Power control unit for electric vehicle

• US 20030034186A1
• Filed: 07/18/2002
• Published: 02/20/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Morita, Hideki, Yamagishi, Tomoya
• Granted Patent: US 6,907,947 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 180/65.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 15/007 Physical arrangements or structures of drive train converters specially adapted for the propulsion motors of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0015 Prevention of collisions
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/71 Arrangement of fuel cells within vehicles specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/33 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/40 for controlling a combination of batteries and fuel cells
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 8/003 Converting light into electric energy, e.g. by using photo-voltaic systems
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/16 Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/40 Application of hydrogen technology to transportation, e.g. using fuel cells

Abstract

A power control unit for electric vehicle which can easily detach the high voltage cables even if the motor room is deformed, for example, by head-on collision and/or rear-end collision of the vehicle, which is difficult to be deformed, which can makes small, and which can avoid an influence of heat generated by the reactor are disclosed. The power control unit 1 comprises a box 10 which accommodates devices for controlling electric power supply of the electric vehicle; a reactor receiver 11a which is provided on a given external surface around the box 10 and supports a reactor R; a heat sink 12 connected to the lower end of the reactor receiver 11a, covering the bottom surface of the box 10, possessing passages comprising passage wall inside thereof, and performing heat-exchange with the box 10 by allowing coolant water to flow within the passage; and a partition 13a, which is laid on at least one side of the box 10 extending toward the longitudinal direction of the vehicle EV, and is detachably communicated with cables to be connected to the traction motor 4 disposed below the heat sink 12 to supply power.

Claims

1. A power control unit for an electric vehicle comprising:

a box which accommodates devices for controlling electric power supply of said electric vehicle;

a reactor receiver which is provided on a given external surface around said box and which supports a reactor;

a heat sink, which is connected to the lower end of said reactor receiver, which covers the bottom surface of said box, which possesses passages comprising passage wall inside thereof, and which performs heat-exchange with said box by allowing coolant water to flow within said passage; and

a beam member, which is laid on at least one side of said box extending toward the longitudinal direction of said vehicle, and which is detachably communicated with cables to be connected to the traction motor disposed below the heat sink to supply power.

2. The power control unit according to claim 1, which further comprises a second beam member, one end of which is fixed on the reactor receiver provided on a front portion or a rear portion of said vehicle, and the other end of which is fixed on the wall surface of the box extending longitudinally and facing to the reactor receiver in the longitudinal direction thereof.

3. The power control unit according to claim 1, wherein a number of the wall surface components extending along the longitudinal direction the vehicle is larger than that perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

4. The power control unit according to claim 2, wherein a number of the wall surface components extending along the longitudinal direction the vehicle is larger than that perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

5. The power control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a plurality of electric cables are arranged from the side of box toward the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, wherein parts of the electric cables are connected to a traction motor disposed below said box and having an outputting shaft directed toward the width direction of the vehicle, and the remaining parts of the electric cables are passed through the side portion at the side of non-outputting shaft of traction motor and arranged in such a manner that they extends towards the rear side of the vehicle.

6. The power control unit according to claim 5, wherein said electric cables passed through the side portion at the side of non-outputting shaft of traction motor and arranged in such a manner that they extends towards the rear side of the vehicle are electric cables to be connected to a power supply apparatus and electric cables to be connected to battery means.

7. The power control unit according to claim 6, wherein said power supply apparatus comprises a fuel cell and said battery means comprises a capacitor.

8. The power control unit according to claim 5, which comprises a connector case or connector cases having connectors for connecting said electric cables provided on one sides or both sides of said box.

9. An electric vehicle comprising the power control unit according to claim 1.

10. A power control unit for an electric vehicle comprising a box having devices for controlling power supply of the electric vehicle;

and a plurality of electric cables arranged from the side of box toward the longitudinal direction of the vehicle,

parts of which electric cables being connected to a traction motor disposed below said box and having an outputting shaft directed toward the width direction of the vehicle;

wherein the remaining parts of the electric cables are passed through the side portion at the side of non-outputting shaft of traction motor and arranged in such a manner that they extends towards the rear side of the vehicle.

11. The power control unit according to claim 10, wherein said electric cables extending toward the rear side of the vehicle are connected to a power supply apparatus disposed under the cabin of the vehicle.

12. The power control unit according to claim 10, wherein said electric cables passed through the side portion at the side of non-outputting shaft of traction motor and arranged in such a manner that they extends towards the rear side of the vehicle are electric cables to be connected to a power supply apparatus and electric cables to be connected to electric storage means.

13. The power control unit according to claim 11, wherein said electric cables passed through the side portion at the side of non-outputting shaft of traction motor and arranged in such a manner that they extends towards the rear side of the vehicle are electric cables to be connected to a power supply apparatus and electric cables to be connected to electric storage means.

14. The power control unit according to claim 12, wherein said power supply apparatus comprises a fuel cell and said electric storage means comprises a capacitor.

15. The power control unit according to claim 13, wherein said power supply apparatus comprises a fuel cell and said electric storage means comprises a capacitor.

16. The power control unit according to claim 10, which comprises a connector case or connector cases having connectors for connecting said electric cables provided on one sides or both sides of said box.

17. An electric vehicle comprising the power control unit according to any one of claims 10 to 16.