Piping fixed structure

Abstract

The pipe fixing structure (30) comprises a bridging bracket (6) consisting of a pair of pipe support parts (8) that support both sides of the bent portion (3) of the cooling pipe (2), and a bridging part (9) that connects the pair of pipe support parts (8) in the inner space (X) of the bent portion (3), and a vehicle body side bracket (7) that fixes the bridging bracket (6) to the vehicle body (4).

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] This invention relates to a pipe fixing structure for fixing a cooling pipe to a vehicle body.

Background Art

[0002] For cooling electronic devices such as an OBC (on-board charger) used in vehicles such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, various cooling devices such as a water-cooling type are used. For the cooling device, a cooling pipe for circulating a refrigerant is used, and in order to handle the cooling pipe within a limited space of the vehicle body, it is often the case that a part of the pipe is bent (see Patent Document 1). In order to prevent the cooling pipe from moving due to vibrations during vehicle operation, etc., in the case where the cooling pipe has a bent portion, a pipe fixing structure is adopted in which both sides sandwiching the bent portion of the cooling pipe are fixed to the vehicle body respectively.

[0003] In that pipe fixing structure, both sides sandwiching the bent portion of the cooling pipe are fixed to the vehicle body via different vehicle body side brackets respectively. The vehicle body side bracket is a support fitting protruding upward from the floor of the vehicle body, and a flange portion fixed to the upper surface of the floor is provided so as to project on both sides directly below the cooling pipe.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In the conventional pipe fixing structure, the number of necessary vehicle body side brackets is large, and the fixing work requires time and effort. Further, since the vehicle body side bracket is provided so as to project on both sides of the cooling pipe, the installation space is large, and there is a problem from the viewpoint of space saving.

[0006] The problem this invention aims to solve is to simplify the pipe fixing structure used to secure cooling pipes to the vehicle body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, this invention employs a pipe fixing structure with the following configuration. [Configuration 1] In a piping fixing structure for fixing cooling pipes, which have bends along their course, to the vehicle body, through which a refrigerant for cooling electronic equipment is circulated, A bridging bracket comprising a pair of pipe support parts that support both sides of the bent portion of the cooling pipe, and a bridging part that connects the pair of pipe support parts in the inner space on the side of the bent portion that forms the inferior angle, It comprises a vehicle body side bracket that is fixed to the vehicle body, A pipe fixing structure that fixes the cooling pipe to the vehicle body by fixing the bridging bracket to the vehicle body side bracket.

[0008] [Configuration 2] The piping fixing structure according to Configuration 1, wherein a clip portion is provided on the bridging portion, and the cable extending from the electronic device is fixed to the bridging bracket by a cable clip that is locked to the clip portion.

[0009] [Configuration 3] The pipe fixing structure according to configuration 2, wherein the clip portion is provided at a position laterally away from the fixing portion of the bridging portion to the vehicle body side bracket.

[0010] [Structure 4] The pipe fixing structure according to configuration 3, wherein the clip portion is provided at an eccentric position from the center in the width direction that intersects with the direction connecting the pair of pipe support portions of the bridging portion.

[0011] [Composition 5] A pipe fixing structure according to any one of configurations 1 to 4, wherein a claw provided on one of the bridging portion and the vehicle body side bracket is inserted into a claw hole provided on the other, thereby restricting the lateral movement of the bridging bracket. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] This invention's pipe fixing structure secures the cooling pipe by attaching bridging brackets to both sides of the bend in the cooling pipe and then attaching these bridging brackets to a single vehicle-side bracket. This reduces the number of parts required to fix the cooling pipe, simplifying the fixing process. Furthermore, since the bridging section is located in the inner space on the side forming the inferior angle of the bend, and the vehicle-side bracket can also be located in that inner space, it is space-saving. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] Plan view of cooling piping with a piping fixing structure according to an embodiment of this invention. [Figure 2] Perspective view of the pipe fixing structure in Figure 1. [Figure 3] Plan view of the piping fixing structure in Figure 2, excluding the vehicle body-side bracket. [Figure 4] Side view of Figure 3 [Figure 5] Perspective view of the vehicle body side bracket in Figure 1. [Figure 6] Plan view of the vehicle body equipped with the piping fixing structure shown in Figure 1. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, in a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle, a cooling device is used to cool an electronic device 1 such as an OBC (on-board charger). In the cooling device, a cooling pipe 2 is used to circulate a refrigerant. The pipe fixing structure 30 of this embodiment is used to fix the cooling pipe 2 having a bent portion 3 in the middle of the pipe to the vehicle body 4 (see FIG. 6). Note that the OBC is an electronic device used when charging the battery of an electric vehicle, which converts an alternating current input from an external power source into a direct current and outputs the converted power to the battery. The electronic device 1 includes, in addition to the OBC, various devices having heat generating parts such as a motor, a battery, and an inverter.

[0015] The cooling pipe 2 is formed in an L shape, and the portions on both sides sandwiching the bent portion 3 are perpendicular to each other. The cooling pipe 2 has a pipe shape with a circular cross section. The cooling pipe 2 is fixed to the vehicle body floor 4 which is the floor surface of the vehicle body 4. The cooling pipe 2 is fixed such that the portions on both sides sandwiching the bent portion 3 are parallel to the surface direction of the vehicle body floor 4 respectively. The bent portion 3 has an R shape in plan view. At both ends of the cooling pipe 2, hoses 5 (such as water hoses) are connected and fixed by clamps, and the hoses 5 are respectively connected to the electronic device 1.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the pipe fixing structure 30 includes a bridging bracket 6 attached to the cooling pipe 2 and a vehicle body side bracket 7 for fixing the bridging bracket 6 to the vehicle body floor 4. The bridging bracket 6 includes a pair of pipe support portions 8 attached to the portions on both sides sandwiching the bent portion 3 of the cooling pipe 2 and a bridging portion 9 connecting the pair of pipe support portions 8 to each other.

[0017] The bridge bracket 6 is formed from a single plate-shaped member, and the pipe support portion 8 and the bridge portion 9 are integrally formed. The bridge bracket 6 is composed of a longitudinal member with a constant width. However, for the portion where the clip portion 22 described later is formed, it has a shape that protrudes toward the bent portion 3 along the shape of the clip portion 22. Here, the width refers to the length in the direction intersecting with the direction connecting the pipe support portions 8 of the bridge bracket 6.

[0018] The pipe support portion 8 is formed in an arc-shaped cross-section along the pipe shape of the cooling pipe 2, and is attached to the cooling pipe 2 so as to cover a part of the cooling pipe 2. The pipe support portion 8 is joined to the cooling pipe 2 by brazing. Brazing is one method of joining metal members. It is a method of melting a material (brazing alloy) with a melting point lower than that of the members to be joined between the members to be joined, and then solidifying it to join the members.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 3, the bridge portion 9 is provided in the inner space X on the side forming the obtuse angle (an angle greater than 0° and less than 180°. In FIG. 1, it is 90°) of the bent portion 3 of the cooling pipe 2. The bridge portion 9 is formed in a flat plate shape. As shown in FIG. 4, the pipe support portion 8 and the bridge portion 9 are connected via a step 10 extending from the pipe support portion 8 to the side opposite to the vehicle body floor 4 (the upper side in FIG. 4). The bridge portion 9 is formed above the pipe support portion 8. The flat plate surface of the bridge portion 9 is arranged to face the vehicle body floor 4.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, a hole 12 through which a bolt 11a (see FIG. 2), which is a fastening member, is inserted is provided at the center of the bridge portion 9. As shown in FIG. 2, a claw 13 extending toward the vehicle body floor 4 side (the lower side in FIG. 2) is formed on the bridge portion 9.

[0021] The vehicle body bracket 7 is a plate-shaped member with a so-called hat-shaped cross-section. The vehicle body bracket 7 is formed from a single plate-shaped member. The vehicle body bracket 7 is installed in the inner space X. The vehicle body bracket 7 consists of a flat bracket body portion 14, rising portions 15a and 15b that rise towards both ends of the bracket body portion 14, and flange portions 16a and 16b that protrude outward from the lower ends of the rising portions 15a and 15b, respectively, and in a side view it has a hat shape (the aforementioned hat-shaped cross-section) with flanges that spread outward at both sides of the downward-facing recess.

[0022] The flat surface of the bracket body portion 14 of the vehicle body bracket 7 is positioned to face the vehicle body floor 4. As shown in Figure 5, the bracket body portion 14 is provided with a hole 17 through which a bolt 11a is inserted. As shown in Figure 2, the bridging portion 9 of the bridging bracket 6 is fixed to the bracket body portion 14 by a bolt 11a and a nut 11b via a hole 12 (see Figure 3) and a hole 17 (see Figure 5).

[0023] The bracket body 14 is provided with claw holes 18 through which the claws 13 can be inserted when the bridging portion 9 is superimposed on the bracket body 14, with bolts 11a inserted through holes 12 (see Figure 3) and 17 (see Figure 5). When the claws 13 are inserted into the claw holes 18, their lateral movement of the claw holes 18 is restricted. This restricts the bridging bracket 6 from moving laterally and prevents the bridging bracket 6 from rotating relative to the vehicle body bracket 7 due to rotational friction when tightening the nuts 11b onto the bolts 11a. Therefore, the tightening work of the fastening members 11a and 11b is simplified. In this embodiment, the claws 13 are provided on the bridging bracket 6 and the claw holes 18 are provided on the vehicle body bracket 7, but this can be reversed, with the claw holes provided on the bridging bracket 6 and the claws on the vehicle body bracket 7.

[0024] The two rising portions 15a and 15b are positioned facing each other. Of the two rising portions 15a and 15b, one rising portion 15a is positioned on the opposite side of the bent portion 3, with the bracket body portion 14 in between, while the other rising portion 15b is positioned between the bent portion 3 and the bracket body portion 14. The plane direction of the rising portions 15a and 15b is perpendicular to the plane direction of the flange portions 16a and 16b.

[0025] As shown in Figure 2, the flange portions 16a and 16b are provided opposite each other so as to be in surface contact with the vehicle body floor 4, and are joined and fixed to the vehicle body floor 4. A longitudinal bulge 19 projecting upward is formed in the widthwise center of the flange portion 16a. Similarly, a longitudinal bulge 19 projecting toward the side where the flange portion 16a protrudes is also formed in the widthwise center of the rising portion 15a. The bulge 19 connects from the end of the flange portion 16a to the rising portion 15a and extends to the connection between the rising portion 15a and the bracket body portion 14. The bulge 19 increases the strength of the rising portion 15a and the flange portion 16a.

[0026] The vehicle body bracket 7 is formed by connecting the flange portion 16a, the rising portion 15a, the bracket body portion 14, the rising portion 15b, and the flange portion 16b in that order. The vehicle body bracket 7 is formed by bending a plate material that has a shape that narrows in width along the longitudinal direction, with the width of the plate material narrowing from the flange portion 16a to the flange portion 16b.

[0027] As shown in Figures 1 and 3, a cable clip 21 is attached to the cable 20 extending from the electronic device 1, and a clip portion 22 (see Figure 3) is provided on the bridging portion 9 for inserting and fixing the cable clip 21. As shown in Figure 1, the cable clip 21 consists of a cable support portion 23 that holds the cable 20 and a clip base end portion 24 that is locked to the clip portion 22. The cable support portion 23 is formed in a cylindrical shape to match the shape of the cable 20 so that the cable 20 can be inserted through it.

[0028] As shown in Figure 3, the clip portion 22 is formed in the shape of an elongated hole. The clip portion 22 is provided between one of the pair of pipe support portions 8 (lower left in Figure 3) and the hole 12. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the clip portion 22 is provided at a position laterally (towards one of the pipe support portions 8 in this embodiment) from the fixing portion (hole 12) of the bridging portion 9 to the vehicle body bracket 7, so that the fixed cable clip 21 (the portion of the clip base end 24 inserted from the bridging portion 9 to the vehicle body floor 4 side) does not interfere with the vehicle body bracket 7. This allows the clip base end 24 to be reliably inserted into the clip portion 22 without interfering with the fastening members 11a and 11b provided in the fixing portion (hole 12) or the vehicle body bracket 7.

[0029] Furthermore, the clip portion 22 is positioned eccentrically to the outside in the width direction from the center in the width direction of the bridging portion 9. Specifically, it is provided in the portion of the bridging portion 9 that is closer to the bent portion 3 than to the width direction center. This ensures that the clip portion 22 is positioned close to the hole 12 while preventing the cable clip 21 from interfering with the vehicle body bracket 7. The clip base end portion 24 is formed to be insertable into the clip portion 22. Although not shown, the clip base end portion 24 is secured to the bridging portion 9 by a snap-fit ​​fitting.

[0030] As described above, as shown in Figures 1 and 3, the cable 20 can be secured to the bridging section 9 via the clip section 22 to prevent it from swinging, eliminating the need for a separate means to hold the cable 20, thus making it easy to use. Furthermore, although the fastening members 11a and 11b receive moment forces from the cable 20 when it swings due to vibrations during vehicle operation, the short distance between the cable clip 21 and the fastening members 11a and 11b reduces these moment forces. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the fastening members 11a and 11b from loosening due to the moment forces caused by the swinging of the cable 20. In addition, since the cable clip 21 is the starting point of the swing of the cable 20, the cable 20 will not come into contact with the bolt 11a unless it swings with a considerably large radius of curvature, thus preventing the cable 20 from being damaged by contact with the bolt 11a.

[0031] As shown in Figure 1, the pipe fixing structure of this embodiment does not fix the cooling pipe 2 to the vehicle floor 4 on both sides of the bent portion 3 using separate vehicle-side brackets 7, but rather attaches a bridging bracket 6 to both sides of the bent portion 3 of the cooling pipe 2, and then attaches the bridging bracket 6 to a single vehicle-side bracket 7 fixed to the vehicle floor 4, thereby fixing the cooling pipe 2. As a result, the number of vehicle-side brackets 7 required to fix the cooling pipe 2 is reduced. Therefore, the number of parts required to fix the cooling pipe 2 to the vehicle floor 4 can be reduced, and the fixing work is simplified. In addition, since the bridging portion 9 is provided in the inner space X on the side that forms the inferior angle of the bent portion 3, the vehicle-side bracket 7 can also be provided in that inner space X, saving space.

[0032] In the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, the bridging bracket 6 is formed from a single plate-shaped member, with the pipe support portion 8 and the bridging portion 9 integrally formed. However, the pipe support portion 8 and the bridging portion 9 can also be formed from separate members and joined together by means of welding or fastening.

[0033] In the above embodiment, the pipe support portion 8 is joined to the cooling pipe 2 by brazing, but other joining methods may be used, such as welding, bolting, or pin joining. Alternatively, the pipe support portion 8 can be fixed by crimping rubber between the cooling pipe 2 and the pipe support portion 8. In addition, a member with a semi-circular cross-section that is paired with the pipe support portion 8 can be prepared separately from the bridging bracket 6, and the pipe support portion 8 and this member can be sandwiched from both sides of the cooling pipe 2 and fastened together with fastening members to secure them.

[0034] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, the clip base end 24 is connected to the bridging portion 9 by a snap-fit ​​fitting, but the clip base end 24 may be connected to the bridging portion 9 by another connecting means. For example, a thread may be formed at the tip of the clip base end 24. In that case, the cable clip 21 can connect the clip base end 24 to the bridging portion 9 by inserting the clip base end 24 into the clip portion 22 and fastening a nut to the thread provided at the tip of the clip base end 24.

[0035] Furthermore, although the above embodiments have described the configuration of this invention using vehicles such as electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles as examples, this invention can be applied in particular to plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) that are capable of external charging and external power supply. In addition, this invention can be applied to various types of vehicles equipped with various cooling pipes 2 that have a coolant flowing through them to cool electronic equipment 1 and have a bent section 3 along the way, such as electric vehicles such as fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) equipped with fuel cells and electric vehicles (EVs) equipped only with a motor as a drive source for driving, as well as internal combustion engine vehicles (ICE) equipped only with an engine as a drive source for driving.

[0036] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are intended to be included. [Explanation of symbols]

[0037] 1 Electronic equipment 2 Cooling piping 3. Bending section 4. Car body (car body floor) 6. Bridging bracket 7. Vehicle-side bracket 8 Piping support part 9. Bridging section 13 claws 18 Claw hole 20 Cables 21 Cable Clips 22 Clip section X Interior space

Claims

1. In a piping fixing structure for fixing a cooling pipe (2) that has a bent section (3) along its course to a vehicle body (4), through which a refrigerant for cooling an electronic device (1) is circulated, A bridging bracket (6) comprising a pair of pipe support parts (8) that support both sides of the bent portion (3) of the cooling pipe (2), and a bridging part (9) that connects the pair of pipe support parts (8) in the inner space (X) on the side of the bent portion (3) that forms a lower angle, It comprises a vehicle body side bracket (7) fixed to the vehicle body (4), A pipe fixing structure that fixes the cooling pipe (2) to the vehicle body (4) by fixing the bridging bracket (6) to the vehicle body side bracket (7).

2. The pipe fixing structure according to claim 1, wherein a clip portion (22) is provided on the bridging portion (9), and the cable (20) extending from the electronic device (1) is fixed to the bridging bracket (6) by a cable clip (21) that is locked to the clip portion (22).

3. The pipe fixing structure according to claim 2, wherein the clip portion (22) is provided at a position laterally away from the fixing portion of the bridging portion (9) to the vehicle body side bracket (7).

4. The pipe fixing structure according to claim 3, wherein the clip portion (22) is provided at an eccentric position from the center in the width direction that intersects with the direction in which the pair of pipe support portions (8) of the bridging portion (9) connect each other.

5. The pipe fixing structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a claw (13) provided on one of the bridging portion (9) and the vehicle body side bracket (7) is inserted into a claw hole (18) provided on the other, thereby restricting the lateral movement of the bridging bracket (6).

Images