1. Technical Field
The present specification relates to a battery unit including a battery that supplies electric power to a motor for running of an electric vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
In some electric vehicles, a converter is arranged between a pair of main wires that connect a battery and a motor for running to each other, and a pair of sub-wires that connect a sub-battery to auxiliaries (a power steering, an air-conditioner and the like). This converter performs at least either steps up or steps down a voltage to exchange electric power between the main wires and the sub-wires. In the present specification, this converter is referred to as a main-sub (which is abbreviated as MS because the converter is arranged between the main wires and the sub-wires) converter. Switches are inserted in the pair of the main wires respectively, and can make a changeover between a state where the main battery and the motor for running are connected to each other, and a state where the main battery and the motor for running are disconnected from each other.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2008-30722 (JP 2008-30722 A), there is described an art of arranging both a main battery and an MS converter in a luggage room that is located in a vehicle rear region. In this art, a case that accommodates the MS converter is arranged on a case that accommodates the main battery. In this configuration, a main-side converter wire that connects the MS converter to a main wire is routed in such a manner as to be exposed to the outside of the case that accommodates the MS converter, and to the outside of the case that accommodates the main battery.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds