Vehicle structure

Abstract

The present invention comprises: a motor mounted on a vehicle; a battery pack that houses a drive battery; and a battery cable that is connected to the drive battery and the motor. The battery pack has a first connector. The battery cable has a second connector that is connected to the first connector. The second connector moves upward to connect to the first connector.

Description

Vehicle structure

[0001] The present disclosure relates to vehicle structures.

[0002] A battery pack that houses a drive battery that supplies power to a motor is known. The drive battery is connected to the motor by a battery cable (PN) line.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2023-173146

[0004] The battery cable of Patent Document 1 has a connector provided on the side of the battery pack, and the connector on the battery pack side and the connector on the cable side are mated by moving the connector in the longitudinal direction or width direction of the vehicle.

[0005] As battery packs have become larger in recent years, the gap between the battery pack and the motor has become smaller, which means that it may not be possible to move the connector in the longitudinal or transverse direction of the vehicle.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle structure that allows a connector to be connected from below the battery pack.

[0007] The vehicle structure of the present disclosure comprises a motor mounted on a vehicle, a battery pack that houses a drive battery, and a battery cable that connects the drive battery and the motor, wherein the battery pack has a first connector, and the battery cable has a second connector that connects to the first connector, and the second connector moves upward to connect to the first connector.

[0008] According to this vehicle structure, the connector can be connected from below the battery pack.

[0009] 1A and 1B are a side view and an enlarged view of a connector and a portion thereof according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a bottom view and an enlarged view of a connector and a portion thereof according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and a cross-sectional side view of a connector and a portion thereof according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the vehicle is used as a reference, and the front side of the vehicle is designated as F, the rear side as B, the right side as R, the left side as L, the upper side as U, and the lower side as D. In the following description, the left-right direction will be referred to as the vehicle width direction. A vehicle structure 1 of this embodiment is used for a vehicle C such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle (including a plug-in hybrid vehicle capable of external charging / external power supply).

[0011] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , the vehicle structure 1 includes a pair of side members 2 , a motor 4 , a battery pack 6 , a battery cable 8 , and an undercover 10 .

[0012] As shown in Figure 2, the pair of side members 2 include a pair of front frames 2a, a pair of center frames (an example of a second frame) 2b, a pair of rear frames (an example of a first frame) 2c, a pair of front connecting frames 2d, and a pair of rear connecting frames (an example of a third frame) 2e.

[0013] The pair of front frames 2a are disposed in the front portion of the vehicle C and extend in the fore-and-aft direction. The pair of center frames 2b are disposed in the center portion of the vehicle C in the fore-and-aft direction and extend in the fore-and-aft direction. The pair of rear frames 2c are disposed in the rear portion of the vehicle C and extend in the fore-and-aft direction. The front frames 2a, center frames 2b, and rear frames 2c are disposed with a gap in the vehicle width direction. The pair of front connecting frames 2d connect to the center frames 2b while expanding from the front frames 2a in the vehicle width direction. The pair of rear connecting frames 2e connect to the center frames 2b while expanding from the rear frames 2c.

[0014] In this embodiment, the vehicle C has a monocoque structure in which the side members 2 are integrally formed with the body 3. The pair of center frames 2b are actually side shells of the body 3.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, the motor 4 drives the wheels of the vehicle C. As shown in Fig. 2, the motor 4 is disposed between the rear frames 2c. The motor 4 is located behind the battery pack 6. The motor 4 receives a supply of power from a drive battery 6d (described later) and rotates. In this embodiment, the motor 4 is a three-phase AC motor and actually includes an inverter (not shown). The rotation of the motor 4 is controlled by the inverter (not shown).

[0016] The battery pack 6 is disposed between a pair of center frames 2b, a pair of front connection frames 2d, and a pair of rear connection frames 2e. Specifically, the battery pack 6 has a rectangular housing section 6a in a top view, a trapezoidal front end 6b formed in the front portion of the housing section 6a in a top view, and a trapezoidal rear end 6c formed in the rear portion of the housing section 6a in a top view. The housing section 6a is disposed between the pair of center frames 2b. The front end 6b is disposed between the pair of front connection frames 2d. The rear end 6c is disposed between the pair of rear connection frames 2e. The battery pack 6 is formed of sheet metal or resin. The battery pack 6 is fixed to the center frame 2b with multiple bolts. As shown in FIG. 3 , a cover member 6g is disposed on top of the housing section 6a, the front end (see FIG. 2 ) 6b, and the rear end 6c (hereinafter sometimes referred to as each part in the specification). A sealing surface 6h is formed between the cover member 6g and each part.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1 , the battery pack 6 houses a drive battery 6d. In this embodiment, the drive battery 6d includes multiple battery modules 6e, each consisting of a combination of multiple lithium-ion batteries. As shown in FIG. 2 , the battery modules 6e are housed in a housing 6a. A cooling device for cooling the drive battery, a bus bar, and other components (not shown) are disposed at the front end 6b and rear end 6c. The multiple battery modules 6e are rectangular parallelepiped in shape. Therefore, as shown enlarged in FIG. 2 , a dead space 6f is created between the housing 6a housing the battery modules 6e and the rear connection frame 2e. In this embodiment, the dead space 6f is created on both sides (left and right) of the housing 6a in the vehicle width direction.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1 , the battery pack 6 has a first connector 12. The first connector 12 is disposed in the dead space 6f on the left side. As shown in FIG. 3 , the first connector 12 has a male terminal 12a, a bus bar 12b, and a first guide wall 12c. The first connector 12 actually has two male terminals: a positive terminal 12a and a negative terminal 12a. The positive terminal 12a is visible in FIG. 3 , and the first connector 12 has a negative terminal 12a adjacent to the positive terminal 12a. The male terminal 12a extends downward from the rear end 6c of the battery pack 6. The male terminal 12a is electrically connected to the battery module 6e (see FIG. 1 ) via the bus bar 12b. The first guide wall 12c is an annular wall attached to the bottom wall of the rear end 6c, extending downward, and formed around the male terminal 12a.

[0019] 2, the first connector 12 is disposed forward of the sealing surface 6h of the battery pack 6 in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and inward in the vehicle width direction. That is, the first connector 12 is disposed inward of the sealing surface 6h of the battery pack 6. Furthermore, the first connector 12 is disposed in a position overlapping the rear connection frame 2e in the vehicle width direction. By disposing the first connector 12 in this position, the dead space 6f formed between the battery pack 6 and the side member 2 can be effectively utilized to dispose the first connector 12.

[0020] The battery cable 8 electrically connects the drive battery 6d and the motor 4. As shown in Figure 3, the battery cable 8 is a PN line that connects the positive and negative terminals of the drive battery 6d to the positive and negative terminals of the motor 4 via male terminals 12a and bus bars 12b. In this embodiment, the battery cable 8 is connected to the positive and negative terminals of an inverter (not shown).

[0021] The battery cable 8 has a second connector 14 that connects to the first connector 12. As shown in FIG. 3 , the second connector 14 has a female terminal 14a and a second guide wall 14c. Like the first connector 12, the second connector 14 actually has two female terminals: a positive female terminal 14a and a negative female terminal 14a. In FIG. 3 , the positive female terminal 14a is visible, and the second connector 14 has a negative female terminal 14a adjacent to the positive female terminal 14a. The female terminal 14a is L-shaped, extending vertically and then longitudinally. The female terminal 14a has a cylindrical socket 14d that extends vertically and receives the male terminal 12a of the first connector 12. A plate-like lead-in plate 14e extending longitudinally is connected to the socket 14d. A copper wire is fused to the lead-in plate, and the copper wire passes through the battery cable 8 to be electrically connected to the inverter terminal. The second guide wall 14c is an annular wall that extends upward and is formed around the female terminal 14a.

[0022] The second connector 14 is mated with the first connector 12 by moving it upward. Specifically, the second connector 14 is moved upward toward the first connector 12, and the second guide wall 14c is aligned with the outside of the first guide wall 12c. When the second connector 14 is further moved upward with the second guide wall 14c aligned with the first guide wall 12c, the male terminals 12a fit into the female terminals 14a, completing the mating of the first connector 12 and the second connector 14.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1 , the battery cable 8 has a fixing portion 8a. The fixing portion 8a fixes the battery cable 8 to the battery pack 6 or the vehicle body so that the vertical center O2 (see FIG. 3 ) of the battery cable 8 is located above the vertical center O1 (see FIG. 3 ) of the connection point between the second connector 14 and the battery cable 8. In this embodiment, the fixing portion 8a is a harness clip that fixes the battery cable 8. Note that the connection point of the battery cable 8 on the motor 4 side is located above the second connector 14. By fixing the battery cable 8 above the second connector 14 in this manner, the battery cable 8 extends upward from the second connector 14. The battery cable 8 extends downward after passing through the fixing portion 8a. This allows the battery cable 8 to form at least one downwardly convex mountain shape. This allows water adhering to the battery cable 8 to run down the battery cable 8 to the front and rear sides of the fixing portion 8a. As a result, water drains well when the vehicle C is submerged in water.

[0024] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the second connector 14 is attached at an angle so that the end on the motor 4 side is downward. This forms one downward convex ridge from the second connector 14 to the fixed portion 8a, and a second downward convex ridge from the fixed portion 8a to the motor 4. This allows the battery cable 8 to drain water even better.

[0025] The undercover 10 covers the lower part of the battery pack 6. The undercover 10 extends to the rear of the first connector 12 and the second connector 14, and prevents flying stones and the like from hitting the second connector 14. The undercover 10 is, for example, a plate-shaped member made of resin.

[0026] As described above, the present disclosure can provide a vehicle structure 1 that allows the second connector 14 to be connected from below the battery pack 6 .

[0027] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. In particular, the multiple modifications described in this specification can be combined as needed.

[0028] (a) In the above embodiment, an example in which the motor 4 is disposed at the rear of the vehicle C has been described, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. For example, the motor 4 may be disposed at the front of the vehicle C. In this case, the first connector 12 may be disposed in a dead space formed between the housing portion 6a of the front end portion 6b and the front connecting frame 2d. The first connector 12 may also be disposed in a dead space 6f on the right side of the rear end portion 6c.

[0029] (b) In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the end of the second connector 14 on the motor 4 side is inclined downward, but the present disclosure is not limited to this. As long as one end of the second connector 14 is inclined, it does not necessarily have to be on the motor 4 side.

[0030] 1: Vehicle structure 2: Side member 2b: Center frame 2c: Rear frame 2e: Rear connection frame 4: Motor 6: Battery pack 6a: Storage section 6b: Front end section 6c: Rear end section 6d: Drive battery 6h: Sealing surface 8: Battery cable 8a: Fixing section 12: First connector 14: Second connector C: Vehicle

Claims

1. A vehicle structure comprising: a motor mounted on a vehicle; a battery pack containing a drive battery; and a battery cable connecting the drive battery and the motor, wherein the battery pack has a first connector, and the battery cable has a second connector that connects to the first connector, and the second connector moves upward to connect to the first connector.

2. The vehicle structure according to claim 1, wherein the first connector is disposed inside a sealing surface of the battery pack.

3. A vehicle structure as described in claim 1, further comprising: a pair of first frames between which the motor is arranged; a pair of second frames between which the battery pack is arranged and which are positioned outboard of the first frames in the vehicle width direction; and a pair of third frames which connect the first frames and the second frames while expanding in the vehicle width direction, wherein the first connector is arranged in a position overlapping with the third frames when viewed in the vehicle width direction.

4. The vehicle structure according to claim 1, further comprising a fixing portion for fixing the battery cable above the second connector.

5. The vehicle structure according to claim 4, wherein the second connector is inclined toward the motor side.

6. A vehicle structure according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second connector is inclined so that one end of the second connector faces downward.

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