JP2014118302A - Battery case - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery case which is improved in heat radiation of a battery cell and allows reduction of production costs.SOLUTION: A battery case 10 includes a body part 11 having a bottom surface 12 on which a battery cell BS is mounted and a side surface 13 extending upward from the bottom surface 12 and surrounding the battery cell BS, with the battery cell BS protruded upward from the upper end of the side surface 13, and a to-be-suspended part 21 fixed to a desired position of the body part 11, protruded upward relative to the upper end of the battery cell BS and engaged with a suspension part for suspension. The configuration improves the heat radiation of the battery cell BS and allows reduction of production costs of the battery case 10.

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery case mounted on an electric forklift.

  In an electric forklift, a plurality of battery cells that supply electric power to a traveling motor or the like are housed in one battery case, and the battery case is mounted on a forklift vehicle (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In an electric forklift, unlike an electric automobile, a configuration in which a battery case containing battery cells can be replaced is adopted. That is, battery cells that have been charged at an external charging station or the like are loaded onto a forklift vehicle, and discharged battery cells are removed from the forklift and loaded. The loaded battery cell is charged at a charging station or the like.

  By doing in this way, it becomes easy to ensure the operation time of an electric forklift, and work efficiency can be improved. That is, when charging is performed with a charging cable connected and a battery cell mounted on an electric forklift as in an electric vehicle, cargo handling work cannot be performed using the electric forklift during the charging period. Compared to this, the method of exchanging battery cells has a shorter period during which cargo handling work cannot be performed and the work efficiency is higher, and therefore, an electric forklift employs a method of exchanging a battery case.

JP 2008-222397 A

  The above-described battery case is generally a box shape with an open upper surface, and has a shape and size that completely covers the entire side surface of the battery cell. For this reason, there is a problem in that the amount of materials necessary for producing the battery case increases and the manufacturing cost increases. Furthermore, since the side surface and bottom surface of the battery cell are completely covered, it is difficult for the heat generated in the battery cell to escape to the outside, resulting in a problem of poor heat dissipation.

  In addition, since the capacity of the battery cell is determined according to the specification of the forklift to be mounted, there are various capacity battery cells. Since these battery cells with different capacities have different sizes such as width and height, it is necessary to prepare various sizes of battery cells according to the size of the battery cell that houses the battery case, which increases the manufacturing cost of the battery case. There was a problem of becoming.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery case capable of improving the heat dissipation of the battery cell and reducing the manufacturing cost.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following means.
The battery case of the present invention has a bottom surface on which the battery cell is placed, and a side surface that extends upward from the bottom surface and surrounds the periphery of the battery cell, and the battery cell projects upward from the upper end of the side surface. And a suspended portion that is fixed to a desired position of the main body and protrudes above the upper end of the battery cell and that is engaged with a hanging portion used for hanging. To do.

  According to the battery case of the present invention, the battery cell is divided into a main body portion on which the battery cell is placed and enclosing only the lower side of the battery cell, and a suspended portion used when the battery cell and the main body portion are suspended. While improving the heat dissipation of a cell, the manufacturing cost of a battery case can be reduced.

  In other words, the lower side of the battery cell is surrounded by the side surface of the main body, while the upper side is exposed to the outside, so that the heat dissipation of the battery cell is smaller than when the entire battery cell is surrounded by the side surface. Can be improved. Further, since the amount of members necessary for manufacturing the battery case may be small, it is easy to reduce the manufacturing cost.

  In the above invention, the main body portion has a plurality of sizes according to the size of the battery cell, and the suspended portion has the same size as the plurality of main body portions. It is preferable to be used.

  As described above, the suspended portion is the same in size with respect to the main body portions having a plurality of sizes, so that the manufacturing cost of the battery case can be reduced. On the other hand, since the main body uses a plurality of sizes according to the size of the battery cell, the battery cell can be stored in the battery case.

  Note that battery cells of a plurality of sizes may be stored in the same main body. By doing in this way, the size number of a main-body part can be suppressed and the manufacturing cost of a battery case can be aimed at.

  In the above invention, the desired position may be set according to the height of the battery cell stored in the main body, and the upper end of the suspended portion may protrude above the upper end of the battery cell. preferable.

  Thus, by changing the fixing position of the suspended portion according to the height of the battery cell, it is possible to cope with battery cells having different heights without changing the size of the suspended portion, and the battery case The manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  In the above invention, the pair of suspended portions are disposed with the main body portion interposed therebetween, and a reinforcing portion is provided that connects portions of the pair of suspended portions that protrude upward from the battery cell. preferable.

  Thus, it becomes easy to ensure the intensity | strength of a battery case by connecting between a pair of hanging parts by a reinforcement part. In particular, by connecting the portion protruding upward from the battery cell with the reinforcing portion, it is easier to ensure the strength than when connecting other portions.

  According to the battery case of the present invention, the battery cell is divided into a main body portion on which the battery cell is placed and enclosing only the lower side of the battery cell, and a suspended portion used when the battery cell and the main body portion are suspended. While improving the heat dissipation of a cell, there exists an effect that reduction of manufacturing cost can be aimed at.

It is a perspective view explaining the structure of the battery case which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram explaining loading and unloading of the battery case of FIG. It is a schematic diagram explaining the other example of loading and unloading of a battery case. It is a perspective view explaining the variation of the battery case of FIG. It is a perspective view explaining the other variation of the battery case of FIG. It is a perspective view explaining another variation of the battery case of FIG.

  A battery case 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the present embodiment, the battery case 10 of the present invention will be described as applied to an example of adopting an electric forklift 1 driven by a motor. The object to which the battery case 10 is applied is not limited to the forklift 1, and can be applied to other types of industrial vehicles.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the battery case 10 is used to maintain the strength of the battery cell BS, a main body 11 in which the battery cell BS is accommodated, a suspended portion 21 used when the battery case 10 is suspended. The reinforcement part 25 to be formed is mainly composed of.

  The main body 11 is formed from a metal plate that constitutes the main body of the battery case 10 and accommodates a part of one or a plurality of battery cells BS therein. The main body 11 mainly includes a rectangular or rectangular bottom surface 12, a side surface 13 extending upward from each side of the bottom surface 12, and a partition plate 14 that partitions the battery cells BS disposed inside. Has been.

  The side surface 13 is disposed so as to surround the battery cell BS to be accommodated, and is set to a height at which the upper end of the battery cell BS protrudes upward and is exposed to the outside. In addition, the partition plate 14 of the present embodiment extends in the longitudinal direction of the bottom surface 12 formed in a rectangular shape, and is disposed at a position that divides the interior of the main body 11 into two spaces.

  The suspended portion 21 is composed of a battery case 10 and a metal plate used when the battery cell BS accommodated in the battery case 10 is suspended and transported. The suspended portion 21 is a pair of metal plates formed in a rectangular shape or a rectangular shape, and is disposed at a position sandwiching the main body portion 11 therebetween, and the lower portion of the suspended portion 21 is on the side surface 13 of the main body portion 11. It is fixed by a fixing method such as welding.

  On the upper side of the suspended portion 21, a pair of locking holes 22 for locking a hanging portion such as a crane hook is provided. The locking hole 22 is preferably provided at a position above the upper end of the battery cell BS accommodated in the battery case 10.

  The reinforcing portion 25 is a member that connects the pair of suspended portions 21 and maintains the strength of the battery case 10. In the present embodiment, the reinforcing portion 25 will be described as applied to an example of a pair of rod-like members that connect the vicinity of the upper end of the suspended portion 21.

Next, a method for exchanging the battery case 10 containing the battery cell BS will be described with reference to FIGS.
The battery cell BS accommodated in the battery case 10 is charged in a place equipped with a charging facility such as a charging station while being lowered from the forklift 1. The fully charged battery cell BS is mounted on the forklift 1 as shown in FIG. That is, the battery case 10 is mounted on the lower side of the seat 2 on which the driver of the forklift 1 sits. At this time, the seat 2 is rotated rearward, and an opening that opens upward so that the battery case 10 can be taken in and out is opened.

  When the discharged battery cell BS is lowered from the forklift 1, the reverse procedure is performed. That is, the seat 2 is pivoted rearward and the battery case 10 is lifted upward to be lowered from the forklift 1.

  As described above, the seat 2 may be rotated to unload the battery case 10 in the vertical direction, or as shown in FIG. 3, the battery case 10 may be moved in the left-right direction to perform unloading. In this case, an opening for moving the battery case 10 and a lid for closing the opening are provided on the side surface of the forklift 1.

  Next, variations of the battery case 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 shows a variation in the case where battery cases 10 having different heights are stored in the same main body 11. The height of the battery cell BS increases from FIG. 4 (a) to FIG. 4 (c), and the suspended portion 21 having the same shape is the main body from FIG. 4 (a) to FIG. 4 (c). The position fixed to the part 11 has moved upward. In FIG. 4D, since the height of the battery cell BS is too high, the suspended portion 21 having a larger dimension in the height direction is used.

  5A and 5B show a battery case 10 that houses a battery cell BS having a larger capacity than the battery cell BS shown in FIG. 4, and the main body 11 is larger. The height of the battery cell BS increases from FIG. 5A to FIG. 5B, and the fixed position of the suspended portion 21 having the same shape moves upward as in FIG. It is the same.

  6A and 6B show a battery case 10 that houses a battery cell BS having a larger capacity than the battery cell BS shown in FIG. 5, and the main body 11 is further enlarged. The height of the battery cell BS increases from FIG. 6A to FIG. 6B, and the fixed position of the suspended portion 21 having the same shape moves upward as in FIG. It is the same.

  According to the battery case 10 having the above-described configuration, the main body portion 11 on which the battery cell BS is placed and encloses only the lower side of the battery cell BS, and the suspended portion 21 used when the battery cell BS and the main body portion 11 are suspended. Thus, the heat dissipation of the battery cell BS can be improved and the manufacturing cost of the battery case 10 can be reduced.

  That is, since the lower side of the battery cell BS is surrounded by the side surface 13 of the main body 11 while the upper side is exposed to the outside, compared to the case where the entire battery cell BS is surrounded by the side surface, The heat dissipation of the battery cell BS can be improved. Further, since the amount of members necessary for manufacturing the battery case 10 may be small, it is easy to reduce the manufacturing cost.

  The suspended part 21 can reduce the manufacturing cost of the battery case 10 by using the same size for the main body part 11 having a plurality of sizes. On the other hand, since the main body 11 has a plurality of sizes according to the size of the battery cell BS, the battery cell BS can be stored in the battery case 10.

  Note that a plurality of sizes of battery cells BS may be stored in the same main body 11. By doing in this way, the size number of the main-body part 11 can be suppressed, and the manufacturing cost of the battery case 10 can be reduced.

  By changing the fixing position of the suspended portion 21 according to the height of the battery cell BS, the battery cell BS having different heights can be accommodated without changing the size of the suspended portion 21, and the battery The manufacturing cost of the case 10 can be reduced.

  By connecting the pair of suspended portions 21 with the reinforcing portion 25, it is easy to ensure the strength of the battery case 10. In particular, by connecting the portion protruding upward from the battery cell BS with the reinforcing portion 25, it is easier to ensure the strength than in the case of connecting other portions.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Battery case, 11 ... Main-body part, 12 ... Bottom, 13 ... Side surface, 21 ... Suspended part, 25 ... Reinforcement part

Claims (4)

A bottom surface on which the battery cell is placed, and a body portion extending upward from the bottom surface and surrounding the periphery of the battery cell, and the battery cell projecting upward from the upper end of the side surface;
A suspended portion that is fixed to a desired position of the main body and protrudes upward from the upper end of the battery cell, and that is suspended by a hanging portion used for hanging;
A battery case characterized by being provided. The main body is used in a plurality of sizes according to the size of the battery cell,
The battery case according to claim 1, wherein the suspended portion has the same size as the plurality of main body portions.   The upper end of the suspended portion protrudes upward from the upper end of the battery cell by setting the desired position according to the height of the battery cell housed in the main body. The battery case according to 1 or 2. The pair of suspended portions are arranged with the main body portion interposed therebetween,
4. The battery case according to claim 1, further comprising a reinforcing portion that connects portions of the pair of suspended portions that protrude upward from the battery cell. 5.

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