阅读说明：本技术 发电机 (Generator ) 是由 松永佳大 于 2020-11-11 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种发电机,能够抑制逆变器等电装单元沾水且有利于减少部件个数。发电机具备逆变器罩(70),该逆变器罩(70)承接从设置于壳体的通风口浸入壳体内并顺着存在于逆变器(32)周围的燃料箱向逆变器(32)落下的水分(WD)。(The invention provides a generator which can inhibit the electrical components such as an inverter from being wetted and is beneficial to reducing the number of components. The generator is provided with an inverter cover (70), and the inverter cover (70) receives moisture (WD) which enters the housing from an air vent arranged on the housing and falls to the inverter (32) along a fuel tank existing around the inverter (32).)

1. A generator in which a plurality of components including electric component units are housed in a case,

a ventilation opening is arranged on the shell body,

a water receiving member is disposed in the housing, and receives water that enters the housing through the air vent and drops toward the electrical unit along the predetermined component present around the electrical unit.

2. The generator of claim 1,

an electronic component is mounted on the electric component unit,

the water receiving member has a guide portion that guides the water to a position away from the electronic component and has a water discharge opening.

3. The generator of claim 2,

the guide section includes: a water guide part extending toward the water discharge port; and a slope portion having a slope shape that allows water falling toward the electrical component unit to flow toward the water guide portion.

4. Generator according to claim 2 or 3,

the electric device unit is provided with: a circuit board on which the electronic component is mounted; and an electrical box covering a surface of the circuit board opposite to a surface on which the electronic component is mounted,

the guide portion is an eaves covering an upper side of the electronic component.

5. The generator of claim 3,

the water receiving member has a side wall rising from an outer edge of the water guide portion,

the side wall has another drain opening at a portion thereof opposite to the drain opening, the other drain opening being configured to drain moisture at a position lower than the upper surface of the side wall.

6. The generator of claim 5,

the water receiving member has another guide portion for guiding the moisture discharged from the other water discharge port to a position away from the electronic component.

7. The generator of claim 6,

the other guide part is a member extending downward from the other drain opening,

the lower surface of the other guide portion is formed as an inclined surface that is inclined so as to become lower as it becomes farther from the other drain opening.

8. The generator according to any one of claims 1 to 7,

the plurality of components includes a fuel tank disposed above the electrical component unit,

the water receiving member is disposed below a lowermost portion of the fuel tank.

9. The generator of claim 8,

the water receiving member integrally has a fuel tank holder on which the fuel tank is placed.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a generator.

Background

As a generator, a structure is known in which an engine, an alternator, a fuel tank, an inverter, and the like are housed in a case as an outer case, and for example, the inverter is disposed below the fuel tank, and the engine, the alternator, and the like are disposed in an excess space. In such a generator, a vent is provided in the casing, and outside air is sucked into the casing by a cooling fan or the like, thereby suppressing a temperature rise of internal components (see, for example, patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2019-108859

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

However, a plurality of wire harnesses are connected to a circuit board constituting an inverter via a plurality of couplers, and a coupler cover may be attached as a waterproof measure.

However, since a plurality of coupler covers are required, the number of parts increases, which increases the number of assembly steps.

Further, the inventors have studied and found that moisture is entered from a vent port of the case, and the entered moisture falls down to the inverter along a component (for example, a fuel tank) around the inverter, so that the moisture adheres to an electronic component provided on the circuit board or a coupler to which the coupler cover is not mounted.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a generator that can suppress the occurrence of water contamination of an electrical unit such as an inverter and is advantageous in reducing the number of components.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, there is provided a power generator in which a plurality of components including an electrical component unit are housed in a case, wherein a vent is provided in the case, and a water receiving member that receives water that enters the case from the vent and drops toward the electrical component unit along a predetermined component present around the electrical component unit is disposed in the case.

In the above configuration, an electronic component may be mounted on the electric component unit, and the water receiving component may include a guide portion that guides the water to a position away from the electronic component and includes a drain opening.

In the above configuration, the guide portion may include: a water guide part extending toward the water discharge port; and a slope portion having a slope shape that allows water falling toward the electrical component unit to flow toward the water guide portion.

In the above configuration, the electrical unit may include: a circuit board on which the electronic component is mounted; and an electric box covering a surface of the circuit board opposite to a surface on which the electronic component is mounted, wherein the guide portion is an eave covering an upper portion of the electronic component.

In the above configuration, the water receiving member may have a side wall rising from an outer edge of the water guide portion, and the side wall may have another drain opening for discharging water at a position lower than an upper surface of the side wall at a portion on a side opposite to the drain opening.

In the above configuration, the water receiving member may include another guide portion that guides the water discharged from the other water discharge port to a position away from the electronic component.

In the above configuration, the other guide portion may be a member extending downward from the other drain opening, and a lower surface of the other guide portion may be formed as an inclined surface that is inclined so as to become lower as the other drain opening is separated.

In the above configuration, the plurality of components may include a fuel tank disposed above the electrical component unit, and the water receiving member may be disposed below a lowermost portion of the fuel tank.

In the above configuration, the water receiving member may integrally include a fuel tank holder on which the fuel tank is placed.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, the electrical component unit can be inhibited from being wetted with water, and the number of components can be reduced.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an external appearance of a generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the generator 1.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the inverter and the peripheral structure from the side.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the inverter and the peripheral structure from the rear.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an inverter cover together with an inverter.

Fig. 6 is a three-sided view of the inverter cover, in which a is a view seen from above, B is a view seen from the back side, and C is a view seen from the left side.

Fig. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the eaves and the peripheral structure of the inverter cover.

In fig. 8, a represents the α - α cross section of fig. 6, and B represents a view seen from the β direction of fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the flow of the moisture WD that falls from the fuel tank to the inverter.

Description of the reference symbols

15: a generator;

10: a housing;

31: a fuel tank;

32: an inverter (electric component unit);

40: a vent;

41: a circuit board;

42: an inverter case (electrical encasement);

51-58: an electronic component;

70: an inverter cover;

71: a cover main body;

72: a fuel tank support;

73: an eave portion;

75: a water outlet;

76: a guide section;

77: a water guide part;

78: a slope portion;

80: a side wall;

80K: a cut portion (other drain port);

81: a lower extension portion (other guide portion);

81B: a lower surface of the lower extension.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an external appearance of a generator according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The generator 1 is a portable engine generator that is small and lightweight and can be relatively easily transported, and is covered by a case 10 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

The housing 10 includes: a front surface cover 10F covering the periphery of the control panel 20 provided on the front surface of the generator 1; side covers 10S that constitute left and right side surfaces of the generator 1; a back cover 10B constituting a back surface of the generator 1; a top cover 10T constituting an upper surface of the generator 1; and a bottom cover 10L constituting a lower surface of the generator 1.

A power outlet 21, an operation button 22, and the like are disposed on the control panel 20. A handle 11 is integrally provided on the top cover 10T, and the fuel lid 12 is exposed in front of the handle 11. The bottom cover 10L is provided with a plurality of legs 13 for supporting the housing 10.

In fig. 1 and the following figures, for ease of explanation, the forward direction with respect to the generator 1 is denoted by reference symbol X, the left direction is denoted by reference symbol Y, and the upward direction is denoted by reference symbol Z. In the following description, each direction will be described using a direction with the generator 1 as a reference. Each direction is appropriately changed according to the installation state of the generator 1, the specification of the generator 1, and the like.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the generator 1.

An engine 30 is disposed at the rear portion in the casing 10, and a fuel tank 31 and an inverter 32 are disposed vertically in the front side in the casing 10. The engine 30 is surrounded by a shroud 33. The fuel tank 31 is supported by a frame, not shown, extending upward from the bottom cover 10L, and the fuel tank 31 is supported above the bottom cover 10L.

The engine 30 is an internal combustion engine using a predetermined liquid fuel such as gasoline as an energy source, and includes an output shaft 35 projecting forward. An alternator 36 is coupled to the output shaft 35. The alternator 36 generates electric power by the driving force of the engine 30 (rotation of the output shaft 35), converts the generated electric power into predetermined electric power by the inverter 32, and outputs the electric power to the power outlet 21.

A cooling fan 37 is mounted on the end of the output shaft 35. Further, a recoil starter 38 for starting the engine 30 is disposed in a space formed between the cooling fan 37 and the inverter 32. The outer periphery of the cooling fan 37 is surrounded by a fan cover 39, and the fan cover 39 communicates with a shroud 33 surrounding the engine 30.

The cooling fan 37 is rotated by the rotational driving of the engine 30, and outside air is taken in from the air vent 40 functioning as an opening communicating the inside and the outside of the casing 10, and the taken-in outside air passes through the inside of the fan cover 39 and is supplied into the shroud 33. The ventilation opening 40 is provided at a front surface position of the generator 1, more specifically, between the control panel 20 and the front surface cover 10F, and cools the engine 30 and the like after cooling the inverter 32 and the alternator 36 with outside air.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the inverter 32 and the peripheral structure from the side, and fig. 4 is a diagram showing the inverter 32 and the peripheral structure from the rear.

The inverter 32 has a rectangular plate-shaped circuit board 41, the circuit board 41 has an electronic circuit including an inverter circuit, and the inverter 32 constitutes an electric unit of the generator 1. As shown in fig. 4, the circuit board 41 is disposed in a posture in which the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the left-right direction (also referred to as the width direction) of the generator and the width direction thereof coincides with the up-down direction. The circuit board 41 is covered with a metal case 42 (hereinafter referred to as an inverter case 42) from the front surface side. A potting material having an insulating property is filled between the inverter case 42 and the circuit board 41.

As shown in fig. 4, a plurality of electronic components 51 to 58 are mounted on the back surface of the circuit board 41. The electronic components 51 and 52 are coils, and the electronic components 53 to 58 are couplers (also referred to as connectors) provided at the ends of a plurality of harnesses 60 extending from the alternator 36 or the like. In the following description, when the electronic components 51 to 58 need to be separately shown, they are respectively shown as the coils 51 and 52 and the couplers 53 to 58.

The surface of the circuit board 41 including the electronic components 51 to 58 on the back side is covered with an insulating cover. In fig. 3, reference numeral 61 denotes a harness support member that supports each harness 60.

Conventionally, as a waterproof measure for the inverter 32, a method of attaching a coupler cover to each coupler has been adopted. In fig. 3 and 4, as reference information, a case is shown in which the coupler covers 64 and 65 are mounted on a part of the couplers 54 and 55, and the inverter cover 70 described later is not mounted.

As shown in fig. 3 and 4, when outside air is sucked into the case 10, moisture WD such as rainwater enters from the vent 40 (fig. 3) functioning as an opening communicating with the outside space, drops toward the inverter 32 along the surface of the fuel tank 31, and may adhere to one of the electronic components 51 to 58. In fig. 3, an arrow denoted by reference numeral W indicates the flow of outside air.

As shown in fig. 3, the moisture WD entering from the vent 40 adheres to the surface of the fuel tank 31 and flows along the flow W of the outside air on the surface of the fuel tank 31, and therefore the moisture WD easily falls from the lowermost portion 31B of the fuel tank 31. Therefore, the moisture WD falls toward the inverter 32 below the fuel tank 31.

As shown in fig. 4, a part of the falling moisture WD ("moisture WD1, WD2, WD 3" in fig. 4) may adhere to the couplers 53, 56 to 58, the coils 51, 52, and the like, which do not have the coupler covers 64, 65. Moisture adhering to the couplings 53, 56 to 58 may adhere to the metal terminals in the couplings 53, 56 to 58. In addition, when the moisture contains NaCl (sodium chloride) contained in seawater, an antifreeze, or the like, NaCl may react with the insulating coating of the coils 51, 52 to decompose a part of the insulating coating.

Therefore, in the present configuration, as shown in fig. 5, an inverter cover 70 that receives moisture falling from the fuel tank 31 is provided to the inverter 32.

Fig. 6 shows a three-sided view of the inverter cover 70, in fig. 6, a shows a view from above, B shows a view from the back side, and C shows a view from the left side.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the inverter cover 70 integrally has: a plate-shaped cover body 71 attached to an upper portion of the inverter 32; a pair of left and right fuel tank brackets 72 provided to the cover main body 71; and a brim 73 extending from the cover main body 71 toward the rear side of the generator 1.

The inverter cover 70 is formed by integrally molding synthetic resin having elasticity. The material and manufacturing method of the inverter cover 70 may be appropriately changed.

Fig. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the eaves 73 and the surrounding structure when the inverter cover 70 is attached to the inverter 32.

As shown in fig. 7, the eaves 73 covers the upper portions of the electronic components 51 to 58 provided on the rear surface side of the inverter 32. This can prevent the moisture WD dropping from the lowermost portion 31B of the fuel tank 31 from adhering to the plurality of electronic components 51 to 58. In the present configuration, in addition to the electronic components 51 to 58, the electronic components are arranged on the back surface of the circuit board 41, and the eaves 73 is formed to have a size covering the upper side of all the electronic components to which the moisture WD dropping from the fuel tank 31 is likely to adhere.

The details of the inverter cover 70 including the eaves 73 will be described below.

In fig. 8, a represents the α - α cross section of fig. 6, and B represents a view seen from the β direction of fig. 6. As shown in a of fig. 8, the cover main body 71 includes a pair of holding portions 71A and 71B that hold an upper portion of the inverter 32 (corresponding to an upper portion of the inverter case 42) from front and rear. The pair of sandwiching portions 71A, 71B extend in the longitudinal direction of the cover main body 71 (Y direction in fig. 5), and sandwich the upper portion of the inverter 32 over the length in the Y direction. The pair of clip portions 71A, 71B can be easily opened by elastically deforming the cover main body 71, and the cover main body 71 can be attached to the inverter 32 without using a tool.

As shown in fig. 8B, a plurality of cooling fins 32F extending in the vertical direction are provided on the front surface of the inverter 32, and an engagement portion 71K is provided on the cover main body 71, and this engagement portion 71K engages with any one of the cooling fins 32F so as to be movable up and down and not movable right and left. The engagement portion 71K restricts the movement of the inverter cover 70 in the left-right direction with respect to the inverter 32.

As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the eaves 73 has a guide portion 76 that guides the moisture falling down on the cover body 71 to the drain port 75. The guide portion 76 has: a water guide 77 extending substantially parallel to the cover main body 71 (in the left-right direction of the generator) at a position rearward of the cover main body 71; and a slope portion 78 having a slope shape inclined obliquely downward from the cover main body 71 toward the water conveying portion 77.

The water guide 77 has a recessed bottom portion 77A (see fig. 7) extending obliquely downward from either of the left and right ends (left end in this configuration) of the cover main body 71 toward the drain opening 75. Further, (described later) the case where the drain port 75 is provided at the most downstream end of the water conduit 77 is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the drain port 75 may be provided at a position forward of the most downstream end of the water conduit 77, or the like, and in short, the position of the drain port 75 may be appropriately changed within a range where water can be drained.

Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the flow of the moisture WD that falls from the fuel tank 31 toward the inverter 32.

As shown in fig. 9, moisture WD dropping from fuel tank 31 drops to cover main body 71 or slope portion 78, and is guided to water guide portion 77 by slope portion 78. The water WD flowing to the water conduit 77 is collected in the bottom portion 77A of the water conduit 77, flows along the slope of the bottom portion 77A to the drain port 75, and falls downward from the drain port 75.

Here, the drain port 75 of the inverter cover 70 is set at a position apart from the electronic components 51 to 58 in at least one of the front-back direction and the left-right direction. As shown in fig. 8, the drain port 75 of the present configuration is set at a position rearward of the circuit board 41, closer to the center of the circuit board 41 of the inverter 32 on the left and right, and away from the wire harness support member 61. Accordingly, the water falling from the drain port 75 flows to a drain hole, not shown, provided in the bottom cover 10L of the housing 10 without being attached to the electronic components 51 to 58. In addition, when the inverter cover 70 is used, the falling position of the moisture is located at a position avoiding the couplers 53 to 58, so that the coupler cover is not required.

As shown in fig. 5, 6, and 9, the inverter cover 70 includes a side wall 80, and the side wall 80 is erected upward from the outer peripheral edge of the water guide 77, extends along the left side edge of the inverter cover 70, and has a substantially L-shape in plan view.

The side wall 80 rises upward from the cover main body 71, the slope portion 78, and the bottom portion 77A, and effectively prevents moisture on the cover main body 71, the slope portion 78, and the bottom portion 77A of the water conduit 77 from falling out of the inverter cover 70 before reaching the drain port 75. Further, even when the generator 1 is provided to be inclined in the front-rear direction, the moisture on the inverter cover 70 can be prevented from flowing out to the side wall 80 side. Further, since the side wall 80 extends along the outer peripheral edge of the inverter cover 70 and is bent in an L-shape, the side wall 80 also functions as a reinforcing rib for reinforcing the inverter cover 70.

A cutout portion 80K (see C in fig. 6) is formed by cutting out a portion of the side wall 80 on the side opposite to the drain opening 75. When the water in the water conduit 77 tilted by the generator is distributed to the opposite side of the drain port 75, the water collected in the water conduit 77 is discharged from the notch 80K. This allows moisture to be discharged from notch 80K before the moisture exceeds the upper end of side wall 80. That is, even when the water in the water guide 77 is distributed to the side opposite to the drain port 75, the portion from which the water is discharged can be controlled, and the water can be easily discharged to a portion where the water does not cause a problem.

As shown in fig. 9, a downward extending portion 81 extending downward of the notch portion 80K is formed on the side wall 80. The lower surface 81B of the downward extending portion 81 is formed as an inclined surface that becomes lower as it is separated from the notch portion 80K in either the front-rear direction (the front direction of the generator 1 in the present embodiment). Thus, when moisture flows out of the notch 80K, the moisture flows along the lower surface 81B of the downward extending portion 81 and can fall from the lowermost end of the downward extending portion 81. The falling position from the lowermost end of the downward extending portion 81 is set at a position: the moisture does not adhere to the electronic components and the connector, and flows to a drain hole, not shown, provided in the bottom cover 10L of the housing 10.

That is, the lower extending portion 81 functions as another guide portion that guides moisture discharged from the notch portion 80K to a position away from the electronic components 51 to 58 and the like.

As shown in C of fig. 6, since the range D1 of the downward extending portion 81 is set to be a wide range of the range D2 that extends forward and backward across the notch portion 80K, even if the moisture flowing out of the notch portion 80K is slightly shifted forward and backward, the moisture can be guided to the lowest end position of the downward extending portion 81.

As described above, the generator 1 of the present embodiment includes the inverter cover 70 that functions as a water receiving member that receives water that enters the case 10 from the air vent 40 provided in the case 10 and falls toward the inverter 32 along the fuel tank 31 existing around the inverter 32 as an electrical unit. This can suppress the inverter 32 from being wetted, and can easily reduce the number of components compared to the case where the coupler cover is used.

The inverter cover 70 has a guide portion 76 that guides the falling moisture to a position away from the electronic components 51 to 58 provided in the inverter 32, and a drain port 75, so that the electronic components 51 to 58 can be prevented from getting wet during drainage.

The guide portion 76 further includes: a water guide 77 extending toward the drain opening 75; and a slope portion 78 having a slope shape for allowing the water falling toward the inverter 32 to flow toward the water conduit 77, so that the water can efficiently flow toward the drain port 75.

Further, the inverter 32 includes: a circuit board 41 on which electronic components 51 to 58 are mounted; and an inverter case 42 that functions as an electrical package and covers a surface of the circuit board 41 opposite to the surface on which the electronic components 51 to 58 are mounted. The guide portion 76 functions as an eave covering the upper portions of the electronic components 51 to 58. Therefore, the entire inverter 32 including the electronic components 51 to 58 is prevented from being wetted by the inverter case 42 and the inverter cover 70.

The inverter cover 70 has a side wall 80 rising from the outer edge of the water conduit 77, and a notch 80K functioning as another drain opening is provided in a portion of the side wall 80 opposite to the drain opening 75. Therefore, when the generator 1 is tilted such that the moisture in the water conduit 77 flows to the opposite side of the drain port 75, the moisture can be discharged from the notch portion 80K, and the discharge position of the moisture can be controlled to an appropriate position.

The present invention is not limited to the notch 80K formed by cutting a part downward, and any configuration may be used as the other drain port as long as the moisture is discharged at a position lower than the upper surface of the side wall 80. For example, the through hole may be provided at a position lower than the upper surface of the side wall 80. Further, it is preferable that the other drain port 75 is set at a position higher than the lower surface of the drain port 75 of the water guide part 77 in a state where the generator 1 is placed on a horizontal surface.

The inverter cover 70 has a lower extension portion 81, and the lower extension portion 81 functions as another guide portion for guiding moisture discharged from the notch portion 80K to a position apart from the electronic components 51 to 58. Therefore, when the generator is inclined such that the moisture in the water conduit 77 flows to the opposite side of the drain port 75, the falling position of the moisture discharged from the notch portion 80K can be more easily controlled to an appropriate position.

Further, since the downward extending portion 81 extends downward from the notch portion 80K and the lower surface 81B of the downward extending portion 81 is formed as an inclined surface that is inclined so as to become lower as it goes away from the notch portion 80K, the falling position of the moisture discharged from the notch portion 80K can be controlled with a simple configuration.

Further, since the plurality of components housed in the case 10 of the generator 1 include the fuel tank 31 disposed above the inverter 32 and the inverter cover 70 is disposed below the lowermost portion 31B of the fuel tank 31, moisture falling from the lowermost portion 31B of the fuel tank 31 is received by the inverter cover 70, and the inverter 32 can be prevented from being wetted. Further, since the inverter cover 70 integrally includes the fuel tank bracket 72 on which the fuel tank 31 is placed, the inverter cover 70 and the fuel tank bracket 72 can be easily attached and detached while suppressing an increase in the number of components.

The above embodiment is only one embodiment of the present invention, and can be modified and applied arbitrarily without departing from the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the inverter cover 70 that receives moisture falling from the fuel tank 31 is provided is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Among the plurality of components in the housing 10, the inverter cover 70 may be provided below the component through which the moisture entering from the ventilation opening 40 drops to the inverter 32.

Further, although the case where the inverter cover 70 that suppresses the wetting of the inverter 32 is provided has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the technique of the present invention can be applied to the case where the wetting of the electrical components other than the inverter 32 is prevented.

In addition, although the present invention is applied to the generator 1 shown in fig. 1 and the like, the present invention may be applied to a known generator.