JP2014022154A - Cover positioning structure for battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate assembly of a cover, to reduce a battery pack in size and to ensure a sealing performance by providing a positioning structure in a tray flange and a cover flange in the battery pack where the cover flange is provided on a top face of the tray flange of a tray.SOLUTION: The positioning structure comprises: a seal member 5 which is compressed in assembling a cover 7 to a tray 3 to make the inside of a battery pack fluid-tight; a vertical wall part 43 which is located outside of the seal member 5 and formed by folding downwardly an outer circumferential distal end of a cover flange 31; and a positioning expansion part 45 which is formed by further extending downwardly a portion of the vertical wall part 43 in a circumferential direction, has such a length as to make it positioned lower than the distal end of a tray flange 29 in a state before the seal member 5 is compressed by fastening the cover 7, and is brought into contact with a distal end face of the tray flange 29 to position the cover 7 with respect to the tray 3 perpendicularly to a compressing direction of the seal member 5.

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning structure for a cover of a battery pack constituting a battery pack mounted under a floor of a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or an electric hybrid vehicle.

An electric vehicle using a motor as a driving source and a hybrid electric vehicle using a motor and an engine as driving sources are equipped with a battery pack that houses a battery for supplying electric power to the motor.
The battery pack is formed by housing a plurality of battery modules in a battery housing member such as a battery pack tray.

  A battery pack mounted under the floor of a vehicle body generally contains a plurality of battery modules inside and includes a tray part and a cover part. A tray flange is formed on the outer peripheral upper surface of the tray part, A structure is adopted in which the cover flange of the cover portion is fastened to the upper surface of the tray flange by bolts or the like and integrated.

  As prior art disclosing such a battery pack structure, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-284984), Patent Document 2 (Patent No. 3896607), Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-22991). Can be mentioned.

  Patent Document 1 shows a vehicle battery mounting structure, and FIGS. 5 and 10 of Patent Document 1 disclose a configuration in which a flat end surface extending downward from a protruding end portion of a cover side flange is provided. . Furthermore, it has been shown that this gutter-shaped end face guards the sealing means from invading water.

Patent Document 2 shows a battery frame structure of an electric vehicle. In FIGS. 2 and 3, the flange of the battery cover is placed on the upper surface of the flange of the battery frame, and the mating portion is fastened with a bolt. The structure is shown.
Patent Document 3 shows a battery container for an electric vehicle as a container for an electric component. The tray and the cover are joined together with a flange portion, and a sealing member such as an O-ring is attached to the fitting portion of the flange portion. It is shown to be intervened.

JP 2010-284984 A (FIGS. 5 and 10) Japanese Patent No. 3896607 (FIGS. 2 and 3) JP 2012-22991 A

  The above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is provided with a bellows-like end surface extending downward from the protruding end of the cover side flange. This bellows-like end surface guards the sealing means from intruding water, A gap is formed between the tip of the side flange and the ladle, and it is not shown that the side flanges come into contact with each other to exert positioning.

  Moreover, in patent document 2, it is shown that a cover side flange and a tray side flange are fastened, and in patent document 3, a sealing member is interposed between a cover side flange and a tray side flange. However, none of them is shown up to the point where the attachment position on the cover side is positioned at the joint portion between the flange on the cover side and the side flange of the tray.

Further, when the cover side is not sufficiently positioned with respect to the tray side, there are the following problems.
(1) Considering the variation in the assembly position during assembly, the battery pack is naturally increased in size because the compression surface is widely provided to secure a compression surface for compressing the seal member.
(2) If the cover side is not sufficiently positioned with respect to the tray side, the cover may be assembled with the sealing member tilted due to the tightening force acting with the cover side tilted when assembled. Has a problem of impairing the sealing property (liquid tightness).
(3) When assembling the cover side, it is necessary to adjust the front, rear, left and right (direction perpendicular to the compression direction of the gasket), so that the assembling work takes time and workability is deteriorated.
(4) When the cover side is brought on the tray from an obliquely upward direction, there is no part that acts as a guide, so it must be brought onto the tray from directly above, and assembly workability is a problem. Become.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and includes a tray and a cover, and a tray flange is formed on the outer peripheral upper surface of the tray, and the cover cover is formed on the upper surface of the tray flange. In the battery pack to which the flange is attached, an object is to provide a positioning structure on the tray flange and the cover flange to achieve easy assembly of the cover, miniaturization of the battery pack, and reliable sealing.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a plurality of battery modules accommodated therein, a tray and a cover, and a tray flange formed on the outer peripheral upper surface of the tray. In the battery pack cover positioning structure in which the cover flange of the cover is attached to
A seal member interposed between the tray flange and the cover flange, and compressed when the cover is assembled to the tray to make the inside of the battery pack liquid-tight; an outer side of the seal member and the cover flange A vertical wall portion formed by bending the outer peripheral tip downward, and a portion of the vertical wall portion in the circumferential direction further extended downward, and in a state before compression of the seal member by the cover A positioning portion that has a length that is positioned below the front end of the tray flange and that contacts the front end surface of the tray flange and positions the cover relative to the tray in a direction perpendicular to the compression direction of the seal member; It is characterized by having.

  According to this invention, since the positioning portion has a length located below the tip of the tray flange in a state before the seal member is compressed by the cover, before the seal member is compressed by the cover, the position of the cover relative to the tray is reduced. Positioning is possible, and the cover mounting position is stable. That is, it is not necessary to adjust in the front / rear / right / left direction (direction orthogonal to the compression direction of the seal member) at the time of assembling the cover, that is, before tightening with a bolt or the like.

  In addition, since the cover is positioned, the cover can be tightened in an inclined state, so that there is no risk of the seal member being assembled in a collapsed state, and sealing performance (liquid tightness) is ensured. Can do.

  In addition, since the positioning structure is provided between the tray and the cover, an increase in the size of the battery pack can be prevented. In other words, since the cover is positioned in a direction perpendicular to the compression direction of the seal member with respect to the tray, it is not necessary to expand the compression surface of the seal member in consideration of variations during assembly, and the enlargement of the battery pack can be prevented. .

  In addition, since the positioning part is formed by extending further downward from a part of the circumferential direction of the vertical wall part, it prevents intrusion of water, mud, etc. from the outside to the joint part of the cover and tray by the vertical wall part. In addition to the action and the action of improving the rigidity of the outer periphery of the cover, it is possible to further have the above-mentioned positioning effect.

  Preferably, in the present invention, a plurality of bolts for fastening the cover flange to the tray flange are provided in the circumferential direction of the tray flange, the positioning portion is provided between the bolts, and the positioning portion can contact the bolt. The positioning flange may be formed at a location recessed from the outer periphery of the tray flange.

  In this way, the positioning flange that can be contacted by the positioning portion is formed in a concave shape that enters the inside of the outer periphery of the tray flange, so that the cover flange can be formed in a compact size without increasing the shape of the cover flange. Can be a cover.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the positioning flange is provided at each of the front and rear and left and right positions of the tray flange.
Thus, since the positioning flange is provided on each of the front, rear, left and right sides of the tray flange, the cover can be positioned reliably.

Preferably, in the present invention, the concave shape of the positioning flange is formed so as to be inclined so that the notch angle on the opposite side is set up with the notch angles on the center side of the front and rear and the left and right sides of the tray. Good.
In this way, by setting the notch angle on the center side and inclining the shape so that the notch angle on the opposite side is laid down, the part where the notch angle is raised serves as a guide and brings the cover diagonally Even if it is to be attached, stable positioning can be performed at a predetermined location.

  Furthermore, scrap processing during tray production is facilitated. That is, when the notch for forming the positioning flange is press-molded, the scrap corresponding to the concave shape after pressing tends to flow to the outside of the tray (it is easy to come off or separate from the main body of the tray). The productivity of press production is improved.

  According to the present invention, in a battery pack configured to include a tray and a cover, a tray flange is formed on the outer peripheral upper surface of the tray, and the cover flange of the cover is attached to the upper surface of the tray flange. Between the tray flange and the cover flange of the cover, by providing a positioning structure comprising a positioning portion formed on the cover flange and a positioning flange formed on the tray flange, the cover can be easily assembled and the battery pack It is possible to achieve downsizing and ensuring sealing performance.

The whole battery pack perspective view concerning this invention is shown. The enlarged view of the B section of FIG. 1 is shown. AA sectional drawing of FIG. 1 is shown. It is explanatory drawing of CC sectional shape of FIG. The principal part sectional drawing of the vehicle width direction in the state in which the battery pack was attached to the vehicle body is shown. A plan view of the tray is shown. It is an enlarged view of the D section of FIG. (A) It is the perspective view seen from the inner side of a cover, (B) is an enlarged view of the E section.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified, and are merely descriptions. It is just an example.

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a battery pack 1 mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.
The battery pack 1 has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the vehicle front-rear direction in plan view, and a plurality of battery modules (not shown) are accommodated therein. The battery pack 1 is a battery pack tray (tray) 3 on which the battery module is placed, and a seal member that makes the inside of the battery pack tray 3 liquid-tight so that rainwater and dust outside the vehicle do not enter. It is mainly composed of a gasket 5 (see FIG. 3) and a cover member (cover) 7 attached to the upper surface of the battery pack tray 3 so as to sandwich the gasket 5, and a plurality of batteries (not shown) are provided inside. A connection circuit device for connecting between the module and each battery module is accommodated. The outer periphery of the battery pack tray 3 and the cover member 7 are coupled by bolts 9.

  The battery pack tray 3 is molded from a sheet metal material, and the cover member 7 is molded from a resin material. A convex part 11 is formed in the center of the cover member 7 along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and a maintenance window 13 is provided on the rear side of the convex part 11 on the vehicle body side corresponding to this position. Maintenance can be performed from the opening of the floor panel.

On both sides of the battery pack tray 3 in the vehicle width direction, four mounting brackets 14 for attaching the battery pack 1 to the vehicle body are provided on each side, and as shown in FIG. 5, side frames 15 constituting the vehicle body are provided. Are fixed to the reinforcing frame 19 of the battery pack tray 3 with bolts 21.
The center line L1 in the width direction of the battery pack 1 attached to the vehicle body is attached so as to substantially coincide with the center of the vehicle body in the vehicle width direction.

  As shown in FIG. 5, for example, the battery pack 1 is detachably attached to the lower surface of the floor panel 23 at the lower part of the vehicle. The upper surface of the floor panel 23 forms a part of the passenger compartment. The floor panel 23 has a floor tunnel 25 protruding upward along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body at the center in the vehicle width direction. The floor panel 23 is formed inside the floor tunnel 25 so as to protrude from the upper surface of the battery pack 1. A convex portion 11 is disposed.

Next, the positioning structure of the cover member 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.
2 is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 3 or 5, the battery accommodates a plurality of battery modules therein. A tray flange 29 is formed on the entire upper surface of the outer peripheral wall 27 of the pack tray 3, and a cover formed on the upper surface of the tray flange 29 on the entire outer periphery of the outer peripheral wall of the cover body of the cover member 7. The flanges 31 are overlapped, and the respective flanges are coupled by a plurality of bolts 9.

The cover flange 31 formed on the cover member 7 projects in the horizontal direction, and a gasket 5 is attached to the root portion of the cover flange 31, and the gasket 5 is engaged in the circumferential direction of the cover flange 31. The cover member 7 is fitted over the entire periphery of the recess 33.
The tip of the gasket 5 comes into contact with the sheet surface 35 of the tray flange 29 and is compressed by H3 by tightening the bolt 9. Further, the gasket 5 is made of a rubber material, and has an engagement protrusion 37 that fits into the engagement recess 33 at the upper end portion, and abuts against the seat surface 35 from the middle portion to the lower portion to deform and seal function. It has the seal part 39 which exhibits. The two-dot chain line in FIG. 3 shows the shape after being tightened.

Further, the outer peripheral tip of the cover flange 31 is bent downward to form a vertical wall portion 43, and the vertical wall portion 43 is formed over the entire circumference or a partial range of the cover flange 31, Its height is formed to a substantially constant length H1 (see FIGS. 2 and 3).
The vertical wall 43 having the length H1 can prevent rainwater, mud, and the like from entering the mating portion of the cover member 7 and the battery pack tray 3 from the outside. Further, the rigidity of the outer peripheral edge of the cover member 7 can be improved, and as a result, the strength against bending and twisting that occurs when the cover member 7 travels in the vehicle can be improved.

  Then, the vertical wall portion 43 is further extended downward at a plurality of predetermined positions in the circumferential direction of the vertical wall portion 43, that is, between the mounting positions of the bolts 9 for fixing the tray flange 29 and the cover flange 31. The positioning bulge part (positioning part) 45 to be formed is formed to a length H2. The lengths H1 and H2 indicate the length from the upper surface M of the cover flange 31.

The positioning bulging portion 45 is set to a length that is positioned below the tip of the tray flange 29 in a state before the gasket 5 is compressed by the cover member 7 as shown in FIG. Is in contact with the tip of the tray flange 29.
That is, the length H2 of the positioning bulge 45 is formed to be longer than the compression amount H3 of the gasket 5 (H2> H3), and the lower end of the positioning bulge 45 is compressed by tightening the bolt 9. Before the end of the tray flange 29.

Since the positioning bulge 45 has a length located below the tip of the tray flange 29 in the state before compression of the gasket 5 in this way, the battery pack tray is compressed before the gasket 5 is compressed by the cover member 7. The cover member 7 can be positioned with respect to the cover 3, and the mounting position of the cover member 7 is stabilized.
That is, when the cover member 7 is assembled, it is not necessary to adjust in the front / rear / right / left direction (direction orthogonal to the compression direction of the gasket 5) before tightening with the bolt 9, so that the assembling work is facilitated and the working time is shortened. .

  Further, the cover member 7 is positioned by the positioning bulging portion 45 so that the cover flange 31 of the cover member 7 overlaps the tray flange 29 in the direction perpendicular to the upper direction. By tightening in an inclined state, there is no fear that the seal part 39 of the gasket 5 is assembled in a collapsed state, and sealing performance (liquid tightness) can be ensured.

  In this way, the seal portion 39 of the gasket 5 can be prevented from falling down, and the accuracy of the position and posture of the seal portion 39 of the gasket 5 in contact with the sheet surface 35 of the tray flange 29 can be improved. There is no need to provide the sheet surface 35 in an enlarged manner, and the battery pack can be prevented from being enlarged.

Moreover, the outline | summary of CC sectional shape of FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the cross-sectional shape of the cover member 7 in which the positioning bulge 45 is formed is recessed from the outer side of the cover flange 31 to the inner side of the concave bottom 51. The end surface 51 c comes into contact with the outer end surface of the positioning flange 53 formed on the tray flange 29. This concave shape has a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional shape, and has the same cross-sectional shape throughout the length H2 of the bulging portion 45 for positioning.
The cross-sectional shape is not necessarily a trapezoidal shape, and may be a rectangular shape as long as it has a surface in contact with the outer end surface 53c of the positioning flange 53 on the counterpart side.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the shape of the positioning bulging portion 45 viewed from the lower side inside the cover member 7. (A) is a perspective view of the whole, and (B) is an enlarged view of an E portion.
As shown in FIG. 8B, the positioning bulge 45 is recessed from the outside to the inside of the cover flange 31, and the cover inner end surface 51 c is formed on the concave bottom 51.

  Since the positioning bulging portion 45 bulges inward, the outer surface line K of the cover member 7 is formed flush without changing (projecting). For this reason, the positioning structure is formed without increasing the outer shape of the cover member 7.

Next, the battery pack tray 3 side will be described mainly with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 6, the battery pack tray 3 has a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the vehicle front-rear direction as described above, and is molded into a dish shape that houses a plurality of battery modules therein.
Inside, battery modules unitized in a cubic shape (not shown) are arranged so that the longitudinal direction thereof is in the vehicle width direction and adjacent to each other in a plurality of rows in the vehicle longitudinal direction. On the inner bottom surface of the battery pack tray 3, a reinforcing cross member and a partition member are provided in the short direction.

  On the tray flange 29 of the battery pack tray 3, as shown in FIG. 4, a positioning flange 53 is formed by notching inward at a position corresponding to the positioning bulging portion 45 formed on the cover member 7. . The concave shape of the positioning flange 53 has an asymmetric trapezoidal shape, and has a standing portion 53b having a notch angle and an inclined portion 53a having a notch angle on the opposite side.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the positioning flange 53 further has a notch angle at the center side of the front and rear (vehicle front-rear direction) and the left and right (vehicle width direction) of the battery pack tray 3. The notch angle is inclined so as to lie on the side away from the center.
That is, in FIG. 6, the side close to the center line L1 in the width direction and the center line L2 in the length direction is formed as a standing part 53b with an angle, and the inclined part 53a with a gentle slope on the opposite side.

In FIG. 6, a total of eight positioning flanges 53 are formed on the left and right tray flanges 29a and 29b on the left and right sides, four on each side. A total of four positioning flanges 53 are formed on the front and rear tray flanges 29c and 29d, two on each side. A total of 12 positioning flanges 53 are formed on the entire circumference.
When the positioning flange 53 is provided at the fastening portion of the bolt 9, the flange width of the bolt hole 55 is shortened and the fastening force is weakened, so that the portion is avoided and formed between the fastening portions of the bolt 9.

  Thus, since the positioning flange 53 is provided on each of the front, rear, left and right sides of the tray flange 29, the cover member can be reliably positioned.

  Further, the notch shape of the positioning flange 53 is formed so that the notch angle located on the center side is raised and the notch angle on the side away from the opposite center is inclined so as to lie down. The inclined inclined portion 53a serves as a guide, and the inclined standing portion 53b serves as a temporary positioning, so that the cover member 7 is obliquely moved in the front-rear and left-right directions in the direction perpendicular to the compression direction of the gasket 5 and attached. However, provisional positioning in the front-rear and left-right directions is performed. The final positioning is performed between the outer end surface 53c of the positioning flange 53 and the concave cover inner end surface 51c of the positioning bulge portion 45.

  Furthermore, the inclined portion 53a laid in the notch of the positioning flange 53 facilitates scrap processing during production of the battery pack tray due to the inclined shape. That is, when the notch for forming the positioning flange 53 is press-molded, the scrap corresponding to the concave shape after pressing tends to flow outward from the main body portion of the battery pack tray 3 (disengaged from the main body portion of the tray, or Therefore, the productivity of press production of the battery pack tray 3 can be improved.

Next, the procedure for assembling the cover member 7 will be described.
First, the gasket 5 is mounted on the engagement recess 33 around the cover member 7. Then, the battery pack tray 3 is placed horizontally, and the cover member 7 on which the gasket 5 is mounted is placed thereon so that the cover flange 31 of the cover member 7 overlaps the upper surface of the tray flange 29.

  At this time, the inclined portion 53 a having a notched angle is used as a guide, and the upright standing portion 53 b is temporarily positioned, so that the bulging portion 45 for positioning is a cover member in a direction orthogonal to the compression direction of the gasket 5. Even if an attempt is made to bring 7 obliquely in the front / rear / left / right direction, provisional positioning in the front / rear / left / right direction is performed.

  In this temporary positioning state, the distal end portion of the positioning bulge portion 45 in the length direction is positioned below the position of the tray flange 29, and the outer end surface 53 c of the positioning flange 53 and the positioning bulge portion 45. The main positioning is performed so that the cover flange 31 of the cover member 7 overlaps the tray flange 29 in the direction perpendicular to the upper direction with the concave inner cover end surface 51c in contact with the tray flange 29.

  After that, by tightening the cover member 7 with the bolt 9, the outer end surface 53c of the positioning flange 53 and the concave cover inner end surface 51c of the positioning bulge portion 45 are tightened and coupled together. The

  Note that the cross-sectional shape of the positioning bulge 45 is not the same shape from the tip of the length H2 to the base as shown in FIG. 4, but is tapered so that the tip is narrower than the base. Good. By making the taper shape, the initial positioning to the concave shape of the positioning flange 53 is facilitated, so that the provisional positioning is facilitated. Since final positioning is performed between the outer end surface 53c of the positioning flange 53 and the concave cover inner end surface 51c of the bulging portion 45 for positioning, the assembly workability can be further improved without affecting the position accuracy.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the positioning bulge 45 formed on the cover flange 31 and the tray between the tray flange 29 of the battery pack tray 3 and the cover flange 31 of the cover member 7. By providing a positioning structure including the positioning flange 53 formed on the flange 29, the assembly of the cover member 7 can be facilitated, the battery pack 1 can be downsized, and the sealing performance can be ensured.

  According to the present invention, a positioning structure including a positioning bulge formed on the cover flange and a positioning flange formed on the tray flange between the tray flange of the battery pack tray and the cover flange of the cover member. By providing, it is possible to achieve easy assembly of the cover member, miniaturization of the battery pack, and reliable sealing performance, which is useful as a technique applied to an in-vehicle battery pack.

1 Battery pack 3 Battery pack tray (tray)
5 Gasket (seal member)
7 Cover member (cover)
9, 17, 21 Bolt 29 Tray flange 31 Cover flange 43 Vertical wall 45 Positioning bulge (positioning part)
51 concave bottom 51c cover inner end face 51c
53 Positioning flange 53a Inclined portion 53b Standing portion 53c Outer end surface H1 Height of vertical wall portion H2 Height of bulging portion for positioning H3 Gasket compression amount L1 Width direction center line L2 Length direction center line M Upper surface of cover flange

Claims (4)

A battery in which a plurality of battery modules are accommodated and a tray and a cover are provided, a tray flange is formed on the upper surface of the outer periphery of the tray, and a cover flange of the cover is attached to the upper surface of the tray flange In the pack cover positioning structure,
A seal member interposed between the tray flange and the cover flange, and compressed when the cover is assembled to the tray to make the inside of the battery pack liquid-tight;
A vertical wall portion formed by bending the outer peripheral tip of the cover flange downward from the outside of the seal member;
The vertical wall portion is formed by further extending a part of the circumferential direction in the downward direction, and has a length located below the end of the tray flange in a state before the seal member is compressed by the cover. A battery pack cover positioning structure, comprising: a positioning portion that contacts the tip end surface of the flange and positions the cover relative to the tray in a direction perpendicular to the compression direction of the seal member.   A plurality of bolts for fastening the cover flange to the tray flange are provided in the circumferential direction of the tray flange, the positioning portion is provided between the bolts, and the positioning flange with which the positioning portion can contact is provided on the tray flange. 2. The cover positioning structure for a battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the cover positioning structure is formed in a recessed portion that enters inside from the outer peripheral edge.   3. The battery pack cover positioning structure according to claim 2, wherein the positioning flange is provided at each of the front and rear and left and right positions of the tray flange.   The concave shape of the positioning flange is formed so as to be inclined so that the notch angle on the opposite side is set up with the notch angle on the center side of each of the front and rear and the left and right sides of the tray. 4. The battery pack cover positioning structure according to 3.

Images