JP2009011130A - Riding type fuel cell vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a riding type fuel cell vehicle allowing a user to easily get on and off by lowering the position of a footrest portion by changing an arrangement structure of a humidifier to humidify a reaction gas. <P>SOLUTION: The riding type fuel cell vehicle 1 with the low-floor type footrest portion 35 provided between a steering handle 5 and a seat 12 includes a mainframe 6 which is extended in a backward and downward direction of a vehicle body from a head tube 3, and is arranged in a forward and backward direction of the vehicle body at a lower part of the vehicle body, wherein the head tube rotatably fixes a shaft of the steering handle 5. The footrest portion 35 is provided above the mainframe 6. The humidifier 30 is arranged above the mainframe 6 and below the seat 12 with its longitudinal direction vertical, wherein the humidifier is provided on a supply path to feed the reaction gas to a fuel cell 40 from a supercharger 22 to humidify the reaction gas. An upper part of the humidifier 30 is fastened to a bracket 28 of a seat frame 27 to support the seat 12, while a lower part thereof is fastened to a bracket 57 provided at a connecting pipe 56 of the mainframe 6. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a straddle-type fuel cell vehicle, and in particular, a straddle-type fuel cell in which the position of a footrest portion is lowered to facilitate getting on and off by changing the arrangement structure of a humidifier that humidifies a reaction gas. Regarding vehicles.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a fuel cell vehicle in which a fuel cell that generates electricity by a chemical reaction between hydrogen as a fuel gas and oxygen contained in a reaction gas (air) is loaded and travels with power supplied from the fuel cell. ing. In order to operate the fuel cell efficiently, the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell needs to contain a predetermined amount of water. Therefore, such a fuel cell vehicle has a humidifier for humidifying the reaction gas. Is provided.

Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a humidifier is disposed below a footrest portion of a passenger in a saddle type fuel cell motorcycle.
JP 2007-99008 A

  In the configuration shown in Patent Document 1, since the humidifier, which is a heavy object, is placed at a low position of the vehicle body, it is easy to lower the center of gravity of the vehicle body. However, in a vehicle having a low floor type footrest between the steering handle and the seat, in order to increase the ease of getting on and off, a request for lowering the footrest is required. It was necessary to further devise the installation position.

  The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to change the arrangement structure of the humidifier that humidifies the reaction gas, so that the position of the footrest portion is lowered and the saddle-type fuel cell can easily get on and off. To provide a vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a fuel cell that generates electric power by a chemical reaction between a fuel gas and a reactive gas, a supercharger that supplies the fuel cell with the reactive gas, and the fuel cell from the supercharger. In a saddle-type fuel cell vehicle, provided with a humidifier provided on a supply path for sending reaction gas to the vehicle, and provided with a low floor type footrest between a steering handle and a seat A main frame extending rearwardly and downwardly of the vehicle body from a head pipe that pivotally supports the steering handle, and disposed in a vehicle longitudinal direction at a lower portion of the vehicle body, wherein the footrest portion includes the main frame. There is a first feature in that the humidifier is disposed above the main frame and below the seat with the longitudinal direction thereof being vertically oriented.

  The fuel cell is disposed below the seat, and the humidifier is disposed on the vehicle body front side of the fuel cell so that at least a part of the humidifier is hidden by the seat in a top view of the vehicle body. There is a second feature.

  The humidifier has a third feature in that an upper portion thereof is attached to a seat frame that supports the seat and a lower portion thereof is attached to the main frame by being attached to the main frame.

  Further, the main frame is composed of a pair of left and right frame members, and a pair of left and right underframes formed along the main frame is disposed below the main frame. There is a fourth feature in that it is arranged in a space surrounded by the main frame and the underframe at a position in front of and below the front.

  According to the first invention, the footrest includes a main frame that extends from the head pipe that pivotally supports the steering handle to the rear lower side of the vehicle body and that is disposed in the vehicle longitudinal direction at the lower part of the vehicle body. Is provided at the upper part of the main frame, and the humidifier is arranged above the main frame and below the seat with the longitudinal direction thereof being vertically oriented. Compared to the above, it becomes possible to dispose the main frame at a lower position. Thereby, since the position of a footrest part can be lowered | hung more, it becomes easy to straddle a footrest part and it becomes possible to make getting on and off easy.

  According to the second invention, the fuel cell is disposed below the seat, and the humidifier is disposed on the front side of the vehicle body of the fuel cell so that at least a part of the humidifier is hidden by the seat in a top view of the vehicle body. Therefore, the space under the seat can be effectively used as the arrangement space for the fuel cell and the humidifier. In addition, since the fuel cell and the humidifier are arranged close to each other, the path for supplying the reaction gas from the humidifier to the fuel cell can be shortened, and the temperature and humidity of the reaction gas passing through the path can be changed. Can be prevented. Thereby, it becomes easy to manage the temperature of the reaction gas, and the fuel cell can be operated efficiently.

  According to the third invention, the humidifier is fixed to the vehicle body by attaching the upper part to the seat frame supporting the seat and attaching the lower part to the main frame. As a frame constituent member that connects the main frame and the main frame, it is possible to reduce the number of frame constituent members while maintaining the rigidity of the vehicle body.

  According to the fourth invention, the main frame is composed of a pair of left and right frame members, and a pair of left and right underframes formed along the main frame is disposed below the main frame. Since it is disposed in a space surrounded by the main frame and the underframe at a position in front of and below the vehicle body, a supercharger is disposed in front of the footrest portion, and the footrest portion is further It is possible to easily get on and off by lowering. Further, the turbocharger can be protected by the main frame.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are a side view and a top view of a saddle-ride type fuel cell vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The straddle-type fuel cell vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment has a single front wheel WF as a steered wheel, whereas a tricycle in which two rear wheels WR as drive wheels are mounted apart in the vehicle width direction. And has a scooter type vehicle body structure in which a low floor type footrest is provided between the steering handle and the seat. The straddle-type fuel cell vehicle 1 includes a cell stack in which a plurality of cells are stacked to form a fuel cell, a fuel (hydrogen) gas supply system that supplies hydrogen gas as fuel to the cell stack, and the cell stack And a reaction gas supply system that supplies a reaction gas (air) containing oxygen to the fuel cell, and a drive motor is driven by the power generated by the fuel cell and the power supplied from the secondary battery that stores the power. Drive and run.

  A steering stem 4 that supports a bottom link type front suspension 2 is pivotally supported on the head pipe 3 positioned at the front end of the body frame. A front wheel WF as a steering wheel is rotatably supported at the lower end of the front suspension 2. The front wheel WF can be steered by a steering handle 5 coupled to the steering stem 4. The pair of left and right main frames 6 have a shape that is connected to the head pipe 3 and extends downward and rearward, and then bends greatly at the lower part of the vehicle body and extends rearward of the vehicle body. A pair of left and right underframes 7 having a shape along the main frame 6 are disposed below the main frame 6. Similar to the main frame 6, the under frame 7 is connected to the head pipe 3 and extends downward and rearward, and then has a shape that is largely bent at the lower part of the vehicle body and extends rearward of the vehicle body. The rear end of the underframe 7 is bent upward and is connected to the main frame 6, and the main frame 6 is connected to the rising frame 8 on the rear side of the vehicle body. The rising frame 8 is connected to the rear frame 9 that supports the loading platform 19, and the secondary battery 20 that stores the power generated by the fuel cell 40 is loaded on the loading platform 19.

  The rectangular parallelepiped fuel cell 40 is attached to a position below the seat 12 on which the occupant 100 is seated in a state inclined at a predetermined angle (for example, 30 degrees) toward the rear side of the vehicle body. On the left and right sides of the fuel cell 40 in the vehicle width direction, radiators 50L and 50R for cooling the fuel cell 40 are disposed. In addition, an electric pump 21 for pumping the cooling water of the radiator is disposed on the rear surface side of the fuel cell 40, and on the other hand, on the front surface side, the reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell 40 is humidified. A substantially cylindrical humidifier 30 is attached to the approximate center in the vehicle width direction. A low floor type footrest portion 35 is provided between the seat 12 and the steering handle 5. The footrest portion 35 is configured by a resin plate or the like on a flat floor surface on which both feet of an occupant are placed during traveling. In the present embodiment, the footrest portion 35 has a symmetrical shape in the vehicle width direction. A supercharger 22 for pumping the reaction gas to the fuel cell 40 is disposed in a space surrounded by the main frame 6 and the underframe 7 below the footrest 35.

  The rear wheel WR and the drive motor 14 that drives the rear wheel WR are attached to a power unit 45 at the rear of the vehicle body. The power of the drive motor 14 is transmitted to the two rear wheels WR by the axle 24 through the speed reduction mechanism. The power unit 45 is coupled to the vehicle body frame by the coupling mechanism 13 and is suspended from the vehicle body side by a shock unit (not shown). The coupling mechanism 13 is applied with a Nighthard swing mechanism using a rubber damper, which makes it possible to tilt the vehicle body to the left and right while keeping the two rear wheels in contact with the road surface during turning. In the power unit 45, electrical components such as a voltage converter (VCU) 15, a drive motor driver 16, a DC-DC converter 17, an ECU 18 as a control unit, and the like are intensively arranged.

  A pair of left and right hydrogen cylinders 10L and 10R are attached to the left and right of the head pipe 3 in the vehicle width direction so as to sandwich the main frame 6 and the under frame 7 from the left and right. The front and sides of the hydrogen cylinders 10L and 10R are surrounded by a guard pipe 60 (see FIG. 2) that is connected to the main frame 6 and protects from the outside. In addition, an air cleaner box 11 for filtering outside air (air) serving as a reactive gas is disposed in front of the left hydrogen cylinder 10L.

  The left and right radiators 50L and 50R are attached such that the upper part is inclined forward in a side view of the vehicle body. In addition, when viewed from the top of the vehicle body, the front side portion is attached so as to open outward in the vehicle width direction with the rear side portion as an axis so that traveling wind from the front of the vehicle body can be easily received. The radiators 50 </ b> L and 50 </ b> R are connected to each other by a cooling water bypass pipe 25 at the upper rear position of the fuel cell 40. A stay 23 for supporting the resin plate forming the footrest portion 35 is attached to the upper surface of the main frame 6 before and after the vehicle body of the humidifier 30.

  FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the saddle type fuel cell vehicle 1 as viewed from the left side. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the saddle type fuel cell vehicle 1 as viewed from the right side. The same reference numerals as those described above denote the same or equivalent parts. The fuel gas and reaction gas supplied to the fuel cell 40 are discharged out of the fuel cell 40 as unreacted gas and generated water after a chemical reaction in the cell stack. In the fuel cell 40 according to this embodiment, an exhaust side manifold 41 for discharging unreacted gas and generated water is attached to the lower part on the left side in the vehicle width direction. Unreacted gas containing sufficient moisture is introduced into the humidifier 30 from below. The unreacted gas is introduced into the dilution box 70 through the pipe 71 after supplying moisture to the reaction gas (air) newly introduced from the outside air inside the humidifier 30. The unreacted gas from which residual hydrogen has been removed in the dilution box 70 is discharged into the atmosphere from an exhaust pipe (not shown) provided at the rear of the vehicle.

  The humidifier 30 having a substantially cylindrical shape is attached between the seat 12 and the main frame 6 with the longitudinal direction thereof directed in the vertical direction of the vehicle body, that is, vertically. The upper portion of the humidifier 30 is fastened by two mounting bolts 29 to a plate-like bracket 28 coupled to a seat frame 27 that supports the seat 12. On the other hand, the lower portion of the humidifier 30 is fastened to the plate-like bracket 57 connected to the connecting pipe 56 in the vehicle width direction that connects the left and right main frames 6 with similar mounting bolts (not shown). . Thus, in this embodiment, since the humidifier 30 is attached so that the seat frame 27 and the main frame 6 may be connected, the humidifier 30 is used as a part of the vehicle body frame, and the rigidity of the vehicle body is reduced. It is possible to reduce the number of frame components while maintaining.

  In addition, the humidifier 30 according to the present embodiment is disposed at the center in the vehicle width direction (see FIG. 2) so that a part of the humidifier 30 is hidden under the seat 12 when viewed from above. The space below the sheet 12 can be used effectively. According to such an arrangement of the humidifier 30, a part of the humidifier 30 on the front side of the vehicle body protrudes toward the footrest portion 35 (see FIG. 2). Since it is placed apart from the center in the left and right direction, there is little possibility that the humidifier 30 and the foot interfere with each other during running. As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting position of the humidifier 30 is such that when the main body portion is located on the upper side of the main frame 6, the footrest portion 35 is bent to place the humidifier 30. There is no need to form or perforate, and the components of the footrest portion 35 can be easily formed. Further, the mounting position of the humidifier 30 may be configured such that the lower end portion 30a of the main body portion partially protrudes below the main frame 6 as in the modification shown in the vehicle side view of FIG. . Furthermore, the method of joining the humidifier 30 to the seat frame 27 and the main frame 6 can be variously modified by, for example, providing a bolt hole directly on the frame member and fastening it, or using a separate bracket from the frame member. It is.

  The lower the footrest portion 35 is, the easier it is to straddle and the ease of getting on and off can be improved. However, in the conventional configuration in which a humidifier is disposed below the mainframe 6 that supports the footrest portion 35, The position could not be lowered greatly. On the other hand, in the configuration according to the present embodiment, the humidifier 30 is disposed between the main frame 6 and the seat 12, so that the position of the main frame 6 is lowered and the footrest portion is moved as the humidifier 30 moves. 35 can be formed at a lower position.

  The supercharger 22 having a substantially cylindrical shape is disposed in a space near the front lower side surrounded by four frame members including a pair of left and right main frames 6 and an underframe 7. According to this arrangement, the supercharger 22 is arranged on the vehicle body front side with respect to the footrest portion 35, so that the position of the footrest portion 35 can be set further lower. Further, since the four sides of the supercharger 22 are surrounded by the frame member, further protection can be achieved. Furthermore, since the supercharger 22 is disposed closer to the front of the vehicle body, it is possible to obtain a good front-rear weight balance by increasing the weight distribution on the front wheel side in a vehicle body configuration in which many heavy objects are attached closer to the rear wheel. It becomes. A hydrogen supply unit 55 including a control unit for the amount of hydrogen supplied to the fuel cell 40 is disposed between the left and right hydrogen cylinders 10L and 10R.

  A guard pipe 26 extending upward is coupled in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the main frame 6 and the rising frame 8, and radiators 50L and 50R are attached to attachment portions 53 provided on the guard pipe 26. Yes. A seat frame 27 that supports the seat 12 is also coupled to the guard pipe 26. The radiators 50L and 50R are provided with an electric cooling fan 51 that forcibly creates a flow of wind even when the vehicle is stopped to obtain a cooling effect. In the present embodiment, the radiators 50L and 50R are attached to be tilted forward with respect to the vehicle body, and the upper end portion 52 on the rear side is disposed at a position higher than the fuel cell 40.

  The reaction gas used for power generation is simultaneously introduced from intake ports provided one by one in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body of the fuel cell 40 via an intake side manifold 42 attached to the upper right side of the fuel cell 40 in the vehicle width direction. (See FIG. 4). This reactive gas flow is created by the supercharger 22. The outside air introduced from the air cleaner box 11 is pumped by the supercharger 22 and guided to the upper portion of the humidifier 30 via the pipe 32. The pipe 32 is connected to a suction pipe 31 provided at the upper end of the humidifier 30, and the air sucked from the upper part of the humidifier 30 obtains an appropriate humidity while flowing toward the lower part, It is a reactive gas suitable for chemical reactions in the stack. The reaction gas that has passed through the humidifier 30 is guided upward by a pipe 33 connected to the lower portion of the humidifier 30, and is supplied to the fuel cell 40 through the suction side manifold 42.

  According to the arrangement structure of the humidifier 30 according to the present embodiment, since the humidifier 30 and the fuel cell 40 are arranged close to each other, the path for supplying the reaction gas from the humidifier 30 to the fuel cell 40 is short. As a result, the temperature and humidity of the reaction gas can be prevented from changing greatly during passage through the path. Thereby, it becomes easy to manage the temperature of the reaction gas, and the fuel cell 40 can be operated efficiently.

  5 and 6 are schematic views of a path for pumping the reaction gas to the fuel cell 40. FIG. First, FIG. 5 shows a configuration corresponding to the above embodiment. The air pumped by the supercharger 22 is guided to the upper portion of the humidifier 30 by the pipe 32. Next, the reaction gas that passes through the humidifier 30 and is discharged from the lower part thereof is guided to the upper part of the fuel cell by the pipe 33 and is sucked into the fuel cell 40 by the intake side manifold 42. The configuration of such a piping path can be variously modified in accordance with the shape of the vehicle body, and can be configured as shown in FIG. 6, for example.

  In the modification of FIG. 6, the air pumped by the supercharger 22 is introduced from the lower portion of the humidifier 30, and the reaction gas that passes through the humidifier 30 and is discharged from the upper portion is supplied by the piping 81 to the intake side manifold 42. It has the path connected with. According to such a configuration, it is possible to further shorten the pipe 80 that connects the supercharger 22 and the humidifier 30, the pipe 81 that connects the humidifier 30 and the intake manifold 42, and the like. Accordingly, it is possible to further reduce the possibility that the temperature of the reaction gas changes while passing through the supply path, and to increase the degree of freedom of the vehicle body layout.

  As described above, the straddle-type fuel cell vehicle according to the present embodiment has the reaction gas humidifier disposed vertically above the main frame and below the seat, with the longitudinal direction thereof being the vertical direction. It is possible to lower the position of the main frame and provide the footrest at a low position. Further, since the humidifier is attached so as to connect the seat frame and the main frame, the humidifier can be used as a part of the frame member, and the number of parts can be reduced while maintaining the vehicle body rigidity. .

  The humidifier, the vehicle body frame, the shape of the footrest, the arrangement of the fuel cell and the radiator, etc. are not limited to the above embodiment, and various changes can be made. For example, the straddle-type fuel cell vehicle may be a two-wheeled vehicle or a four-wheeled vehicle, and one of the main frame and the under frame is not a pair of left and right, but one at the center in the vehicle width direction. Also good.

1 is a side view of a saddle type fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a top view of a saddle type fuel cell vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the partially expanded perspective view which looked at the saddle type fuel cell vehicle from the left side. It is the partially expanded perspective view which looked at the saddle type fuel cell vehicle from the right side. It is a schematic diagram of the path | route which pumps reaction gas to a fuel cell. It is a schematic diagram of the modification of the path | route which pumps reaction gas to a fuel cell. It is a side view of a saddle-type fuel cell vehicle according to a modification of one embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Saddle-type fuel cell vehicle, 3 ... Head pipe, 4 ... Steering stem, 5 ... Steering handle, 6 ... Main frame, 7 ... Under frame, 12 ... Seat, 22 ... Supercharger, 27 ... Seat frame, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Humidifier, 32, 33 ... Piping, 35 ... Footrest part, 40 ... Fuel cell, 42 ... Intake side manifold

Claims (4)

A fuel cell that generates electricity by a chemical reaction between the fuel gas and the reaction gas; a supercharger that supplies the reaction gas to the fuel cell; and a supply path that sends the reaction gas from the supercharger to the fuel cell. In a straddle-type fuel cell vehicle that includes a humidifier that humidifies the reaction gas and has a low floor type footrest between the steering handle and the seat,
A main frame that extends from the head pipe that pivotally supports the steering handle to the lower rear of the vehicle body and is disposed in the vehicle longitudinal direction at the lower part of the vehicle body;
The footrest portion is provided on an upper portion of the main frame,
The straddle-type fuel cell vehicle, wherein the humidifier is disposed above the main frame and below the seat, with the longitudinal direction thereof being vertical. The fuel cell is disposed below the seat,
2. The straddle-type fuel according to claim 1, wherein the humidifier is disposed on the front side of the vehicle body of the fuel cell so that at least a part of the humidifier is hidden by the seat in a top view of the vehicle body. Battery vehicle.   The said humidifier is being fixed to the vehicle body by attaching the upper part to the seat frame which supports the said sheet | seat, and attaching the lower part to the said main frame. A straddle-type fuel cell vehicle. The main frame is composed of a pair of left and right frame members,
A pair of left and right underframes formed along the main frame are disposed on the lower side of the main frame,
The supercharger is disposed in a space surrounded by the main frame and the underframe at a position in front of and below the vehicle body. A straddle-type fuel cell vehicle.

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