Patent ID: 8820455

Claim:
A battery pack cooling mechanism for a hybrid vehicle comprising: a pair of right and left rear side members which are disposed under a floor panel at a rear portion of a hybrid vehicle and are longitudinal in a front-back direction of the hybrid vehicle; an exhaust pipe which is laid longitudinally along one of said rear side members in the front-back direction of the hybrid vehicle, said exhaust pipe having an open vehicle-rear-end; a battery pack which is arranged next to said exhaust pipe in a width-wise direction of the hybrid vehicle and in which battery pack components are stored; a cooling fan which introduces outside air into said battery pack to cool the battery pack components stored in said battery pack; an opening which opens to said floor panel at a location which does not overlap said exhaust pipe in an upward direction of the hybrid vehicle and in which an upper portion of said battery pack is inserted; a cover panel installed on said floor panel to cover the upper portion of said battery pack; an air inlet port which opens toward a space between a ceiling surface of said cover panel and a top surface of said battery pack to introduce the outside air into said battery pack for cooling said battery pack; and an air outlet port from which the air in said battery pack is discharged.