JP2014060060A - Positioning jig - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten the work time while reducing the workload when fastening a stack bracket and a battery stack.SOLUTION: A positioning jig used for fastening a stack bracket to the outer surface of a battery stack includes a positioning guide being inserted into a bracket positioning aperture formed in the stack bracket, and a tacking member inserted into a stack positioning aperture formed in the battery stack and having an opening diameter smaller than that of the bracket positioning aperture, and changing between a first state in pressure contact with the inner surface of the stack positioning aperture, and a second state where the contact pressure for the stack positioning aperture is reduced when compared with the first state.

Description

  The present invention relates to a positioning jig used when a stack bracket is fastened and fixed to a battery stack.

  A battery pack including a battery stack in which a plurality of single cells are stacked is known as a power supply device used for an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, and the like. When the battery stack is attached to the lower case, a stack bracket may be interposed between the battery stack and the lower case from the viewpoint of cost and workability.

  In the conventional assembly process, after lifting the battery stack to a position where it can be easily worked, the stack bracket is bolted to the lower surface of the battery stack while being tilted by 75 degrees. Here, when the stack bracket is bolted to the lower surface of the battery stack, a method of preventing the stack bracket from falling by temporarily temporarily fixing the holes of both the stack bracket and the battery stack with a fastening member is known.

JP 2006-185815 A JP 2009-236253 A

  However, in the above-described method, there is a possibility that temporary fixing cannot be performed when the time required for temporary fixing becomes long or positional displacement occurs in the holes of both the stack bracket and the battery stack due to a dimensional error or the like. Therefore, the present invention has an object of shortening the work time and reducing the work load when fastening and fixing the stack bracket and the battery stack.

  In order to solve the above problems, a positioning jig according to the present invention is (1) a positioning jig used for fastening and fixing a stack bracket to the outer surface of a battery stack, and the bracket formed on the stack bracket. A positioning guide inserted into the positioning opening, and a stack positioning opening formed in the battery stack, the stack positioning opening having a smaller opening diameter than the bracket positioning opening. A temporary fixing member that changes between a first state in pressure contact with the inner surface of the part and a second state in which the pressure contact force with respect to the stack positioning opening is relaxed more than in the first state. Features.

  (2) In the configuration of (1), rubber can be used as the temporary fixing member.

  (3) In the configuration of (2) above, the first box, a rubber adjustment bar capable of advancing and retracting a through-hole formed inside the first box, and formed at the tip of the rubber adjustment bar, A rubber contact portion projecting in a radial direction of the rubber adjustment bar, and the temporary fixing member is an outer peripheral surface of the rubber adjustment bar, and the rubber contact portion and the first box The rubber adjusting bar is moved, and the temporary fixing member is clamped using the rubber contact portion and the first box, whereby the temporary fixing member is moved to the second position. A state is changed to the first state. According to the configuration of (3), it is possible to easily switch between the temporarily fixed state and the temporary fixed release state only by moving the rubber adjustment bar. As a result, the work load can be further reduced and the work time can be shortened.

(4) In the configuration of (3) above, a coil spring wound around the rubber adjustment bar;
A spring accommodating portion formed on the first box and having a spring contact surface with which one end of the coil spring contacts; and a nut portion screwed into the rubber adjustment bar and with which the other end of the coil spring contacts. The temporary fixing member is moved from the second state by moving the rubber adjusting bar using the spring force of the coil spring charged in the compression direction by being sandwiched between the spring contact surface and the nut portion. Change to the first state. According to the structure of (4), the work burden at the time of changing a temporary fix | stop member from a 2nd state to a 1st state is reduced. Further, the spring force of the coil spring can be easily adjusted by operating the nut portion.

  (5) In the configuration of (3) or (4), the first box has a bracket contact surface that contacts the stack bracket and suppresses the tilt of the stack bracket. According to the configuration of (5), tilting of the stack bracket can be suppressed on the bracket contact surface.

  (6) In the configuration of (3) to (5), the rubber adjustment bar includes a second box to which a rear end portion is fixed. According to the configuration of (6), it is possible to easily move the rubber adjustment bar using the second box.

It is a bottom perspective view of a battery stack and a stack bracket. It is sectional drawing of a positioning jig (reduced diameter state). It is sectional drawing of a positioning jig (diameter expansion state). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a positioning jig (non-pressure-contact state). It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of a positioning jig (pressure contact state).

  A positioning jig, a battery stack and a stack bracket that are positioned using the positioning jig, according to an embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a bottom perspective view of a battery stack and a stack bracket. The X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis indicate three different orthogonal axes.

  Referring to FIG. 1, battery stack 1 includes a plurality of unit cells 11, end plate 12, and restraining rod 13. The plurality of unit cells 11 are stacked in the Y-axis direction. The unit cell 11 may be a secondary battery such as a lithium ion battery or a nickel metal hydride battery, or a capacitor. The single battery 11 may be a battery cell or a battery module including a plurality of battery cells. Here, a battery cell is an element of the minimum unit which can be charged / discharged.

  A convex terminal 11 a is formed on the side surface of the unit cell 11. Terminals 11a of adjacent unit cells 11 are electrically and mechanically connected via a bus bar (not shown). As a connection method, series connection or parallel connection can be used. Terminals 11 a provided on the unit cells 11 positioned at the end in the stacking direction are used as a total plus terminal and a total minus terminal of the battery stack 1. Using these total plus terminal and total minus terminal, the electric power generated in each unit cell 11 can be taken out of the battery stack 1. The extracted electric power is used as operating energy for operating the vehicle travel motor.

  The end plate 12 is provided at a position sandwiching the plurality of unit cells 11. Resin can be used for the end plate 12. The end plate 12 is formed with a plurality of ribs 12a for strengthening the structure. Restraint rod holding portions 12 b are formed on the upper end surface and the lower end surface of the end plate 12. The restraining rod 13 extends in the stacking direction of the unit cells 11, and both ends thereof are fastened to the restraining rod holding portion 12b. When the restraining rod 13 is fastened to the restraining rod holding portion 12b, a clamping pressure for clamping the plurality of single cells 11 is applied to the end plate 12. Thereby, the position shift etc. of the some cell 11 are suppressed.

  The stack bracket 2 includes a first stack bracket 21 and a second stack bracket 22. The first and second stack brackets 21 and 22 are formed in a flat plate shape. The first stack bracket 21 is attached to one end portion on the bottom surface of the battery stack 1, and the second stack bracket 22 is attached to the other end portion on the bottom surface of the battery stack 1. A metal can be used for the stack bracket 2.

  The first stack bracket 21 has a lower case opening 21a, a bracket positioning opening 21b, and a boss fitting hole 21c. The lower case opening 21a is used to fix the first stack bracket 21 to the lower case. A plurality of bracket positioning openings 21b are formed in the stacking direction of the cells 11. Each of these bracket positioning openings 21b faces an opening (not shown) formed on the bottom surface of the battery stack 1, and the first stack bracket 21 is attached to the battery stack by fastening a fastening member to these openings. 1 is fixed. In addition, the positioning jig 3 of this embodiment is used as a temporary fixing jig when performing this fastening operation. A boss (not shown) of the end plate 12 is fitted into the boss fitting hole 21c.

  Here, the battery stack 1 is accommodated in a pack case including an upper case and a lower case (not shown), and the battery pack is fixed by fastening the lower case to the floor panel. Since the second stack bracket 22 has the same configuration as the first stack bracket 21, the description will not be repeated.

2 and 3 are cross-sectional views of the positioning jig. FIG. 2 shows a reduced diameter state of the clamp rubber, and FIG. 3 shows an enlarged state of the clamp rubber. Referring to FIG. 2, positioning jig 3 includes a first box 31, a second box 32, a screw 33, a first nut 34 (corresponding to a nut portion), a second nut 35, and a rubber adjustment bar. 36, a coil spring 37, a rubber contact portion 38 and a clamp rubber 39. 2 and 3 indicate the central axis of the positioning jig 3.

The first box 31 includes a handle portion 311 extending in the Y-axis direction, a bracket contact surface 312, a positioning guide surface 313, a spring accommodating portion 314, and an adjustment bar moving passage 315. The handle 311 is formed at the end of the first box 31 on the second box 32 side. The bracket contact surface 312 is formed at the end of the first box 31 on the clamp rubber 39 side, and extends in the Y-axis direction. The bracket contact surface 312 contacts the first stack bracket 21 (second stack bracket 22) during positioning by the positioning jig 3. The positioning guide surface 313 is formed at the end of the bracket contact surface 312. The positioning guide surface 313 extends in the X-axis direction and is formed in a circular shape around the central axis of the positioning jig 3. The positioning guide surface 313 is inserted into the bracket positioning opening 21 b in the first stack bracket 21 when positioning is performed using the positioning jig 3.

The spring accommodating portion 314 is formed at the end of the first box 31 on the second box 32 side, and extends in the X-axis direction. The spring accommodating portion 314 accommodates a coil spring 37 that can be expanded and contracted in the X-axis direction, and a tip end portion of the coil spring 37 is fixed to an end portion (corresponding to a spring contact surface) of the spring accommodating portion 314. The rear end portion of 37 extends from the spring accommodating portion 314. The adjustment bar moving path 315 extends in the X-axis direction, the inlet is formed at the X-axis direction end of the spring accommodating portion 314, and the outlet is formed at the X-axis direction end of the first box 31. Yes.

  The rubber adjustment bar 36 is disposed inside the spring accommodating portion 314 and the adjustment bar moving path 315 and extends through the first box 31 in the X-axis direction. The coil spring 37 is disposed around the rubber adjustment bar 36. A thread groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rubber adjustment bar 36, and a first nut 34 and a second nut 35 are screwed into the thread groove. The first nut 34 is in contact with the coil spring 37. The spring force of the coil spring 37 can be adjusted by rotating the first nut 34. The second nut 35 is located on the opposite side of the coil spring 37 with the first nut 34 interposed therebetween, and has a function of preventing the first nut 34 from loosening.

  The rubber contact portion 38 is attached to the tip end portion of the rubber adjustment bar 36. The rubber contact portion 38 is formed to have a larger diameter than the rubber adjustment bar 36. The clamp rubber 39 is sandwiched between the first box 31 and the rubber contact portion 38. The outer diameter of the clamp rubber 39 changes as the distance between the first box 31 and the rubber contact portion 38 changes. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, when the second box 32 moves away from the first box 31, the clamp rubber 39 is clamped between the first box 31 and the rubber contact portion 38. To increase the diameter. In FIG. 3, a state before the clamp rubber 39 is expanded is indicated by a dotted line.

  The second box 32 is formed with a nut housing portion 321, an adjustment bar fixing opening 322, and a screw passage 323. The nut housing part 321 faces the first box 31 in the X-axis direction. The nut accommodating portion 321 accommodates the first nut 34 and the second nut 35. The first nut 34 and the second nut 35 can be operated from the outside of the second box 32.

  The adjustment bar fixing opening 322 is formed at the rear end of the second box 32, and the rear end of the rubber adjustment bar 36 is housed inside the adjustment bar fixing opening 322. The screw passage 323 extends in the Y-axis direction and communicates with the adjustment bar fixing opening 322. A screw groove is cut in the inner peripheral surface of the screw passage 323, and the screw 33 is screwed into the screw groove. The screw 33 advances and retreats in the Y-axis direction in the screw passage 323 according to the rotation operation. The rubber adjustment bar 36 can be fixed to the second box 32 by the screw 33 coming into contact with the rubber adjustment bar 36. Thereby, the second box 32 can be moved in the X-axis direction together with the rubber adjustment bar 36.

  Next, a temporary fixing method using the positioning jig 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG.4 and FIG.5 is operation | movement explanatory drawing of clamp rubber | gum. FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 2 and shows a state immediately after the clamp rubber is inserted into the stack positioning opening. FIG. 5 corresponds to FIG. 3 and shows a state when the clamp rubber is brought into pressure contact with the stack positioning opening (that is, a state at the time of temporary fixing).

  R1, R2, and R3 represent the diameter dimensions of the bracket positioning opening 21b, the positioning guide surface 313, and the stack positioning opening 14, respectively, and the magnitude relationship is R1> R2> R3. 2 and 4, the clamp rubber 39 is reduced in diameter by pushing the second box 32 toward the first box 31 with the palm of the hand while grasping the handle portion 311 with a finger. It shall be. Further, the outer diameter of the clamp rubber 39 in the reduced diameter state is the same as or smaller than the diameter of the stack positioning opening 14 formed in the battery stack 1.

  Referring to FIG. 4, the operator first pushes positioning jig 3 toward stack bracket 21, thereby positioning guide surface 313 and clamp rubber 39 to bracket positioning opening 21 b and stack positioning opening 14, respectively. insert. The clamp rubber 39 can be easily inserted into the stack positioning opening 14 simply by pushing the positioning jig 3 so that the positioning guide surface 313 passes near the edge of the bracket positioning opening 21b. It is assumed that the ratio of R1 and R2 is set to an appropriate value so that the operator can easily perform the positioning work.

When the positioning jig 3 is further pushed in, the bracket contact surface 312 of the positioning jig 3 comes into contact with the plane of the stack bracket 21. Thereby, the fall of the stack bracket 21 and the like are suppressed.

  3 and 5, when the hand is released from the handle portion 311 and the second box 32, the rubber adjustment bar 36 is moved in the direction of the arrow by the spring force of the coil spring 37. When the rubber adjustment bar 36 moves in the direction of the arrow, the rubber contact portion 38 moves from the position indicated by the dotted line to the position indicated by the solid line, and the clamp rubber 39 is moved in the X-axis direction by the rubber contact portion 38 and the first box 31. It is pinched. As shown in FIG. 5, the clamp rubber 39 is prevented from expanding in the in-plane direction including the YZ plane by the stack positioning opening 14, so that the clamp rubber 39 is pressed against the stack positioning opening 14. Power is granted. Thereby, the battery stack 1 and the stack bracket 21 can be temporarily fixed.

  That is, since the clamp rubber 39 is pressed against the stack positioning opening 14 in a state where the stack bracket 21 is in contact with the bracket contact surface 312 and the positioning guide surface 313 of the first box 31, the fall of the stack bracket 21 is suppressed. However, positioning accuracy is improved. Since the battery stack 1 and the stack bracket 21 are temporarily fixed with high accuracy, the battery stack 1 and the stack bracket 21 can be easily fastened and fixed using bolts.

  Moreover, since it is not necessary to carry out temporary fixing using screwing, jig mounting time can be greatly reduced. Furthermore, since the temporary fixing state and the temporary fixing release state can be easily switched by simply moving the rubber adjustment bar 36 forward and backward, the work time for fastening and fixing the battery stack 1 and the stack bracket 21 (22) is greatly increased. Can be reduced.

  Here, as a method of temporarily fixing the stack bracket 21 to the battery stack 1, a method of attaching a flat temporary fixing jig to which the stack bracket 21 is attached to the battery stack 1 is also conceivable. However, this method requires a very long time for the temporary fixing work. According to the configuration of the present embodiment, the stack bracket 21 can be temporarily fixed by simply pressing the positioning jig 3 into the stack bracket 21 and pressing the clamp rubber 39 against the stack positioning opening 14. it can.

(Modification 1)
In the above-described embodiment, the temporary contact state and the temporary stop release state are switched by changing the pressure contact force applied from the clamp rubber 39 to the stack positioning opening 14, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the clamp rubber Other members other than 39 can also be used. An expansion container can be used as the other member. In this case, the expansion container is installed between the rubber contact portion 38 and the first box 31, gas is introduced into the expansion container to be expanded, and the temporary positioning is performed by pressing the stack positioning opening 14. May be. When the expansion container is used, temporary fixing can be performed without moving the rubber adjustment bar 36 back and forth in the X-axis direction. A piezoelectric element can be used as the other member. In this case, the piezoelectric element may be installed between the rubber contact portion 38 and the first box 31, and temporary fixing may be performed by applying a voltage to the piezoelectric element and press-contacting the stack positioning opening 14. . Even when a piezoelectric element is used, temporary fixing can be performed without moving the rubber adjustment bar 36 back and forth in the X-axis direction.

(Modification 2)
In the above-described embodiment, the positioning jig 3 is inserted into the stack positioning opening 14 and the bracket positioning opening 21b. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other openings are used as temporary fixing openings. You can also.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Battery stack 2 Stack bracket 3 Positioning jig 11 Cell 12 End plate 13 Restraint rod 14 Stack positioning opening 21 First stack bracket 21a Lower case opening
21b Bracket positioning opening 21c Boss fitting hole
22 second stack bracket 31 first box 32 second box 33 screw 34 first nut 35 second nut
36 Rubber adjustment bar 37 Coil spring 38 Rubber contact part 39 Clamp rubber

Claims (6)

A positioning jig used to fasten and fix the stack bracket to the outer surface of the battery stack,
A positioning guide portion to be inserted into a bracket positioning opening formed in the stack bracket;
A stack positioning opening formed in the battery stack, wherein the stack positioning opening is inserted into the stack positioning opening having a smaller opening diameter than the bracket positioning opening, and is in pressure contact with the inner surface of the stack positioning opening; A temporary fixing member that changes between a second state in which a pressing force against the stack positioning opening is relaxed compared to the first state;
A positioning jig characterized by comprising:   The positioning jig according to claim 1, wherein the temporary fixing member is rubber. A first box;
A rubber adjustment bar capable of advancing and retracting a through hole formed in the first box;
A rubber contact portion formed at a tip portion of the rubber adjustment bar and projecting in a radial direction of the rubber adjustment bar;
The temporary fixing member is an outer peripheral surface of the rubber adjustment bar, and is provided between the rubber contact portion and the first box,
The temporary adjustment member is moved from the second state to the first state by moving the rubber adjusting bar and clamping the temporary attachment member using the rubber contact portion and the first box. The positioning jig according to claim 2, wherein the positioning jig is changed. A coil spring wound around the rubber adjustment bar;
A spring accommodating portion formed in the first box and having a spring contact surface with which one end of the coil spring contacts;
A nut portion that is screwed into the rubber adjustment bar and that contacts the other end of the coil spring;
By moving the rubber adjusting bar using the spring force of the coil spring charged in the compression direction by being sandwiched between the spring contact surface and the nut portion, the temporary fixing member is moved from the second state to the first state. The positioning jig according to claim 3, wherein the positioning jig is changed to a state of 1.   5. The positioning jig according to claim 3, wherein the first box has a bracket contact surface that contacts the stack bracket and suppresses the tilt of the stack bracket. The positioning jig according to claim 3, further comprising a second box to which a rear end portion of the rubber adjusting bar is fixed.