CN209786004U

CN209786004U - Battery pack

Info

Publication number: CN209786004U
Application number: CN201920355164.4U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 樱井敦
Original assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Current assignee: Honda Motor Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-03-22
Filing date: 2019-03-20
Publication date: 2019-12-13
Anticipated expiration: 2029-03-20
Also published as: JP7018340B2; JP2019169270A

Abstract

the utility model provides a battery pack. In a battery pack (1), a plurality of battery cells (10) are stacked between a pair of end plates (20), the end plates (20) and the plurality of battery cells (10) are compressed and sandwiched by a plurality of exterior bodies, the exterior body member (100) having the shape of the upper surfaces, the side surfaces, and the bottom surfaces of the end plates (20) and the plurality of battery cells (10) is integrally extruded, the side wall portion (103) of the exterior body member (100) is cut in the extrusion direction (D2), the exterior body member (100) is divided into a top plate member (60) and a bottom plate member (70) each having side surface supports (62, 72), the end plates (20) and the plurality of battery cells (10) are disposed between the side surface supports (62, 72) of the top plate member (60) and the bottom plate member (70), and the end plates (20) are fixed to the side surface supports (62), and the side surface supports (62) of the top plate member (60) and the bottom plate member, (72). According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a battery pack including an outer package body in which uniform compressive force can be easily applied to a battery cell.

Description

battery pack

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a pack of battery through outer casing compression and centre gripping a plurality of battery cell (cell).

Background

A hybrid (hybrid) vehicle, an electric vehicle, or the like is mounted with a battery pack in which a plurality of battery cells including a lithium ion (lithium ion) secondary battery or the like are stacked. Generally, the battery cell swells due to charge and discharge. Therefore, the battery pack is constructed in the following manner: a plurality of battery cells are stacked and arranged between a pair of end plates (end plates), and the entire plurality of battery cells including the end plates are compressed and held by an outer package called a binding bar (see, for example, patent documents 1 and 2).

[ Prior art documents ]

[ patent document ]

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2013-51048

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2017-216114

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

[ problem to be solved by the utility model ]

in order to effectively suppress swelling of the plurality of stacked battery cells, it is important that each of the plurality of outer cases uniformly apply a compressive force to the plurality of battery cells. Therefore, each exterior body must have uniform strength and rigidity.

Generally, the exterior body is formed with high strength and high rigidity, and is assembled to a plurality of stacked battery packs in a flexed manner, so that a compressive force acts on the battery packs by a reaction force of the exterior body. However, there are the following problems: if dimensional tolerances (variations in the machining dimensions) occur for each package, the individual packages cannot uniformly apply a compressive force to the plurality of stacked battery cells, and therefore, the expansion of the battery cells cannot be effectively suppressed.

therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack including an outer package body in which a uniform compressive force can be easily applied to a battery cell.

[ means for solving problems ]

(1) The battery pack of the present invention is a battery pack (for example, a battery pack 1 described later) in which a plurality of battery cells (for example, battery cells 10 described later) are stacked between a pair of end plates (for example, end plates 20 described later) and the pair of end plates and the plurality of battery cells are compressed and sandwiched by a plurality of exterior members, wherein the exterior members include a top plate member (for example, a top plate member 60 described later) and a bottom plate member (for example, a bottom plate member 70 described later), the top plate member and the bottom plate member respectively have side support portions (for example, side support portions 62 and 72 described later) corresponding to the pair of end plates at both ends, a distance between inner surfaces of the side support portions of the top plate member (for example, a distance W11 described later) and a distance between inner surfaces of the side support portions of the bottom plate member (for example, and a distance between outer surfaces of the side support portions of the top plate member (e.g., distance W12 described later) is equal to a distance between outer surfaces of the side support portions of the bottom plate member (e.g., distance W22 described later), and the pair of end plates are fixed to the side support portions of the top plate member and the bottom plate member, respectively.

According to (1), the exterior body in which the dimension difference between the top plate member and the bottom plate member is reduced by the dimension matching of the top plate member and the bottom plate member can compress the top plate member side and the bottom plate member side of the battery cell, and further, the width direction (direction D2) of the battery cell uniformly, and therefore, a battery pack including the exterior body capable of preventing the local deformation of the battery cell can be manufactured. Since the dimensions of the top plate member and the bottom plate member are matched, the top plate member and the bottom plate member can be integrally extrusion-molded, the productivity is good, and the cost of the battery pack can be reduced.

(2) In the battery pack according to (1), it is preferable that the exterior body further includes side plate members (for example, side plate members 80 described later) having side support portions (for example, side support portions 82 described later) corresponding to the pair of end plates at both ends, a distance between inner surfaces of the side support portions of the side plate members (for example, distance W31 described later) and a distance between inner surfaces of the side support portions of the top plate member are equal, a distance between outer surfaces of the side support portions of the side plate members (for example, distance W32 described later) and a distance between outer surfaces of the side support portions of the top plate member are equal, a protruding height of the side support portions of the side plate members (for example, protruding height H3 described later) and a protruding height of the side support portions of the top plate member (for example, protruding height H1 described later) are equal, the sum of the width of the top plate member (e.g., width U described later) and the width of the side plate member (e.g., width S described later) is equal to the width of the bottom plate member (e.g., width L described later), and the pair of end plates are fixed to the side support portions of the side plate members.

According to (2), even when the top plate member is disposed only between the electrode terminals of the battery cells so that the bus bar connection operation between the electrode terminals of the battery cells can be performed after the top plate member is fixed, the top plate member side and the bottom plate member side of the battery cells can be compressed uniformly by combining with the side plate member, and thus local deformation of the battery cells can be prevented. Further, since the width of the top plate member and the width of the side plate member are equal to the width of the bottom plate member, the top plate member, the bottom plate member, and the side plate member can be integrally extrusion-molded, and then the respective members can be divided, so that the productivity is further improved, and the cost of the battery pack can be further reduced.

(3) In the battery pack according to (1) or (2), it is preferable that mounting portions (for example, mounting portions 73 described later) are integrally projected on both outer sides of the side surface support portion of the bottom plate member.

According to (3), a flange (flange) for fastening a bolt for fixing the battery pack to the mounting target portion can be integrally formed, and the manufacturing cost of parts can be reduced.

[ effects of the utility model ]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a battery pack including an outer package body in which uniform compressive force can be easily applied to a battery cell.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the battery pack shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front view of a top plate member of the exterior package of the battery pack shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a front view of a bottom plate member of the exterior package of the battery pack shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a front view of a side plate member of the exterior body of the battery pack shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exterior body of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[ description of symbols ]

1: battery pack

10: battery unit

20: end plate

60: top board component

62: side support

70: floor member

72: side support

73: mounting part

80: side plate component

82: side support

100: member for exterior body

103: side wall part

Detailed Description

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

[ Structure of Battery pack ]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the battery pack shown in fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front view of a top plate member of the exterior package of the battery pack shown in fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a front view of a bottom plate member of the exterior package of the battery pack shown in fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a front view of a side plate member of the exterior body of the battery pack shown in fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating an exterior body of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, in the battery pack 1, a plurality of battery cells 10 are stacked in parallel between a pair of end plates 20, 20. As shown in fig. 2, insulating plates 13 are interposed between the adjacent battery cells 10 and between the end battery cell 10 and the end plate 20.

Here, as shown in fig. 1, in the battery pack 1, a direction along the stacking direction of the plurality of battery cells 10 is defined as a "D1 direction". Also, a direction orthogonal to the D1 direction and parallel to the upper surface 10a of the battery cell 10 is defined as a "D2 direction". Further, a direction orthogonal to the D1 direction and the D2 direction and perpendicular to the upper surface 3a of the battery cell 10 is defined as a "D3 direction". The "up" and "down" in the battery pack 1 correspond to the up and down in the respective drawings.

The plurality of stacked battery cells 10 are covered with the insulating cover (cover)40 along the insulating plate 13 over the side surfaces and the lower surfaces along the stacking direction (direction D1) of the battery cells 10. Side plates (side plates) 50 are attached to both side surfaces along the stacking direction (direction D1) of the battery cells 10.

The side plate 50 is in contact with a side surface along the stacking direction (direction D1) of the plurality of battery cells 10 covered by the insulating cover 40 with the insulating cover 40 interposed therebetween. The side plate 50 has a mounting piece 52 integrally bent to be in contact with the bottom surface of the insulating cover 40. The mounting piece 52 has a plurality of screw holes 53 formed therein.

The plurality of stacked battery cells 10 include end plates 20, insulating covers 40, and side plates 50, and are surrounded by an exterior body. The exterior body is formed of a metal material or a resin material having high strength and high rigidity. The exterior body of the present embodiment includes: a top plate member 60 provided on the upper surface 10a side of the battery cell 10; a floor member 70 provided on the lower surface side of the battery cell 10; and a side plate member 80 provided on a side surface of the battery cell 10 along the stacking direction (direction D1).

The top plate member 60 has a top plate portion 61 and a side surface support portion 62. The top plate portion 61 is disposed so as to cover the upper surfaces 10a of all the battery cells 10 including the pair of end plates 20, 20 in the stacking direction (direction D1). The top plate 61 covers the inside of the pair of electrode terminals 10b, 10b provided on the upper surface 10a of the battery cell 10. That is, the length of the top plate portion 61 in the direction D2 is shorter than the separation distance between the pair of electrode terminals 10b, 10b of the battery cell 10. Therefore, the pair of electrode terminals 10b, 10b of each battery cell 10 are exposed on the outer side of the top plate portion 61 along the direction D2.

The side support portions 62 are integrally formed at both ends of the top plate portion 61 along the direction D1 so as to extend downward along the direction D3. In the top plate member 60 of the present embodiment, there is no portion formed along the D1 direction, the D2 direction, and the D3 direction other than the top plate portion 61 and the side surface support portion 62.

The width of the side support portion 62 (the width along the direction D2 in fig. 1 and 2) is the same as the width of the top plate portion 61 (the width along the direction D2 in fig. 1 and 2). The side support portions 62 are configured to support the end plates 20, 20 by contacting the side surfaces of the stacked battery cells 10 disposed at both ends in the stacking direction (direction D1), specifically, by sandwiching the outer surfaces 20a, 20a of the pair of end plates 20, 20 of the stacked battery cells 10 (the side surfaces opposite to the battery cells 10 along the direction D2).

As shown in fig. 3, the downward projecting heights H1 of the side surface supports 62 and 62 in the present embodiment are the same. The protruding height H1 of the side support 62 is set to about 1/2 of the height (height in the direction D3) of the end plate 20. The distance W11 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side support portions 62, 62 is set to be slightly smaller than the distance between the outer surfaces 20a, 20a of the pair of end plates 20, 20.

The cross-sectional shape of the top panel member 60 when cut along the direction D1 is exactly the same regardless of the position in the direction D2. Therefore, the thicknesses of the top plate portion 61 and the side surface support portion 62 are uniform along the direction D2. In addition, the side surface support portion 62 of the present embodiment is also formed to have a uniform thickness in the protruding direction along the direction D3.

The bottom plate member 70 has a bottom plate portion 71, a side surface support portion 72, and an attachment portion 73. The bottom plate portion 71 is disposed so as to cover the bottom surfaces of all the battery cells 10 including the pair of end plates 20, 20 in the stacking direction (direction D1). The length of the bottom plate portion 71 in the direction D2 is substantially equal to the length of the insulating cover 40 in the direction D2. Therefore, the bottom plate portion 71 is formed so as to cover the entire lower surface of the insulating cover 40.

The side support portions 72 are integrally formed at both ends of the bottom plate portion 71 along the direction D1 so as to extend upward along the direction D3. The width of the side support portion 72 (the width along the direction D2 in fig. 1 and 2) is the same as the width of the bottom plate portion 71 (the width along the direction D2 in fig. 1 and 2). The side surface support portions 72 are in contact with side surfaces of the stacked battery cells 10 disposed at both ends in the stacking direction (direction D1), specifically, with outer side surfaces 20a and 20a of the pair of end plates 20 and 20 of the stacked battery cells 10 interposed therebetween, and support these end plates 20 and 20, similarly to the side surface support portions 62 of the top plate member 60.

As shown in fig. 4, the upward projecting heights H2 of the two side surface support portions 72, 72 in the present embodiment are the same. The protruding height H2 of the side support 72 is set to be about 1/2 of the height (height along the direction D3) of the end plate 20. The distance W21 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side support portions 72, 72 is set to be slightly smaller than the distance between the outer surfaces 20a, 20a of the pair of end plates 20, 20.

The mounting portion 73 is provided outside the pair of side surface support portions 72, 72 and integrally protrudes in parallel with the bottom plate portion 71. The mounting portion 73 is a portion to be mounted to a mounting target portion of a vehicle or the like on which the battery pack 1 is mounted by a plurality of bolts, not shown. Since the mounting portion 73 is provided so as to integrally protrude from the bottom plate portion 71, a flange portion for fastening a bolt for fixing the battery pack 1 to a mounting target portion can be integrally formed, and manufacturing costs of parts can be reduced. The width of the mounting portion 73 (the width along the direction D2 in fig. 1 and 2) is the same as the width of the bottom plate portion 71 (the width along the direction D2 in fig. 1 and 2). In the floor member 70 of the present embodiment, there is no portion formed along the direction D1, the direction D2, and the direction D3, except for the floor portion 71, the side surface support portion 72, and the attachment portion 73.

The cross-sectional shape of the floor member 70 when cut along the direction D1 is exactly the same regardless of the position in the direction D2. Therefore, the thicknesses of the bottom plate portion 71, the side surface support portion 72, and the mounting portion 73 are uniform along the direction D2. In addition, the side support portion 72 of the present embodiment is also formed to have a uniform thickness in the protruding direction along the direction D3.

The total height of the projecting height H1 of the side surface support portion 62 of the top plate member 60 and the projecting height H2 of the side surface support portion 72 of the bottom plate member 70 is set to be equal to or less than the dimension in the height direction (D3 direction) of the battery cell 10 including the insulating cover 40.

the side plate member 80 has a side plate portion 81 and a side support portion 82. The side plate portion 81 is disposed along the longitudinal direction of the side plate 50 along the stacking direction (direction D1) of the battery cells 10. The length of the side plate portion 81 in the D3 direction is sufficiently shorter than the height of the side plate 50 in the D3 direction.

The side support portions 82 are integrally formed at both ends of the side plate member 80 along the direction D1 so as to extend parallel to the end plate 20 along the direction D2. In the side plate member 80 of the present embodiment, there is no portion formed along the D1 direction, the D2 direction, and the D3 direction other than the side plate portion 81 and the side support portion 82.

The width of the side support 82 (the width along the direction D3 in fig. 1 and 2) is the same as the width of the side plate 81 (the width along the direction D3 in fig. 1 and 2). The side surface support portion 82 is in contact with the end surface of the stacked battery cells 10 in the stacking direction (direction D2), specifically, supports the pair of end plates 20, 20 of the stacked battery cells 10 with the outer side surfaces 20a, 20a of the end plates 20, 20 interposed therebetween, similarly to the side surface support portion 62 of the top plate member 60.

in the two side plate members 80, 80 of the present embodiment, the width of the side plate portions 81, 81 shown in fig. 2 along the direction D3 is the same. As shown in fig. 5, the protruding height H3 of the side surface support portions 82 and 82 in the present embodiment is also the same. The side support parts 82, 82 have a protruding height H3 equal to the protruding height H1 of the side support part 62 of the top plate member 60. Further, the distance W31 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side surface supporting portions 82, 82 is set to be slightly smaller than the distance between the outer surfaces 20a, 20a of the pair of end plates 20, 20.

The cross-sectional shape of the side plate member 80 cut along the direction D1 is formed to be exactly the same regardless of the position in the direction D3. Therefore, the thickness of each side plate 81 and each side support 82 is uniform along the direction D3. In addition, the side support portion 82 of the present embodiment is also formed to have a uniform thickness in the protruding direction along the direction D2. In short, the cross-sectional shape when the side panel member 80 is cut along the direction D1 is the same as the cross-sectional shape when the top panel member 60 is cut along the direction D1.

The dimensional relationship among the top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate member 80 will be further described with reference to fig. 3 to 6. For the sake of easy understanding, the side plate members 80 and 80 shown in fig. 6 are arranged by being angularly rotated by 90 degrees so that the direction D3 shown in fig. 2 is along the direction D2 shown in fig. 6.

As shown in fig. 6, the sum of the width U of the top panel member 60 along the direction D2 and the width S, S of each of the two side panel members 80, 80 also along the direction D2 is equal to the width L of the bottom panel member 70 along the direction D2. That is, U + S ═ L.

As shown in fig. 3 to 5, the distance W11 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side surface supporting portions 62, 62 of the top plate member 60 is equal to the distance W21 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side surface supporting portions 72, 72 of the bottom plate member 70, and the distance W12 between the outer surfaces of the pair of side surface supporting portions 62, 62 of the top plate member 60 is equal to the distance W22 between the outer surfaces of the pair of side surface supporting portions 72, 72 of the bottom plate member 70. That is, W11 ═ W21, and W12 ═ W22.

Further, as shown in fig. 3 to 5, a distance W31 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side support portions 82, 82 of the side plate member 80 is equal to a distance W11 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side support portions 62, 62 of the top plate member 60, and a distance W32 between the outer surfaces of the pair of side support portions 82, 82 of the side plate member 80 is equal to a distance W12 between the outer surfaces of the pair of side support portions 62, 62 of the top plate member 60. That is, W11 ═ W31, and W12 ═ W32. As described above, W11 ═ W21 and W12 ═ W22 result in the relationship W11 ═ W21 ═ W31 and W12 ═ W22 ═ W32.

The top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate member 80 are assembled so as to surround the upper surface, the side surfaces, and the bottom surface of the battery cell 10 held in the insulating cover 40 with the pair of end plates 20, 20 interposed therebetween.

Specifically, the top plate member 60 is fitted to the upper surface 10a of the stacked battery cells 10. Since the distance W11 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side support portions 62, 62 is slightly smaller than the distance between the outer surfaces 20a, 20a of the pair of end plates 20, the side support portion 62 abuts against the outer surface 20a of the end plate 20 while being slightly deformed outward. At this time, the pair of side surface supporting portions 62, 62 compress and sandwich the pair of end plates 20, 20 by a reaction force due to the strength or rigidity of the top plate member 60. Thus, the plurality of battery cells 10 sandwiched between the pair of end plates 20, 20 are disposed between the pair of side surface support portions 62, 62 of the top plate member 60. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the side support portion 62 of the top plate member 60 is fixed to the end plate 20 by a plurality of bolts 63.

The bottom plate member 70 is attached to the lower surface of the insulating cover 40 that houses the stacked battery cells 10. Since the distance W21 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side support portions 72, 72 is slightly smaller than the distance between the outer surfaces 20a, 20a of the pair of end plates 20, the side support portion 72 abuts against the outer surface 20a of the end plate 20 while being slightly deformed outward. At this time, the pair of side surface support portions 72, 72 compress and sandwich the pair of end plates 20, 20 by a reaction force due to the strength or rigidity of the floor member 70. As a result, the plurality of battery cells 10 sandwiched between the pair of end plates 20, 20 are disposed between the pair of side surface support portions 72, 72 of the bottom plate member 70. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the side support portion 72 of the floor member 70 is fixed to the end plate 20 by a plurality of bolts 74. As shown in fig. 2, the bottom plate portion 71 of the bottom plate member 70 is fixed to the attachment piece 52 of the side plate 50 by a plurality of bolts 75.

Further, the side plate member 80 is fitted to the side plate 50. Since the distance W31 between the inner surfaces of the pair of side support portions 82, 82 is slightly smaller than the distance between the outer surfaces 20a, 20a of the pair of end plates 20, the side support portions 82 abut against the outer surfaces 20a of the end plates 20 while being slightly deformed outward. At this time, the pair of side surface supporting portions 82, 82 compress and sandwich the pair of end plates 20, 20 by a reaction force due to the strength or rigidity of the side plate member 80. As a result, the plurality of battery cells 10 sandwiched between the pair of end plates 20, 20 are disposed between the pair of side support portions 82, 82 of the side plate member 80. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the side plate portion 81 of the side plate member 80 is fixed to the side plate 50 by riveting with a rivet 83 through holes 51, 51 provided at both end portions of the side plate 50. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the side support portion 82 of the side plate member 80 is fixed to the end plate 20 by a plurality of bolts 84.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, terminal plates 11 and 11 are provided on the end plates 20 and 20, respectively. The terminal plate 11 is fixed to an outer surface 20a and an upper surface 20b of the end plate 20 by bolts 14.

In the battery pack 1 configured in this manner, the top plate member 60 and the bottom plate member 70 are identical in size. Therefore, the exterior body with a reduced dimensional difference between the top plate member 60 and the bottom plate member 70 can uniformly compress the top plate member 60 side and the bottom plate member 70 side of the battery cell 10, and further can uniformly compress the width direction (direction D2) of the battery cell 10, so that local deformation of the battery cell 10 can be prevented. Further, the structural reliability of the assembled battery 1 is improved, and a uniform compressive force can be easily applied to the plurality of stacked battery cells 10. Furthermore, in the battery pack 1 of the present embodiment, the side plate members 80 also have the same dimensions as the top plate member 60 and the bottom plate member 70, and therefore, the structural reliability of the battery pack 1 can be further improved.

Further, since the distance W31 between the inner surfaces of the side support portions 82, 82 of the side plate member 80 is equal to the distance W between the inner surfaces of the side support portions 62, 62 of the top plate member 60, the distance W32 between the outer surfaces of the side support portions 82, 82 of the side plate member 80 is equal to the distance W12 between the outer surfaces of the side support portions 62, 62 of the top plate member 60, the protruding height H3 of the side support portions 82, 82 of the side plate member 80 is equal to the protruding height H1 of the side support portions 62, 62 of the top plate member 60, the sum of the width U of the top plate member 60 and the width S of the side plate member 80 is equal to the width L of the bottom plate member 70, and the pair of end plates 20, 20 are fixed to the side support portions 82, 82 of the side plate member 80, even when the top plate member 60 is disposed only at the electrode terminals 10b, 10b of the battery cell 10 in order to enable busbar connection work between the electrode terminals 10b, 10, 10b, the top plate member 60 side and the bottom plate member 70 side of the battery cell 10 can be equally compressed by combining with the side plate member 80, and thus local deformation of the battery cell 10 can be prevented. Further, after the top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate member 80 are integrally extrusion-molded, the respective members 60, 70, 80 can be formed by division, so that productivity is further improved, and the cost of the battery pack 1 can be further reduced.

In particular, the top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate member 80 having the same dimensions can be easily formed by integrally extruding the same material and then dividing the same into the respective members 60, 70, and 80. A method for manufacturing such a battery pack 1 will be described below.

[ method for producing Battery pack ]

Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating a method of manufacturing a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 7 shows the exterior member 100 after the top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate member 80 described above are integrally extrusion-molded. The exterior member 100 is formed by extrusion along the direction D2. The exterior member 100 integrally includes an upper wall portion 101, a lower wall portion 102, and a pair of side wall portions 103 and 103 corresponding to the upper surface, the side surfaces, and the bottom surface of the plurality of stacked battery cells 10. The lower wall portion 102 is integrally provided with a pair of protruding portions 104, 104.

The upper wall 101 corresponds to the top plate 61 of the top plate 60 and the side plate 81 of the side plate 80. The length of the upper wall portion 101 along the direction D1 is equal to the length of each of the top plate portion 61 of the top plate member 60 and the side plate portion 81 of the side plate member 80 along the direction D1. The width of the upper wall portion 101 in the direction D2 is substantially equal to the sum (U + S) of the width U of the ceiling member 60 and the width S, S of each of the two side plate members 80, 80 shown in fig. 6.

The lower wall portion 102 is a portion corresponding to the bottom plate portion 71 of the bottom plate member 70. The lower wall 102 is formed parallel to the upper wall 101. The length of the lower wall portion 102 in the direction D1 is substantially equal to the length of the bottom plate portion 71 of the bottom plate member 70 in the direction D1. Further, the width of the lower wall portion 102 in the direction D2 is substantially equal to the width L of the floor member 70 shown in fig. 6.

The pair of side wall portions 103, 103 correspond to the side support portions 62, 72, 82 of the top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate member 80, respectively. The side wall 103 is perpendicular to the upper wall 101 and the lower wall 102. The width of the side wall portion 103 in the direction D2 is substantially equal to the sum (U + S) of the width U of the top plate member 60 shown in fig. 6 and the width S, S of each of the two side plate members 80, 80. Further, the height of the side wall portion 103 along the direction D3 is substantially equal to the sum (H1+ H2) of the projection height H1 of the side support 62 of the top plate member 60 shown in fig. 3 and the projection height H2 of the side support 72 of the bottom plate member 70 shown in fig. 4.

The pair of protruding portions 104, 104 correspond to the mounting portions 73, 73 of the floor member 70. The protruding portions 104 extend in parallel with the lower wall portion 102 on both sides of the lower wall portion 102 along the direction D1. The width of the projecting portion 104 in the direction D2 is substantially equal to the width of the bottom plate portion 71 of the bottom plate member 70 in the direction D2 shown in fig. 6, and is substantially equal to the width L of the bottom plate member 70.

since the outer package member 100 is extruded in the direction D2, the thicknesses of the upper wall 101, the lower wall 102, the pair of side walls 103 and 103, and the extensions 104 and 104 are continuous and uniform in the direction D2. The space 105 surrounded by the upper wall 101, the lower wall 102, and the pair of side walls 103 and 103 is continuous along the direction D2 at the same width and the same height. Therefore, the cross-sectional shape when the outer covering member 100 is cut along the direction D1 is: the outer body member 100 has the same shape regardless of the position in the direction D2.

After extrusion molding of the exterior member 100 in this manner, as shown in fig. 8, the exterior member 100 is cut along cutting lines CL1 and CL1, which are along the extrusion direction, CL1 and CL 1. The cutting line CL1 is a cutting line that cuts a substantially central portion of the sidewall 103 in the height direction along the extrusion direction (direction D2). The cutting lines CL1 and CL1 are formed parallel to the upper wall 101 and the lower wall 102. Thereby, the exterior member 100 is divided into two upper and lower parts.

The upper wall portion 101 of the divided two members has side wall portions 103, 103 of substantially half the height at both ends, respectively. The member on the upper wall portion 101 side corresponds to the top plate member 60 of the exterior body shown in fig. 6. The members on the upper wall portion 101 side shown in the present embodiment include a pair of side plate members 80, 80 of the exterior body shown in fig. 6, in addition to the top plate member 60.

The lower wall portion 102 of the divided two members has side wall portions 103, 103 of substantially half the height at both end portions, respectively. As shown in fig. 6, the member on the divided lower wall portion 102 side becomes a bottom plate member 70 having a width L.

next, the member on the upper wall portion 101 side divided from the lower wall portion 102 side in accordance with the cutting lines CL1, CL1 is further cut along the cutting lines CL2, CL2 as shown in fig. 8. The cutting line CL2 is a cutting line along the D1 direction orthogonal to the extrusion direction (D2 direction). The cutting lines CL2 and CL2 are formed parallel to each other along the D1 direction. The positions of the cutting lines CL2 and CL2 from both ends in the direction D2 in the member for an exterior body 100 are the same. As a result, as shown in fig. 6, the top plate member 60 having the width U and the two side plate members 80 and 80 each having the width S, S are obtained from the member on the upper wall portion 101 side of the exterior member 100.

The top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate member 80 obtained in this manner are assembled to the plurality of stacked battery cells 10 after a required number of bolt holes are formed, respectively, as shown in fig. 2. That is, the plurality of battery cells 10 sandwiched between the pair of end plates 20, 20 are disposed between the side surface support portions 62, 62 of the top plate member 60 and the side surface support portions 72, 72 of the bottom plate member 70. The plurality of battery cells 10 sandwiched between the pair of end plates 20, 20 are disposed between the side support portions 82, 82 of the side plate member 80. Subsequently, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the side support portions 62, 72, and 82 are fixed to the end plate 20 by bolts 63, 74, and 84. In this way, a battery pack 1 in which the upper surfaces, side surfaces, and bottom surfaces of the plurality of stacked battery cells 10 are surrounded by the exterior body (the top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate member 80) is obtained.

According to the method of manufacturing the battery pack 1, since the top plate member 60 and the bottom plate member 70 are formed by being integrally extruded and then divided, the dimensions of the top plate member 60 and the bottom plate member 70 can be made uniform, and the dimensional difference between the top plate member 60 and the bottom plate member 70 can be reduced. Therefore, the structural reliability of the battery pack 1 can be improved, and a uniform compressive force can be easily applied to the plurality of stacked battery cells 10. Further, since the top plate member 60 and the bottom plate member 70 are integrally processed, the manufacturing cost is also reduced.

In the present embodiment, all the dimensions of the top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate members 80 can be matched, and the difference in dimension between the top plate member 60, the bottom plate member 70, and the side plate members 80 can be reduced. Therefore, the structural reliability of the battery pack 1 can be further improved, and a uniform compressive force can be easily applied to the plurality of stacked battery cells 10. Further, since the side plate member 80 is processed integrally with the top plate member 60 and then divided, the number of remaining members can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced.

Further, in the present embodiment, since the mounting portion 73 for mounting the battery pack 1 to the mounting target site is also integrally formed with the bottom plate member 70 at the time of extrusion molding, a structure for mounting the battery pack 1 to the mounting target site can be easily formed.

Claims

1. A battery pack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked between a pair of end plates, and the pair of end plates and the plurality of battery cells are compressed and sandwiched by a plurality of outer cases,

the exterior body includes a top plate member and a bottom plate member,

The top plate member and the bottom plate member each have a side support portion at both ends thereof corresponding to the pair of end plates,

Wherein the distance between the inner surfaces of the side support portions of the top plate member is equal to the distance between the inner surfaces of the side support portions of the bottom plate member, and the distance between the outer surfaces of the side support portions of the top plate member is equal to the distance between the outer surfaces of the side support portions of the bottom plate member,

The pair of end plates are fixed to the side support portions of the top plate member and the bottom plate member, respectively.

2. The battery pack according to claim 1,

The exterior body further includes side plate members having side support portions at both ends thereof corresponding to the pair of end plates,

The distance between the inner surfaces of the side supporting parts of the side plate members is equal to the distance between the inner surfaces of the side supporting parts of the top plate members, and the distance between the outer surfaces of the side supporting parts of the side plate members is equal to the distance between the outer surfaces of the side supporting parts of the top plate members,

The protruding height of the side supporting part of the side plate component is equal to the protruding height of the side supporting part of the top plate component,

The sum of the width of the top panel element and the width of the side panel element is equal to the width of the bottom panel element,

The pair of end plates are fixed to the side support portions of the side plate members.

3. The battery pack according to claim 1 or 2,

The side support part of the bottom plate component is provided with two outer sides and a mounting part integrally protrudes.