JP2017111898A - Battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery pack that is able to easily connect a connection terminal of a charging cable to an insertion terminal even when the insertion terminal is located in a position where it is less likely to be visible.SOLUTION: In a battery pack 1, a housing 2 is provided with an insertion terminal 20 to which a connection terminal 21 of a charging cable C extending from an external charging device is connected, and a guide part 31 that guides the connection terminal 21 of the charging cable C toward the insertion terminal 20. The guide part 31 has: a first rail member 32 provided so as to project from a wall part of the housing 2 on one side of the insertion terminal 20; a second rail member 33 provided so as to project from a wall part of the housing 2 on the other side of the insertion terminal 20; and a guide plate 34 having an open portion 34a through which the connection terminal 21 is inserted, engaging with the first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33, and slid between a first position P1 separated from the insertion terminal 20 and a second position P2 approaching the insertion terminal 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery pack.

  Conventionally, as a power source for driving a power source of a vehicle such as a forklift, a battery pack in which a plurality of battery modules such as lithium ion secondary batteries are housed in a casing is used. In a vehicle equipped with a battery pack, when charging a consumed battery, a charging cable of an external charging device is drawn into the battery pack side, and a connection terminal on the charging cable side is connected to an insertion terminal on the battery pack side. In Patent Document 1, a plate-like guide member is attached to any terminal, and the sliding direction of the terminal is guided by the guide member, thereby ensuring the ease of attaching and detaching the terminal.

JP 2006-019161 A

  As shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1 above, the battery pack mounting position on a vehicle such as a forklift may be a relatively low position inside the vehicle. The battery pack may be disposed adjacent to a frame or the like inside the vehicle. Therefore, the insertion terminal on the battery pack side is often located in a place where it is difficult to see from the outside of the vehicle, and with a simple guide member, the connection terminal on the charging cable side fits into the guide member It is necessary to perform alignment by groping, and there is a risk that it takes time to connect.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a battery pack that can easily connect the connection terminal of the charging cable to the plug-in terminal even when the plug-in terminal is in a position where it is difficult to see. Objective.

  A battery pack according to an aspect of the present invention is a battery pack in which a battery module is housed in a housing, and the housing includes an insertion terminal to which a connection terminal of a charging cable extending from an external charging device is connected. A guide portion that guides the connection terminal of the charging cable toward the insertion terminal, and the guide portion is provided so as to protrude from the wall portion of the housing on one side of the insertion terminal. The rail member, the second rail member provided so as to protrude from the wall portion of the housing on the other side of the insertion terminal, an opening portion through which the connection terminal is inserted, the first rail member and the second rail member And a guide plate that slides between a first position separated from the insertion terminal and a second position adjacent to the insertion terminal.

  In this battery pack, the connection terminal of the charging cable is roughly aligned with the guide plate located at the first position, and the guide plate is connected together with the connection terminal with the connection terminal inserted through the opening of the guide plate. By sliding to the position 2, the connection terminal can be connected to the insertion terminal. Thereby, even when the insertion terminal is located in a place where it is difficult to visually recognize, the connection terminal of the charging cable can be easily connected to the insertion terminal.

  In addition, the first rail member and the second rail member are inclined with respect to the sliding direction of the guide plate so as to be widened with respect to the protruding direction, and the second rail member with respect to the sliding direction of the guide plate. The inclination angle of the rail member may be larger than the inclination angle of the first rail member with respect to the sliding direction of the guide plate. In this case, the connection terminal of the charging cable can be easily brought into contact with the guide plate. Further, by making the inclination angle of the second rail member larger than the inclination angle of the first rail member, the cable portion of the charging cable can be released to the second rail member side, and workability can be improved.

  Further, the guide plate is provided on one surface side so as to protrude toward the first rail member, and slides on the one surface side of the guide plate so that the protruding length toward the first rail member side is variable. The first sliding member and the second rail member are provided so as to protrude toward the second rail member, and slide on one surface side of the guide plate so that the protruding length toward the second rail member is variable. A second sliding member, and the guide plate engages with the first rail member via the first sliding member, and engages with the second rail member via the second sliding member. May be combined. As a result, the guide plate can be smoothly slid with a simple configuration.

  In addition, the charging cable is provided with a grip portion on the base end side of the connection terminal, and the protruding lengths of the first rail member and the second rail member from the wall portion of the housing are connected to the plug-in terminal. It may be shorter than the length from the wall portion of the housing to the grip portion when the is connected. If it carries out like this, since it becomes easy to hold | grip a holding part when removing a connection terminal from an insertion terminal, workability | operativity can be improved.

  According to the present invention, the connection terminal of the charging cable can be easily connected to the insertion terminal even when the insertion terminal is in a position where it is difficult to visually recognize the insertion terminal.

It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of a battery pack. It is a side view of the battery pack shown in FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view which shows the insertion terminal periphery of the battery pack shown in FIG. It is a front view which shows the structure of a guide plate. It is a figure which shows the process of connecting the connection terminal of a charging cable to an insertion terminal. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a step subsequent to FIG. 5.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a battery pack according to one aspect of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a battery pack. FIG. 2 is a side view thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery pack 1 is configured by housing a junction box 3 and a plurality of battery modules 4 in a housing 2. The battery pack 1 is used as a vehicle battery such as a forklift. When mounted on a forklift, the battery pack 1 is disposed adjacent to the machine frame F in a space provided in the lower part of the cab, for example, and is used to balance the weight of the load supported by the fork. Also functions as a counterweight. In this case, the battery pack 1 is provided with an additional weight member having a weight set in accordance with the weight of the housing 2 in a state in which the battery module 4 and the like are accommodated and the allowable maximum load of the load on the forklift. There is also.

  The housing | casing 2 is formed in the box shape with metal materials, such as iron, for example. The housing 2 includes a bottom plate 11, a top plate 12 that faces the bottom plate 11, a front plate 13, a rear plate 14, and a pair of side plates 15 and 15 erected on the periphery of the bottom plate 11. When the housing 2 is disposed in the vehicle, the housing 2 is disposed such that the bottom plate 11 side faces downward and the front plate 13 side faces the outside of the vehicle. In addition, a recess 16 is provided at one corner of the upper portion of the front surface side (front plate 13 side) of the housing 2.

  The junction box 3 is a part that joins wirings that connect the battery modules 4 to each other. As shown in FIG. 2, the junction box 3 is disposed on the back side of the recessed portion 16 in the housing 2. The junction box 3 is provided with a plurality of connection portions to which wiring is connected, and houses a terminal block, a relay, and the like.

  The battery module 4 includes a plurality of battery cell arrays, a control device, and the like. The battery cell is a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery. Each battery cell is provided with a heat radiating member such as a heat transfer plate. In addition, an end plate is provided at each end of the array. The array body is sandwiched between end plates, whereby a predetermined restraining load is applied to the array direction of the battery cells. The battery modules 4 are arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of stages in the housing 2 and are connected in series by wiring.

  Next, the recessed part 16 of the housing | casing 2 is demonstrated. A recess 16 is provided at one corner of the front side (front plate 13 side) upper portion of the housing 2. The hollow portion 16 is defined by a hollow portion front plate 17, a hollow portion bottom plate 18, and a hollow portion side plate 19 (see FIG. 1). The recess front plate 17 is provided substantially parallel to the front plate 13 at a position one step inside (the rear plate 14 side) from the front plate 13. The recess bottom plate 18 is provided so as to be inclined downward toward the front plate 13 at a position one step lower than the top plate 12 (bottom plate 11 side). Further, the recess side plate 19 is provided substantially parallel to the one side plate 15 at a position one step inside (the other side plate 15 side) from the one side plate 15.

  The recess front plate 17 is provided with an insertion terminal 20 to which a connection terminal 21 (see FIG. 2) of a charging cable C extending from an external charging device (not shown) is connected. For example, a hole into which the distal end portion 21 a of the connection terminal 21 is fitted, a recess in which a claw provided on the distal end portion 21 a of the connection terminal 21 is fitted, and a lead wire in the charging cable C are connected to the insertion terminal 20. A charging terminal, a communication terminal to which a communication line in the charging cable C is connected, and the like are provided. The cable portion 21 c of the charging cable C is drawn out from the side wall side of the connection terminal 21.

  In addition, the connection terminal 21 of the charging cable C includes a tip portion 21a that fits into the hole portion of the insertion terminal 20, a claw portion that fits into the recess of the insertion terminal, a lead wire connected to the charging terminal, and a communication terminal. A communication line to be connected is provided. A handle (gripping part) 21 b is provided on the proximal end side of the connection terminal 21. The handle 21b is a part where an operator grips the connection terminal 21, and a part for operating the claw part of the connection terminal 21 with respect to the recess of the plug-in terminal 20 between the locked position and the unlocked position. The attachment / detachment state of the connection terminal 21 with respect to the plug-in terminal 20 is switched by operating the handle 21b.

  In the recess 16, a guide portion 31 for supporting the connection of the charging cable C is provided. The guide portion 31 is a portion that guides the connection terminal 21 of the charging cable C toward the insertion terminal 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide portion 31 includes a pair of first rail members 32 and 32 provided so as to protrude from the recess front plate 17 on one side (the top plate 12 side) of the insertion terminal 20. A pair of second rail members 33, 33 provided to protrude from the recess front plate 17 on the other side (bottom plate 11 side) of the insertion terminal 20, the first rail member 32, and the second rail The guide plate 34 is slidably engaged with the member 33.

  Each of the first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33 is a hollow rod-shaped member made of resin or metal that opens at the center portion on the insertion terminal 20 side. When using a metal hollow bar-shaped member, the first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33 may be fixed to the recess front plate 17 by welding. The first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33 are arranged in a rectangular shape so as to surround the insertion terminal 20. The first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33 are seen from the side plate 15 side of the housing 2 in the sliding direction of the guide plate 34 (here, the bottom plate 11 and It is inclined with respect to D) (direction parallel to the top plate 12).

  The inclination angle θ2 of the second rail member 33 with respect to the sliding direction D of the guide plate 34 is larger than the inclination angle θ1 of the first rail member 32 with respect to the sliding direction D of the guide plate 34. In the present embodiment, the inclination angle θ1 of the first rail member 32 and the inclination angle θ2 of the second rail member 33 are both acute angles, the inclination angle θ1 is 10 °, and the inclination angle θ2 is 20 °. Yes. The inclination angle θ2 of the second rail member 33 may be equal to the downward inclination angle of the recess bottom plate 18 or may be smaller than the downward inclination angle of the recess bottom plate 18.

  In addition, the protruding length L1 of the first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33 from the recess front plate 17 is determined from the recess front plate 17 when the connection terminal 21 is connected to the insertion terminal 20 to the handle 21b. Is shorter than the length L2 (see FIG. 6). That is, in the battery pack 1, when the connection terminal 21 is connected to the plug-in terminal 20, the handle 21 b is positioned outside the space surrounded by the first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33. Yes.

  The guide plate 34 is a resin or metal plate member having a substantially rectangular shape. As shown in FIG. 4, a rectangular opening portion 34 a through which the tip end portion 21 a of the connection terminal 21 is inserted is provided at the approximate center of the guide plate 34. A pair of first sliding members 35, 35 provided on one surface side (insertion terminal 20 side) of the guide plate 34 so as to protrude toward the first rail members 32, 32 side, and a second rail A pair of second sliding members 36, 36 provided so as to protrude toward the members 33, 33 side, and the base end sides of the first sliding member 35 and the second sliding member 36 are accommodated. A pocket 37 is provided.

  A roller 38 that engages with the first rail member 32 is pivotally supported on the distal end side of the first sliding member 35. In addition, a roller 39 that abuts on one side of the guide plate 34 is pivotally supported on the proximal end side of the second sliding member 36. Similarly, a roller 38 that engages with the second rail member 33 is pivotally supported on the distal end side of the second sliding member 36. In addition, a roller 39 that abuts on one side of the guide plate 34 is pivotally supported on the proximal end side of the second sliding member 36.

  With such a configuration, the first sliding member 35 is guided on the one surface side of the guide plate 34 so that the protruding length toward the first rail member 32 is variable while being guided in the longitudinal direction by the pocket 37. It is slidable. Further, the second sliding member 36 is slidable on one surface side of the guide plate 34 so that the protruding length to the second rail member 33 side is variable while being guided in the longitudinal direction by the pocket 37. It has become.

  In the guide plate 34, the roller 38 on the front end side of the first sliding member 35 is engaged with the first rail member 32, and the roller 38 on the front end side of the second sliding member 36 is the second rail. By engaging with the member 33, sliding is performed between a first position P1 (see FIG. 5) that is separated from the insertion terminal 20 and a second position P2 (see FIG. 6) that is close to the insertion terminal 20. It can slide along the moving direction D.

  When charging is performed by connecting the charging cable C to the battery pack 1 as described above, the charging cable C of the external charging device is pulled to the battery pack 1 side, and as shown in FIG. Is inserted into the opening 34a of the guide plate 34 located at the first position P1. At this time, the cable portion 21c of the charging cable C is preferably allowed to escape between the pair of second rail members 33, 33, for example. When the visibility of the guide plate 34 is poor, first, the front end portion 21a of the connection terminal 21 is brought into contact with the other surface side of the guide plate 34 (opposite side of the insertion terminal 20), and in this state, roughly What is necessary is just to match | combine the position of the front-end | tip part 21a and the position of the opening part 34a by adjusting a position.

  After the distal end portion 21 a of the connection terminal 21 is inserted into the opening portion 34 a of the guide plate 34, the connection terminal 21 is pushed toward the insertion terminal 20. Thereby, the connection terminal 21 is guided to the second position P2 along the sliding direction D by the guide plate 34, and the connection terminal 21 is inserted into the insertion terminal 20 as shown in FIG. In this state, the handle 21b on the proximal end side of the connection terminal 21 is operated to lock the connection terminal 21 with respect to the insertion terminal 20, and then charging of the battery pack 1 is started.

  After the charging of the battery pack 1 is completed, the handle of the connection terminal 21 is operated again to unlock the connection terminal 21 with respect to the insertion terminal 20. Then, the connecting terminal 21 is pulled out from the insertion terminal 20 and the opening 34 a of the guide plate 34 to complete the charging operation. In the present embodiment, in the guide portion 31, the inclination angle θ2 of the second rail member 33 arranged on the bottom plate 11 side is larger than the inclination angle θ1 of the first rail member 32 arranged on the top plate 12 side. ing. Therefore, after the connection terminal 21 is pulled out from the opening portion 34a, the guide plate 34 can be returned from the second position P2 to the first position P1 by its own weight.

  As described above, in the battery pack 1, the guide portion 31 is provided for the plug-in terminal 20. By this guide portion 31, the connection terminal 21 of the charging cable C is roughly aligned with the guide plate 34 located at the first position P1, and the distal end portion 21a of the connection terminal 21 is placed in the opening portion 34a of the guide plate 34. By sliding the guide plate 34 together with the connection terminal 21 to the second position P2 in the inserted state, the connection terminal 21 is inserted into the insertion terminal 20 even when the insertion terminal 20 is located in a place where it is difficult to visually recognize. Easy to connect to. Therefore, even when the connection terminal 21 is heavy and the battery pack 1 is frequently charged, the workability of charging can be improved.

  In the battery pack 1, the first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33 are inclined with respect to the sliding direction D of the guide plate 34 so that the hems are expanded with respect to the protruding direction. The inclination angle θ2 of the second rail member 33 with respect to the sliding direction D is larger than the inclination angle θ1 of the first rail member 32 with respect to the sliding direction D. Since the first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33 are widened, the connection terminal 21 of the charging cable C can be easily brought into contact with the guide plate 34. Further, since the inclination angle θ2 of the second rail member 33 is larger than the inclination angle θ1 of the first rail member 32, the cable portion 21c of the charging cable C can be easily released to the second rail member 33 side. Thus, the workability of charging can be improved.

  Further, the battery pack 1 is provided so as to protrude toward the first rail member 32, and slides on one surface side of the guide plate 34 so that the protrusion length toward the first rail member 32 is variable. One surface side of the guide plate 34 so as to protrude toward the second rail member 33 and the first slide member 35 to be protruded toward the second rail member 33 side. And a second sliding member 36 that slides on the second side. The guide plate 34 is engaged with the first rail member 32 via the first sliding member 35, and is engaged with the second rail member 33 via the second sliding member 36. . Thereby, the guide plate 34 can be smoothly slid with a simple configuration along the first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33 having different inclination angles.

  In the present embodiment, the charging cable C is provided with a handle 21 b on the base end side of the connection terminal 21. On the other hand, the protrusion length L1 of the first rail member 32 and the second rail member 33 from the recess front plate 17 is determined from the recess front plate 17 when the connection terminal 21 is connected to the insertion terminal 20. It is shorter than the length L2 to the handle 21b. Thereby, since it becomes easy to hold | grip the handle 21b when removing the connecting terminal 21 from the insertion terminal 20, the workability | operativity of charge can further be improved.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the rectangular opening portion 34a is provided in the guide plate 34, but the shape of the opening portion 34a is not limited to the rectangular shape, and may be other shapes such as a circle. Further, the shape of the opening portion 34 a may be a shape corresponding to the end surface shape of the distal end portion 21 a of the connection terminal 21. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the structure which the guide board 34 resets from the 2nd position P2 to the 1st position P1 with dead weight illustrated, it is a spring between the hollow part front board 17 and the one surface side of the guide board 34. The guide plate 34 may be urged in a direction from the second position P2 toward the first position P1. Thereby, the guide plate 34 can be promptly returned to the first position P1 after the charging operation is completed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Battery pack, 2 ... Housing | casing, 4 ... Battery module, 20 ... Plug-in terminal, 21 ... Connection terminal, 21b ... Handle (grip part), 31 ... Guide part, 32 ... 1st rail member, 33 ... 1st 2 rail members, 34 ... guide plate, 34a ... opening portion, 35 ... first sliding member, 36 ... second sliding member, C ... charging cable, L1 ... first rail member and second rail Projection length of the member, L2: Length from the wall portion of the housing to the handle, P1: First position, P2: Second position, θ1: Inclination angle of the first rail member, θ2: Second The inclination angle of the rail member.

Claims (4)

A battery pack in which a battery module is housed in a housing,
In the case,
An insertion terminal to which a connection terminal of a charging cable extending from an external charging device is connected;
A guide portion that guides the connection terminal of the charging cable toward the plug-in terminal; and
The guide portion is
A first rail member provided so as to protrude from the wall of the housing on one side of the insertion terminal;
A second rail member provided to protrude from the wall portion of the housing on the other side of the insertion terminal;
A first position that has an opening through which the connection terminal is inserted, engages with the first rail member and the second rail member, and is spaced apart from the insertion terminal, and is adjacent to the insertion terminal. A battery pack having a guide plate that slides between the two positions. The first rail member and the second rail member are inclined with respect to the sliding direction of the guide plate so as to be widened toward the protruding direction,
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein an inclination angle of the second rail member with respect to a sliding direction of the guide plate is larger than an inclination angle of the first rail member with respect to the sliding direction of the guide plate. On one side of the guide plate,
A first sliding member that is provided so as to protrude toward the first rail member and slides on one surface side of the guide plate so that the protruding length toward the first rail member is variable. When,
A second sliding member that is provided so as to protrude toward the second rail member and slides on one side of the guide plate so that the protruding length toward the second rail member is variable. And
The guide plate is engaged with the first rail member via the first sliding member, and is engaged with the second rail member via the second sliding member. The battery pack according to 1 or 2. The charging cable is provided with a grip portion on the base end side of the connection terminal,
The protruding lengths of the first rail member and the second rail member from the wall portion of the housing are determined by the gripping portion from the wall portion of the housing when the connection terminal is connected to the insertion terminal. The battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the battery pack is shorter than the length up to.

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