JP2008091231A - Battery module - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery module which has holding frames comprising a plurality of subframes, offers superior volumetric efficiency and convenience, and eliminates errors in assembling or repairing of the module and can make the to take to produce or repair the module. <P>SOLUTION: The battery module includes a plurality of batteries 2, and the holding frames 3 comprising the subframes 4, 7 and 8 having supports that are fitted on part of the outer periphery of the batteries 2. Both the axial ends of the batteries 2 are supported on the supports of respective subframes 4, 7 and 8 of the frames 3, and pair of adjacent batteries are mutually electrically connected. The holding frame 3 has a front face and a back face that are different in shape from each other. The subframes have at least either of a plurality of mutually engaging projections and engaging recessions that are shaped into patterns that cause the projections and recessions to engage with each other, to give the right shapes for the front and the back faces of the holding frame 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a battery module configured by arranging, electrically connecting, and mechanically connecting a required number of unit cells to obtain a required output voltage, and more specifically, an error during assembly. It relates to technology that increases lost productivity.

  In recent years, portable and cordless electronic devices such as AV devices or personal computers and portable communication devices have been rapidly promoted, and the drive power for these electric devices is highly reliable and easy to maintain. Therefore, a nickel cadmium storage battery, a nickel hydride storage battery, a lithium ion secondary battery, or the like is used.

  On the other hand, in an electric vehicle of a hybrid type, a nickel metal hydride storage battery is used as a power source of a battery drive motor used as a travel drive source by being combined with an internal combustion engine. In addition, lead-acid batteries are mainly used for backup emergency power supplies in the event of a power failure due to disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, but in the future they will have large capacity and large current discharge. There is a demand for practical use of possible nickel metal hydride storage batteries. Furthermore, for nickel-metal hydride storage batteries having a large capacity, railway power supplies such as emergency power supplies such as unmanned communication base stations, power supplies for raising and lowering pantographs for trains, and backup power supplies for lighting when used for stopping train power supply It is also expected to be used in other applications.

  The power supply apparatus as described above is configured by connecting the power terminals of different polarities in a plurality of cylindrical batteries to each other to form a battery module, and the number of battery modules necessary to obtain a required output voltage. It is common that they are assembled to a battery pack only connected to each other. The present applicant has previously proposed a battery module having robustness against vibration and impact (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  The battery module has a rectangular parallelepiped having a thickness substantially equal to the length in the battery axial direction of the cylindrical battery, and a battery housing portion penetrating in the thickness direction in a square shape in plan view having one side substantially equal to the diameter of the cylindrical battery, There is a holder case made of synthetic resin formed in one row or a plurality of rows, and the gap between two adjacent cylindrical batteries among the cylindrical batteries individually housed in each battery housing portion is between It is the structure electrically connected mutually by the flat connection board. An inter-battery connection structure that connects two adjacent cylindrical batteries to each other is formed by forming a ring-shaped connection electrode portion that protrudes outward in the axial direction at a location near the outer periphery of the cylindrical battery. The connection plate is bridged between the connection electrode portion of one cylindrical battery and the bottom surface of the other cylindrical battery, and the contact between the connection plate, the connection electrode portion, and the bottom surface of the battery case. Each part is joined by welding.

  This battery module can be held in a state of being completely electrically insulated by storing each cylindrical battery in an individual battery storage part, so that an insulating ring and an outer tube are not required, thereby reducing costs and improving productivity. Since each cylindrical battery is fixed in a state where the four locations on the outer periphery thereof are in contact with the four partition walls forming the battery housing portion, each cylindrical battery is securely held without being shaken against vibration or shock. It has a remarkable effect.

Also, as a conventional battery pack, a plurality of cylindrical batteries are electrically and mechanically connected in series to form a battery module, and a synthetic resin holder having a rectangular box shape with an open top In the case, the battery modules are inserted and held in a multi-row, multi-stage parallel arrangement, and each end plate located at both ends of the holder case is provided with a bus bar for electrically connecting the terminals of the battery modules. It is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The holder case has a circular through-hole for inserting a battery module whose overall outer shape is an elongated cylindrical shape formed in both end walls as many as the number of battery modules accommodated, and stably holds the battery module. The intermediate walls are provided in parallel between both end walls, and the same number of circular through holes as the both end walls are opened in this intermediate wall. Each battery module is inserted into each through-hole of both end walls and the intermediate wall and held at a fixed position of the holder case.

This battery pack can remarkably improve the support strength and rigidity of the battery module, and the battery module can be coupled to the bus bar only by fastening work such as bolts, so that the work of assembling the battery module into the holder case is easy and easy. The effect becomes.
JP 2003-162993 A JP-A-10-270006

  However, in the conventional battery module, since the number of batteries accommodated in one battery module is determined in advance, when a battery module having a different shape for each user or application is desired, Since it is necessary to newly design and manufacture a battery module having a configuration adapted to the shape, there has been a problem that it is impossible to respond to requests in a timely manner. In addition, when only a specific battery in the battery module deteriorates, it is impossible to efficiently discharge only the battery and replace it with a new battery in the conventional battery module configuration. It was necessary to dismantle the whole thing.

  Then, if the method of hold | maintaining a some battery with the holding frame which consists of a some frame part provided with the holding | maintenance receiving part fitted to a part of outer peripheral surface of a battery is considered, it will be thought that the subject mentioned above can be solved. It is done. However, the holding frame described above usually has different shapes on the front and back sides for various reasons. As an example, when two adjacent batteries are electrically connected to each other after the battery is held by the holding frame, connection parts (battery connection plates, etc.) are arranged on the front side of the holding frame. In order to improve the volume efficiency and increase the energy density of the battery module, a recess corresponding to the thickness of the connection component is provided on the front side of the holding frame, and the battery module after connecting the inter-battery connection plate is unnecessary. It is designed to have a substantially rectangular shape with no protrusions. When the shape of the front and back of the holding frame is different by adopting such a configuration, it is necessary to configure the holding frame by combining the individual frame portions so as not to change the front and back.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and eliminates mistakes when assembling or repairing a battery module with a high volume efficiency and convenience that includes a holding frame composed of a plurality of frame portions. The purpose is to shorten the time required for repair.

  In order to achieve the above object, a battery module according to the present invention has a plurality of batteries and a holding frame comprising a plurality of frame portions each having a holding receiving portion that fits to a part of the outer peripheral surface of the battery. And both end portions of the battery in the axial direction of the battery are held by the holding receiving portions of the respective frame portions of the holding frame, and two adjacent batteries are electrically connected to each other. The shape of the front and back is different, and the frame portion includes at least one of a plurality of engagement convex portions and engagement concave portions that are patterned so as to engage with each other and not to change the front and back surfaces of the holding frame. To do.

By adopting such a configuration, when holding a battery holding a battery composed of a plurality of frame parts freely according to the desired configuration of the battery module or when repairing a specific battery is performed. In addition, since the holding frames with the front and back sides can be assembled without error, productivity and repair efficiency can be improved. Further, the mechanical strength of the holding frame after assembly can be increased by the engagement between the engaging convex portion and the engaging concave portion.

  According to the present invention, a battery module with high volume efficiency and convenience can be assembled or repaired in a short time without mistakes.

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

  1st invention has several holding | maintenance frames which consist of a some battery and the some frame part provided with the holding | maintenance receiving part fitted to a part of outer peripheral surface of a battery, and the both ends of the battery axial direction of a battery Is a battery module in which each two adjacent batteries are electrically connected to each other, and the shape of the front and back of the holding frame is different. The frame portion includes at least one of a plurality of engagement convex portions and engagement concave portions that are patterned so as to engage with each other and not change the front and back of the holding frame.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an appearance image of an example of the battery module 1 of the present invention. The battery module 1 includes 10 cylindrical batteries 2 arranged in parallel in the battery axis direction in a parallel arrangement along the battery axis direction in two upper and lower rows, and a total of 10 cylindrical batteries. The two end portions in the battery axial direction are fixed and held by the holding frame 3. In addition, since the battery module 1 is connected to the 10 cylindrical batteries 2 with the outer surfaces except the respective ends exposed to the outside, the cylindrical batteries are individually stored in the conventional battery storage section. Compared to the configuration, the volume efficiency is high.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the case where large cylindrical battery 2 like a nickel hydride storage battery with a large capacity of about 100 Ah and a relatively large weight of about 1.6 Kg is used as cylindrical battery 2 is illustrated. The battery module 1 can be efficiently assembled with high productivity even if it is the large cylindrical battery 2 as described above, and can be configured to have sufficient robustness. Details of this will be described later.

  The pair of holding frames 3 positioned in the front and rear of FIG. 1 are detachably fixed by combining the inner frame portion 4 and the first and second outer frame portions 7 and 8 disposed above and below the inner frame portion 4. It is integrated into a rectangular parallelepiped having a substantially rectangular outer shape as a whole. The inner frame portion 4 and the first and second outer frame portions 7 and 8 are all integrally molded products made of synthetic resin, but may be an integrally molded product made of aluminum in consideration of heat dissipation. Further, the pair of holding frames 3 arranged at the front and rear are the same. However, the pair of holding frames 3 are arranged in parallel to each other at relative positions which are opposite to each other and whose vertical positions are reversed. The two cylindrical batteries 2 adjacent in the battery row direction are connected by screwing and fastening bolts 10 and nuts (not shown) in a state where a part of the inter-battery connection plates 9 fixed to each other are overlapped. By doing so, they are electrically connected to each other.

  In FIG. 1, the outer flat surface of the holding frame 3 is recessed with respect to the outer peripheral portion. When the inter-battery connection plate 9 is connected by screwing the bolt 10 and the nut, the protrusion of the bolt 10 is shown. Therefore, it is considered that the volume efficiency when the battery module 1 is housed in a predetermined position is not lowered. Due to this structure, the holding frame 3 takes different shapes.

  Thus, if the holding frame 3 of the present invention is used, there is no need to prepare a dedicated holding frame for holding the ten cylindrical batteries 2, and the first outer frame portion 7 and the second outer frame are not required. By freely combining the part 8 and the inner frame part 4, it can be configured in various shapes that differ for each user and application, and can respond to various requests in a timely manner. Excellent effect is obtained.

  Next, details of the battery module 1 will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of only the holding frame 3 in an assembled state, with the holding frame 3 on the rear side of the battery module viewed from the front side, and showing the inner surface side of the holding frame 3 in the battery module 1. It is. 3 is a view showing a state before the inner frame portion 4 and the first and second outer frame portions 7 and 8 are fixed to each other before the holding frame 3 of FIG. 2 is assembled.

  The first outer frame portion 7 is provided with engaging convex portions 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13e and 13f, and this is provided with engaging concave portions 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e and 14f provided in the inner frame portion 4, By engaging with each other, the first outer frame portion 7 and the inner frame portion 4 are fixed. Similarly, the engaging projections 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d, 15e and 15f are provided in the inner frame portion 4, and the engaging recesses 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, 16e provided in the second outer frame portion 8 are provided. The inner frame portion 4 and the second outer frame portion 8 are fixed by being engaged with 16f.

  In the present invention, since the front and back shapes of the holding frame 3 are different, the engaging convex portions 13a to 13f are patterned so as not to change the front and back of the holding frame 3, but the specific mode will be described in detail later. This also applies to the engaging convex portions 15a to 15f, the engaging concave portions 14a to 14f, and 16a to 16f.

  With such a configuration, the holding frame 3 can be freely assembled according to the desired configuration of the battery module 1 or the front and back can be held when repairs are performed to replace a specific cylindrical battery 2. Since the frame 3 can be assembled without error, productivity and repair efficiency can be improved. Further, the mechanical strength of the holding frame after assembly can be increased by the three-dimensional engagement between the engaging convex portion and the engaging concave portion.

  According to a second aspect, in the first aspect, the arrangement pattern of the plurality of engaging projections and the engaging recesses in the same frame is asymmetric. As an example, the positional relationship between the engagement convex portions and the engagement concave portions (for example, the engagement convex portions 13a to 13f) in the same frame portion (for example, the first outer frame portion 7) in FIG. When the first outer frame portion 7 and the inner frame portion 4 are fixed, the heights of the engaging convex portions 13a, 13c and 13e (the depths of the engaging concave portions 14a, 14c and 14e) and the engaging convex portion 13b , 13d and 13f are different in height (the depths of the engaging recesses 14b, 14d and 14f), so that the first outer frame portion 7 and the inner frame portion 4 cannot be fixed differently, so that The frame 3 can be assembled without mistakes.

  According to a third aspect, in the second aspect, the positional relationship between the plurality of engaging projections and the engaging recesses in the same frame is asymmetric.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an appearance image of another example of the battery module 1 of the present invention. Hereinafter, the third invention will be described in detail based on a plan view in which the engaging convex portions 21a, 21b and 21c of the first outer frame portion 18 are viewed from above along the line AA 'in FIG. .

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the engaging projections in the third invention. By engaging the engaging protrusion 21b upward as shown in FIG. 5 (a) or downward as shown in FIG. 5 (b) with respect to the straight line connecting the engaging protrusions 21a and 21c, The positional relationship between the joints becomes asymmetric. Alternatively, with respect to the straight line connecting the engaging protrusions 21a and 21c, a plurality of engaging protrusions 21b are formed and the center point is shifted upward as shown in FIG. 5 (c). Thus, the positional relationship between the engaging projections becomes asymmetrical. Further, after making a plurality of engaging convex portions 21a and 21c, the center points of the plurality of engaging convex portions 21b are shifted as shown in FIG. 5E with respect to a straight line connecting the central points. Thus, the positional relationship between the engaging projections becomes asymmetric. Further, if the positional relationship is made asymmetrical with a plurality of engaging convex portions 21b themselves as shown in FIG. 5 (f), the engaging convex portions 21a and 21c are not related to the position relative to the straight line. The positional relationship between the parts becomes asymmetric.

  Among the second inventions described above, by adopting the third invention, the engaging convex part does not fit into the engaging concave part at all (in the example used for explaining the second invention, it fits halfway). When the front and back of the holding frame 3 are changed, it can be quickly noticed.

  According to a fourth invention, in the second invention, the shapes of the plurality of engaging projections and the engaging recesses in the same frame portion are different. The fourth invention will also be described in detail based on a plan view in which the engagement convex portions 21a, 21b and 21c of the first outer frame portion 18 are viewed from above along the line A-A 'in FIG.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the engaging projections in the fourth invention. Here, the engagement convex portion 21a has a circular cross section, the engagement convex portion 21b has a rectangular cross section, and the engagement convex portion 21c has a triangular cross section. Even if 21c is a similar shape, the size should just differ.

  Among the second inventions described above, by adopting the fourth invention, the positional relationship between the engaging projections can be visually appealed and stored, so that the front and back of the holding frame 3 can be made difficult to differ. .

  In addition to the configuration described above, as an example in which the third invention and the fourth invention are combined, a straight line connecting the engaging protrusions 21a and 21c as shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b). On the other hand, the position of the engaging projection 21b can be shifted and the shape thereof can be made different. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 7 (c), when a plurality of engaging protrusions 21b are formed and the shape is made different from the straight line connecting the engaging protrusions 21a and 21c, the engaging protrusions 21a and 21c are formed. The effect of the present invention can be exhibited regardless of the position with respect to the straight line connecting the two.

  In the battery module of the present invention, since the holding frame has a structure in which a plurality of frame portions are detachably connected, only the unit cell that has been easily disassembled and consumed or deteriorated can be replaced, and the maintenance can be completed in a short time. Is possible. Therefore, in addition to the power source of the battery-driven motor in the hybrid type electric vehicle, it is useful as a power source for a large power storage device, and its applicability is high.

The schematic perspective view which shows the external appearance image of an example of the battery module 1 of this invention. The perspective view which extracted only the holding frame of an assembly state, and looked at the holding frame of the back side in a battery module from the near side The figure which showed the state before fixing the inner frame part and the 1st and 2nd outer frame part mutually before assembling the holding frame of FIG. The top view which shows the external appearance image of the other example of the battery module 1 of this invention The top view which looked down at the engagement convex part of the 1st outer frame part along the A-A 'line of Drawing 4, showing the positional relation between the engagement convex parts in the 3rd invention. The top view which looked down at the engagement convex part of the 1st outer frame part along A-A 'line of Drawing 4, showing the positional relationship of the engagement convex parts in the 4th invention 4 shows the positional relationship between the engaging protrusions in the example of the combination of the third invention and the fourth invention, and the engaging protrusions of the first outer frame are moved upward along the line AA ′ in FIG. Top view from above

Explanation of symbols

1 Battery module
2 Cylindrical battery
3 Holding frame
4 inner frame
7 First outer frame
8 Second outer frame
9 Inter-battery connection plate 10 Bolts 13a to f Engaging projections 14a to f Engaging recesses 15a to f Engaging projections 16a to f Engaging recesses 21a to c Engaging projections 22a to c Engaging recesses 23a to c Joint convex part 24a-c Engaging concave part

Claims (4)

A plurality of batteries, and a holding frame comprising a plurality of frame portions each having a holding receiving portion fitted to a part of the outer peripheral surface of the battery, and both ends of the battery in the battery axial direction are the holding frames. A battery module in which each two adjacent batteries are electrically connected to each other and are held by the holding receiving portions of the respective frame portions,
The holding frame has different front and back shapes,
The battery module is provided with at least one of a plurality of engaging protrusions and engaging recesses patterned so as to engage with each other and not to change the front and back of the holding frame. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein an arrangement pattern of the plurality of engaging protrusions and engaging recesses in the same frame portion is asymmetric. The battery module according to claim 2, wherein the positional relationship between the plurality of engaging projections and the engaging recesses in the same frame portion is asymmetric. 3. The battery module according to claim 2, wherein shapes of the plurality of engaging convex portions and engaging concave portions in the same frame portion are different. 4.