JP2018037203A - Battery pack installation structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery pack installation structure capable of improving workability of connection work of a charge cable.SOLUTION: A battery pack installation structure 1 is provided with a battery pack 10 including an enclosure 11 having a charge connector 12 to be connected with a charge cable, and a frame 20 placed to face the enclosure 11, and having an opening 21 for exposing the charge connector 12. The enclosure 11 is provided with a connector cover 13 which is attached removably to the charge connector 12, and a stringlike coupling member 14 for coupling the connector cover 13 and the enclosure 11. At a marginal part 21a of the opening 21, a hook part 22, to which the coupling member 14 is hooked when the connector cover 13 is suspended by the coupling member 14, is provided.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery pack installation structure.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a forklift that uses a battery (battery pack) as a power source. In the forklift described in Patent Literature 1, a battery is housed below the cab, and when charging the battery, a charging cable extending from an external power source is connected to a charging connector on the forklift side.

JP 2003-73099 A

  As a battery pack installation structure in a forklift or the like, a structure including a battery pack having a casing having a charging connector and a frame having an opening that is arranged to face the casing and exposes the charging connector. May be adopted. According to this structure, the charging cable can be connected through the opening while the battery pack is housed by the frame.

  In addition, a connector cover may be attached to the charging connector to protect the charging connector during non-charging. The connector cover is detachable from the charging connector, and may be connected to the housing by a connecting member such as a wire in order to prevent loss. However, in such a structure, there is a risk that workability may be deteriorated because interference between the connector cover and the connecting member hinders the work when the charging cable is connected.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the battery pack installation structure which can improve the workability | operativity of the connection operation | work of a charging cable.

  A battery pack installation structure according to one aspect of the present invention includes a battery pack including a casing having a charging connector to which a charging cable is connected, and an opening that is disposed to face the casing and exposes the charging connector. A battery pack installation structure including a frame having a connector cover that is detachably attached to the charging connector, and a string-like connecting member that connects the connector cover and the casing. At the edge of the opening, a hooking portion is provided on which the connecting member is hooked when the connector cover is suspended by the connecting member.

  In this battery pack installation structure, when the charging cable is connected, the connector cover can be suspended by the connecting member by hooking the connecting member on the hook portion. Thereby, it can suppress that interference of a connector cover and a connection member obstructs work at the time of connecting work of a charging cable, and can improve workability of connecting work of a charging cable.

  Moreover, the hook part may be comprised by the at least one of the notch and hook which were formed in the edge part of the opening part. In this case, the connecting member can be easily hooked to the hook portion, and the workability of the charging cable connection work can be further improved.

  The connecting member is made of a first metal material, the hooking portion is made of a second metal material, and the hardness of the first metal material is larger than the hardness of the second metal material. Also good. In this case, even when the connecting operation of the charging cable is repeatedly performed and the connecting member repeatedly contacts the hooking portion, breakage due to wear of the connecting member can be suppressed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the battery pack installation structure which can improve the workability | operativity of the connection work of a charging cable can be provided.

It is a perspective view of the battery pack installation structure which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a table | surface which shows the example of a 1st metal material and a 2nd metal material. It is a perspective view of the battery pack installation structure at the time of suspension of a connector cover.

  Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same or equivalent elements will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted.

  A battery pack installation structure 1 shown in FIG. 1 is arranged in a space below a cab in a vehicle such as a forklift. The battery pack installation structure 1 includes a battery pack 10 and a frame 20. The battery pack 10 is used as a power source for a vehicle, for example.

  The battery pack 10 is configured by housing a plurality of battery modules in a housing 11. The housing | casing 11 is formed in the substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, for example with metals, such as iron. When the battery pack installation structure 1 is mounted on a forklift, the housing 11 also functions as a counterweight for balancing the weight of the load supported by the fork. The battery module includes, for example, a plurality of battery cells such as lithium ion secondary batteries.

  A charging connector 12 to which a charging cable (not shown) extending from an external power source is connected is provided on the side surface 11a on the front side of the housing 11. The housing 11 is further provided with a connector cover 13 that is detachably attached to the charging connector 12, and a wire (connecting member) 14 that is connected to the connector cover 13 and the housing 11.

  The connector cover 13 has a cover part 15 and a handle part 16. The cover portion 15 is formed in a shape corresponding to the outer shape of the charging connector 12. The handle portion 16 is formed in a shape that allows the handle portion 16 to be easily rotated by gripping it with one hand. In the present embodiment, the handle portion 16 has a shape in which a plurality (three in this example) of gripping portions protrude radially from the shaft portion.

  At the time of non-charging such as traveling, the connector cover 13 is attached to the charging connector 12 so that the charging connector 12 is covered with the cover portion 15. The connector cover 13 is detachable from the charging connector 12 and is detached from the charging connector 12 during charging. The connector cover 13 may have a function as a jumper connector that short-circuits the terminals of the charging connector 12 during non-charging.

  The wire 14 is formed in a string shape from the first metal material. One end of the wire 14 is connected to the side of the charging connector 12 on the side surface 11a of the housing 11, for example. The height of the connection position at one end of the wire 14 may be approximately the same as that of the charging connector 12 or may be higher than the charging connector 12. The other end of the wire 14 is connected to, for example, a shaft portion of the handle portion 16 in the connector cover 13.

  The frame 20 is, for example, a wall body that forms one surface along the vertical direction in the machine base frame in which the battery pack 10 is accommodated. For example, the frame 20 is formed in a rectangular plate shape from a second metal material, and is disposed so as to face the housing 11 on the front side of the housing 11.

  An opening 21 for exposing the charging connector 12 is formed in the frame 20. The opening 21 has a rectangular cross section, for example. A hooking portion 22 on which the wire 14 is hooked when the connector cover 13 is suspended by the wire 14 is provided on one side edge portion 21a of the opening portion 21 (on the connection position side of one end of the wire 14) (FIG. 3). ).

  The hook 22 is formed integrally with the frame 20. The hooking portion 22 is disposed at a position below the charging connector 12, for example. In the present embodiment, the hook portion 22 includes a notch 23 having a rectangular cross section provided in the side edge portion 21 a and a hook 24 provided in the notch 23.

  The notch 23 is provided, for example, in the vertical intermediate portion of the side edge portion 21 a and constitutes a part of the opening 21. The lower edge 23 a of the notch 23 is located above the lower edge of the opening 21. A protruding portion 25 that protrudes upward is provided at a boundary portion between the lower edge 23a of the notch 23 and the side edge portion 21a. The protrusion 25 and the lower edge 23a of the notch 23 constitute a hook-shaped hook 24.

  In this embodiment, the wire 14 is comprised with the 1st metal material over the whole longitudinal direction. The frame 20 is made of a second metal material throughout. The hardness of the first metal material constituting the wire 14 is greater than the hardness of the second metal material constituting the frame 20. As shown in FIG. 2, examples of the first metal material include SUS304 (Vickers hardness: 213) and SUS316 (Vickers hardness: 204). Examples of the second metal material include SS400 (rolled steel for general structure, Vickers hardness: 132), FC400 (cast iron, Vickers hardness: 123), SPCC (Vickers hardness: 81) SPHC (Vickers hardness). 81 :).

  In the battery pack installation structure 1 described above, as shown in FIG. 3, the connector cover 13 is suspended by the wire 14 by hooking the wire 14 to the hooking portion 22 when connecting the charging cable. be able to. Thereby, it can suppress that the interference of the connector cover 13 and the wire 14 obstructs the work at the time of the work of connecting the charging cable, and the workability of the work of connecting the charging cable can be improved. For example, when the connector cover 13 is suspended, the wire 14 may be in contact with both the lower edge 23a of the notch 23 and the protruding portion 25, or may not be in contact with the protruding portion 25 and below the notch 23. You may be in the state which contacted only the edge 23a.

  In the battery pack installation structure 1, the hook portion 22 is configured by both the notch 23 and the hook 24 formed in the side edge portion 21 a of the opening portion 21. Thereby, the wire 14 can be easily hooked on the hook part 22, and the workability | operativity of the connection operation | work of a charging cable can be improved further.

  In the battery pack installation structure 1, the hardness of the first metal material constituting the wire 14 is larger than the hardness of the second metal material constituting the hook portion 22. Thereby, even if it is a case where the connection operation | work of a charging cable is repeatedly performed and the wire 14 contacts the hook part 22 repeatedly, the fracture | rupture by abrasion of the wire 14 can be suppressed.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the shapes of the connector cover 13 and the opening 21 are not limited to the shapes described above, and may be arbitrary shapes. The charging connector 12 may be provided on a side surface of the housing 11 other than the side surface 11a, and the wire 14 may be coupled to a side surface of the housing 11 other than the side surface 11a. The notch 23 may be provided at any position on the edge of the opening 21.

  Moreover, although the case where the connection member which connects the connector cover 13 and the housing | casing 11 was the wire 14 was illustrated in the said embodiment, it should just be a string-like connection member, for example, a chain etc. may be sufficient. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the hook part 22 was comprised by the notch 23 and the hook 24, you may be comprised only by the notch 23, ie, the notch 23 in which the protrusion part 25 is not provided. In this case, the wire 14 can be easily hooked on the hook portion 22 with a simple configuration.

  Further, the hook portion 22 may be configured only by a hook provided at the edge portion of the opening portion 21. In this case, for example, the notch 23 is not provided in the side edge 21 a of the opening 21, but the hook 22 is formed by a hook-shaped hook provided so as to protrude from the side edge 21 a toward the center of the opening 21. May be configured. Even in this case, the wire 14 can be easily hooked on the hook portion 22 as in the above embodiment.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the wire 14 was comprised with the 1st metallic material over the whole longitudinal direction, if the contact part with the hook part 22 in the wire 14 was comprised with the 1st metallic material at least, Good. For example, only a part of the longitudinal direction including the contact portion with the hook portion 22 is made of the first metal material, and the remaining portion is a metal material (for example, the second material) whose hardness is smaller than the hardness of the first metal material. (Metal material). Further, only the base end portion of the wire 14 (portion on the side connected to the housing 11) is made of a metal material (for example, a second metal material) having a hardness lower than that of the first metal material, and the remaining portion is You may be comprised with the 1st metal material. Furthermore, only the surface of the wire 14 may be made of a first metal material, and the inside of the wire 14 may be made of a metal material having a hardness lower than that of the first metal material. Even in these cases, breakage due to wear of the wire 14 can be suppressed as in the above embodiment. Furthermore, since only a part of the wire 14 is made of the first metal material, the part cost can be reduced and the handling can be facilitated. Further, when only the base end portion of the wire 14 is made of a metal material whose hardness is smaller than that of the first metal material, the operability of the wire 14 can be secured while suppressing the wear of the wire 14.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the whole flame | frame 20 was comprised with the 2nd metal material, only the hook part 22 is comprised with the 2nd metal material, and the remaining part has hardness rather than the 2nd metal material. May be made of a large metal material (for example, a first metal material). In this case, for example, the hook portion 22 formed separately from the main body of the frame 20 may be coupled to the side edge portion 21a of the opening portion 21 by welding or the like. Even in such a configuration, it is possible to suppress the interference between the connector cover 13 and the wire 14 from interfering with the work at the time of connecting the charging cable or the like as in the above embodiment. Moreover, since only the hook part 22 should just be comprised with the 2nd metal material among the flame | frames 20, component costs can be reduced. Further, for example, only the portion including the lower edge 23 a of the notch 23 in the hook portion 22 may be formed separately, and the lower edge 23 a of the notch 23, the protruding portion 25, and the protruding portion at the notch 23 are opposed to each other. The part may be formed separately.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Battery pack installation structure, 10 ... Battery pack, 11 ... Housing | casing, 12 ... Charging connector, 13 ... Connector cover, 14 ... Wire (connection member), 20 ... Frame, 21 ... Opening part, 21a ... Side edge part, 22 ... Hook, 23 ... Notch, 24 ... Hook.

Claims (3)

A battery pack including a housing having a charging connector to which a charging cable is connected;
A battery pack installation structure comprising: a frame disposed to face the housing and having an opening that exposes the charging connector;
In the case,
A connector cover detachably attached to the charging connector;
A string-like connecting member connected to the connector cover and the housing; and
The battery pack installation structure, wherein a hooking portion on which the connecting member is hooked when the connector cover is suspended by the connecting member is provided at an edge of the opening.   The battery pack installation structure according to claim 1, wherein the hook portion is configured by at least one of a notch and a hook formed at an edge portion of the opening. The connecting member is made of a first metal material,
The hook portion is made of a second metal material,
The battery pack installation structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hardness of the first metal material is greater than the hardness of the second metal material.

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