JP2012084447A - Vehicular battery container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular battery container having light-weight, toughness, and strength.SOLUTION: In a vehicular battery container, a wall body constituting the surrounding is molded using a metal core material and a resin member provided on the front and rear surfaces of the core material. The core material is made up of consecutive plates and configured to have a specific strength and toughness. The resin member is a fiber-reinforced system synthetic resin material that includes reinforcing fibers.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle battery container that houses a drive storage battery to be mounted on a vehicle and is attached to the outside of the vehicle body.

  An electric vehicle or a so-called hybrid vehicle in which an electric motor is combined with an internal combustion engine is equipped with a drive storage battery, and uses electric power stored in the drive storage battery for driving power or the like. On the other hand, the drive storage battery is formed by stacking a plurality of single cells called cells, and may be considerably heavy as a whole. Further, when the drive storage battery is attached to the outside of the vehicle body, it is conceivable that a stone hits the vehicle during traveling or an excessive force is applied during an accident.

  Therefore, it is considered that the storage battery for driving is housed in a battery container having a predetermined strength and mounted on the vehicle via the battery container. In a freight vehicle such as a truck, a main frame extending in the front-rear direction is provided at the center of the vehicle body. In a hybrid vehicle of such a vehicle, a battery container containing a drive storage battery is attached to the side of the main frame. ing.

  On the other hand, in particular, vehicles are required to be lighter. For example, if the battery container is made of a general metal material, the vehicle weight increases significantly. Thus, it has been considered to form the battery container with a synthetic resin material.

JP-A-8-186390

  However, when the battery container is mounted on a vehicle and used, the battery container is required to have a toughness that does not easily break together with rigidity and does not form a hole or the like in the surrounding wall body. As a synthetic resin material having high rigidity, a fiber reinforced plastic is known, but the fiber reinforced plastic is not sufficient in terms of toughness.

  In addition, the drive storage battery is precisely controlled, and may generate electromagnetic waves due to current / voltage fluctuations caused by charging and discharging. The battery container is required to have a function of blocking electromagnetic waves emitted from the housed drive storage battery so that the human body and peripheral devices are not affected by the electromagnetic waves.

  If the battery container is made of metal, the problem of the electromagnetic wave does not occur because the metal reflects or absorbs the electromagnetic wave. However, the synthetic resin material cannot normally block electromagnetic waves, and when the battery container is formed of the synthetic resin material, there is a problem that electromagnetic waves emitted from the drive storage battery pass through the battery container and are emitted to the surroundings.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle battery container that can be reduced in weight, has sufficient rigidity and toughness, and does not cause electromagnetic waves to be released to the outside.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a vehicle battery container configured as follows.
The battery container for vehicles is comprised from a container main body and the cover body attached to a container main body. The container main body is a container body having a capacity for storing a predetermined amount of the storage battery for driving and having an open upper surface. The lid is formed in accordance with the upper surface opening of the container main body, and seals the inside of the container main body when assembled to the opening of the container main body.

  Both the container main body and the lid are formed of a core material and a resin member laminated on the core material. The core material is a plate material made of a metal such as aluminum. The core material is formed along the shape of the entire container body and lid. The core material is formed of a continuous surface.

  The resin member is provided either on the outer side or the inner side of the core member, or on both the inner and outer sides. The resin member is a fiber reinforced resin containing reinforcing fibers and is in close contact with the core material.

  The lid is formed in accordance with the upper surface opening of the container main body, and seals the inside of the container main body when assembled to the opening of the container main body. Similar to the container body, the lid is formed of a core material and a resin member laminated on the core material.

  Since the vehicle battery container includes a metal core and a fiber-reinforced resinous resin member, the vehicle battery container has high rigidity and strength. Therefore, it is possible to reliably hold the drive storage battery having a predetermined weight. Further, a fastening band or the like can be turned around the outer surface of the vehicle battery container so that it can be securely attached to the vehicle chassis frame or the like.

  Even if an accident or the like occurs and an impact is applied from the outside, the core material is plastically deformed, and the vehicle battery container is not broken or opened. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the conductive portion of the drive storage battery from being in contact with the outside of the vehicle battery container or the drive storage battery being exposed to the outside of the vehicle battery container.

  Since the vehicle battery container is formed of a metal thin plate and a synthetic resin resin member, the vehicle battery container can be reduced in weight, and the fuel efficiency and running performance of the vehicle can be improved. Even when electromagnetic waves are emitted from the drive storage battery, the core material is made of metal, so that the electromagnetic waves are reflected or absorbed and are not emitted outside the vehicle battery container. Since the vehicle battery container can be molded by a resin molding method using the RTM method, a vehicle battery container having an accurate shape can be easily and inexpensively manufactured.

It is sectional drawing which shows a part of one Embodiment of the battery container for vehicles concerning this invention. It is a cross-sectional perspective view which shows a part of the battery container for vehicles. It is a perspective view which shows the battery container for vehicles. It is a perspective view which shows the state which attached the battery container for vehicles to the vehicle. It is a top view which shows the frame structure of a vehicle. It is a perspective view which shows a vehicle. It is a block diagram which shows the shaping | molding apparatus of a battery container.

  An embodiment of a vehicle battery container according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 6 shows the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 is a freight hybrid vehicle in which a vehicle battery container (hereinafter referred to as “battery container”) 10 according to the present invention is mounted on the side. The vehicle 100 includes a cabin 102 at the front, a cargo box 104 at the rear, a front wheel 12 a at the lower part of the cabin 102, and a rear wheel 12 b at the lower part of the cargo box 104. The vehicle 100 is provided with a main frame 106 extending through the front and rear of the vehicle, and the battery case 10 is attached to the side of the main frame 106.

  FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration when the vehicle 100 is viewed from above. A main frame 106 is provided in the front-rear direction at the center in the width direction of the vehicle 100. The main frame 106 is configured by arranging a pair of left and right parallel frame members 107 having a U-shaped cross section. An engine 14, a clutch mechanism 16, an electric motor 20, and a transmission 18 are attached to the main frame 106 from the front. Further, the battery case 10 and the power control unit 26 are attached to the main frame 106 on the side.

  The engine 14 is, for example, a diesel engine. The output shaft of the engine 14 is connected to the clutch mechanism 16. The clutch mechanism 16 is provided between the engine 14 and the electric motor 20 and intermittently rotates output from the engine 14. The transmission 18 includes a transmission mechanism inside, and an output shaft (not shown) is connected to the rear wheel 12 b via the propeller shaft 30 and the differential device 31.

  The electric motor 20 is connected via a power control unit 26 to a drive storage battery 36 (see FIG. 2) housed in the battery container 10. The power control unit 26 supplies electric power to the electric motor 20 in accordance with an instruction from a control device (not shown). The electric motor 20 operates separately from the engine 14 and applies a driving force to the transmission 18. Further, the electric motor 20 generates electric power with a driving force received from the rear wheel 12b during braking. The electric power generated by the electric motor 20 is sent to the battery container 10 and stored in the drive storage battery 36.

  As described above, the vehicle 100 is a so-called hybrid vehicle that can travel by using different powers of the power from the engine 14 that is an internal combustion engine and the power from the electric motor 20 individually or simultaneously. The engine 14 may be another power source instead of an engine of another internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or an internal combustion engine. The vehicle according to the present invention may be an electric vehicle that runs using only electric power as a drive source.

  Furthermore, the electric motor 20 may be installed at any position. For example, the electric motor 20 may be provided between the engine 14 and the clutch mechanism 16. Furthermore, the electric motor 20 may be connected to the front wheel 12 a so that the front wheel 12 a can be driven by the electric motor 20.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the battery container 10 includes a container main body 32 and a lid 34, and a drive storage battery 36 and a cooling mechanism 38 are accommodated therein.

  The drive storage battery 36 is a high-power battery formed by superposing a plurality of battery cells as a unit to have a predetermined voltage. The cooling mechanism 38 is provided in the upper part of the drive storage battery 36, and includes a blower 40, a temperature measuring device (not shown), various ducts 42, and the like. Based on the measurement result of the temperature measuring device, the battery container The outside air introduced from an inflow port (not shown) formed in 10 is passed through and discharged from an exhaust port (not shown) to keep the drive storage battery 36 at a predetermined temperature.

  The drive storage battery 36 is connected to the power control unit 26 via the power line 44, and is connected to the electric motor 20 from the power control unit 26. As described above, the power control unit 26 sends the electric power of the drive storage battery 36 to the electric motor 20 in accordance with an instruction from a drive control device (not shown).

  Next, the structure of the battery container 10 will be specifically described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the battery container 10 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is entirely formed of a synthetic resin material and a metal member. The container main body 32 includes a bottom plate 50 and a wall plate 52 raised around the bottom plate 50. The bottom plate 50 is generally rectangular, and a wall plate 52 is raised substantially vertically at each edge around the bottom plate 50 to form a side wall. The bottom plate 50 and the wall plate 52 constitute a wall body around the battery container 10.

  An opening 58 for inspection and repair is formed on the right side of the wall plate 52 on the front surface (left side surface in the vehicle 100) of the container body 32. An attachment lid 66 is attached to the opening 58, and the opening 58 is normally closed by the attachment lid 66. Further, an inflow port and an exhaust port (both not shown) for adjusting the internal temperature are formed in the bottom plate 50 and the wall plate 52.

  In FIG. 1, the cross section of the upper edge of the wall board 52 is shown. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wall plate 52 includes an outer wall 54, an inner wall 56, and a core member 62.

  The core member 62 is made of an aluminum plate, and has a shape substantially the same as that of the container body 32 and is basically formed of a continuous plate member. The core material 62 has a performance that reflects an electromagnetic wave generated from the drive storage battery 36 when the drive storage battery 36 is housed in the battery container 10 and does not release the electromagnetic wave to the outside of the core material 62. .

  On the front and back surfaces of the core material 62, an outer wall 54 and an inner wall 56 made of a synthetic resin material are provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer wall 54 is provided on the side located on the outer side of the container main body 32, and the inner wall 56 is provided on the side located on the inner side.

  The outer wall 54 and the inner wall 56 are formed of a fiber reinforced synthetic resin material containing glass fibers 64 inside the resin material. The outer wall 54 and the inner wall 56 cover the entire front and back surfaces of the core member 62, and the end portions of the outer wall 54 and the inner wall 56 are joined at the upper end edge of the core member 62 beyond the end edge. The joint portion 55 formed at the end edge is provided continuously over the entire outer periphery of the upper end edge of the container body 32.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the outer wall 54 and the inner wall 56 have a predetermined thickness width, and are formed to have a substantially uniform thickness throughout the container body 32. The wall plate 52 has predetermined strength and the like by the outer wall 54, the inner wall 56 and the core member 62, that is, sufficient rigidity and strength to constitute the container body 32, and hence the battery container 10, and predetermined toughness by the core member 62. Thus, each material, thickness, shape, etc. are selected and formed.

  The outer wall 54 and the inner wall 56 are not the same thickness, and the thickness width between them may be changed, or the thickness width may be appropriately changed according to the position of the container body 32. The outer wall 54, the inner wall 56, and the core member 62 are formed in the same manner on the bottom plate 50 continuously from the wall plate 52.

  The lid 34 is formed so as to be adapted to the shape of the upper surface of the container main body 32, and when attached to the open portion of the container main body 32, the inside of the container main body 32 is sealed. Similar to the wall body 52 of the container main body 32, the wall body 52 constituting the lid body 34 is formed of an outer wall 54, an inner wall 56, and a core material 62.

  The configuration of the outer wall 54, the inner wall 56, and the core member 62 of the lid 34 is the same as that of the container main body 32, whereby the lid 34 has a predetermined strength and rigidity, and the core member 62 It has a certain toughness and electromagnetic wave blocking ability to block electromagnetic waves. The lid 34 may be attached to the container main body 32 by a hinge or the like so as to be opened and closed separately from the container main body 32. Furthermore, in the combination part of the container main body 32 and the cover body 34, when the blank part which is not covered with the metal member has arisen, it is possible that electromagnetic waves leak outside from the location. Therefore, in the combination part of the container main body 32 and the lid 34, it is formed so as to be surely covered with a metal member such as the core 62, and the core of the container main body 32, the lid 34, the container main body 32 and the lid 34. 62 is brought into a conductive state by direct contact or the like, for example, a structure in which it is grounded via the container body 32.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the battery container 10 is attached to the vehicle 100.
As shown in FIG. 4, the battery container 10 is attached to a frame member 107 on the left side of the main frame 106. An L-shaped stay 74 is attached to the frame member 107. A shelf plate 76 is attached to the projecting portion of the lower portion of the stay 74, and the battery container 10 is placed on the shelf plate 76. One end of a belt 78 is fixed to the front end of the stay 74. The belt 78 is, for example, a metal belt, is rotated along the front surface and the upper surface of the battery case 10, and the other end is detachably attached to a fixture 80 provided on the main frame 106.

  Next, a forming apparatus for forming the battery container 10 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 7 shows the molding apparatus 110. The molding apparatus 110 is a molding apparatus that molds a molded product by a molding method called a so-called RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) method.

  The molding apparatus 110 includes a mold 112, a resin injection apparatus 114 that injects resin into the mold 112, a deaeration apparatus 116, and the like. The resin injection device 114 is an injection device that injects a synthetic resin agent. For example, a container 118 containing a base material, a container 120 containing a curing agent, and a dispensing mechanism 122 that sucks, mixes, and dispenses them. Etc. The deaerator 116 includes a suction pump 124, connects the suction pipe 126 to the mold 112, and opens the discharge pipe 128 to the outside air.

  The mold 112 includes a lower mold 130 and an upper mold 132. The lower mold 130 has the same mold as the outer shape of the outer wall 54 of the container main body 32, and the upper mold 132 has the same mold as the inner shape of the inner wall 56 of the container main body 32. The upper mold 132 is attached to a drive mechanism (not shown) and is provided to be movable up and down with respect to the lower mold 130. Note that the driving direction of the molding apparatus 110 may operate in the horizontal direction instead of up and down.

  When the drive mechanism is operated and the mold 112 is clamped, a predetermined gap (cavity) is formed between the upper mold 132 and the lower mold 130. When the mold 112 is clamped, the upper mold 132 and the lower mold 130 are surrounded by an injection tube 134 extending from the resin injection device 114 and a suction tube 126 extending from the deaeration device 116. Sealed.

  The gap between the upper mold 132 and the lower mold 130 is a molding space of the container main body 32 in consideration of shrinkage deformation of the resin and the like. Further, the gap between the upper mold 132 and the lower mold 130 when the mold 112 is clamped is formed so that the core material 62 is located approximately in the middle of the gap between the upper mold 132 and the lower mold 130. The core material 62 is disposed so that the distance from the upper mold 132 and the lower mold 130 has a predetermined distance. In order to maintain the interval, a spacer or the like may be appropriately disposed in the mold 112.

  Next, a method for forming the battery container 10 using the forming apparatus 110 will be described.

  The forming of the container body 32 will be described. FIG. 7 shows the molding apparatus 110 in a clamped state. A core material 62 is disposed between the upper mold 132 and the lower mold 130. The core material 62 is disposed on the lower mold 130 when the mold is opened, and the upper mold 132 is lowered by operating the driving device to clamp the mold. The core material 62 is an aluminum member that is formed in advance by pressing or the like, and glass fibers 64 that are reinforcing fibers are provided on the front and back surfaces of the core material 62.

  When the core material 62 is disposed and the mold 112 is clamped, the resin injection device 114 is operated. In the resin injection device 114, the dispensing mechanism 122 sucks the base material and the curing agent at a predetermined ratio, mixes them, and injects them into the mold 112. Along with the resin injection operation by the resin injection device 114, the deaeration device 116 is operated. The deaeration device 116 connects the suction tube 126 to the side of the resin injection device 114 facing the injection tube 134, and discharges the air in the mold 112 out of the mold 112 by the suction pump 124.

  Thereby, the curable resin material poured out from the resin injection device 114 flows between the lower mold 130 and the upper mold 132 and on the front and back surfaces of the core material 62. The curable resin material is poured out from the resin injection device 114 and the inside of the mold 112 is deaerated by the deaeration device 116, so that it smoothly flows from the injection tube 134 toward the suction tube 126.

  The curable resin material injected into the mold 112 penetrates into the mat-like interior formed from the glass fibers 64 and adheres to the front and back surfaces of the core material 62. And when it inject | pours to the predetermined thickness width and the inject | poured curable resin material hardens | cures, a metal mold | die will be opened and the container main body 32 will be taken out from a metal mold | die.

  The lid 34 is also formed in the same manner as the container body 32. A core material 62 as the lid 34 is formed of an aluminum material, and a glass fiber 64 is attached thereto and accommodated in a mold 112 for the lid 34. Then, a curable resin is injected into the mold 112, a fiber reinforced resin is formed on the front and back of the core material 62, and the lid body 34 is formed.

  By molding the battery case 10 in this way, the wall around the battery case 10 is formed of a fiber reinforced resin with an aluminum core 62 interposed therebetween. Therefore, sufficient rigidity is provided by the plastic deformability of the aluminum core 62 while having sufficient rigidity, and even if the vehicle 100 collides or the battery container 10 is impacted by stepping stones, The wall plate 52 is not cracked and no opening is formed. Therefore, the conductive portion of the drive storage battery 36 is not accessible from the outside of the battery container 10, and the drive storage battery 36 is not exposed to the outside from the battery container 10. The lid 34 also has predetermined strength, rigidity, and toughness, and when assembled to the container body 32, the entire battery container 10 is formed with predetermined strength, rigidity, and the like.

  Further, since the core material 62 is made of aluminum, the electromagnetic wave generated from the drive storage battery 36 is reflected, and the electromagnetic wave is not emitted from the battery container 10 to the outside. It is not affected by electromagnetic waves.

  Furthermore, since the battery container 10 is formed of the aluminum core material 62 and the synthetic resin material, an increase in the weight of the battery container 10 can be suppressed, and deterioration of the running performance and fuel consumption of the vehicle 100 can be prevented. Since the battery case 10 has moderate rigidity, strength, and toughness, it can be securely fixed to the main frame 106 of the vehicle 100 by fastening with the belt 78.

  The core member 62 may be formed of other materials instead of aluminum as long as it is a metal. Furthermore, you may form with another raw material, if it has toughness and electromagnetic wave shielding. Further, when the core material 62 needs to be grounded, a conductive member is connected to the core material 62 of the container main body 32 and the lid body 34 and is electrically connected to the main frame 106 of the vehicle 100 and the like.

  Further, the resin member need not be limited to a polyester resin, and may be another resin material as long as it has a property that satisfies the requirements of the present invention. In addition, although the container body 32 and the like are formed by the RTM molding method, the present invention is not limited thereto, and may be molded by a method of laminating fiber materials impregnated with a curable resin material. Further, the curable resin material may be other curable resin materials such as a thermosetting resin by heating and a curable resin by ultraviolet irradiation, instead of being cured by a curing agent.

  The present invention can be used for an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or the like equipped with a drive storage battery.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle battery container 20 ... Electric motor 26 ... Power control unit 32 ... Container main body 34 ... Cover body 36 ... Drive storage battery 44 ... Power line 50 ... Bottom plate 52 ... Wall plate 54 ... Outer wall 55 ... Joining part 56 ... Inner wall 62 ... Core Material 64 ... Glass fiber 66 ... Mounting lid 74 ... Stay 76 ... Shelf plate 78 ... Belt 80 ... Mounting tool 100 ... Vehicle 106 ... Main frame 110 ... Molding device 112 ... Mold 114 ... Resin injection device 116 ... Deaeration device 122 ... Extraction mechanism 124 ... suction pump 126 ... suction pipe 128 ... discharge pipe 130 ... lower mold 132 ... upper mold 134 ... injection pipe

Claims (2)

In the vehicle battery container that houses the drive storage battery to be mounted on the vehicle and is attached to the outside of the vehicle body,
The surrounding wall is formed from a core material made of a metal plate material and a resin member provided on at least one of the front and back surfaces of the core material,
Furthermore, the core material is formed of a continuous plate material along the shape of the vehicle battery container,
A vehicle battery container, wherein the resin member is formed of a fiber-reinforced resin material having reinforcing fibers in a resin material.   2. The vehicle battery container according to claim 1, wherein the resin member is provided on the front and back surfaces of the core material, and the resin member on the front and back surfaces is bonded to an upper end edge of the core material.

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