted component, and configured to support the protector when it collides with the first vehicle-mounted component; With death , The support member is disposed at a distance from the rear surface of the contact surface of the protector that contacts the second vehicle-mounted component. .

[0007] In the protective structure, the protector may be fastened to a fixing portion to which the second vehicle component is fixed along a direction facing the first vehicle component.

[0010] In the protective structure, the first vehicle-mounted component may be a PCU, and the second vehicle-mounted component may be a fuel pump. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, vehicle-mounted components can be appropriately protected from collisions. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a side view showing an example of a protective structure for a fuel pump. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a top view showing an example of a protective structure for a fuel pump. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a protector. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a side view showing the protector and the support member when colliding with a PCU (Power Control Unit). [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a side view showing the protector and the support member when the PCU slides down the inclined surface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Fig. 1 is a side view showing an example of a protective structure 1 for a fuel pump 3. Fig. 2 is a top view showing an example of the protective structure 1 for a fuel pump 3. The protective structure 1 is provided, for example, inside a front compartment 91 at the front of a hybrid vehicle 9. The front compartment 91 houses a PCU 5, an engine 2, a fuel pump 3, and a protector 4. Note that in Figs. 1 and 2, the left-right direction, the up-down direction, and the front-rear direction of the hybrid vehicle are indicated by arrows.

[0014] The PCU 5 houses a converter circuit, an inverter circuit, and the like that control the electrical system of the hybrid vehicle 9. The PCU 5 is attached to the vehicle body 90 via a bracket 50. The engine 2 is provided with a cam housing 20, a cylinder head 21, and the like. The fuel pump 3 is provided on an upper surface 200 of the cam housing 20. The cam housing 20 is an example of a fixing portion that fixes the fuel pump 3. Note that the PCU 5, the fuel pump 3, and the engine 2 are shown schematically in FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, the PCU 5 and the engine 2 are assumed to have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the fuel pump 3 is assumed to have a substantially prismatic shape.

[0015] The PCU 5 and the fuel pump 3 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction. Therefore, for example, if the hybrid vehicle 9 is hit in a right-side collision, the PCU 5 receives a collision load F from the right side and moves toward the fuel pump 3, which is arranged to the left of the PCU 5, due to damage to the bracket 50. If the PCU 5 and the fuel pump 3 collide, the fuel pump 3 will be damaged, causing a fuel leak, and further, there is a risk of fire due to sparks from the energized PCU 5.

[0016] Therefore, a protector 4 is disposed on the upper surface of the cam housing 20 between the PCU 5 and the fuel pump 3 so as to face the PCU 5. The protector 4 slides the PCU 5 so as to divert the movement direction D of the PCU 5 away from the fuel pump 3. This makes it possible to avoid a collision between the fuel pump 3 and the PCU 5 while suppressing impact to the engine 2. The PCU 5 is an example of a first on-board component, and the fuel pump 3 is an example of a second on-board component that is protected from a collision with the PCU 5.

[0017] Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the protector 4. Fig. 3 shows the top, front, and left side of the protector 4. The protector 4 is made of a metal having sufficient strength, such as, but not limited to, cast iron.

[0018] The protector 4 has a plate-shaped receiving portion 40 and a pair of fastening portions 41, 42 that protrude downward from the left and right ends of the front side of the receiving portion 40. The fastening portions 41, 42 are provided with holes 410, 420 for passing bolts. The receiving portion 40 has an inclined surface 40a whose inclination angle gradually decreases from bottom to top. The inclined surface 40a also gradually slopes from the center to both ends in the left-right direction. Furthermore, the surface roughness (Ra) of the inclined surface 40a is adjusted to allow the PCU 5 to slide easily.

[0019] 1 and 2, fastening portions 41 and 42 of protector 4 are fastened to cam housing 20 by bolt B via protector brackets 60 and 61, respectively. Protector brackets 60 and 61 are metal members fixed to the front end of cam housing 20. The fastening direction of bolt B is along the left-right direction in which PCU 5 and protector 4 face each other. This prevents protector 4 from coming off cam housing 20 due to the impact when PCU 5 collides with protector 4 (see x mark).

[0020] Further, the protector 4 is fixed so that the receiving portion 40 faces the PCU 5. Therefore, when the PCU 5 moves toward the fuel pump 3 due to the collision load F, the inclined surface 40a collides with the PCU 5 in the left-right direction. The PCU 5 changes the moving direction D to an obliquely upward direction along the inclined surface 40a so as to deviate from the collision course with the fuel pump 3.

[0021] The fuel pump 3 is disposed in the shadow of the inclined surface 40a as viewed from the PCU 5. In the vertical direction, the upper surface 3a of the fuel pump 3 is located below an extension line L extending along the inclined surface 40a. Therefore, even if the PCU 5 changes its moving direction D along the inclined surface 40a, the PCU 5 is less likely to come into contact with the fuel pump 3. The extension line L is, for example, a tangent line at the upper end of the inclined surface 40a.

[0022] Furthermore, a support member 6 is disposed between the protector 4 and the fuel pump 3 in the left-right direction. The support member 6 supports the protector 4 by coming into contact with the bent protector 4 upon collision with the PCU 5. This makes it possible to prevent damage to the protector 4 and contact between the fuel pump 3 and the protector 4.

[0023] Fig. 4 is a side view showing the protector 4 and the support member 6 when colliding with the PCU 5. In Fig. 4, the same components as in Fig. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted. Also, in Fig. 4, the reference numeral Ga indicates an enlarged view of the cross section of the receiving portion 40 and the support member 6 at the center in the left-right direction within the dotted line frame.

[0024] The PCU 5 moves toward the fuel pump 3 as indicated by the symbol Dh and collides with the inclined surface 40a of the receiving portion 40 of the protector 4. In this example, before the direction of movement of the PCU 5 changes, the lower portion of the PCU 5 first comes into contact with the inclined surface 40a. Immediately after the collision, the receiving portion 40 is not substantially bent. The inclined surface 40a is an example of a contact surface of the protector 4 that comes into contact with the PCU 5.

[0025] The support member 6 is disposed at a distance d from the rear surface 40b of the inclined surface 40a. The size of the distance d is the shortest distance between the rear surface 40b and the support member 6, for example.

[0026] Fig. 5 is a side view showing the protector 4 and the support member 6 when the PCU 5 slides down the inclined surface 40a. In Fig. 5, the same components as those in Fig. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted. Also, in Fig. 5, the reference numeral Gb indicates an enlarged view of the cross section of the receiving portion 40 and the support member 6 at the center in the left-right direction within the dotted line frame.

[0027] As shown by the symbol Dv, the PCU 5 slides down the inclined surface 40a with its bottom surface in contact with the inclined surface 40a, thereby preventing the fuel pump 3 and the PCU 5 from colliding with each other.

[0028] The upper end of the receiving portion 40 bends downward as indicated by the symbol Db due to the load received from the sliding PCU 5. As a result, the back surface 40b of the receiving portion 40 comes into contact with the support member 6 as indicated by the symbol P. At this time, the support member 6 supports the receiving portion 40 from the back surface 40b, thereby preventing damage to the protector 4 and contact between the fuel pump 3 and the protector 4.

[0029] Furthermore, since the support member 6 is disposed at a distance d from the rear surface 40b of the protector 4, it is possible to reduce the influence of size errors that may occur when assembling the support member 6 and the protector 4. If the support member 6 were disposed in direct contact with the rear surface 40b of the protector 4 without the distance d from the rear surface 40b, there is a risk that, for example, the angle of the inclined surface 40a may deviate from the desired angle due to size errors. However, if the distance d is provided as in this example, the size errors can be absorbed by the distance d, making assembly easier.

[0030] In this way, the protective structure 1 of this example can appropriately protect the fuel pump 3 from a collision. Note that, although the fuel pump 3 is given as an example of an object to be protected by the protective structure 1 in this example, the object to be protected is not limited to this, and the object to be protected may be, for example, another on-vehicle component related to fuel supply, such as a fuel tank, or another on-vehicle component related to power supply, such as a battery. Also, although the PCU 5 is given as an object that may collide with the fuel pump 3 in this example, the object to be protected is not limited to this, and the object to be hit may be another on-vehicle component.

[0031] The above-described embodiment is a preferred example of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 1 Protective structure 2 engines 3 Fuel pump (second vehicle component) 4 Protector 40 Receiving part 40a Inclined surface (contact surface) 40b back 41,42 Fastening part 5 PCU (first vehicle component) 6 Support member 9 Hybrid vehicles 20 Cam housing (fixed part)

Claims

1. a first on-vehicle component; a second vehicle-mounted component that is protected from a collision of the first vehicle-mounted component; a protector that is disposed between the first on-vehicle component and the second on-vehicle component so as to face the first on-vehicle component, and that slides the first on-vehicle component so as to divert the moving direction of the first on-vehicle component from the second on-vehicle component when the first on-vehicle component collides with the first on-vehicle component; a support member disposed between the protector and the second on-vehicle component, the support member supporting the protector when the protector collides with the first on-vehicle component; the support member is disposed at a distance from the back surface of the contact surface of the protector that contacts the second on-vehicle component. Protective structure for automotive parts.

2. The protector is fastened to a fixing portion to which the second on-vehicle component is fixed along a direction facing the first on-vehicle component. The protective structure for an on-vehicle component according to claim 1.

3. the first on-vehicle component is a PCU, The second vehicle component is a fuel pump. The protective structure for an on-vehicle component according to claim 1 or 2.

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