CN110034469B

CN110034469B - Battery connection module

Info

Publication number: CN110034469B
Application number: CN201810031334.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 林勇; 曾尚秀; 林健兴
Original assignee: Molex Interconnect Chengdu Co Ltd; Molex LLC
Current assignee: Molex Interconnect Chengdu Co Ltd; Molex LLC
Priority date: 2018-01-12
Filing date: 2018-01-12
Publication date: 2021-03-09
Anticipated expiration: 2038-01-12
Also published as: TWI670888B; TW201931638A; CN110034469A

Abstract

The invention provides a battery connection module which is suitable for connecting a battery pack and comprises a bearing disc, a plurality of bus pieces, a flexible circuit piece and a cable connector. The flexible circuit piece is provided with a body connected to the confluence piece and an external connecting body connected with the body, the external connecting body is provided with at least one inserting sheet, and the inserting sheet is provided with a first holding part. The cable connector comprises an insulating shell, a plurality of conductive terminals and a plurality of wires. The insulating shell is provided with at least one inserting groove for inserting the inserting sheet correspondingly, and a second holding part used for being combined with the first holding part is arranged in the inserting groove so as to hold the corresponding inserting sheet in the inserting groove. The conductive terminal is arranged in the insulating shell and corresponds to the plug-in connection groove, and the conductive terminal is provided with a contact part protruding into the plug-in connection groove and a tail part positioned at the opposite end of the contact part. The wires are respectively connected with the tails of the conductive terminals.

Description

Battery connection module

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a battery connection module, and more particularly, to a battery connection module connectable to a battery management system.

Background

A general power supply apparatus manages one or more battery modules through a battery management system. In a conventional method of connecting a battery management system and a battery module, a socket connector is separately provided in the battery management system and the battery module, and two plug connectors are respectively butted against the socket connector of the battery management system and the socket connector of the electronic module by using cables having plug connectors at both ends thereof, so that the battery management system and the battery module are electrically connected, and thus, a total of four connectors including two socket connectors and two plug connectors are provided on the connection line.

In a severe use environment or a long-term use of connectors mated with each other, for example, connectors used in power supply equipment for vehicles are prone to have problems such as poor contact, loosening, and disconnection due to deterioration.

Disclosure of Invention

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery connecting module capable of reducing the number of connectors to be mated with each other, thereby reducing problems caused by the connectors.

Therefore, in some embodiments, the battery connection module of the present invention is suitable for connecting a battery pack, and the battery connection module includes a carrier tray, a plurality of bus bars, a flexible circuit member, and a cable connector. The carrying tray is adapted to be disposed on the battery pack. The plurality of bus bars are arranged on the bearing plate and are suitable for being electrically connected with the battery pack. The flexible circuit piece is provided with a body which is mechanically and electrically connected to the plurality of confluence pieces and a pair of external connectors which are connected with the body, the external connectors are provided with at least one insertion piece, and each insertion piece is provided with a first holding part. The cable connector comprises an insulating shell, a plurality of conductive terminals and a plurality of wires. The insulating shell is provided with at least one inserting groove for inserting the at least one inserting sheet correspondingly, and a second retaining part used for being combined with the first retaining part is arranged in each inserting groove so as to retain the corresponding inserting sheet in the inserting groove. The conductive terminals are arranged in the insulating shell and correspond to the at least one inserting groove, and each conductive terminal is provided with a contact part which protrudes into the corresponding inserting groove to be electrically connected with the corresponding inserting sheet and a tail part which is positioned at the opposite end of the contact part. The conducting wires are respectively connected with the tails of the conducting terminals.

In some embodiments, the first holding portion includes two notches formed in the plug piece, and the second holding portion includes two elastic blocks disposed in the insulating housing to be respectively snapped into the plurality of notches.

In some embodiments, a plurality of the resilient latches are integrally formed on the insulative housing.

In some embodiments, each patch is provided with a stiffener for supporting the patch.

In some embodiments, the pair of external connectors has two insertion tabs, and the insulating housing has two insertion grooves.

In some embodiments, each conductive terminal further has a main body portion between the contact portion and the tail portion, the contact portion extends from the main body portion to form a reverse bending structure, and the tail end of the contact portion elastically abuts against the main body portion when the contact portion contacts with the corresponding plug piece and is stressed.

In some embodiments, each of the conductive terminals further has a positioning portion connected between the main body portion and the tail portion, the plurality of conductive terminals are arranged in a row corresponding to each of the insertion grooves, the cable connector further includes at least one terminal position retaining member assembled to the insulating housing, each terminal position retaining member has a strip-shaped retaining block, and the retaining block abuts against one side of the positioning portion of the conductive terminal in the same row adjacent to the tail portion.

In some embodiments, each terminal position holder further includes a flat plate portion and two fastening portions respectively connected to opposite ends of the flat plate portion, each fastening portion forms a fastening groove, the holding block protrudes from one side surface of the flat plate portion and is located between the two fastening portions, the insulating housing further includes at least one receiving groove for correspondingly receiving the holding block of the at least one terminal position holder, and two positioning protrusions are disposed corresponding to each receiving groove for respectively passing through the two fastening grooves of the corresponding terminal position holder.

In some embodiments, each of the conductive terminals further has a holding piece extending from the main body portion toward the positioning portion, and the insulating housing further has a plurality of holding openings for the holding pieces of the conductive terminals to extend into and limit the holding pieces.

The invention has at least the following beneficial technical effects: the battery connection module is directly plugged with the cable connector through the flexible circuit piece, so that good electric connection stability and reliability can be formed, the problem caused by mutual plugging of the connectors can be reduced compared with the prior art, and the quality of external electric connection and the stability and reliability of electric connection of the battery connection module are improved.

Drawings

Other features and effects of the present invention will be apparent from the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a battery connection module according to the present invention mounted to a battery pack;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of this embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view corresponding to FIG. 4;

fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a cable connector according to this embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a top view corresponding to FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7; and

fig. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX in fig. 7.

The reference numbers are as follows:

1 Battery pack

11 cell

12 electrodes

2 bearing plate

21 mounting base

3 bus bar

4 flexible circuit member

41 body

42 external connector

421 inserting piece

422 first holding portion

422a notch

43 conductive sheet

44 conductive pad

45 reinforcing plate

5 Cable connector

51 insulating shell

511 inserting groove

512 second holding part

512a elastic fixture block

513 clamping port

514 containing groove

515 positioning projection

516 stop part

517 terminal groove

52 conductive terminal

521 contact part

522 tail part

523 Main body part

524 position fixing part

525 clamping piece

53 conducting wire

54 terminal position holder

541 holding block

542 flat plate part

543 locking part

544 card slot

6 Upper cover

Detailed Description

Referring to fig. 1 to 3, a battery connection module according to an embodiment of the present invention is suitable for connecting a battery pack 1 composed of a plurality of batteries 11 arranged side by side, and includes a carrier tray 2, a plurality of bus bars 3, a flexible circuit member 4, a cable connector 5, and an upper cover 6.

The carrier tray 2 is adapted to be arranged on the battery pack 1. A plurality of bus bars 3 are disposed on the carrier plate 2 and adapted to electrically connect the battery pack 1, and each bus bar 3 is adapted to electrically connect the electrodes 12 of at least two adjacent batteries 11.

The flexible circuit member 4 integrally has a body 41 and a pair of external connection bodies 42 connecting the body 41. The main body 41 is mechanically and electrically connected to the plurality of bus bars 3 through conductive sheets 43, for example, by soldering, one end of each conductive sheet 43 is connected to the bus bar 3 and the other end is connected to the conductive traces on the main body 41, and the conductive traces on the main body 41 extend to the external connector 42, and the conductive traces may further include a trace for connecting a temperature sensor or a trace for connecting other components in addition to the conductive traces connected to the bus bars 3. In the embodiment, the carrier tray 2 has a mounting base 21 at a side for accommodating the external connector 42, and the top cover 6 covers the carrier tray 2 to shield the plurality of bus bars 3, the flexible circuit elements 4 and the mounting base 21.

Referring to fig. 4 to 6, in the present embodiment, the external connection body 42 integrally has two insertion pieces 421 arranged side by side, and each insertion piece 421 is provided with a first holding portion 422. In addition, a plurality of conductive pads 44 electrically connected to the conductive traces and exposed are disposed on the opposite inner sides of the two socket pieces 421, and an exposed reinforcing plate 45 is disposed on the opposite outer sides of the two socket pieces 421 to support the corresponding socket pieces 421. In another embodiment, the positions of the conductive pads 44 can be changed to the outside, and the reinforcing plate 45 is disposed on the inside.

The cable connector 5 includes an insulating housing 51, a plurality of conductive terminals 52, a plurality of conductive wires 53 and two terminal position holders 54. The insulating housing 51 has two insertion grooves 511 for the two insertion pieces 421 to be inserted into respectively, and a second holding portion 512 is disposed in each insertion groove 511 for combining with the first holding portion 422 to hold the corresponding insertion piece 421 in the insertion groove 511. Referring to fig. 5, 7 and 8, in the present embodiment, the first retaining portion 422 of each plug 421 includes two notches 422a respectively formed on two opposite side edges (e.g., upper and lower side edges in fig. 5) of the plug 421, and the outline of each reinforcing plate 45 corresponds to the outline of the plug 421 to form a corresponding notch, and each second retaining portion 512 includes two elastic latches 512a respectively disposed on the insulating housing 51 to latch into the notches 422a, so as to retain the corresponding plug 421 in the insertion slot 511. In the present embodiment, a plurality of elastic latch 512a are integrally formed on the insulating housing 51. When the inserting piece 421 is inserted into the corresponding inserting groove 511, the elastic latch 512a can elastically displace to allow the end of the inserting piece 421 to be restored and latched in the corresponding notch 422a, as shown in fig. 8, thereby limiting and fixing the inserting piece 421 in the inserting groove 511.

Referring to fig. 6, 7 and 9, the insulating housing 51 further has a plurality of terminal slots 517, the terminal slots 517 are arranged in two rows corresponding to the two insertion slots 511, and each row of terminal slots 517 is communicated with the corresponding insertion slot 511. The conductive terminals 52 are respectively disposed in the terminal slots 517 of the insulating housing 51 and are arranged in two rows corresponding to the two insertion slots 511, that is, arranged in a row corresponding to each insertion slot 511. Each conductive terminal 52 has a contact portion 521 protruding into the corresponding slot 511 to electrically connect with the corresponding plug 421, a tail portion 522 located at an opposite end of the contact portion 521, a main body portion 523 interposed between the contact portion 521 and the tail portion 522, and a positioning portion 524 connected between the main body portion 523 and the tail portion 522. The contact portion 521 extends from the main body portion 523 to form a reverse-bending structure, and the end of the contact portion 521 elastically abuts against the main body portion 523 when the contact portion 521 contacts with the corresponding plug piece 421 and is stressed. Specifically, the contact portions 521 of the conductive terminals 52 are respectively in contact with the conductive pads 44 (see fig. 5) of the plug 421 to form an electrical connection, so as to electrically connect the conductive traces of the flexible circuit member 4 with the cable connector 5. The contact portion 521 is formed in a reverse bent structure so as to elastically abut against the main body portion 523 by the tip end of the contact portion 521 when contacting the conductive pad 44, thereby increasing a positive force contacting the conductive pad 44, and further increasing stability of electrical connection. Each conductive terminal 52 further has a holding piece 525 extending from the main body portion 523 to the positioning portion 524, and the insulating housing 51 further has a plurality of holding openings 513 communicating with the terminal slots 517 for the holding pieces 525 of the two rows of conductive terminals 52 to extend into and limit the holding pieces 525. The plurality of wires 53 are respectively connected to the tail portions 522 of the plurality of conductive terminals 52 and held and fixed by the tail portions 522. The other ends of the plurality of wires 53 are adapted to be connected to a battery management system (not shown). Each terminal position holding member 54 has a strip-shaped holding block 541, and the holding block 541 abuts against one side of the positioning portion 524 of the same row of conductive terminals 52 adjacent to the tail portion 522. Specifically, in the present embodiment, each terminal position retaining member 54 further has a flat plate portion 542 and two fastening portions 543 respectively connected to two opposite ends of the flat plate portion 542, each fastening portion 543 forms a fastening groove 544, and the retaining block 541 protrudes from one side surface of the flat plate portion 542 and is located between the two fastening portions 543. The insulating housing 51 further has two receiving slots 514 for receiving the holding blocks 541 of the two terminal position holders 54, respectively, each receiving slot 514 is connected to each terminal slot 517 in the same row, and two positioning protrusions 515 are disposed corresponding to each receiving slot 514 to penetrate through the two slots 544 of the corresponding terminal position holder 54, respectively. In addition, a blocking portion 516 adjacent to the latching opening 513 is formed in each terminal groove 517 of the insulating housing 51, and each blocking portion 516 is located between the positioning portion 524 and the latching piece 525 of the conductive terminals 52 in the same row to block the positioning portion 524. For convenience of description, the entrance side of the insertion slot 511 of the insulating housing 51 is defined as a front side, and the side opposite to the front side is defined as a rear side, when the plurality of conductive terminals 52 are assembled, the plurality of conductive terminals 52 are placed into the terminal slots 517 of the insulating housing 51 from the rear side of the insulating housing 51, so that the contact portion 521 moves to the insertion slot 511, when positioning is reached, the front side of the positioning portion 524 is stopped by the stopping portion 516, the holding piece 525 extends into the holding opening 513, and the rear side of the positioning portion 524 is adjacent to the receiving slot 514. The terminal position retaining member 54 is assembled to the insulating housing 51, so that the retaining block 541 is accommodated in the accommodating groove 514 and extends into each terminal groove 517 in the same row to abut against the rear side (one side adjacent to the tail portion 522) of the positioning portion 524 of the conductive terminal 52 in the same row, so that the conductive terminal 52 is stopped by the stopping portion 516 in the front direction, and when the conductive terminal 52 moves backward in the reverse direction (opposite to the assembling direction), the holding piece 525 abuts against the wall surface of the holding opening 513 and the positioning portion 524 abuts against the retaining block 541, thereby preventing the conductive terminal 52 from falling out of the insulating housing 51 backward.

Although two insertion pieces 421 are illustrated as an example in the present embodiment, in a modified embodiment, there may be only one insertion piece 421, and the insertion slot 511 and the terminal position holding member 54 of the cable connector 5 are correspondingly adjusted to be one, and of course, the conductive terminals 52 and the conductive wires 53 are also adjusted to be in a row. In other words, the number of the inserting pieces 421 corresponds to the number of the inserting grooves 511, and the conductive terminals 52, the conductive wires 53 and the terminal position holders 54 are adjusted by matching the number of the inserting grooves 511, which is not limited in this embodiment.

In summary, the battery connection module is directly plugged with the cable connector 5 through the flexible circuit member 4, so as to form good electrical connection stability and reliability, reduce the problems caused by the plugging of the connectors, and improve the quality of the external electrical connection of the battery connection module and the stability and reliability of the electrical connection.

However, the above description is only an example of the present invention, and the scope of the present invention should not be limited thereby, and all the simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the claims and the contents of the specification should be included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A battery connection module adapted to connect to a battery pack, the battery connection module comprising:

the bearing disc is suitable for being arranged on the battery pack;

the plurality of confluence pieces are arranged on the bearing plate and are suitable for being electrically connected with the battery pack;

a flexible circuit member having a body mechanically and electrically connected to the plurality of bus members and a pair of external connectors connected to the body, the external connectors having at least one insertion piece, each insertion piece having a first holding portion; and

a cable connector, including an insulating casing, a plurality of conductive terminals and a plurality of wires, the insulating casing has at least one insertion slot for inserting the at least one insertion piece correspondingly, and each insertion slot is provided with a second holding part for combining with the first holding part to hold the corresponding insertion piece in the insertion slot, the plurality of conductive terminals are arranged in the insulating casing and correspond to the at least one insertion slot, each conductive terminal has a contact part protruding into the corresponding insertion slot to be electrically connected with the corresponding insertion piece and a tail part positioned at the opposite end of the contact part, the plurality of wires are respectively connected with the tail parts of the plurality of conductive terminals;

the first holding part comprises two notches formed in the inserting sheet, each inserting sheet is provided with a reinforcing plate for supporting the inserting sheet, the outline of each reinforcing plate corresponds to the outline of the inserting sheet to form a corresponding notch, and each second holding part comprises two elastic clamping blocks arranged on the insulating shell and clamped into the notches respectively.

2. The battery connection module according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the elastic tabs are integrally formed on the insulative housing.

3. The battery connection module according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pair of external connection bodies have two insertion pieces, and the insulative housing has two insertion grooves.

4. The battery connection module of claim 3, wherein each conductive terminal further has a main body portion interposed between the contact portion and the tail portion, the contact portion extends from the main body portion to form a reverse bent structure, and the end of the contact portion elastically abuts against the main body portion when the contact portion is in contact with the corresponding insertion tab and is stressed.

5. The battery connection module of claim 4, wherein each conductive terminal further has a positioning portion connected between the main portion and the tail portion, the plurality of conductive terminals are arranged in a row corresponding to each insertion slot, the cable connector further includes at least one terminal position retaining member assembled to the insulative housing, each terminal position retaining member has a strip-shaped retaining block, and the retaining block abuts against one side of the positioning portion adjacent to the tail portion of the conductive terminal in the same row.

6. The battery connecting module according to claim 5, wherein each terminal position holder further has a flat plate portion and two engaging portions respectively connected to opposite ends of the flat plate portion, each engaging portion forming an engaging groove, the holding block protrudes from one side of the flat plate portion and is located between the two engaging portions, the insulating housing further has at least one receiving groove for correspondingly receiving the holding block of the at least one terminal position holder, and two positioning protrusions are provided corresponding to each receiving groove for respectively passing through the two engaging grooves of the corresponding terminal position holder.

7. The battery connection module of claim 5, wherein each conductive terminal further has a retention tab extending from the main body portion toward the positioning portion, and the insulative housing further has a plurality of retention openings for the retention tabs of the conductive terminals to extend into and limit the retention tabs.