JP2014069915A - Industrial vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inhibit diffusion of a discharged object discharged from a case in which battery cells are stored.SOLUTION: A power supply device 30 includes: a counter weight 41 for adjusting a balance with a cargo; and a battery unit 51. The counter weight 41 includes a bottom part 42 having a rectangular parallelepiped block shape. In the bottom part 42, a wall part 43 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape is erected and a placement part 44, on which the battery unit 51 is placed, is provided so as to be spaced a predetermined distance away from the wall part 43. The battery unit 51 is placed on the placement part 44. In the battery unit 51, a battery module 54 composed of multiple battery cells 53 is stored in a case 52. A through hole 57 is formed on a side wall 52a of the case 52. A wall part 43 of the counter weight 41 faces the through hole 57.

Description

  The present invention relates to an industrial vehicle including a battery unit in which a battery cell is accommodated in a case, and a counterweight.

  In an industrial vehicle that uses a battery cell as a power source, a battery module including a plurality of battery cells is mounted. As this type of battery module, for example, a battery module described in Patent Document 1 is known.

  In the battery module described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of secondary batteries (battery cells) are accommodated in a housing. The secondary battery is provided with an exhaust member that can be opened at a set pressure. An exhaust hole is formed in the housing. A valve member is provided in the exhaust hole so as to close the exhaust hole. The valve member is opened when the internal pressure of the housing reaches a set pressure.

JP 2012-104471 A

  By the way, when the internal pressure of the housing becomes a set pressure and the valve member is opened, the contents (for example, electrolytic solution) of the secondary battery may be discharged from the inside of the housing as discharge. In industrial vehicles, it is desired to suppress the diffusion of the exhaust discharged from the battery module.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art as described above, and an object thereof is to provide an industrial vehicle capable of suppressing the diffusion of the exhaust discharged from the case in which the battery cell is accommodated. There is to do.

  In order to solve the above problems, the invention according to claim 1 is an industrial vehicle comprising a battery unit having a case and a battery cell accommodated in the case, and a counterweight, wherein the case Is formed with a pressure release valve that is opened when the internal pressure of the case exceeds a specified pressure, and the counterweight is disposed so as to face the through hole. The gist is that

  According to this, when gas is discharged into the case from the battery cell, the internal pressure of the case increases. When the internal pressure of the case exceeds the specified pressure, the pressure release valve is opened, and discharges such as the contents of the battery cells are discharged from the through holes. Exhaust discharged from the through hole collides with the counterweight, and the discharge is suppressed from diffusing to the periphery.

  Invention of Claim 2 is the industrial vehicle of Claim 1, Comprising: The midpoint of the opening inside the said case in the said through-hole is the midpoint of the opening outside the said case in the said through-hole The main point is that it is located above the vertical direction.

  According to this, even if the discharged waste hits the counterweight and partly exceeds the counterweight, the middle point of the opening inside the case in the through hole and the outside of the case in the through hole Compared with the case where the midpoint of the opening is at the same height, the distance from the counterweight to the end of the counterweight in the vertical direction can be increased, so the end of the counterweight in the vertical direction In the meantime, the effluent can be cooled. Therefore, for example, a high-temperature gas can be suitably cooled, and the gas can be easily changed into a liquid. For this reason, the quantity of gas decreases and it is suppressed that gas diffuses around.

  Invention of Claim 3 is an industrial vehicle of Claim 1 or Claim 2, Comprising: The storage part in which the liquid discharged | emitted from the said through-hole is stored is formed in the said counterweight. Is the gist.

  According to this, when the liquid is discharged from the inside of the case, the storage part for storing the liquid is formed in the counterweight, so that it is not necessary to provide the storage part as a separate body from the counterweight, and the number of parts is reduced. The

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, spreading | diffusion of the discharge discharged | emitted from the case where a battery cell is accommodated can be suppressed.

The schematic side view which shows the forklift of embodiment. The perspective view which shows the power supply device of embodiment schematically. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2 schematically showing the power supply device of the embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the battery cell of embodiment. (A) And (b) is sectional drawing which shows the through-hole of another example.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the industrial vehicle of the present invention is embodied as a forklift will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “upper”, and “lower” are “front”, “rear”, and “left” when the forklift driver is facing the front of the forklift. ”,“ Right ”,“ upper ”, and“ lower ”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, drive wheels 12 are provided at the front lower part of the vehicle body 11 of the forklift 10, and steering wheels 13 are provided at the rear lower part of the vehicle body 11. In addition, a cargo handling device is provided at the front portion of the vehicle body 11. The mast 14 constituting the cargo handling apparatus is erected on the front portion of the vehicle body 11, and the mast 14 is provided with a pair of left and right forks 16 via a lift bracket 15. The fork 16 is lifted and lowered together with the lift bracket 15 by driving a lift cylinder 17 connected to the mast 14. Further, the fork 16 is tilted together with the mast 14 by driving a tilt cylinder 18 connected to the mast 14. A load 19 is mounted on the fork 16. The vehicle body 11 is equipped with a traveling motor M1 as a drive source for the drive wheels 12 and a cargo handling motor M2 as a drive source for the fork 16.

  A cab 20 is provided in the center of the vehicle body 11. The cab 20 is provided with a driving seat 21 on which an operator (driver) can sit. A handle 22 is provided in front of the driving seat 21. A power supply device 30 is mounted below the cab 20. Hereinafter, the power supply device 30 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 2, the power supply device 30 includes a counterweight 41 that balances the load 19 and a battery unit 51.
The counterweight 41 includes a bottom portion 42 that forms a rectangular parallelepiped block shape. A rectangular parallelepiped wall portion 43 is erected on the bottom portion 42, and a placement portion 44 on which the battery unit 51 is placed at a predetermined interval from the wall portion 43 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the bottom portion 42, a recess 45 that is recessed in the height direction (vertical direction) of the bottom portion 42 is formed between the wall portion 43 and the placement portion 44. The bottom surface 45 a of the recess 45 is inclined downward from the wall portion 43 toward the mounting portion 44. The counterweight 41 is made of a metal material such as iron, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the battery unit 51 is placed on the placement portion 44. The battery unit 51 controls a battery module 54 and a battery module 54 each including a plurality of battery cells 53 (secondary batteries such as a lithium ion secondary battery and a nickel-hydrogen storage battery) in a rectangular box-like case 52. An ECU 55 and a junction box 56 in which a relay, wiring, and the like are accommodated are accommodated. The case 52 is formed of a bottom plate 82, a main body portion 81 including a side wall 52 a erected from the periphery of the bottom plate 82, and a top plate 83 that closes an opening of the main body portion 81.

  A through hole 57 is formed in one of the side walls 52 a of the case 52. The through hole 57 is formed obliquely with respect to the horizontal direction so that the discharge discharged from the through hole 57 is discharged downward in the vertical direction. The through hole 57 is provided with a pressure release valve 58 that is opened by breaking when the internal pressure of the case 52 exceeds a specified pressure. This “specified pressure” is set such that when the internal pressure of the case 52 increases, the pressure release valve 58 is broken before the case 52 is damaged by the internal pressure of the case 52. The through hole 57 is closed by a pressure release valve 58.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the battery cell 53, an electrode assembly 62 and an electrolytic solution 63 are accommodated in an accommodation case 61. The housing case 61 includes a bottomed rectangular box-shaped case body 64 that houses the electrode assembly 62, and a rectangular plate-shaped lid member 65 that closes the opening of the case body 64. A positive electrode terminal 66 and a negative electrode terminal 67 protrude from the lid member 65. The lid member 65 is formed with a through hole 68 penetrating in the thickness direction of the lid member 65. The through hole 68 is a valve that is opened when the internal pressure of the housing case 61 exceeds a specified pressure. 69 is provided. The “specified pressure” is set to a pressure at which the valve 69 is broken before the housing case 61 is damaged when the internal pressure of the housing case 61 increases.

  The electrode assembly 62 is formed by alternately laminating positive and negative electrodes with a separator interposed therebetween. A positive electrode terminal 66 and a negative electrode terminal 67 are electrically connected to the electrode assembly 62 via a positive electrode conductive member 70 and a negative electrode conductive member 71.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the battery unit 51 is placed on the placement portion 44 so that the side wall 52 a in which the through hole 57 is formed faces the wall portion 43 of the counterweight 41. Thereby, the through hole 57 faces the counterweight 41. Note that “the counterweight 41 and the through hole 57 are opposed to each other” means that at least a portion in the vertical direction of the outline is projected onto the counterweight 41 when the outline of the through hole 57 is extended. Say.

  That is, the through hole 57 is provided at a position where the vertical upper portion of the through hole 57 is lower than the wall portion 43. Further, the side wall 52 a of the present embodiment is provided so as to be parallel to the wall portion 43 of the counterweight 41, and the through hole 57 is formed obliquely downward in the vertical direction with respect to the wall portion 43. Yes. In other words, the midpoint P1 of the opening 57a on the inner side of the case 52 in the through hole 57 is positioned vertically above the midpoint P2 of the opening 57b on the outer side (wall side 43 side) of the case 52 in the through hole 57. Yes.

  Therefore, an extension line L1 that extends a line connecting the midpoint P1 of the opening 57a inside the case 52 in the through hole 57 and the midpoint P2 of the opening 57b outside the case 52 in the through hole 57 to the wall portion 43 is In the case where the two openings 57a and 57b of the through hole 57 are located at the same height, the distance is longer than the extension line L2 that extends the line connecting the midpoints of the two openings 57a and 57b to the wall portion 43. By the time it reaches the part 43, the discharged matter is easily cooled.

Next, the operation of the forklift 10 according to this embodiment will be described.
If the valve 69 provided in the housing case 61 is broken when an abnormality occurs in the battery cell 53, the internal pressure of the case 52 increases. When the internal pressure of the case 52 exceeds the specified pressure, the pressure release valve 58 is broken and opened, so that the discharged matter is discharged from the through hole 57. The discharged material is, for example, in the form of a mist in which a gas generated inside the battery cell 53 or a liquid such as the electrolytic solution 63 that is the content of the battery cell 53 is mixed. Further, when the battery cell 53 is damaged in the case 52, a part of the housing case 61 constituting the battery cell 53 and the terminals 66 and 67 may be discharged from the through hole 57.

  The liquid discharge discharged from the through hole 57 hits the wall 43. Exhaust that collides with the wall 43 flows along the wall 43 according to the gravity, flows into the recess 45, and is stored in the recess 45. For this reason, the recessed part 45 is functioning as a storage part. The recess 45 may be provided with a discharge mechanism (not shown), and the discharge stored in the recess 45 may be discharged to the outside by this discharge mechanism.

  Further, the gaseous discharge discharged from the through-hole 57 is cooled until reaching the wall portion 43, and a part thereof changes into a liquid. The discharged substance phase-changed into the liquid collides with the wall 43 and is stored in the recess 45 along the wall 43 according to gravity.

Therefore, according to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The counterweight 41 is disposed at a position facing the through hole 57. For this reason, for example, when the liquid is discharged from the through hole 57, the liquid collides with the wall portion 43, so that it is suppressed from diffusing far. Therefore, for example, when the forklift 10 is used, it is possible to suppress the liquid from being scattered on the equipment around the forklift 10, the load 19, and the like.

  (2) The through-hole 57 is formed on the side wall 52a of the case 52 erected in the vertical direction so that the discharge discharged from the through-hole 57 is discharged downward in the vertical direction. In other words, the midpoint P1 of the opening 57a on the inner side of the case 52 in the through hole 57 is disposed above the midpoint P2 of the opening 57b on the outer side of the case 52 in the through hole 57 in the vertical direction. Therefore, even when the discharged waste hits the wall 43 and a part thereof exceeds the wall 43, the distance from the contact to the wall 43 to the upper end of the wall 43 in the vertical direction is reduced. Since the length can be increased, the discharged matter can be cooled before reaching the upper end of the wall 43 in the vertical direction. Therefore, for example, a high-temperature gas can be suitably cooled, and the gas can be easily changed into a liquid. For this reason, the quantity of gas decreases and it is suppressed that gas diffuses around.

  (3) The through hole 57 opens obliquely downward in the vertical direction with respect to the wall portion 43. Therefore, for example, when a high-temperature gas is discharged from the through hole 57, the gas is easily cooled before reaching the wall portion 43. Therefore, the high-temperature gas can be suitably cooled, and the phase of the gas is easily changed to a liquid. For this reason, the quantity of gas decreases and it is suppressed that gas diffuses vertically upward. Further, when the liquid is discharged from the through hole 57, it is possible to appropriately discharge the liquid to the concave portion 45 positioned below in the vertical direction.

  (4) The bottom portion 42 is provided with a recess 45 for storing liquid. By forming the concave portion 45 for storing the liquid in the counterweight 41, it is not necessary to provide a storage portion as a separate body from the counterweight 41, and the number of parts is reduced.

In addition, you may change embodiment as follows.
In the embodiment, the counterweight 41 may be formed only from the wall portion 43. In this case, the battery unit 51 may be placed directly on the vehicle body 11.

In the embodiment, a neutralizer or the like may be provided in the recess 45 so that the liquid is neutralized when the liquid is stored.
In the embodiment, a through hole 57 may be formed below the case 52 in the vertical direction. In this case, the liquid stored in the lower part of the case 52 in the vertical direction can be discharged from the through hole 57.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the through hole 57 may have an opening area of the opening 57 b outside the case 52 larger than the opening area of the opening 57 a inside the case 52. In this case, the vertical upper portion of the through hole 57 is linearly formed in the thickness direction of the side wall 52a, while the vertical lower portion of the through hole 57 is inclined downward in the vertical direction with respect to the thickness direction of the side wall 52a. By doing so, the midpoint P1 of the opening 57a inside the case 52 is positioned above the midpoint P2 of the opening 57b outside the case 52 in the vertical direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the side wall 52 a facing the wall portion 43 may be formed obliquely from the bottom plate 82. In this case, even if the through hole 57 is formed linearly with respect to the thickness direction of the side wall 52a by inclining the side wall 52a so as to approach the wall portion 43 as the distance from the bottom plate 82 increases, the case 52 of the through hole 57 is formed. The midpoint P1 of the opening 57a on the inner side is positioned above the midpoint P2 of the opening 57b outside the case 52 in the vertical direction. Therefore, even if the through hole 57 is not formed obliquely with respect to the thickness direction of the side wall 52a, the midpoint P1 of the opening 57a on the inner side of the case 52 is perpendicular to the midpoint P2 of the opening 57b on the outer side of the case 52. Located in the upper direction. Further, even when the side wall 52 a of the case 52 is erected vertically from the bottom plate 82, the side wall 52 a facing the wall portion 43 is made to be the wall portion 43 by tilting the entire case 52 toward the wall portion 43. Inclined to be arranged. Even in this case, even if the through hole 57 is not formed obliquely with respect to the thickness direction of the side wall 52a, the midpoint P1 of the opening 57a inside the case 52 is more than the midpoint P2 of the opening 57b outside the case 52. Located vertically above.

In the embodiment, the shape of the wall 43 may be changed. For example, the surface in the thickness direction may be a circular shape, a polygonal shape such as a pentagonal shape or a hexagonal shape.
In the embodiment, when only gas is discharged from the through hole 57 or when a storage part is provided separately from the counterweight 41, the recess 45 may not be formed in the bottom part 42 of the counterweight 41.

  The through hole 57 may open horizontally with respect to the wall portion 43. Moreover, it may be opened obliquely upward in the vertical direction with respect to the wall 43 within a range in which the discharged waste can hit the wall 43.

The cross-sectional shape of the through hole 57 may be any shape. For example, the shape may be a circle, a polygonal shape such as a triangular shape, or a quadrangular shape.
In the embodiment, a melting plug may be used as the pressure release valve. In this case, when the temperature inside the case 52 rises, the plug is melted, thereby releasing the pressure of the case 52. Moreover, you may use the stopper formed from the shape memory alloy as a pressure release valve. In this case, when the temperature inside the case 52 rises, the stopper is deformed, and the pressure inside the case 52 is released along with this deformation. And if the temperature inside case 52 falls, a stopper will return to the original shape, and will block through-hole 57 again. That is, as the pressure release valve, a member that cannot be used once the pressure in the case 52 is released as in the embodiment may be used, or a member that can be used again may be used.

  The industrial vehicle of the present invention may be embodied in an industrial vehicle other than the forklift 10. For example, it may be embodied in a power shovel.

  P1, P2 ... Midpoint, 10 ... Forklift, 41 ... Counterweight, 43 ... Wall, 45 ... Recess, 51 ... Battery unit, 52 ... Case, 53 ... Battery cell, 57 ... Through-hole, 57a, 57b ... Opening, 58 ... Pressure release valve.

Claims (3)

An industrial vehicle comprising a battery unit having a case and a battery cell accommodated in the case, and a counterweight,
A through hole is formed in the case, and a pressure release valve that is opened when the internal pressure of the case exceeds a specified pressure is provided in the through hole,
The industrial vehicle, wherein the counterweight is disposed so as to face the through hole.   2. The industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein a midpoint of an opening on the inner side of the case in the through hole is positioned vertically above a midpoint of an opening on the outer side of the case in the through hole. .   The industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the counterweight is formed with a storage portion in which the liquid discharged from the through hole is stored.