JP2015026506A - Terminal fitting for battery pack and terminal fitting support member - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a terminal fitting for electrically connecting output terminals of a plurality of battery cells which are arranged in a battery pack by a simple method, and a terminal fitting support member.SOLUTION: A terminal fitting 300 is sandwiched between a first output terminal, a second output terminal and a terminal fitting support member. The terminal fitting comprises: a stationary part which is attached to the terminal fitting support member; a first battery side contact part 321 which is electrically connected with the first output terminal 50; a second battery side contact part 322 which is electrically connected with the second output terminal 50; a first member side contact part which is brought into contact with a first contact part of the terminal fitting support member; a second member side contact part which is brought into contact with a second contact part of the terminal fitting support member; a first connection member which inclines to a straight line connecting the first output terminal with the terminal fitting support member in the shortest; a second connection member which inclines to the straight line; a third connection member which inclines to the straight line; and a fourth connection member which connects the second battery side contact part with the stationary part, and inclines to the straight line.

Description

  The present invention relates to a terminal fitting for a battery pack that electrically connects output terminals of a plurality of battery cells, and a terminal fitting support member.

  In the battery pack, a plurality of stacked battery cells in the casing may expand in the stacking direction during charge / discharge, and the relative positional relationship may vary. Such a change in the positional relationship generates stress in the terminal fittings and output terminals that are electrically connected across the plurality of battery cells. This stress causes fatigue failure of terminal fittings and the like. Further, such a problem is not limited to the movement of the battery cell due to the expansion, but is also caused by a manufacturing error or the like.

JP 2011-171192 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-243689 JP 2007-73266 A

  In a plurality of battery cells, terminal fittings are generally fixed to output terminals by methods such as cold welding, screwing, soldering, welding, and caulking. In the technical field of battery packs, fixing to a plurality of battery cells by these methods has become common technical knowledge, and the review of the fixing method and other studies have not been sufficiently performed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal fitting and a terminal fitting support member for electrically connecting output terminals of a plurality of battery cells arranged in a battery pack by a simple method.

The present invention has been made to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and provides a terminal fitting for a battery pack. The terminal fitting is sandwiched between the first output terminal and the second output terminal and the terminal fitting support member. The terminal fitting includes a fixing portion attached to the terminal fitting support member, a first battery-side contact portion electrically connected to the first output terminal, and an electrical connection to the second output terminal. A second battery side contact portion connected to the first metal member, a first member side contact portion that contacts the first contact portion of the terminal metal support member, and a second of the terminal metal support member. The second member side contact portion that is in contact with the contact portion, the first battery side contact portion, and the first member side contact portion are connected, and the first output terminal and the The first connecting member that is inclined with respect to the straight line connecting the terminal fitting support member in the shortest direction, the second battery side contact portion, and the second member side contact portion are connected to each other in the straight line. A second connecting member inclined with respect to the first battery-side contact portion and the fixing portion, and a third connecting member inclined with respect to the straight line; And connects the battery-side contact portion and the fixed portion, and a fourth connecting member being inclined with respect to the straight line,
Is provided.

  According to this terminal fitting, the terminal fitting can be mounted and electrically connected to the output terminal without using a connection method such as cold welding, screwing, soldering, welding or caulking. As a result, reduction of assembly man-hours and improvement of productivity can be realized, and disassembly and disposal can be facilitated. Furthermore, since the contact form between the terminal fitting and the output terminal is not limited to a connection method such as cold welding, it is possible to secure a wide contact area and reduce the contact resistance. In addition, even if the battery cell having the output terminal moves relatively, the terminal fitting can be elastically deformed and can flexibly cope with it, so that the resistance value change caused by the relative movement of the battery cell is suppressed. Can do.

  In the terminal fitting described above, the first battery-side contact portion and the second battery-side contact portion are configured to be inclined with respect to the fixed portion, and the inclination is configured so that the terminal metal fitting is the first. The output terminal and the second output terminal may be reduced when sandwiched between the terminal fitting support member.

  In this way, even if the terminal metal fitting made of a relatively thin sheet metal and having low rigidity is largely deformed, the first battery side contact portion and the second battery side contact portion are pressed against the output terminal in parallel. be able to. As a result, a sufficient contact load (initial load) can be generated even with a low-rigidity terminal fitting, and the followability to relative movement of battery cells can be improved due to the low rigidity of the terminal fitting. . As a result, it is possible to remarkably suppress the resistance value change caused by the relative movement of the battery cells.

  The present invention can further provide a terminal fitting support member that sandwiches the terminal fitting between the first output terminal and the second output terminal. In the terminal fitting support member, the terminal fitting is the above-described terminal fitting, and the terminal fitting supporting member is elastically deformed when inserted into the through hole of the terminal fitting, and the diameter thereof is reduced. And a pair of convex portions disposed at positions sandwiching the tip portion. The convex portion restrains the terminal fitting attached to the terminal fitting support member on the tip end side.

  According to the present invention, it is an object to provide a terminal fitting and a terminal fitting support member for electrically connecting output terminals of a plurality of battery cells arranged in a battery pack by a simple method.

Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the terminal metal fitting 300 in 1st Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the terminal metal fitting 300 and the terminal metal fitting support member 92. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the state of the mounting start of the terminal metal fitting 300 to the terminal metal fitting support member 92. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the state after mounting | wearing with the terminal metal fitting 300 to the terminal metal support member 92. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows a mode that each terminal 51 of the output terminal 50 is brought close to each battery side contact part 321 and 322 of the terminal metal fitting 300. FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which the electrical connection by the terminal metal fitting 300 was completed. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the terminal metal fitting 300a and the terminal metal fitting support member 92a in 2nd Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the state of mounting | wearing start of the terminal metal fitting 300a to the terminal metal fitting support member 92a. Explanatory drawing which shows the state after mounting | wearing with the terminal metal fitting 300a to the terminal metal fitting support member 92a. Explanatory drawing which shows a mode that each terminal 51 of the output terminal 50 is brought close to each battery side contact part 321a, 322a of the terminal metal fitting 300a. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which the electrical connection by the terminal metal fittings 300a was completed. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the terminal metal fitting 300b in a modification.

Next, each embodiment of the present invention will be described in the following order. It should be noted that the scope of the present invention is not limited to these forms unless otherwise specified in the following description.
A. Configuration of terminal fitting and terminal fitting support member in the first embodiment:
B. Configuration of terminal fitting and terminal fitting support member in the second embodiment:
C. Variation:

A. Configuration of terminal fitting and terminal fitting support member in the first embodiment:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a configuration of a terminal fitting 300 in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the terminal fitting 300 and the terminal fitting support member 92. The terminal fitting 300 is a metal part having conductivity. The terminal fitting 300 includes a fixing part 310, a first battery side contact part 321, a second battery side contact part 322, a first member side contact part 351, and a second member side contact. A portion 352, a first connecting member 331, a second connecting member 332, a third connecting member 341, a fourth connecting member 342, and a measurement convex portion 300p are provided.

  The fixing part 310 has a through hole 310h. The through-hole 310h can be attached to the terminal fitting support member 92 by snap fitting through the pair of convex portions 210L and 210R of the terminal fitting support member 92. One end of the fixing portion 310 is integrally connected to one end of the first battery side contact portion 321 via the third connecting member 341. The other end of the first battery-side contact portion 321 is integrally connected to one end of the first member-side contact portion 351 via the first connection member 331.

  On the other hand, the other end of the fixing portion 310 is integrally connected to one end of the second battery side abutting portion 322 via the fourth connecting member 342. The other end of the second battery side contact portion 322 is integrally connected to one end of the second member side contact portion 352 via the second connection member 332.

  The first connecting member 331 and the second connecting member 332 are inclined with respect to a straight line that connects the output terminal 50 and the terminal fitting support member 92 in the shortest distance. This facilitates the deformation of the terminal fitting 300 when the output terminal 50 and the terminal fitting support member 92 approach each other.

  The terminal metal support member 92 has a facing surface 215 that faces the prismatic battery cell 10 (see FIG. 1). The facing surface 215 includes a pair of convex portions 210L and 210R, convex portions 92p formed on both sides of the pair of convex portions 210L and 210R, and contact portions 217 and 218. The contact portion 217 is a portion where the first member-side contact portion 351 contacts when the terminal fitting 300 is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92. The contact portion 218 is a portion where the second member-side contact portion 352 contacts when the terminal fitting 300 is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92.

  The pair of convex portions 210L and 210R have mutually symmetrical shapes. The convex portion 210L includes a tapered tip-side slope 211L, a tip-side semi-cylindrical surface 212L that is continuous with the tip-side slope 211L, and a root-side slope 213L that is continuous with the tip-side half-cylindrical surface 212L and is formed narrower toward the root. , And a base-side semi-cylindrical surface 214L that extends from the base-side slope 213L to the base side. On the other hand, the convex portion 210R has a tip side slope 211R, a tip side semicylindrical surface 212R, a root side slope 213R, and a root side semicylindrical surface 214R. Since the pair of convex portions 210 </ b> L and 210 </ b> R protrude from the root of the concave portion having the depth D, the base side inclined surfaces 213 </ b> L and 213 </ b> R can be elastically deformed in the stacking direction of the prismatic battery cells 10. The terminal fitting support member 92 is formed with a hole (not shown) for inserting the measurement convex portion 300p of the terminal fitting 300.

  FIGS. 3 to 6 are explanatory views showing a state in which the terminal fitting 300 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the terminal fitting 300 is started to be attached to the terminal fitting support member 92. First, the measurement convex portion 300p is inserted into a hole (not shown) for inserting the measurement convex portion 300p of the terminal metal fitting 300 into the terminal metal fitting support member 92. Thereby, the positional relationship between the terminal fitting support member 92 and the terminal fitting 300 is defined. Further, the tip side inclined surfaces 211L and 211R are inserted into the through holes 310h formed in the fixing portion 310 of the terminal fitting 300. Next, the tip-side slopes 211L and 211R and the tip-side semi-cylindrical surfaces 212L and 212R pass through the through hole 310h. At this time, the pair of convex portions 210L and 210R can be deformed so as to approach each other by elastic deformation, and can be smaller than the diameter of the through hole 310h.

  FIG. 4 shows a state after the terminal fitting 300 is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92. The base side inclined surfaces 213L and 213R are in contact with the inner surface of the through hole 310h of the terminal fitting 300. Since the pair of convex portions 210L and 210R are deformed so as to approach each other by elastic deformation, the terminal fitting 300 is pressed against the opposing surface 215 by the inclination of the base side inclined surfaces 213L and 213R (see FIG. 2). It is in the state. Thus, the terminal fitting 300 is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92 by snap fitting.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which each terminal 51 of the output terminal 50 is brought close to each battery side contact portion 321, 322 of the terminal fitting 300. At this time, the first member-side contact portion 351 of the terminal fitting 300 contacts the contact portion 217 (see FIG. 2). The second member side contact portion 352 of the terminal fitting 300 contacts the contact portion 218.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the terminal fitting 300 is completely attached. The terminal fitting 300 is brought closer to the terminal fitting support member 92 side, and the first member side contact portions 351 and 352 are elastically deformed outward (in the direction of arrow A). This elastic deformation stops when the terminal fitting 300 abuts against the pair of convex portions 92p. In this state, the terminal fitting 300 is pressed against and electrically connected to the output terminal 50 by the contact between the pair of convex portions 92p and the pair of contact portions 217 and 218.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the terminal fitting 300 is attached and electrically connected to the output terminal 50 without using a connection method such as cold welding, screwing, soldering, welding, or caulking. it can. As a result, reduction of assembly man-hours and improvement of productivity can be realized, and disassembly and disposal can be facilitated. Furthermore, since the contact form between the terminal fitting 300 and the output terminal 50 is not limited to a connection method such as cold pressure welding, it is possible to secure a wide contact area and reduce contact resistance. In addition, even if the battery cell having the output terminal moves relatively, the terminal fitting can be elastically deformed and can flexibly cope with it, so that the resistance value change caused by the relative movement of the battery cell is suppressed. Can do.

B. Configuration of terminal fitting and terminal fitting support member in the second embodiment:
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of the terminal fitting 300a and the terminal fitting support member 92a in the second embodiment of the present invention. The terminal fitting 300a includes a fixed portion 310a, a first battery side contact portion 321a, a second battery side contact portion 322a, a first member side contact portion 351a, and a second member side contact. A portion 352a, a first connecting member 331a, a second connecting member 332a, a third connecting member 341a, a fourth connecting member 342a, and a measurement convex portion 300pa are provided.

  The fixing portion 310a has a through hole 310ha. The through hole 310ha allows a pair of convex portions 210L and 210R of the terminal metal support member 92a to pass therethrough, and the terminal metal 300a can be attached to the terminal metal support member 92a by a snap fit. One end of the fixing portion 310a is integrally connected to one end of the first battery-side contact portion 321a via the third connecting member 341a. The other end of the first battery side contact portion 321a is integrally connected to one end of the first member side contact portion 351a via the first connection member 331a.

  On the other hand, the other end of the fixing portion 310a is integrally connected to one end of the second battery-side contact portion 322a via the fourth connecting member 342a. The other end of the second battery side contact portion 322a is integrally connected to one end of the second member side contact portion 352a via the second connection member 332a.

  The first connecting member 331a and the second connecting member 332a have bent portions 361 and 362, respectively, in order to bend and be easily elastically deformed. You may make it provide a bending part also in the 3rd connection member 341a and the 4th connection member 342a. Or you may make it provide a bending part only in the 3rd connection member 341a or the 4th connection member 342a.

  The first battery side abutting portion 321a and the second battery side abutting portion 322a are inclined in the direction away from the fixing portion 310a (the square battery cell 10 side) as it goes outward. This inclination is set so that the first connecting member 331a and the second connecting member 332a abut against the terminal plate 52 of the output terminal 50 in parallel with the terminal fitting 300a being greatly deformed.

  The terminal fitting support member 92 a has a facing surface 215 a that faces the prismatic battery cell 10. The facing surface 215a includes a pair of convex portions 210L and 210R, a convex portion 92pa formed on both sides of the pair of convex portions 210L and 210R, and contact portions 217a and 218a. The convex portion 92pa does not have an inclined surface for smoothly introducing the terminal fitting 300a on the mounting side of the terminal fitting 300a, but instead has a vertical surface. The reason why the inclined surface is not formed is that the clearance C between the terminal fitting 300a and the convex portion 92pa is set larger than that in the first embodiment. The contact portion 217a is a portion where the first member-side contact portion 351a contacts when the terminal fitting 300a is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92a. The contact part 218a is a part where the second member-side contact part 352a contacts when the terminal fitting 300a is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92a.

  The convex portions 210L and 210R have the same configuration as the convex portions 210L and 210R of the first embodiment. Unlike the first embodiment in which the convex portions 210L and 210R of the second embodiment protrude from the root of the concave portion having the depth D, the convex portions 210L and 210R protrude from the facing surface 215a. Elastic deformation is reduced. A hole (not shown) for inserting the measurement convex portion 300pa of the terminal fitting 300a is formed in the terminal fitting support member 92a.

  8 to 12 are explanatory views showing a state in which the terminal fitting 300a according to the second embodiment of the present invention is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92a. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the terminal fitting 300a is started to the terminal fitting support member 92a. First, the measurement convex portion 300pa is inserted into a hole (not shown) for inserting the measurement convex portion 300pa of the terminal fitting 300a into the terminal fitting support member 92a. Thereby, the positional relationship between the terminal metal support member 92a and the terminal metal 300a is defined. Further, the tip side inclined surfaces 211L and 211R are inserted into the through holes 310ha formed in the fixing portion 310a of the terminal fitting 300a. Next, the tip-side inclined surfaces 211L and 211R and the tip-side semicylindrical surfaces 212L and 212R pass through the through hole 310ha. At this time, the pair of convex portions 210L and 210R can be deformed so as to approach each other by elastic deformation, and can be smaller than the diameter of the through hole 310h.

  At this time, the clearance C between the terminal fitting 300a and the protrusion 92pa is set larger than that of the first embodiment as described above. This is because the terminal fitting 300a is set so as to be largely elastically deformed (or elasto-plastically deformed) outward.

  FIG. 9 shows a state after the terminal fitting 300a is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92a. The base side inclined surfaces 213L and 213R are in contact with the inner surface of the through hole 310ha of the terminal fitting 300a. On the other hand, the 1st member side contact part 351a and the 2nd member side contact part 352a will be in the state pressed against contact part 217a, 218a of the opposing surface 215a. The terminal fitting 300a has such a shape that the first member side contact portion 351a and the second member side contact portion 352a are mounted in a state of being pressed against the contact portions 217a and 218a, respectively. It is. Thus, the terminal fitting 300a is attached to the terminal fitting support member 92a by snap fitting. In the present embodiment, three terminal fittings 300a can be attached to the terminal fitting support member 92a.

  FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which each terminal 51 of the output terminal 50 is brought close to the battery side contact portions 321a and 322a of the terminal fitting 300a. At this time, the first member-side contact portion 351a of the terminal fitting 300a contacts the contact portion 217a. The second member side contact portion 352a of the terminal fitting 300a contacts the contact portion 218a. The terminal metal support member 92a is pushed into the housing (not shown) while maintaining the positional relationship defined with the plurality of prismatic battery cells 10.

  FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a state where the electrical connection by the terminal fitting 300a is completed. The terminal fitting 300a is brought closer to the terminal fitting support member 92a side, and the first member side contact portions 351a and 352a are greatly elastically deformed (or elastic-plastically deformed) outward (in the direction of arrow A). This elastic deformation stops when the terminal fitting 300a abuts against the pair of convex portions 92pa. In this state, the terminal fitting 300a is pressed against and electrically connected to the output terminal 50 by the contact between the pair of convex portions 92pa and the pair of contact portions 217a and 218a.

  As described above, in the same way as the first embodiment, the second embodiment has the effects of suppressing the resistance value change due to the relative movement of the prismatic battery cell 10, improving the productivity, and reducing the contact resistance. Play. In the second embodiment, the terminal metal fitting 300a, which is made of a relatively thin sheet metal and has low rigidity, is largely deformed and pressed against the output terminal 50. Thereby, the contact load with respect to the output terminal 50 of the terminal metal fitting 300a can be generated similarly to the first embodiment, and the followability to the relative movement of the rectangular battery cell 10 can be achieved by the low rigidity of the terminal metal fitting 300a. Can be improved. As a result, a change in resistance value due to the relative movement of the prismatic battery cell 10 can be remarkably suppressed.

C. Variation:
In the above-described embodiment, the bent portions 361 and 362 are provided only on the first connecting member 331a and the second connecting member 332a of the second embodiment, and are suggested to be provided on the third connecting member 341a and the fourth connecting member 342a. Has been. However, as in the modification shown in FIG. 12, the first member side contact portion 351a and the second member side contact portion 352a may be provided. Furthermore, the bent portions may be formed as the folded portions 351b and 352b in order to make the deformation easier, not just the bent portions.

  In the above-described embodiments and examples, a configuration is disclosed in which the electrical characteristics can be maintained regardless of the movement of the battery cell due to the expansion. However, the configuration is not limited to such a configuration, and problems caused by manufacturing errors and the like are disclosed. The present invention can also be applied to solve the problem.

  In the above-described embodiments and examples, a rectangular battery cell which is a wound lithium ion battery cell is used, but a wound (laminated sheet) lithium ion battery cell may be used. In this embodiment, the wound battery cell has flat surfaces parallel to each other on both sides, but may be any battery cell having a pair of parallel surfaces perpendicular to one direction (stacking direction or compression direction). .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Square type battery cell 91 Lid part 92 Terminal metal fitting support member 300,300a, 300b Terminal metal fitting

Claims (3)

A terminal fitting sandwiched between the first output terminal and the second output terminal and the terminal fitting support member,
A fixing portion to be attached to the terminal metal support member;
A first battery-side contact portion electrically connected to the first output terminal;
A second battery-side contact portion electrically connected to the second output terminal;
A first member-side contact portion that is in contact with a first contact portion of the terminal metal support member;
A second member-side contact portion that is in contact with a second contact portion of the terminal metal support member;
The first battery-side contact portion and the first member-side contact portion are connected to each other, and are inclined with respect to a straight line connecting the first output terminal and the terminal fitting support member in the shortest distance. 1 connecting member;
A second connecting member that connects the second battery-side contact portion and the second member-side contact portion and is inclined with respect to the straight line;
A third connecting member that connects the first battery side contact portion and the fixing portion and is inclined with respect to the straight line;
A fourth connecting member that connects the second battery side contact portion and the fixing portion and is inclined with respect to the straight line;
A terminal fitting comprising The terminal fitting according to claim 1,
The first battery side contact part and the second battery side contact part are configured to be inclined with respect to the fixed part,
The inclination becomes small when the terminal fitting is sandwiched between the first output terminal, the second output terminal, and the terminal fitting support member. A terminal fitting support member for holding the terminal fitting between the first output terminal and the second output terminal,
The terminal fitting is the terminal fitting according to claim 1 or 2,
The terminal fitting support member is
A tip portion whose diameter is reduced by elastic deformation at the time of insertion into the through hole of the terminal fitting, and whose diameter is increased by a springback after insertion into the through hole;
A pair of convex portions arranged at positions sandwiching the tip portion;
With
The convex portion is a terminal fitting support member that restrains the terminal fitting attached to the terminal fitting support member to the tip end side.