JP2014157741A - Battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery pack in which a maintenance work of a battery or a high voltage circuit can be performed with more safety.SOLUTION: In a state in which a service plug 31 is connected to a service plug connection portion 17a through an opening 24 formed on a cover member 21, third inclined piece portions 25d, 25d of lid members 25, 25 swingably provided on a peripheral edge portion 24a of the opening of the cover member 21 are configured so as to be engaged with a pair of engaging portions 12, 12 provided on a base 11. On the other hand, in a state in which the service plug 31 is extracted from the opening 24 of the cover member 21, it is configured such that the engagement state between the third inclined piece portions 25d, 25d and the engagement portions 12, 12 of the base 11 can be released.

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery and a battery pack that houses an electric circuit connected to the battery, and in particular, is configured to be able to remove a cover member when power is not supplied to the electric circuit. Related to the battery pack.

  In recent years, for example, vehicles such as electric cars and hybrid cars are known as devices that drive electric power as a power source.

  This type of vehicle is equipped with a battery pack that houses a large-capacity battery (secondary battery) for driving a motor and the like and an electric circuit (hereinafter referred to as “high voltage circuit”) connected to the battery. It is common to be done.

  In such a vehicle, maintenance work (inspection and maintenance) of the battery and the high voltage circuit is performed with the cover member of the battery pack removed, but the power output from the battery to the electric circuit is high voltage, From the viewpoint of preventing electric shock, it is necessary to completely cut off the output voltage supplied from the battery before removing the cover member.

  Therefore, as a technique for cutting off the output voltage supplied from the battery, for example, a high voltage circuit provided with a service plug (connector) is widely known (see Patent Document 1).

  According to such a technique, when the maintenance work of the battery or the like is performed, if the service plug (connector) is removed, the battery and the high voltage circuit are electrically disconnected. Maintenance work) can be performed safely.

JP 09-104239 A

  As described above, removal of the service plug is indispensable in order to safely perform maintenance work on the battery and the high voltage circuit. However, in the vehicle described in Patent Document 1, no consideration is given to measures other than the removal of the service plug. Therefore, there is a possibility that the cover member may be mistakenly removed without removing the service plug.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above inconveniences, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack capable of performing maintenance work of a battery and a high voltage circuit more safely.

  According to the battery pack of the present invention, the subject is a state in which the battery and the base supporting the electric circuit connected to the battery are detachably provided to the base and attached to the base A power supply to the electric circuit when a service plug is connected through an opening formed in the cover member, and a cover member that covers the base. A battery pack including a service plug connection unit capable of stopping the supply of power to the electric circuit when the connection with the service plug is released, the base including the service plug An engaging portion is provided adjacent to an attachment site to which the connection portion is attached. A lid member is swingably attached to the opening peripheral edge of the opening, and the lid member is rocked on the opening side. Movement That the oscillating end portion, wherein the service plug is solved by having the engaging portion and the engaged portion that can be engaged when inserted into the opening.

  In the above configuration, the cover member is engaged with the cover member at the periphery of the opening of the cover member in a state where the service plug is connected to the service plug connection portion via the opening formed in the cover member. The joint portion is configured to engage with the engaging portion of the base. On the other hand, when the service plug is pulled out from the opening of the cover member, the engaged state between the engaged portion of the lid member and the engaging portion of the base is configured to be released. .

  That is, according to the battery pack configured as described above, when the service plug is connected to the service plug connection portion, the cover member cannot be removed from the base, and the service plug is formed on the cover member. Only when it is pulled out from the opening, it is configured to be removable from the base.

  Therefore, in the above configuration, it is possible to prevent a situation in which maintenance work is performed by removing the cover member from the base without removing the service plug.

  As described above, according to the battery pack of the present invention, the maintenance work for the battery and the high voltage circuit can be performed safely with a simple configuration.

It is a perspective view of the battery pack arrange | positioned at the back side of the vehicle which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view of a battery pack. It is sectional drawing of a battery pack which shows the state before a service plug is connected to a service plug connection part. It is sectional drawing of a battery pack which shows the state after a service plug is connected to the service plug connection part.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery pack disposed on the rear side of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the battery pack, and FIG. 3 is a service plug connected to a service plug connecting portion. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack showing the state after the service plug is connected to the service plug connecting portion. In the figure, FR indicates the rear side of the vehicle, and UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle. Moreover, the left-right direction in the following description means the left-right direction in the state which faced the vehicle front.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 according to this embodiment is a hybrid car that can be driven by both an engine and a motor or an electric vehicle that is driven only by a motor, and a battery pack 10 is provided on the rear side of the vehicle. It is attached.

  The vehicle 1 is disposed on both sides in the vehicle width direction, and a pair of rear side frames 2 and 2 that extend in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a pair that is installed on the rear side frames 2 and 2 with a predetermined interval in the vehicle front-rear direction. The cross members 3 and 3 are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery pack 10 includes a base 11 and a cover member 21 that can be attached to and detached from the base 11. The cover member 21 is configured to cover the base 11 from above while being attached to the base 11. The base 11 and the cover member 21 correspond to the “base” and the “cover member” recited in the claims, respectively.

  The base 11 is formed in a substantially plate shape, and a plurality of bolts 50 for attaching the cross member 3 can be inserted into both ends in the vehicle front-rear direction (in this embodiment, both ends in the vehicle front-rear direction). A plurality of bolt insertion holes 11b and a plurality of bolt insertion holes 11b (two in each of the both ends in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle in this embodiment) through which the bolts 51 for attaching the cover member 21 can be inserted. And are formed.

  The base 11 can be fixed to the cross member 3 by inserting the bolt 50 into the bolt insertion hole 11a and tightening it.

  A battery 16 having a plurality of battery modules connected in series and a high voltage circuit 17 electrically connected to the battery 16 are attached to the base 11 at predetermined positions.

  The high voltage circuit 17 includes an electrical device such as a service plug connection portion 17a to which a service plug 31 (see FIG. 4) can be connected and a relay switch (not shown). And is electrically connected to the battery 16. The service plug 31 and the service plug connection unit 17a correspond to the “service plug” and the “service plug connection unit” recited in the claims, respectively.

  Around the service plug connecting portion 17a, a pair of engaging portions 12, 12 having a substantially L-shaped cross section are provided facing the vehicle front side and the vehicle rear side, respectively. The engaging portion 12 is formed in a substantially L-shaped cross section, and is a substantially plate-like protruding piece portion 12a protruding upward from the upper surface of the base 11, and a service plug connecting portion bent from the upper end portion of the protruding piece portion 12a. And an extending piece 12b extending toward the central portion C1 (see FIG. 3) of 17a. The protruding piece portions 12a and 12a are provided at positions spaced apart from the central portion C1 of the service plug connecting portion 17a by substantially the same distance in the vehicle longitudinal direction. In addition, the said engaging part 12 corresponds to the "engagement part" as described in a claim.

  The cover member 21 includes a cover member main body portion 22 and a flange portion 23, which are integrally formed. The cover member 21 is formed of, for example, an insulating member (for example, resin).

  The cover member main body portion 22 has a hollow rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is attached to the base 11 from a plate-like upper plate portion 22a located on the vehicle upper side and both ends of the upper plate portion 22a in the vehicle width direction. A pair of vehicle width direction side wall portions 22b and 22b that are bent and extend downward, and a pair of vehicle front and rear direction side wall portions 22c and 22c that are bent from both ends of the upper plate portion 22a in the vehicle front and rear direction and extend downward, respectively. Yes.

  A substantially rectangular opening 24 into which the service plug 31 can be inserted is formed at a predetermined position of the upper plate portion 22a. The opening center part C2 of the opening part 24 is disposed so as to be positioned substantially directly above the center part C1 of the service plug connection part 17a (see FIG. 3). The opening 24 corresponds to an “opening” described in the claims.

  The service plug 31 can be connected to the service plug connecting portion 17a attached to the base 11 through the opening 24 (see FIG. 4).

  When the service plug 31 is connected to the service plug connector 17a, the service plug 31 is connected in series with the battery 16, and thus, power can be supplied from the battery 16 to the high voltage circuit 17. In other words, in a state where the service plug 31 is removed from the service plug connection portion 17a, high voltage power is not supplied from the battery 16 to the high voltage circuit 17. It is possible to remove the battery 16 and the high voltage circuit 17 and perform maintenance work safely.

  The opening peripheral edge 24a of the opening 24 is provided so as to be inclined downward.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, swing shafts 26 and 26 are attached to the pair of opening peripheral portions 24 a located in the vehicle front-rear direction among the opening peripheral portions 24 a along the vehicle width direction, respectively. Lid members 25 and 25 are pivotally supported by the swing shafts 26 and 26 so as to be swingable. The lid member 25 corresponds to a “lid member” recited in the claims.

  The lid members 25, 25 can move between a closed position where the opening 24 is closed and an open position where the opening 24 is opened. For example, a torsion coil spring (not shown) is attached to the swing shaft 26, and the lid member 25 is normally maintained in the closed position by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring. As will be described in detail later, the lid members 25, 25 move from the closed position to the open position against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring when the service plug 31 is inserted through the opening 24. It is configured.

  The lid member 25 is pivotally supported by the swing shaft 26 in a state of being located at the closed position (see FIG. 3), and extends substantially upward from the swing shaft and toward the opening center portion C2. Of the swing shaft attaching piece 25a, a first inclined piece 25b that is bent from an end of the swing shaft attaching piece 25a on the opening center portion C2 side and extends substantially horizontally toward the opening center portion C2. A second inclined piece portion 25c that is bent from the end portion on the opening center portion C2 side of the first inclined piece portion 25b and extends downward and inclined toward the opening center portion C2, and an opening center portion of the second inclined piece portion 25c And a third inclined piece 25d that is bent from the end on the C2 side and extends downward.

  In the state where the lid members 25 and 25 are located at the closed position, the third inclined piece portions 25d and 25d are arranged to face each other, and the service plug 31 is connected to the service plug connection portion 17a (at the open position). In the state, see FIG. 4), the engaging portion 12 of the base 11 is engaged. The third inclined piece 25d corresponds to the “swinging end” and the “engaged portion” recited in the claims.

  The lid members 25, 25 are in a state where the service plug 31 is connected to the service plug connection portion 17a (in the open position), and the first inclined piece portions 25b, 25b are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the service plug 31. Each comes into contact. The first inclined piece corresponds to the “contact portion” recited in the claims.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the flange portions 23, 23 are formed in a substantially plate shape, and extend from predetermined positions at the lower ends of the vehicle front-rear direction side wall portions 22 c, 22 c in directions opposite to the vehicle front-rear direction. . The flange portion 23 has a plurality of bolt insertion holes 23a (two in the present embodiment) through which bolts 51 for mounting the base 11 can be inserted at predetermined positions.

  The cover member 21 configured in this manner is attached to the base 11 by inserting and tightening the bolts 51 into the bolt insertion holes 23 a of the flange portion 23 and the bolt insertion holes 11 b of the base 11. It is like that. In this state, the battery 16 and the high voltage circuit 17 attached to the base 11 are covered with the cover member 21 from above.

  On the other hand, the removal of the cover member 21 from the base 11 is a procedure reverse to the above attachment procedure, that is, the bolt 51 inserted through the bolt insertion hole 23a of the flange portion 23 and the bolt insertion hole 11b of the base 11. This is done by removing

  Next, the operation of the lid members 25, 25 attached to the cover member 21 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the service plug 31 is not inserted through the opening 24, the closed position is maintained by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring. That is, in this embodiment, in this state, it is possible to suppress the entry of foreign matters such as dust into the battery pack 10 through the opening 24.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, when the service plug 31 is inserted through the opening 24, the lid members 25 and 25 that come into contact with the lower end of the service plug 31 are moved downward. Thus, it moves from the closed position toward the open position. When the service plug 31 is connected to the service plug connecting portion 17a, the lid members 25 and 25 are engaged with the engaging portions 12 and 12 of the base 11 by the third inclined pieces 25d and 25d, respectively. It will be in the open position.

  In this state, as described above, since the third inclined piece portions 25d and 25d and the engaging portions 12 and 12 of the base 11 are engaged, the bolt insertion hole 23a of the flange portion 23 and the base Even if the bolt 51 inserted through the 11 bolt insertion holes 11 b is removed, the cover member 21 cannot be removed from the base 11.

  Further, in this state, the first inclined piece portions 25b, 25b of the lid members 25, 25 are configured to contact the outer peripheral surface of the service plug 31 in the vehicle front-rear direction. That is, in this embodiment, since the service plug 31 connected to the service plug connection unit 17a can be prevented from moving carelessly, the connection state between the service plug 31 and the service plug connection unit 17a is changed. It can be maintained well.

  On the other hand, when the service plug 31 is pulled out through the opening 24, the lid members 25 and 25 gradually move from the open position to the closed position by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring. Become. Thereafter, when the service plug 31 is completely pulled out from the opening 24, the lid members 25 and 25 are located at the open position shown in FIG.

  In this state, since the engagement state between the third inclined piece portions 25d and 25d and the engagement portions 12 and 12 of the base 11 is released, the bolt insertion hole 23a of the flange portion 23 and the base 11 The cover member 21 can be removed from the base 11 by removing the bolt 51 inserted into the bolt insertion hole 11b.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, when the service plug 31 is connected to the service plug connection portion 17a via the opening 24 of the cover member 21, the third inclined piece portions 25d and 25d of the lid members 25 and 25 are These are configured to engage with the engaging portions 12 and 12 of the base 11, respectively. On the other hand, when the service plug 31 is pulled out from the opening 24 of the cover member 21, the engagement state between the third inclined piece portions 25d and 25d and the engagement portions 12 and 12 of the base 11 is released. ing.

  That is, according to the battery pack 10 configured as described above, the cover member 21 cannot be removed from the base 11 in a state where the service plug 31 is connected to the service plug connection portion 17a. It is configured so that it can be removed from the base 11 only when it is pulled out from the opening 24 formed in the cover member 21.

  Thus, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the maintenance work is performed by removing the cover member 21 from the base 11 without removing the service plug 31.

  In the present embodiment, the first inclined piece portions 25b and 25b of the lid members 25 and 25 sandwich the service plug 31 from the front-rear direction of the vehicle with the service plug 31 connected to the service plug connection portion 17a. ing. For this reason, it can suppress that the service plug 31 connected to the service plug connection part 17a moves carelessly, As a result, the connection state of the service plug 31 and the service plug connection part 17a is favorable. It is possible to maintain.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the service plug 31 connected to the service plug connecting portion 17a is pulled out from the opening 24, the lid members 25 and 25 are moved to the closed position by the biasing force of the torsion coil spring. Is configured to do. That is, in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress entry of foreign matters such as dust into the battery pack 10 through the opening 24 in a state where the service plug 31 is not inserted into the opening 24. .

  In the present embodiment, a pair of (two) lid members 25 are attached to the opening peripheral edge 24a of the cover member 21, but the lid member 25 may be one, or three or more. It is also possible. At this time, the base 11 may be provided with the engaging portions 12 corresponding to the number of the lid members 25.

  In the present embodiment, the lid members 25 and 25 (first inclined piece portions 25b and 25b) are in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the service plug 31 in a state where the service plug 31 is connected to the service plug connection portion 17a. Although configured, it may be configured not to contact.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment which applied the invention made | formed by this inventor was described, this invention is not limited by the description and drawing which make a part of indication of this invention by this embodiment. That is, it should be added that other embodiments, examples, operation techniques, and the like made by those skilled in the art based on this embodiment are all included in the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle 2 Rear side frame 3 Cross member 10 Battery pack 11 Base 11a Bolt insertion hole 11b Bolt insertion hole 12 Engagement part 12a Projection piece part 12b Extension piece part 16 Battery 17 High voltage circuit 17a Service plug connection part 21 Cover member 22 Cover member body portion 22a Upper plate portion 22b Vehicle width direction side wall portion 22c Vehicle longitudinal direction side wall portion 23 Flange portion 23a Bolt insertion hole 24 Opening portion 24a Opening peripheral edge portion 25 Cover member 25a Oscillating shaft attaching piece portion 25b First inclined piece portion 25c 2nd inclination piece part 25d 3rd inclination piece part 26 Oscillating shaft 31 Service plug 50 Bolt 51 Bolt C1 Center part C2 Opening center part

Claims (4)

A base supporting a battery and an electric circuit connected to the battery;
A cover member that is detachably attached to the base and covers the base in a state of being attached to the base;
When power is supplied to the electrical circuit when a service plug is connected through an opening formed in the cover member and formed in the cover member, and when the connection with the service plug is released And a service plug connection part capable of stopping the supply of power to the electric circuit,
The base is provided with an engaging portion adjacent to an attachment site to which the service plug connecting portion is attached,
A lid member is swingably attached to the opening peripheral edge of the opening,
The lid member has an engaged portion capable of engaging with the engaging portion when the service plug is inserted into the opening at a swinging end that swings on the opening side. A battery pack comprising: The lid member is composed of a pair of lid members,
2. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the engaging portions are provided on the base and are configured to engage with each of the engaged portions of the pair of lid members. .   The said cover member has a contact part which contact | abuts the outer peripheral surface of the said service plug in the state in which the said service plug was connected to the said service plug connection part. Battery pack.   The said lid member is comprised so that it may move to the position which closes the said opening part, if the said service plug is pulled out from the said opening part, The any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. The battery pack described.

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