Electric compressor and front structure of vehicle provided with electric compressor

Abstract

This electric compressor is disposed on the front side of a drive source of a vehicle and is supported by the drive source.　The electric compressor is provided with a protector which covers at least a part of the front side of the electric compressor and which is supported by the electric compressor, and the protector has a butting part extending toward the drive source. Thus, it is possible to provide an electric compressor in which cracking of a housing can be suppressed.

Description

Electric compressor and front structure of vehicle equipped with said electric compressor

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric compressor and a front structure of a vehicle equipped with the electric compressor, and more particularly to an electric compressor for a vehicle air conditioner and a front structure of a vehicle equipped with the electric compressor.

[0002] The electric compressor is a component that compresses and circulates a refrigerant, and is equipped with a motor, an inverter that controls the rotation of the motor, and a control device, all of which are housed in a housing.

[0003] Electric compressors are often located in front of the vehicle's drive source, such as the engine or drive motor, making them susceptible to impact in a vehicle collision. If the housing of the electric compressor cracks, the high-voltage parts will be exposed, posing a risk of electric shock.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses that the housing of an electric compressor is provided with a protrusion that protrudes toward the engine, and when the fixed part of the electric compressor comes off the engine, the protrusion interferes with the engine, etc., thereby preventing damage to the motor inside the electric compressor and reducing the risk of electric leakage.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-103100

[0006] However, the technology described in Patent Document 1 is designed to assume that a load will be input from the diagonal front, and depending on the direction of the collision, there is a risk that the housing of the electric compressor will crack, exposing high-voltage components such as the inverter and control device.

[0007] The present invention has been made in consideration of the problems associated with the conventional technology, and its purpose is to provide an electric compressor that can prevent the housing of the electric compressor from cracking and the high-voltage section from being exposed, even when a load caused by a vehicle collision is input.

[0008] As a result of extensive research into achieving the above-mentioned object, the inventor discovered that by providing a protector that is supported by the electric compressor, covers the electric compressor, and has a stop portion that extends toward the drive source, it is possible to absorb collision loads in two stages, thereby achieving the above-mentioned object, and thus completed the present invention.

[0009] That is, the electric compressor of the present invention is an electric compressor disposed in front of a drive source of a vehicle and supported by the drive source, and is characterized in that it includes a protector that covers at least a portion of the front side of the electric compressor and is supported by the electric compressor, and the protector has an abutment portion that extends toward the drive source.

[0010] The vehicle front structure of the present invention is characterized in that a fan motor is disposed in front of the electric compressor.

[0011] According to the present invention, a protector is provided that is supported by the electric compressor, covers the electric compressor, and has a stop portion that extends toward the drive source, making it possible to provide an electric compressor that can prevent the housing of the electric compressor from cracking.

[0012] 1 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the electric compressor is supported by a drive source, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electric compressor cut horizontally in the axial direction of the motor.

[0013] The electric compressor 1 of the present invention is an electric compressor used in a vehicle air conditioner, and as shown in Figure 1, is supported by an engine or a drive motor, which is a drive source 4 of the vehicle, and is disposed in front of the drive source 4.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, the electric compressor 1 includes a compressor section 11, an inverter / motor section 12, and a control controller section 13 arranged in this order in the axial direction of the motor, and these are housed in a housing 14.

[0015] The compressor support portion 15 that fixes the electric compressor 1 to the drive source 4 protrudes from the housing 14 in the radial or axial direction of the motor, and prevents the housing 14 from cracking when a collision load is input.

[0016] The compressor support portion 15 may be provided offset from the portion housing the inverter / motor portion 12 and the control controller portion 14, which are the high-voltage portions, and may be a separate part from the housing or may be integrated with it.

[0017] The electric compressor 1 of the present invention has a protector 2 that covers at least a portion of the front side of the electric compressor 1. This protector 1 is provided at a distance from the housing and bulges forward to prevent a collision load from being directly input to the housing 14 of the electric compressor 1.

[0018] The forwardly bulging portion 21 of the protector preferably covers the high-voltage parts of the electric compressor 1. This makes it possible to prevent the high-voltage parts from being exposed and causing a current leak when a collision load is input.

[0019] The protector 2 only needs to cover at least the front side of the high-voltage section, and does not need to cover the compressor section.

[0020] The portion of the housing 14 that houses the compressor portion 11 has a piping connection portion 16 to which air conditioner piping and the like are connected, and since the portion that houses the compressor portion 11 is not covered by the protector 2, the layout of the protector 2 is easy and weight reduction and cost increase can be suppressed.

[0021] Further, the protector fixing portion 22 that supports the protector 2 is provided on the housing 14 of the electric compressor so as to be in a position offset from the high-voltage portion inside the housing when an impact load is applied from the front.

[0022] In this way, since the protector 2 is fixed to the housing 14 of the electric compressor, there is no need to manage variations due to tolerances of the protector fixing portion 22, and therefore the increase in costs due to the provision of the protector 2 can be suppressed.

[0023] The protector 2 has abutment portions 23 on the top and side surfaces of the electric compressor. The abutment portions 23 transmit a collision load input from the front to the drive source, are continuous with the portion covering the front side of the electric compressor, and have a shape that extends straight rearward toward the drive source 4 so as to prevent bending in the middle due to the input load from the front.

[0024] Therefore, when a collision load is input from the front, the protector 2 is fixed to the housing which is stronger than the protector, so the forwardly bulging portion 21 of the protector 2 first deforms to absorb the impact.

[0025] Then, the deformation of the protector 2 causes the abutting portion 23 to be displaced toward the driving source 4 and to come into contact with the driving source 4, transmitting the collision load to the driving source 4, so that the impact load can be absorbed in two stages.

[0026] At this time, the distance A between the forward bulging portion 21 of the protector and the housing 14 is wider than the gap B formed between the abutment portion 23 and the driving source 4, so that the abutment portion 23 abuts the driving source 4 before the protector 2 deforms and abuts the housing 14, transmitting the collision load to the driving source 4, thereby suppressing cracking of the housing 14 of the electric compressor 1.

[0027] Furthermore, as described above, the protector 2 first deforms to absorb the collision load, so that an excessive collision load is not directly input to the drive source 4, and damage to the block of the drive source 4 can be suppressed.

[0028] Furthermore, since the protector 2 is provided at a distance from the housing 14, air flows between the protector 2 and the housing 14, and the electric compressor 1 easily dissipates heat.

[0029] An elastic body 3 such as a rubber plate can be provided between the protector 2 and the housing 14. Even if a local collision load is input to the protector 2, the elastic body 3 is sandwiched between the protector 2 and the housing 14, and the elastic body 3 comes into face-to-face contact with the housing 14, preventing the local collision load from being input to the housing 14, thereby suppressing cracking of the housing 14 of the electric compressor 1.

[0030] In addition, since the elastic body 3 distributes the collision load, the thickness of the protector 2 can be made thinner, and the gap A between the protector 2 and the housing 14 can be narrowed, making it easier to layout the protector 2.

[0031] Such an elastic body can be provided by adhering it to a wide area at least on the front side of the protector 2 .

[0032] As described above, the electric compressor 1 of the present invention can transmit a collision load from the front of the vehicle to the drive source and suppress cracking of the housing 14, so it can be placed sideways relative to the vehicle immediately behind the fan motor that introduces air into the radiator.

[0033] By adopting such a front structure of the vehicle, even if the fan motor hits the protector 2 due to a collision, the protector 2 deforms and absorbs the collision load, and can transmit the load to the drive source 4 efficiently, so that it is possible to prevent the housing 14 from cracking and the high-voltage part from being exposed.

[0034] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 electric compressor 11 compressor section 12 inverter / motor section 13 controller 14 housing 15 compressor support section 16 piping connection section 2 protector 21 bulged section A gap 22 protector fixing section 23 abutment section B gap 3 elastic body (sheet rubber) 4 driving source

Claims

1. An electric compressor disposed in front of a drive source of a vehicle and supported by the drive source, comprising a protector supported by the electric compressor and covering at least a portion of the front side of the electric compressor, the protector having an abutment portion extending toward the drive source.

2. The electric compressor according to claim 1, characterized in that the protector is provided with a gap between it and the housing of the electric compressor, and the gap is wider than the gap formed between the abutment portion and the drive source.

3. The electric compressor according to claim 2, further comprising an elastic body provided between the protector and the housing of the electric compressor.

4. The electric compressor according to claim 1, wherein the protector covers a high-voltage section of the electric compressor.

5. A front structure of a vehicle, characterized in that the electric compressor according to any one of claims 1 to 4 is disposed behind a fan motor that introduces air into a radiator.

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