JP2018116832A - Battery module - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery module capable of suppressing variations in cooling performances of respective batteries from being caused due to a heat exchanger.SOLUTION: A battery module 1 includes a heat exchanger 2, a thermal diffusion part 3, a heat conduction part 4, and a plurality of batteries 5. The batteries 5 are in thermal contact with the heat conduction part 4 from at least the upper side of the heat conduction part 4, and are disposed at positions that overlap the thermal diffusion part 3 and the heat conduction part 4 in the vertical direction Z. The thermal diffusion part 3 has a higher thermal conductivity than the heat conduction part 4. When a surface of a lower side of each battery 5 is defined as a reference surface 51, the reference surfaces 51 of the batteries 5 are disposed at a plurality of positions in the vertical direction Z. The top surface 31 of the thermal diffusion part 3 has a plurality of facing portions 311 facing the reference surfaces 51 of the batteries 5 in the vertical direction Z. At least one of the facing portions 311 facing the reference surfaces 51 of the batteries 5 other than the lowermost battery 501 among the batteries 5 in the vertical direction Z is located above the facing portion 311 facing the reference surface 51 of the lowermost battery 501 in the vertical direction Z.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery module.

  An example of the battery module is disclosed in Patent Document 1. The battery module described in Patent Literature 1 includes a plurality of batteries arranged in one direction and a heat exchanger disposed on the lower side in the vertical direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the plurality of batteries. And the battery module described in patent document 1 is a gel which has flexibility between a some battery and a heat exchanger in order to improve the heat conductivity between a some battery and a heat exchanger. Intervene.

  In assembling the battery module described in Patent Document 1, for example, a gel is applied to the upper surface of the heat exchanger, and a plurality of batteries arranged side by side are pressed onto the upper surface of the gel. Thereby, it adheres firmly to the contact surface which is the surface by the side of the gel of a some battery, deform | transforming a gel. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in thermal resistance in the heat transfer path from each battery to the heat exchanger due to the gel not sticking to the contact surface of the battery.

JP 2014-127321 A

  However, in the battery module, there may be a deviation in the positions of the contact surfaces of the plurality of batteries in the vertical direction due to a dimensional error of each battery, an assembly error of the plurality of batteries, and the like. In this case, the vertical distance between the contact surface of each battery and the heat exchanger varies, and the vertical thickness of the gel disposed between the contact surface of each battery and the heat exchanger also varies. Arise. Along with this, variation occurs in the thermal resistance in the heat transfer path from each battery to the heat exchanger. This is because the thermal resistance in the heat transfer path from each battery to the heat exchanger depends on the thickness of the gel disposed between each battery and the heat exchanger. As a result, each battery cannot be uniformly cooled by the heat exchanger, and there is a possibility that temperature variations occur in a plurality of batteries.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this subject, and aims at providing the battery module which can suppress that dispersion | variation arises in the cooling performance of each battery by a heat exchanger.

One aspect of the present invention is a heat exchanger (2),
A thermal diffusion section (3) in thermal contact with the heat exchanger;
A heat conducting part (4) in thermal contact with the upper surface (31) of the thermal diffusion part;
A plurality of batteries (5) disposed in positions that are in thermal contact with the heat conduction part from at least the upper side of the heat conduction part and overlap the heat diffusion part and the heat conduction part in the vertical direction (Z); Have
The thermal diffusion part has higher thermal conductivity than the thermal conduction part,
When the lower surface of the battery is defined as a reference surface (51), the reference surfaces of the plurality of batteries are arranged at a plurality of positions in the vertical direction,
The upper surface of the heat diffusion portion has a plurality of facing portions (311) facing the reference surfaces of the plurality of batteries in the vertical direction,
When the battery in which the reference plane is located at the lowest end among the plurality of batteries is defined as the lowest end battery (501), the reference plane of the batteries other than the lowest end battery among the plurality of batteries is vertically At least one of the facing portions facing in the direction is in the battery module (1), which is located above the facing portion facing in the vertical direction the reference surface of the bottom end battery.

  In the battery module, at least one of the facing portions facing the reference surface of the battery other than the lowest battery among the plurality of batteries in the vertical direction is more than the facing portion facing the reference surface of the bottom battery in the vertical direction. Located on the upper side. Therefore, it is possible to suppress variation in the vertical spacing between the reference surfaces of the plurality of batteries and the plurality of facing portions on the upper surface of the thermal diffusion portion. Thereby, it can suppress that dispersion | variation arises in the thickness of the area | region which overlaps with the reference plane of the some battery in a heat conductive part at an up-down direction. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of variation in the thermal resistance value in the heat transfer path from each battery to the heat diffusion portion.

As described above, according to the aspect, it is possible to provide a battery module that can suppress variation in the cooling performance of each battery by the heat exchanger.
In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis described in the means to solve a claim and a subject shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later, and limits the technical scope of this invention. It is not a thing.

1 is an overall cross-sectional view of a battery module according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a top view of the battery module in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. The partially expanded view of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a heat diffusion unit in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an overall cross-sectional view of a battery module in Embodiment 2. FIG. 4 is an overall cross-sectional view of a battery module according to Embodiment 3. The perspective view of the thermal diffusion part in Embodiment 3. FIG. FIG. 6 is an overall cross-sectional view of a battery module in a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 9. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the battery module in Embodiment 4, Comprising: The figure of the state before a metal thin plate deformation | transformation. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the battery module in Embodiment 4, Comprising: The figure of the state after a metal thin plate deformation | transformation.

(Embodiment 1)
An embodiment of a battery module will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the battery module 1 of the present embodiment includes a heat exchanger 2, a heat diffusing unit 3, a heat conducting unit 4, and a plurality of batteries 5. The thermal diffusion unit 3 is in thermal contact with the heat exchanger 2. The thermal diffusion unit 3 has a higher thermal conductivity than the thermal conduction unit 4. The heat conducting unit 4 is in thermal contact with the upper surface 31 of the heat diffusing unit 3. The plurality of batteries 5 are in thermal contact with the heat conducting unit 4 from at least the upper side of the heat conducting unit 4. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the heat diffusing unit 3 and the heat conducting unit 4 are arranged at positions overlapping the vertical direction Z. Note that the direction in which the heat diffusing unit 3 and the heat conducting unit 4 are arranged is the vertical direction Z. The heat conduction part 4 side with respect to the heat diffusion part 3 in the vertical direction Z is the upper side, and the opposite side is the lower side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the lower surface of the battery 5 is defined as a reference surface 51, the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 are arranged at a plurality of positions in the vertical direction Z. The upper surface 31 of the heat diffusion unit 3 has a plurality of facing portions 311 that face the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 in the vertical direction Z. Here, the battery 5 in which the reference plane 51 is located at the lowermost end among the plurality of batteries 5 is defined as the lowermost end battery 501. At this time, at least one of the facing portions 311 facing the reference surface 51 of the batteries 5 other than the lowest battery 501 in the vertical direction Z among the plurality of batteries 5 is the reference surface 51 of the lowest battery 501 and the vertical direction Z. It is located above the facing portion 311 facing the.

  The battery module 1 is used as a power source for the apparatus. For example, the battery module 1 can be used as a power source for driving a rotating electrical machine for an internal combustion engine.

  In the present embodiment, the battery 5 is a lithium ion secondary battery. The battery 5 is a so-called can-type battery whose exterior is made of a metal such as iron or aluminum. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the battery 5 includes a battery main body 50 and a pair of terminals 52 protruding upward from the battery main body 50. The lower surface of the battery body 50 is a reference surface 51. In the present embodiment, the reference surface 51 is a plane orthogonal to the up-down direction Z and is a surface facing downward.

  The battery 5 has a flat plate shape having a thickness in one of the directions orthogonal to the vertical direction Z. In the present embodiment, the plurality of batteries 5 have the same shape except for the dimension in the vertical direction Z. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plurality of batteries 5 constitutes a battery structure 10 that is aligned in the alignment direction X orthogonal to the vertical direction Z. Further, the battery structure 10 is constrained in the alignment direction X. The plurality of batteries 5 are arranged side by side in the thickness direction of the battery 5 to constitute the battery structure 10. In the battery structure 10, an insulating material 101 for preventing the battery main bodies 50 from being in electrical contact is disposed between the adjacent batteries 5.

  The battery structure 10 is restrained in the alignment direction X by the restraining member 100 from both sides of the alignment direction X. The restraining member 100 includes a pair of end plates 11 disposed on both sides of the battery structure 10 and a connection member 12 that connects the pair of end plates 11. Both ends of the connection member 12 are fixed to the end plate 11. Thereby, the battery structure 10 is restrained in the alignment direction X by the restraining member 100 from both sides of the alignment direction X. A heat insulating material 13 is disposed between the end plate 11 and the battery 5 disposed at the end portion in the alignment direction X. Further, if the battery structure 10 is constrained in the alignment direction X, other restraining means can be employed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the position of the reference surface 51 in the vertical direction Z is shifted in the plurality of batteries 5. In other words, the positions of the reference surfaces 51 in the vertical direction Z of the plurality of batteries 5 do not match. In the present embodiment, there are a plurality of batteries 5 in which the reference surface 51 is located at the lowest end. Similarly, there are a plurality of uppermost end batteries 502 with the reference plane 51 positioned at the uppermost end. The plurality of batteries 5 are configured so that the positions of the terminals 52 of the batteries 5 are aligned with each other when the battery structure 10 is configured. That is, the plurality of batteries 5 are arranged so that the positions of the upper ends in the vertical direction Z coincide with each other. The plurality of batteries 5 are arranged on the upper surface of the heat conducting unit 4 arranged on the upper surface 31 of the heat diffusing unit 3.

  The thermal diffusion unit 3 is made of aluminum, for example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other materials can be adopted for the thermal diffusion part 3 as long as the thermal conductivity is higher than that of the thermal conduction part 4 described later. Of the plurality of facing portions 311 of the thermal diffusion portion 3, the facing portion 311 facing the reference surface 51 of the uppermost battery 502 in the vertical direction Z is the facing portion facing the reference surface 51 of the lowermost battery 501 in the vertical direction Z. It is located above 311. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the intervals in the vertical direction Z between the plurality of facing portions 311 of the heat diffusing portion 3 and the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 are equal to each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the thermal diffusion unit 3 has a base 32 and a small area 33. The base 32 is formed so as to overlap with all of the plurality of batteries 5 in the vertical direction Z. The small area portion 33 is disposed on the upper surface of the base portion 32 and has an area smaller than that of the base portion 32 when viewed from the vertical direction Z. The base 32 and the small area portion 33 are joined to each other so as to be able to conduct heat by welding or the like.

  The base 32 has a flat plate shape having a thickness in the vertical direction Z. The area of the base 32 when viewed from the vertical direction Z is equal to or larger than the area of the battery structure 10 when viewed from the vertical direction Z. And the base part 32 is distribute | arranged to the position where the whole battery structure 10 overlaps with the up-down direction Z at least partially.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the small area portion 33 is arranged so as to overlap with the reference surface 51 of one battery 5 in the vertical direction Z. In the present embodiment, the area of the small area portion 33 viewed from the vertical direction Z is formed to be equal to the area of the reference surface 51, but is not limited to this, and even if it is larger than the area of the reference surface 51. It may be smaller.

  The small area portion 33 is appropriately arranged according to how the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 are displaced in the vertical direction Z. That is, the small area portion 33 is arranged such that the distance in the vertical direction Z between each facing portion 311 of the heat diffusing portion 3 and the reference surface 51 of each battery 5 is equal. In the present embodiment, the small area portion 33 is disposed below each of the batteries 5 other than the lowest battery 501 among the plurality of batteries 5. Among the regions between each battery 5 and the base portion 32 in the vertical direction Z, in a region where the dimension in the vertical direction Z between the battery 5 and the base portion 32 is relatively large, a plurality of small area portions 33 are in the thickness direction. Are stacked. Thereby, the position of the upper surface 31 of the thermal diffusion part 3 in the vertical direction Z is adjusted. In the present embodiment, a plurality of small area portions 33 are stacked between the uppermost battery 502 and the base portion 32 in the vertical direction Z. In the present embodiment, all the small area portions 33 have the same shape. The plurality of small area portions 33 are not limited to the same shape in all shapes. For example, at least one small area part 33 and at least one small area part 33 among the other small area parts 33 while the areas of the small area parts 33 when viewed from the vertical direction Z are equal to each other. In the meantime, the dimensions in the vertical direction Z may be different from each other. Moreover, the area of each small area part 33 when it sees from the up-down direction Z in the some small area part 33 is not restricted to the mutually same thing. Hereinafter, the interval in the vertical direction Z between the plurality of facing portions 311 of the thermal diffusion unit 3 and the reference surface 51 of each battery 5 may be referred to as the vertical interval.

  Here, the plurality of vertical intervals are equal to each other includes the case where the plurality of vertical intervals are not the same, but are substantially the same. For example, when the plurality of vertical intervals are substantially the same, when the design values in the vertical direction are the same value d1, the absolute values of the differences between the vertical intervals and the design value d1 are respectively designed. It may be a case where the value is 10% or less of the value d1.

  The heat conducting unit 4 is disposed between the upper surface 31 of the heat diffusing unit 3 and the reference surface 51 of each battery 5. The heat conducting unit 4 is in close contact with the upper surface 31 of the heat diffusing unit 3 and the reference surface 51 of each battery 5. In the present embodiment, the heat conducting unit 4 has a shape such that one plate is bent a plurality of times in the thickness direction. The heat conduction part 4 is preferably elastically deformable. Moreover, it is preferable that the heat conductive part 4 has electrical insulation. The heat conduction part 4 can be comprised, for example with silicone.

  When assembling the battery module 1, for example, the heat conducting unit 4 is first disposed on the upper surface 31 of the heat diffusing unit 3. Next, the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 in the battery structure 10 are pressed against the heat conducting unit 4. Thereby, the heat conducting part 4 is brought into close contact with the reference surface 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 and the upper surface 31 of the heat diffusing part 3 while being elastically deformed.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a region that overlaps the reference plane 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 and the vertical direction Z in the heat conducting unit 4 is defined as an overlapping region 41. The plurality of overlapping regions 41 in the heat conducting unit 4 have the same thickness T. Here, the plurality of overlapping regions 41 having the same thickness T includes a case where the thicknesses T of the plurality of overlapping regions 41 are not the same but substantially the same. The case where the thicknesses T of the plurality of overlapping regions 41 are substantially the same means that the design value of the dimension in the vertical direction Z of each overlapping region 41 is the same value d2 in the vertical direction Z of each overlapping region 41. The absolute value of the difference between the dimension and the design value d2 may be less than or equal to 10% of the design value d2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the overlapping regions 41 in the heat conducting unit 4 are connected by a connecting region 42. The connection region 42 includes one formed on a surface orthogonal to the up-down direction Z and one connected to the surface orthogonal to the up-down direction Z. When the overlapping region 41 to which the connection region 42 is connected has the same position in the vertical direction Z, the connection region 42 is formed on a plane orthogonal to the vertical direction Z. On the other hand, if the overlapping regions 41 to which the connecting regions 42 are connected have different positions in the vertical direction Z, the connecting regions 42 are formed so as to be inclined with respect to the plane perpendicular to the vertical direction Z.

  The heat exchanger 2 is in surface contact with the lower surface of the heat diffusion unit 3. As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, the heat exchanger 2 includes a refrigerant flow path 21 for circulating a cooling medium therein. However, the heat exchanger 2 is not limited to this, and the heat exchanger 2 may not include the refrigerant flow path 21 inside. Moreover, the heat exchanger 2 should just be in contact with the thermal diffusion part 3, for example, may be in contact with the side surface of the thermal diffusion part 3, etc.

Next, the effect of this embodiment is demonstrated.
In the battery module 1, at least one of the facing portions 311 facing the reference surface 51 of the batteries 5 other than the lowest battery 501 among the plurality of batteries 5 in the vertical direction Z is connected to the reference surface 51 of the lowest battery 501. It is located above the facing portion 311 facing the direction Z. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of variations in the distance in the vertical direction Z between the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 and the plurality of facing portions 311 of the upper surface 31 of the heat diffusing portion 3. Thereby, it can suppress that dispersion | variation arises in the thickness of the area | region which overlaps with the reference plane 51 of the some battery 5 in the heat conductive part 4, and the up-down direction Z. Therefore, variation in the thermal resistance value in the heat transfer path from each battery 5 to the thermal diffusion unit 3 can be suppressed.

  In addition, among the plurality of facing portions 311 of the thermal diffusion portion 3, the facing portion 311 facing the reference surface 51 of the uppermost battery 502 in the vertical direction Z faces the reference surface 51 of the lowermost battery 501 in the vertical direction Z. It is located above the facing portion 311. Therefore, it is easy to reduce the difference in the thermal resistance value between the overlapping regions 41 where the difference in the thermal resistance value is a concern.

  Further, the intervals in the vertical direction Z between the plurality of facing portions 311 of the heat diffusing portion 3 and the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 are equal to each other. Therefore, it is easy to make the thicknesses T of the plurality of overlapping regions 41 in the heat conducting unit 4 equal to each other. Thereby, it is possible to further suppress variation in the thermal resistance value in the heat transfer path from each battery 5 to the thermal diffusion unit 3.

  The thermal diffusion unit 3 includes a base 32 and a small area 33. Thereby, according to how the reference planes 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 are displaced in the vertical direction Z, it is easy to configure the heat diffusion unit 3 as appropriate. That is, by appropriately arranging the small area portion 33 on the upper surface of the base portion 32, the distance in the vertical direction Z between the facing portion 311 of the upper surface 31 of the heat diffusing portion 3 and the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 can be reduced. Can be equivalent. Therefore, the productivity of the battery module 1 can be improved.

  In addition, the plurality of batteries 5 constitutes a battery structure 10. The battery structure 10 is constrained in the alignment direction X. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the positions of the plurality of batteries 5 in the vertical direction Z from deviating from the state before use due to vibrations or impacts generated in the battery module 1 when the battery module 1 is used. Thereby, the space | interval of the up-down direction Z of the reference surface 51 of each battery 5 and the opposing part 311 of the upper surface 31 of the thermal-diffusion part 3 from each battery 5 to the thermal-diffusion part 3 resulting from change with time. Variations in the thermal resistance value in the heat transfer path can be prevented. Moreover, it is easy to suppress that the performance of each battery 5 changes with time.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a battery module that can suppress variation in the cooling performance of each battery by the heat exchanger.

(Embodiment 2)
As shown in FIG. 6, the present embodiment is an embodiment in which the shape of the small area portion 33 is changed with respect to the first embodiment. The small area portion 33 is formed such that the vertical dimension Z is the same as the vertical dimension Z between the upper surface of the base 32 and the lower surface of the overlapping region 41 of the heat conducting unit 4. That is, in the present embodiment, the position of the facing portion 311 of the upper surface 31 of the heat diffusing portion 3 in the vertical direction Z is adjusted by adjusting the size of the small area portion 33 in the vertical direction Z.

Others are the same as in the first embodiment.
Of the reference numerals used in the second and subsequent embodiments, the same reference numerals as those used in the above-described embodiments represent the same components as those in the above-described embodiments unless otherwise indicated.

  This embodiment also has the same effects as those of the first embodiment.

(Embodiment 3)
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the present embodiment is an embodiment in which the thermal diffusion unit 3 is composed of one member. For example, the heat diffusing unit 3 is integrally formed by cutting one metal. In other words, the thermal diffusion unit 3 is not configured by joining a plurality of members.
Others are the same as in the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, it is easy to improve the thermal conductivity of the thermal diffusion unit 3. Thereby, the cooling performance of the battery 5 by the heat exchanger 2 can be improved further.
In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

(Embodiment 4)
As shown in FIGS. 9 to 12, the present embodiment is an embodiment in which the thermal diffusion unit 3 includes a plurality of thin metal plates 34 stacked in the vertical direction Z with the thickness direction being the vertical direction Z. The thin metal plate 34 has flexibility in the vertical direction Z. The thin metal plate 34 is flexible enough to bend easily when a force in the vertical direction Z is applied from the outside. The thickness of the metal thin plate 34 having flexibility in the vertical direction Z is appropriately selected according to the hardness of the metal constituting the metal thin plate 34. In the present embodiment, the metal thin plate 34 has a thickness in the vertical direction Z that is smaller than that of the heat conducting unit 4.

In the present embodiment, the heat exchanger 2 is in contact with the side surface of the heat diffusion unit 3.
In addition, it has the same structure as Embodiment 1.

Next, an example of a method for manufacturing the battery module 1 of the present embodiment will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 11, a plurality of flat metal thin plates (hereinafter referred to as flat thin plates 340) are laminated in the thickness direction. And the heat conductive part 4 with constant thickness is arrange | positioned on the uppermost surface of the laminated | stacked several flat thin plate 340. FIG. In this state, the heat conducting unit 4 has a flat shape along the uppermost surface of the flat thin plate 340. And the elastic member 15 which can be elastically deformed is arrange | positioned in the lowest surface of the laminated | stacked several flat thin plate 340. FIG. Then, a highly rigid plate 16 that is not easily deformed is disposed on the lower surface of the elastic member 15. Here, the structure composed of the heat conducting portion 4, the plurality of flat thin plates 340, the elastic member 15, and the high-rigidity plate 16 is referred to as an assembly 17 before deformation.

Then, the plurality of batteries 5 are arranged in the arrangement direction X to form the battery structure 10 and are restrained in the arrangement direction X by the restraining member 100. Then, the assembly 17 before deformation and the battery structure 10 are brought close to each other, and the upper surface of the heat conducting portion 4 of the assembly 17 before deformation is brought into contact with the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 of the battery structure 10. From this state, the pre-deformation assembly 17 is pushed further into the upper side, that is, the battery structure 10 side. Thereby, the force which pushes the assembly 17 before a deformation | transformation upwards acts on the flat thin plate 340 via the highly rigid plate 16 and the elastic member 15. FIG. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, the plurality of flat thin plates 340 are deformed into a shape along the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5 of the battery structure 10, and the final shape, that is, the shape of the metal thin plate 34 described above is obtained. . At this time, the upper surface of the elastic member 15 is deformed according to the shape change of the lower surfaces of the plurality of flat thin plates 340. Thereby, it is easy to apply force equally to the entire flat thin plate 340. Further, as the shape of the flat thin plate 340 is changed, the shape of the heat conducting portion 4 is also deformed to a shape along the upper surface of the flat thin plate 340.
Thus, the battery module 1 can be manufactured.

In this embodiment, it is easy to improve the productivity of the battery module 1. That is, as described above, the thermal diffusion unit 3 can be easily configured by pressing the flat thin plate 340 toward the reference surfaces 51 of the plurality of batteries 5.
In addition, the same effects as those of the first embodiment are obtained.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be applied to various embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention.

  For example, in each of the above embodiments, the battery is a lithium ion secondary battery, but is not limited to this, and various batteries can be employed. For example, the battery can be a nickel metal hydride battery. Further, the battery is not limited to a can-type battery, and may be a so-called laminate-type battery in which an exterior is constituted by, for example, a laminate film. The battery may be a battery pack in which a plurality of single cells are accommodated in a pack case.

  Moreover, in each said embodiment, although the structure which makes the surface on the opposite side to the terminal side in each battery contact a heat conduction part was shown, it is not restricted to this. For example, a side surface that is a surface facing a direction orthogonal to both the protruding direction of the terminal and the thickness direction of the battery may be used as a reference surface, and the reference surface may be in contact with the heat conducting unit.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Battery module 2 Heat exchanger 3 Thermal diffusion part 31 Upper surface of thermal diffusion part 311 Opposing part 4 Thermal conduction part 5 Battery 501 Bottom end battery 51 Reference plane Z Vertical direction

Claims (7)

A heat exchanger (2);
A thermal diffusion section (3) in thermal contact with the heat exchanger;
A heat conducting part (4) in thermal contact with the upper surface (31) of the thermal diffusion part;
A plurality of batteries (5) disposed in positions that are in thermal contact with the heat conduction part from at least the upper side of the heat conduction part and overlap the heat diffusion part and the heat conduction part in the vertical direction (Z); Have
The thermal diffusion part has higher thermal conductivity than the thermal conduction part,
When the lower surface of the battery is defined as a reference surface (51), the reference surfaces of the plurality of batteries are arranged at a plurality of positions in the vertical direction,
The upper surface of the heat diffusion portion has a plurality of facing portions (311) facing the reference surfaces of the plurality of batteries in the vertical direction,
When the battery in which the reference plane is located at the lowest end among the plurality of batteries is defined as the lowest end battery (501), the reference plane of the batteries other than the lowest end battery among the plurality of batteries is vertically The battery module (1), wherein at least one of the facing portions facing in the direction is positioned above the facing portion facing the reference surface of the lowermost battery in the vertical direction.   Of the plurality of batteries, when the battery whose reference surface is located at the uppermost end is defined as the uppermost battery (502), the reference surface of the uppermost battery among the plurality of facing portions of the heat diffusion portion. 2. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the facing portion facing in the vertical direction is positioned above the facing portion facing the reference surface of the bottom end battery in the vertical direction.   3. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the intervals in the vertical direction between the plurality of facing portions of the thermal diffusion portion and the reference surfaces of the plurality of batteries are equal to each other.   The thermal diffusion part is arranged on the upper surface of the base (32) formed so as to overlap all of the plurality of the batteries in the vertical direction, and has an area when viewed from the vertical direction as compared with the base part. The battery module as described in any one of Claims 1-3 which has a small small area part (33).   The battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the heat diffusing portion is made of one member.   The said thermal diffusion part has several metal thin plate (34) laminated | stacked on the up-down direction, making the thickness direction into an up-down direction, The said metal thin plate has flexibility in an up-down direction. The battery module as described in any one.   The said some battery is comprising the battery structure (10) along with the row direction orthogonal to an up-down direction, The said battery structure is restrained in the row direction. The battery module according to one item.

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