CN220895675U

CN220895675U - Battery box

Info

Publication number: CN220895675U
Application number: CN202322518333.0U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 梁智翔; 管仕豪; 黄龙田
Original assignee: Formosa Plastics Corp
Current assignee: Formosa Plastics Corp
Priority date: 2023-09-15
Filing date: 2023-09-15
Publication date: 2024-05-03
Anticipated expiration: 2033-09-15

Abstract

A battery box comprises a tray, an upper cover and an anti-collision frame. The tray is configured to house at least one battery pack. The upper cover is configured to cover the tray and the battery pack. The anti-collision frame is arranged around the tray. The tray, the upper cover and the anti-collision frame comprise at least one composite material, and the anti-collision frame and the tray are integrally formed or fixedly connected with the tray through an adhesive layer. Compared with the battery box which is commonly used in the market and mainly consists of metal pieces, the battery box has the following advantages: the weight is reduced, the anode treatment is not needed, the problem of short circuit is not needed to be worried about due to the electric property of the composite material, the noise is low during the running of the vehicle, the number of parts of the battery box is reduced, and the process of locking or welding screws is omitted.

Description

Battery box

Technical Field

The utility model relates to a battery box.

Background

Electric vehicles are rising with the rising awareness of environmental protection in recent years. Electric vehicles are typically equipped with a battery compartment to accommodate batteries required for operation of the electric vehicle, however, current battery compartment designs have several drawbacks, such as: the large number of parts makes the manufacturing process complicated, too heavy, noise during the running of the vehicle, etc.

Disclosure of utility model

Accordingly, an objective of the present utility model is to provide an improved battery case, which solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.

In order to achieve the above object, according to some embodiments of the present utility model, a battery case includes a tray, an upper cover, and an anti-collision frame. The tray is configured to house at least one battery pack. The upper cover is configured to cover the tray and the battery pack. The anti-collision frame is arranged around the tray. The tray, the upper cover and the anti-collision frame comprise at least one composite material, and the anti-collision frame and the tray are integrally formed or fixedly connected with the tray through an adhesive layer.

In one or more embodiments of the utility model, the upper cover includes a top wall and a flange. The top wall is configured to face the battery pack, and the flange surrounds the top wall. The flange has a height difference from the top wall that is greater than the depth of the tray.

In one or more embodiments of the utility model, the battery case further includes a grid. The grill is removably disposed in the tray, and a plurality of battery pack placement spaces are partitioned in the tray.

In one or more embodiments of the present utility model, the battery case further includes a grid disposed in the tray and dividing a plurality of battery pack placement spaces in the tray. The grille comprises a composite material, and the grille and the tray are integrally formed.

In one or more embodiments of the present utility model, the anti-collision frame includes a first plate, a second plate disposed parallel to the first plate, and a honeycomb structure disposed between the first plate and the second plate.

In one or more embodiments of the utility model, the battery case further includes a flame retardant layer at least partially covering a surface of the tray.

In one or more embodiments of the utility model, the battery case further includes a flame retardant layer at least partially covering a surface of the upper cover.

In summary, the battery case of the present utility model includes an upper cover, a tray and an anti-collision frame made of composite materials, and compared with the battery case mainly composed of metal members, which is commonly used in the market at present, the battery case of the present utility model has the following advantages: the weight is greatly reduced, the corrosion resistance can be realized without anode treatment, the electrical property of the composite material is no longer worry about the problem of short circuit, and no obvious noise is generated during the running of the vehicle. In addition, the tray made of the composite material and the anti-collision frame can be integrally formed and also can be fixed in a pasting mode, so that the number of parts of the battery box can be reduced, and the process of locking or welding screws can be omitted.

Drawings

To make the above and other objects, features, advantages and embodiments of the present utility model more comprehensible, the accompanying drawings are described in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded view illustrating a battery for an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 2 is a combination diagram illustrating a battery for the electric vehicle shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing a tray, a crash frame, and a grill of the battery for the electric vehicle shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a combination diagram illustrating a battery for the electric vehicle shown in fig. 2 along a line 4-4'.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a battery for an electric vehicle according to another embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating an impact frame according to another embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an impact frame according to another embodiment of the utility model.

Detailed Description

For a more complete and thorough description of the present utility model, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and the various embodiments described below. The components in the drawings are not to scale and are provided for the purpose of illustrating the utility model only. Numerous practical details are described below to provide a thorough understanding of the present utility model, however, one skilled in the art will understand that the present utility model may be practiced without one or more of the practical details, and thus, these details are not to be taken as limiting the present utility model.

Please refer to fig. 1 to 3. Fig. 1 and 2 are an exploded view and a combined view of a battery for an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present utility model, respectively, and fig. 3 is a plan view of a tray, an anti-collision frame, and a grill of the battery for the electric vehicle shown in fig. 1. The battery 10 for an electric vehicle includes a battery case 12 and at least one battery pack 13 (battery pack). The battery compartment 12 may be secured to a vehicle component, such as a chassis, of an electric vehicle, such as an electric motor car or electric bus. The battery packs 13 are placed in the battery case 12, and each battery pack 13 includes a plurality of battery cells (battery cells).

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the battery case 12 includes a tray 30 and an upper cover 50. The tray 30 is a substantially box-like structure having a recess 31 for receiving the battery pack 13. The upper cover 50 is configured to cover the tray 30 and the battery pack 13. The upper cover 50 forms a receiving space with the tray 30, in which the battery pack 13 is located. The upper cover 50 comprises a body 53, the body 53 being a substantially inverted box-like structure comprising a top wall 54 and side walls 55 connecting the top wall 54. The upper cover 50 further includes a flange 56, and the flange 56 is disposed around the body 53 and connected to the outer edge of the body 53.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the battery case 12 further includes a crash frame 70, and the crash frame 70 is sleeved on the tray 30 and disposed around the tray 30. The upper cover 50 at least partially covers the bump frame 70 and fixedly connects the bump frame 70. In some embodiments, the upper cover 50 may be secured to the bezel 70 by fasteners (e.g., one or more screws). Specifically, the flange 56 of the upper cover 50 may have one or more through holes 57, and the bump frame 70 has one or more locking holes 77 at corresponding positions, and fasteners (not shown) pass through the through holes 57 and lock into the locking holes 77.

In the present embodiment, the tray 30, the upper cover 50 and the crash frame 70 comprise at least one composite material. The composite material may be composed of a base material and a reinforcing material, wherein the base material comprises a resin (thermosetting resin or thermoplastic resin), and the reinforcing material comprises carbon fiber, glass fiber, other fiber material or metal (stainless steel, aluminum alloy, etc.). The advantages of the battery case 12 of the present utility model compared to the case that is currently common in the market and is mainly composed of metal members include: the weight is greatly reduced, the corrosion resistance can be realized without anode treatment, the electrical property of the composite material is no longer worry about the problem of short circuit, and no obvious noise is generated during the running of the vehicle.

In addition, the anti-collision frame 70 made of composite material can be integrally formed with the tray 30 made of composite material or fixed on the tray 30 by pasting, so that the number of components of the battery box 12 can be reduced, and the process of locking or welding screws can be omitted. In some embodiments, the composite material contained in the tray 30, the cover 50, and the crash frame 70 comprises a recyclable resin, making the battery compartment 12 more environmentally friendly and reducing environmental impact.

In some embodiments, the at least one composite material forming the tray 30, the cover 50, and the bump frame 70 may comprise a fiberglass composite material (e.g., unsaturated resin (UP) plus Sheet Molding Composite (SMC), epoxy plus fiberglass woven cloth) or a carbon fiber composite material (e.g., epoxy plus carbon fiber woven cloth or carbon fiber felt).

In some embodiments, the tray 30, the upper cover 50, and the bump frame 70 may be manufactured by hot press molding. Specifically, the manufacturing method of the battery case 12 may include: hot press molding the first composite material into an upper cover 50; and forming the tray 30 and the bump frame 70 using at least one second composite material, alternatively in two ways: (1) The integrally formed tray 30 and the bump frame 70 are hot pressed, or (2) the tray 30 and the bump frame 70 are hot pressed, respectively, and then the tray 30 and the bump frame 70 are adhered and fixed. The first composite material and the second composite material may be the same material or different materials. After the battery pack 13 is placed on the tray 30, the upper cover 50 may be fixed to the anti-collision frame 70 (e.g., using a screw-lock attachment).

In some embodiments, taking carbon fiber composite as an example, the hot press molding of the tray 30, the upper cover 50, and the bump frame 70 includes the steps of: providing a carbon fiber woven cloth or a carbon fiber felt; impregnating a resin material on a carbon fiber woven cloth or a carbon fiber felt; the carbon fiber woven cloth or carbon fiber felt with the resin material is hot-pressed into a proper shape using a mold to form the tray 30, the upper cover 50, and the impact frame 70.

As shown in fig. 1-3, in some embodiments, the battery compartment 12 further includes a grid 80, the grid 80 being disposed in the recess 31 of the tray 30 to separate the battery packs 13. The grill 80 includes a plurality of bar-shaped structures 83, the bar-shaped structures 83 being disposed in parallel or staggered with each other such that the grill 80 divides a plurality of battery pack placement spaces 81 in the recess 31 of the tray 30, each battery pack 13 being placed in one of the battery pack placement spaces 81. In some embodiments, the ends of the bar-shaped structures 83 are abutted against the side walls of the grooves 31 or the side walls of the connecting grooves 31, so that the grille 80 can serve as a supporting structure to support the battery pack 13 from the inside of the tray 30 to enhance the capability of bearing external force.

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, in some embodiments, the grille 80 is removably disposed in the tray 30, so that, if the battery 10 for an electric vehicle is to be replaced with a battery pack 13 of a different size, only the grille 80 needs to be taken out from the tray 30 and put into another grille of a different specification. The grille 80 may be a metal piece, may be made of a composite material (such as the various composite materials described above), or may be a combination of a metal piece and a composite material.

As shown in fig. 1-3, in some embodiments, the grid 80 may comprise a composite material and be integrally formed with the tray 30. For example, a mold of an appropriate shape may be designed to heat out the grill 80 together when the tray 30 is hot pressed.

As shown in fig. 1-3, in some embodiments, at least one protrusion structure 74 is formed on the bump frame 70, and the protrusion structure 74 is located on at least one edge of the bump frame 70 and protrudes laterally beyond the edge of the bump frame 70. The protruding structure 74 may include a through hole 75, the through hole 75 being traversed by a fastener (not shown) to lock and secure the battery compartment 12 to the electric vehicle. The protruding structure 74 may comprise a composite material (e.g., the various composite materials described above) and may be integrally formed with the bump frame 70, for example, a mold of a suitable shape may be designed to heat the protruding structure 74 together when the bump frame 70 is hot pressed.

Please refer to fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a combination diagram illustrating the battery 10 for the electric vehicle shown in fig. 2 along line 4-4'. As described above, the bump frame 70 may be fixed to the tray 30 in an adhesive manner. As shown, an adhesive layer 96 may be disposed between the crash frame 70 and the tray 30, and the crash frame 70 may be fixedly coupled to the tray 30 through the adhesive layer 96.

As shown in fig. 4, in some embodiments, the upper cover 50 has a first depth H1 (i.e., the difference in height between the bottom surface of the flange 56 and the bottom surface of the top wall 54), and the tray 30 has a second depth H2 (i.e., the depth of the recess 31), the second depth H2 being less than the first depth H1. In some embodiments, the difference in height between any location of the top wall 54 and the flange 56 is greater than the second depth H2 of the tray 30. In the present embodiment, the upper cover 50 has a relatively simple geometry, so it is relatively easy to process and form, the upper cover 50 is designed to be deep, and accordingly, the depth of the tray 30 is reduced, so that the production cost of the battery case can be reduced, and the cost can be saved. In some embodiments, the depth of the bump frame 70 is less than the first depth H1.

As shown in fig. 4, in some embodiments, a heat-conducting adhesive 90 is disposed between the battery pack 13 and the bottom surface of the tray 30, and the heat-conducting adhesive 90 can assist in heat dissipation of the battery pack 13, and also can fix the battery pack 13 in the tray 30, so as to prevent the battery pack 13 from sliding in the tray 30.

Please refer to fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a battery for an electric vehicle according to another embodiment of the present utility model. In comparison with the foregoing embodiments, the battery case of the present embodiment further includes a flame retardant layer 92, the flame retardant layer 92 at least partially covering the surface of at least one of the tray 30 and the upper cover 50. For example, as shown, the flame retardant layer 92 may be selectively disposed in at least one of the following locations: the outer surface of the upper cover 50, the inner surface of the tray 30. The flame retardant layer 92 is not limited to being disposed at the location shown in the figures, and for example, the flame retardant layer 92 may be disposed on the outer surface of the tray 30 or may be disposed on the bump frame 70.

In some embodiments, the flame retardant layer 92 may be thermoformed with the tray 30 or the cover 50. For example, a layer of flame retardant material (e.g., a flame retardant nonwoven fabric) may be laminated with a composite material (e.g., the various composites described above) and simultaneously heat pressed with the flame retardant material to obtain the tray 30 or cover 50 with the flame retardant layer 92 on the surface. In some embodiments, the flame retardant layer 92 may also be sprayed on the surface of the tray 30 or the upper cover 50 after the tray 30 or the upper cover 50 is hot-pressed.

Please refer to fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a crash box 70A according to another embodiment of the utility model. In some embodiments, the crash frame 70A of the battery case includes a first plate 71, a second plate 72, and a honeycomb structure 73. The second plate 72 is disposed in parallel with the first plate 71, and the honeycomb structure 73 is disposed between the first plate 71 and the second plate 72 and connects the first plate 71 and the second plate 72. The first plate body 71 and the second plate body 72 may comprise a thermoplastic resin material, such as polypropylene. The honeycomb structure 73 comprises a plurality of connected hexagonal structures. With the above configuration, the impact frame 70A is made to have the characteristics of light weight and high rigidity.

Please refer to fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a bump frame 70B according to another embodiment of the utility model. In some embodiments, to enhance impact resistance, a metal and composite material may be combined as the impact frame 70B. Specifically, the impact frame 70B includes a metal member 78 (e.g., made of stainless steel or aluminum alloy) and a cladding member 79 made of a composite material, and the cladding member 79 is clad outside the metal member 78, in other words, the metal member 78 is embedded in the cladding member 79. The metal member 78 is, for example, a metal frame or a metal rod, and the metal member 78 may be fixed to the covering member 79 by means of screw locking or adhesion. The cover 79 may be affixed to the tray (e.g., the tray 30 described above) by adhesive means, or may be integrally formed with the tray.

Although the present utility model has been described with reference to the above embodiments, it should be understood that the utility model is not limited thereto, but may be modified and altered in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the present utility model.

[ Symbolic description ]

10 Battery for electric vehicle

12 Battery box

13 Battery pack

30 Tray

31 Groove

50 Upper cover

53 Body

54 Top wall

55 Side wall

56 Flange

57,75 Through holes

70,70A,70B crash-proof frame

71 First plate body

72 Second plate body

73 Honeycomb structure

74 Raised structure

77 Locking hole

78 Metal piece

79 Coating member

80 Grille(s)

81 Battery pack placing space

83 Strip structure

90:Heat conductive adhesive

92 Flame retardant layer

96 Adhesive layer

H1 first depth

H2, second depth.

Claims

1. A battery case, comprising:

a tray configured to house at least one battery pack;

an upper cover configured to cover the tray and the battery pack; and

An anti-collision frame arranged around the tray;

Wherein the tray, the upper cover and the anti-collision frame comprise at least one composite material, and the anti-collision frame and the tray are integrally formed or fixedly connected with the tray through an adhesive layer.

2. The battery compartment of claim 1, wherein the top cover includes a top wall configured to face the battery pack and a flange surrounding the top wall, wherein the flange has a height difference from the top wall that is greater than a depth of the tray.

3. The battery pack of claim 1, further comprising a grill removably disposed in the tray and defining a plurality of pack placement spaces in the tray.

4. The battery compartment of claim 1, further comprising a grid disposed in the tray and defining a plurality of battery pack placement spaces in the tray, wherein the grid comprises the at least one composite material and is integrally formed with the tray.

5. The battery case of claim 1, wherein the anti-collision frame comprises a first plate, a second plate juxtaposed with the first plate, and a honeycomb structure disposed between the first plate and the second plate.

6. The battery compartment of claim 1, further comprising a flame retardant layer at least partially covering a surface of the tray.

7. The battery compartment of claim 1, further comprising a flame retardant layer at least partially covering a surface of the upper cover.