JP2017117621A - Battery pack and manufacturing method of battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery pack capable of excellently securing assembly workability of a case and a manufacturing method of the battery pack.SOLUTION: A battery pack 1 stores a plurality of battery modules M in a case 2. The case 2 is composed of a body part 3 where one surface side opens and a lid part 4 closing an opening K of the body part 3. An opening edge 8 in the body part 3 is provided with a plurality of pins 10. The lid part 4 is provided with a plurality of pin through-holes 13 corresponding to the plurality of pins 10. The pins 10 are provided with alignment marks A which can be seen through from the pin through-holes 13 when positions of the pin through-holes 13 are aligned with positions of the pins 10. The body part 3 and the lid parts 4 are connected in the state that the pins 10 are inserted in the pin through-holes 13.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery pack and a method for manufacturing the battery pack.

  Conventionally, a battery pack used as a battery of a vehicle such as an electric vehicle or a forklift is known. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a battery pack in which a plurality of battery modules configured to include an array of battery cells such as a lithium ion secondary battery are housed in a casing.

  In manufacturing the battery pack, for example, a housing is constituted by a main body portion that opens on one side and a lid portion that closes the opening of the main body portion. A battery pack in which a plurality of battery modules are housed in a housing is obtained by fixing the battery modules to the main body portion side and the lid portion side and fastening the lid portion to the main body portion with, for example, bolts.

JP 2014-76887 A

  In assembling the housing described above, a plurality of pins may be provided at the opening edge of the main body, and a plurality of recesses corresponding to the pins may be provided inside the lid. In this case, by aligning the positions of the pin and the concave portion, it is possible to suppress an excessive positional shift of the lid portion with respect to the main body portion during fixing. Further, since the pin is interposed in the fixing portion between the main body portion and the lid portion, a load can be received by the pin when an impact is applied to the battery pack during use or the like, and the breakage of the bolt can be suppressed. However, in the conventional configuration described above, when the positions of the pin and the recess are aligned, the pin and the recess are hidden by the lid, so there is room for further improvement from the viewpoint of positioning workability.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and provides a battery pack and a method for manufacturing the battery pack that can ensure good assembly workability of the casing.

  A battery pack according to an aspect of the present invention is a battery pack in which a plurality of battery modules are accommodated in a housing, and the housing includes a main body portion that opens on one side and a lid portion that closes the opening of the main body portion. A plurality of pins are provided on the opening edge of the main body, and a plurality of through holes corresponding to the plurality of pins are provided on the lid, and the positions of the through holes and the pins are provided on the pins. , An alignment mark that can be seen through the through hole is provided, and the main body portion and the lid portion are coupled with the pin inserted into the through hole.

  In this battery pack, a pin is provided on the main body side, and a through hole corresponding to the pin is provided on the lid side. Moreover, the pin is provided with an alignment mark. Thereby, when connecting a main-body part and a cover part, a main-body part and a cover part can be easily positioned by looking through the alignment mark of a pin from a through-hole. Therefore, the assembling workability of the housing can be ensured satisfactorily.

  Further, a seal member may be disposed between the main body portion and the lid portion inside the pin and the through hole. By the arrangement of the seal member, airtightness in the housing can be ensured. By setting the position of the seal member to the inside of the pin and the through hole, it is possible to prevent the airtightness from being impaired by the through hole.

  The alignment mark may be a recess provided at the tip of the pin. In this case, the visibility of the alignment mark can be sufficiently ensured.

  The alignment mark may be a convex portion provided at the tip of the pin. In this case, the visibility of the alignment mark can be sufficiently ensured.

  Further, the alignment mark may be a painted portion provided at the tip of the pin. In this case, the visibility of the alignment mark can be sufficiently ensured.

  Further, the tip of the pin may be positioned flush with the outer surface of the lid or in the through hole. In this case, since the tip of the pin does not protrude from the outer surface of the lid portion of the housing, it is possible to ensure a degree of freedom in arranging the battery pack.

  Further, the pin may have a tapered shape. Thereby, it becomes easy to insert a pin with respect to a through-hole, and the assembly workability | operativity of a housing | casing can be ensured still more favorably.

  A battery pack manufacturing method according to one aspect of the present invention is a battery pack manufacturing method in which a plurality of battery modules are housed in a housing, and a main body portion that is open on one side and an opening of the main body portion are closed. A housing forming step of forming a housing by coupling with the lid, the housing forming step including a plurality of pins provided at the opening edge and a body portion provided with an alignment mark at the tip of the pin; A step of preparing a lid portion provided with a plurality of through holes corresponding to a plurality of pins, and a lid portion arranged so as to face the opening of the main body portion so that the alignment mark can be seen from the through hole. And a step of positioning the lid portion and a step of inserting the pin into the through hole while maintaining a state where the alignment mark can be seen through the through hole.

  In this method of manufacturing a battery pack, a main body portion provided with a pin having an alignment mark at the tip and a lid portion provided with a through hole corresponding to the pin are prepared. In this manufacturing method, when the main body portion and the lid portion are coupled, the main body portion and the lid portion can be easily positioned by looking through the alignment mark of the pin from the through hole. Therefore, the assembling workability of the housing can be ensured satisfactorily.

  According to the present invention, the assembling workability of the casing can be ensured satisfactorily.

It is a perspective view which shows one Embodiment of a battery pack. It is sectional drawing of the battery pack shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the one surface side of the main-body part of a housing | casing. It is a figure which shows the one surface side of the cover part of a housing | casing. It is a figure which shows the housing | casing manufacturing process in a battery pack. It is a figure which shows the mode of a positioning with a main-body part and a cover part. It is a figure which shows the mode of a positioning with a main-body part and a cover part. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a step subsequent to FIG. 5. It is a figure which shows the modification of a pin and an alignment mark. It is a figure which shows the modification of a housing | casing.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a battery pack and a battery pack manufacturing method 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 cross-sectional view of the battery pack shown in FIG. The battery pack 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is configured as a battery of an industrial vehicle such as a forklift.

  The battery pack 1 is configured by housing a plurality of battery modules M in a housing 2. The battery module M includes, for example, an array in which a plurality of battery cells are arrayed, and a restraining member that applies a restraining load in the array direction of the battery cells to the array. The battery cell is a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery.

  The housing 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape, for example. The material forming the housing 2 is a metal material such as iron, for example. When the battery pack 1 is mounted on a forklift, a function as a counterweight of the forklift may be added by providing a weight member on the outer surface of the housing 2. The housing 2 is composed of a main body 3 that opens on one side and a lid 4 fastened to the main body 3 with a bolt 5 so as to close the opening K of the main body 3. In the present embodiment, three battery modules M are fixed to the inner surface 3a of the main body 3 and four batteries module M are fixed to the inner surface 4a of the lid portion 4 in a matrix (see FIG. 1). For fixing the battery module M to the main body 3 and the lid 4, a known method such as bolt fastening via a bracket is used.

  The main body 3 includes a base plate 6 and four side plates 7 erected on each side of the base plate 6. The base end portion of the side plate 7 is fixed to the edge portion of the base plate 6 by welding, for example. The opening K of the main body 3 is defined by a rectangular cross section on the opposite side of the base plate 6 by the four side plates 7. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a bolt screw hole 9 into which the bolt 5 is screwed into the opening edge 8 of the main body 3 (that is, the tip of the four side plates 7), the main body 3, A pin 10 used for positioning with the lid 4 is provided. Bolt screw holes 9 are respectively provided at the four corners of the opening edge 8. The pins 10 are provided at a total of four locations, two on the inner side of the bolt screw hole 9 on one side of the opening edge 8 and the other side facing the one side.

  The pin 10 has a cylindrical shape, for example. As shown in FIG. 2, for example, a screw groove 10 a is provided on the base end side of the pin 10. The pin 10 is fixed so as to protrude from the opening edge 8 by screwing a screw groove 10 a into a pin screw hole 11 formed in the opening edge 8. The amount of protrusion of the pin 10 from the opening edge 8 on the tip side is, for example, about 1 mm to several mm.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG.1 and FIG.3, the recessed part 10b is formed in the approximate center part of the front end side of the pin 10. As shown in FIG. The recess 10b is a hexagonal hole having a depth of about several mm into which a hexagonal wrench is inserted, for example. The recess 10b is used for screwing the pin 10 into the pin screw hole 11 with a hexagon wrench. Further, the concave portion 10b functions as an alignment mark A when positioning the main body portion 3 and the lid portion 4.

  The lid 4 has a rectangular plate shape that is substantially the same shape as the base plate 6. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the lid 4 is provided with a bolt through hole 12 through which the bolt 5 is inserted and a pin through hole 13 through which the pin 10 is inserted. The bolt through holes 12 are respectively provided at the four corners of the lid portion 4 so as to correspond to the positions of the bolt screw holes 9 on the main body portion 3 side. The pin through holes 13 are provided at a total of four positions at positions inside the bolt screw holes 9 so as to correspond to the positions of the pins 10 on the main body 3 side. The inner diameter of the pin through-hole 13 is, for example, about 1 mm to 2 mm larger than the outer diameter of the pin 10 as long as it does not interfere with a seal member 14 described later.

  Further, a seal member 14 that hermetically seals the housing 2 is disposed between the main body 3 and the lid 4. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the seal member 14 has a rectangular annular shape along the edge of the opening edge 8 so as to be located on the inner side (opening K side) than the pin 10 and the pin through hole 13. Has been placed. The seal member 14 may be in contact with the edge of the opening edge 8 as long as the seal member 14 is disposed so as to pass through the region between the pin 10 and the pin through-hole 13 and the opening K. The opening edge 8 It may be separated from the edge.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the main body 3 and the lid 4 having the above-described configuration are positioned in a state where the pins 10 on the main body 3 side are inserted into the pin through holes 13 on the lid 4 side, respectively. Has been. And the main-body part 3 and the cover part 4 screw the bolt 5 inserted in the through-hole 12 for bolts from the outer surface side of the cover part 4 to the screw hole 9 for bolts of the opening edge part 8 in the main-body part 3. The housing 2 is firmly fixed to each other.

  The tip of the pin 10 is positioned flush with the outer surface 4 b of the lid 4 or in the pin through hole 13. That is, the tip of the pin 10 does not protrude from the pin through hole 13 to the outer surface side of the lid portion 4. A seal member 14 disposed inside the pin 10 and the pin through hole 13 is interposed between the main body portion 3 and the lid portion 4 in a compressed state in the thickness direction. Regardless of the position of the tip of the pin 10 in 13, airtightness in the housing 2 is ensured.

  Then, the manufacturing process of the battery pack 1 mentioned above is demonstrated.

  The manufacturing process of the battery pack 1 includes a housing forming step of forming the housing 2 by combining the main body 3 that opens on one side and the lid 4 that closes the opening K of the main body 3. The housing forming step includes the step of preparing the main body 3 and the lid 4 described above, and the lid 4 is disposed so as to face the opening K of the main body 3, and the alignment mark of the pin 10 from the pin through hole 13. A step of positioning the lid portion 4 with respect to the main body portion 3 so that A can be seen, and a step of inserting the pin 10 into the pin through hole 13 while maintaining a state where the alignment mark A can be seen from the pin through hole 13. ,have.

  Prior to the housing forming step, the battery module M is fixed in advance to a predetermined position on the inner surface 3a of the main body 3 and the inner surface 4a of the lid 4 via a bracket or the like. Further, the pin 10 is screwed into the pin screw hole 11 of the opening edge 8 in the main body 3 in advance, and the seal member 14 is disposed inside the pin 10 along the opening edge 8.

  In the present embodiment, a case forming process using the positioning device 21 that positions the lid 4 with respect to the main body 3 is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 5, the positioning device 21 includes a stage 22 on which the main body 3 is placed, a pair of arms 23 and 23 that hold the lid 4, and an imaging unit 24 that images the main body 3 and the lid 4. And an analysis unit 25 that analyzes the image data obtained by the imaging unit 24, and a controller 26 that controls the arms 23 and 23 based on the analysis result of the image data by the analysis unit 25.

  In the case of the housing formation process using the positioning device 21, the main body 3 is placed on the stage 22 with the opening K facing upward. The lid 4 is disposed above the main body 3 with the inner surface 4a facing the main body 3 side. The lid 4 is supported, for example, by gripping the edge of the lid 4 with a pair of arms 23 and 23. The imaging unit 24 is installed above the lid unit 4 so that the imaging surface faces the lid unit 4.

  The imaging unit 24 is, for example, a digital camera, and is connected to the analysis unit 25 via a wired or wireless connection so that information communication is possible. The imaging unit 24 images the main body unit 3 and the lid unit 4 from the outer surface 4 b side of the lid unit 4 and outputs the acquired image data to the analysis unit 25 as needed.

  The analysis unit 25 is physically a computer system including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a communication interface, a hard disk, and the like. The analysis unit 25 is connected to the analysis unit 25 so as to be able to perform information communication by wire or wireless. The analysis unit 25 analyzes the position of the pin 10 seen through the pin through hole 13 and the position of the alignment mark A at the tip of the pin 10 based on the image data acquired from the imaging unit 24. The analysis unit 25 outputs information indicating the analysis result to the controller 26 as needed.

  The controller 26 physically includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a communication interface, and the like. The controller 26 drives the arms 23 and 23 in the horizontal plane direction based on the information acquired from the analysis unit 25. At this time, the controller 26 first roughly aligns the position of the lid portion 4 with respect to the main body portion 3 so that the alignment mark A of each pin 10 can be seen from the through hole 13 for each pin, for example, as shown in FIG. . Next, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the controller 26 precisely adjusts the position of the lid 4 with respect to the main body 3 so that the entire cross-sectional shape of all the pins 10 can be seen from the through holes 13 for each pin. To do.

  After adjusting the position of the lid portion 4 with respect to the main body portion 3, the controller 26 lowers the arms 23, 23 while maintaining the state in which the pin 10 can be seen through the pin through-hole 13, and at least the tips of all the pins 10 are at their respective ends. The arms 23, 23 are removed from the lid portion 4 at the position where the pin 23 has entered the pin through hole 13. Thereafter, the cover 4 is disposed on the opening edge 8 of the main body 3 so as to close the opening K by its own weight, as shown in FIG. Thereafter, the bolt 5 is inserted into the bolt through hole 12 from the outer surface side of the lid portion 4, and the bolt 5 is screwed into the bolt screw hole 9 of the opening edge portion 8 in the main body portion 3. Thereby, the main-body part 3 and the cover part 4 are fixed firmly mutually, and the housing | casing 2 which accommodated the battery module M inside is obtained.

  As described above, in the battery pack 1 and the manufacturing method thereof, the pin 10 is provided on the main body 3 side, and the pin through hole 13 corresponding to the pin 10 is provided on the lid 4 side. An alignment mark A is provided on the tip side of the pin 10. Thus, when the main body 3 and the lid 4 are fastened by the bolt 5, the main body 3 and the lid 4 can be easily positioned by looking through the alignment mark A of the pin 10 from the pin through-hole 13. . Therefore, the assembly workability of the housing 2 can be ensured satisfactorily.

  In the battery pack 1, a seal member 14 is disposed between the main body 3 and the lid 4 on the inner side of the pin 10 and the pin through hole 13. The arrangement of the seal member 14 can ensure airtightness in the housing 2. By setting the position of the seal member 14 to the inside of the pin 10 and the pin through hole 13, it can be avoided that the air tightness is impaired by the pin through hole 13.

  Further, in the battery pack 1, the recess 10 b provided at the tip of the pin 10 is an alignment mark A. Thereby, the visibility of the alignment mark A can be sufficiently secured. In this embodiment, a hexagon hole into which a hexagon wrench is inserted is used as the alignment mark A. For this reason, the configuration of the pin 10 is not complicated.

  Further, in the battery pack 1, the tip of the pin 10 is flush with the outer surface 4 b of the lid portion 4 or in the pin through hole 13. Thereby, since the tip of the pin 10 does not protrude from the outer surface of the lid portion 4 of the housing 2, the degree of freedom of arrangement of the battery pack 1 can be ensured. Further, as described above, since the seal member 14 is located on the inner side of the pin 10 and the pin through hole 13, regardless of the position of the tip of the pin 10 in the pin through hole 13, Airtightness is maintained. Since it is not necessary to block the outer surface 4b side of the pin through hole 13, the configuration of the battery pack 1 is not complicated.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the pin 10 and the pin through-hole 13 are provided at four locations. However, the pin 10 and the pin through-hole 13 are provided diagonally at two locations across at least the opening edge portion 8. The number of installations may be changed as appropriate within that range. Further, the pin 10 is not limited to a form in which the screw groove 10a is screwed into the pin screw hole 11 and is fixed to the opening edge 8, but may be fixed to the opening edge 8 by welding or the like.

  The pin 10 and the alignment mark A can take various modifications. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the protruding portion of the pin 10 from the opening edge 8 may be formed in a truncated cone shape. By making the pin 10 tapered, the pin 10 can be easily inserted into the pin through hole 13, and the assembling workability of the housing 2 can be further ensured. It is not restricted to the form which makes the whole protrusion part of the pin 10 taper, and it is good also considering only the front end side of the protrusion part of the pin 10 as a taper shape.

  The alignment mark A is not limited to the concave portion 10b, and may be a convex portion 10c formed at the tip of the pin 10, for example, as shown in FIG. The planar shapes of the concave portion 10b and the convex portion 10c may be various shapes such as a circle, an ellipse, and a polygon. In addition, the alignment mark A may be a painted portion 10d formed by painting the tip of the pin 10, for example, as shown in FIG. 9C. Also in the form of these alignment marks A, the visibility from the pin through holes 13 can be sufficiently ensured.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the positioning of the lid 4 with respect to the main body 3 is automated using the positioning device 21 in the housing forming process has been described. However, the position of the alignment mark A with respect to the pin through-hole 13 is visually determined. The positioning of the lid 4 with respect to the main body 3 may be performed manually.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the cover part 4 which makes a rectangular plate shape substantially the same shape as the base plate 6 was illustrated, one surface side is opened substantially in the same shape as the main body part 3 as in the battery pack 1A shown in FIG. You may comprise the housing | casing 2 using the cover part 31. FIG. Similarly to the main body 3, the lid 31 includes a base plate 32 and four side plates 33 erected on each side of the base plate 32. The opening L of the lid portion 31 is defined by a rectangular cross section on the opposite surface side of the base plate 32 by the four side plates 33.

  In the example of FIG. 10, a flange portion 34 is provided outside the front end of the side plate 7 in the main body portion 3, and a flange portion 35 corresponding to the flange portion 34 is provided outside the front end of the side plate 33 in the lid portion 31. A pin screw hole 11 is provided in the flange portion 34, and the pin 10 is screwed together. The flange portion 35 is provided with a pin through hole 13 so as to correspond to the position of the pin 10 on the flange portion 34 side. The main body 3 and the lid 31 are arranged so that the flanges 34 and 35 face each other, and the pins 10 on the main body 3 side are positioned in the pin through-holes 13 on the lid 4 side, respectively. Has been.

  Even in such a configuration, when the main body 3 and the lid 31 are fastened, the main body 3 and the lid 31 can be easily positioned by looking through the alignment mark A of the pin 10 from the pin through hole 13. it can. Therefore, the assembly workability of the housing 2 can be ensured satisfactorily. The seal member 14 may be positioned between the side plates 7 and 33 and positioned between the flange portions 34 and 35 as long as it is inside (opening K side) from the pin 10 and the pin through hole 13. May be.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Battery pack, 2 ... Housing | casing, 3 ... Main body part, 4,31 ... Lid part, 4b ... Outer surface, 8 ... Opening edge part, 10 ... Pin, 10b ... Concave part, 10c ... Convex part, 10d ... Paint part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 ... Pin through-hole, 14 ... Seal member, A ... Alignment mark, K ... Opening, M ... Battery module.

Claims (8)

A battery pack in which a plurality of battery modules are housed in a housing,
The housing is configured by a main body portion that opens on one side and a lid portion that closes the opening of the main body portion,
A plurality of pins are provided on the opening edge of the main body,
The lid portion is provided with a plurality of through holes corresponding to the plurality of pins,
The pin is provided with an alignment mark that can be seen from the through hole when the position of the through hole and the position of the pin are matched,
A battery pack in which the main body and the lid are coupled in a state where the pin is inserted into the through hole.   The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein a seal member is disposed between the main body portion and the lid portion inside the pin and the through hole.   The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the alignment mark is a recess provided at a tip of the pin.   The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the alignment mark is a protrusion provided at a tip of the pin.   The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the alignment mark is a painted portion provided at a tip of the pin.   The battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a tip end of the pin is positioned flush with an outer surface of the lid portion or in the through hole.   The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the pin has a tapered shape. A battery pack manufacturing method in which a plurality of battery modules are housed in a housing,
A body forming step of combining the main body portion that opens on one side and the lid portion that closes the opening of the main body portion to form the housing;
The casing forming step includes
A step of preparing the main body portion provided with a plurality of pins at the opening edge and an alignment mark provided at the tip of the pin, and the lid portion provided with a plurality of through holes corresponding to the plurality of pins. When,
Positioning the lid with respect to the main body so that the alignment mark can be seen through the through hole, the lid being disposed so as to face the opening of the main body;
A step of inserting the pin into the through hole while maintaining a state in which the alignment mark can be seen through the through hole.

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