JP2023122870A - storage battery system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a storage battery system with improved load capacity.SOLUTION: In a storage battery system 1, a column portion 50 extending in the stacking direction of a plurality of battery modules 30 holds the plurality of battery modules 30 and has increased strength against loads from the stacking direction. In particular, the strength is improved by making the cross-sectional shape of the column portion 50 U-shaped. Therefore, in the storage battery system 1, a high load capacity in the stacking direction can be achieved.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to storage battery systems.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, a storage battery system is known that includes a battery module and a battery case that accommodates the battery module therein. Patent Literature 1 listed below discloses a storage battery system in which a plurality of battery modules stacked in a plurality of stages are housed in a battery case. A box-shaped battery module including a stack of secondary battery cells is also known, as disclosed in Patent Document 2 below.

JP-A-2000-243369 Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-537311

The inventors have repeatedly studied the application of box-shaped battery modules stacked in multiple tiers to the conventional storage battery system described above, and as a result, sufficient strength against the load from the stacking direction of the battery modules has been found. We have newly found a technology that can ensure

An object of one aspect of the present invention is to provide a storage battery system with improved load resistance.

A storage battery system according to one aspect of the present invention defines a plurality of stacked battery modules, a controller that controls charging or discharging of the plurality of battery modules, and an accommodation space that accommodates the plurality of battery modules and the controller. and a pillar extending in the stacking direction of the plurality of battery modules in the storage space of the battery case and holding the plurality of battery modules.

In the above storage battery system, the pillars extending in the stacking direction of the plurality of battery modules hold the plurality of battery modules and increase the strength against the load from the stacking direction. Therefore, in the above storage battery system, a high withstand load in the stacking direction of the battery modules can be achieved.

In a storage battery system according to another aspect, a pair of pillars are provided, the pillars are arranged apart from each other, and a plurality of battery modules are held between the pair of pillars.

In the storage battery system according to another aspect, the pillar holds the controller.

In the storage battery system according to another aspect, the column has a U-shaped cross section.

In the storage battery system according to another aspect, the battery case has an upper lid portion that closes the upper opening of the tubular portion and a lower lid portion that closes the lower opening of the tubular portion, and the column portion is the upper lid portion of the battery case. and the lower lid portion and attached to the upper and lower lid portions.

In the storage battery system according to another aspect, the pillar portion is composed of a plurality of members extending in the same direction.

Various aspects of the present invention provide a storage battery system with improved load resistance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a perspective view which shows the storage battery system which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the battery case shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing how the top plate shown in FIG. 2 is attached to a cylindrical body; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a storage battery unit of the storage battery system shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is a side view showing a storage battery unit of the storage battery system shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the column shown in FIGS. 4 and 5; FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the pillar shown in FIG. 6 taken along the line VII-VII; It is a perspective view which shows the support plate and bottom plate which were attached to the column part. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a pillar in a different form; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a top plate in a form different from that in FIG. 3;

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated, referring an accompanying drawing. In the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for the same or equivalent elements, and overlapping descriptions are omitted.

A storage battery system 1 according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

The storage battery system 1 includes a battery case 10 and a storage battery unit 20 housed inside the battery case 10 . When used, the storage battery system 1 is attached to an external device 2 such as a power conditioner, and transmits and receives electric power and signals to and from the external device 2 . Wiring passing through the inside of the wiring tube 3 is used for transmission and reception of electric power and signals between the storage battery system 1 and the external device 2 . In this embodiment, one end 3 a of the wiring tube 3 is attached to the storage battery system 1 , and the other end 3 b is attached to the external device 2 . The wiring pipe 3 can be made of, for example, a flexible resin, and can employ, for example, a flame-retardant or weather-resistant PF pipe.

The battery case 10 defines an accommodation space S1 that accommodates the storage battery unit 20, and as shown in FIG. (lower lid portion). The cylindrical body 12, the top plate 18 and the bottom plate 19 can all be made of metal material.

The tubular body 12 has a tubular shape extending in the vertical direction, and has a rectangular tubular shape in this embodiment. The cylindrical body 12 is made of a metal plate, and is made of a steel plate (more specifically, a pre-coated steel plate) in this embodiment. The tubular body 12 according to the present embodiment is provided by bending a sheet of steel plate into a square tubular shape, matching the ends of the steel plate, folding the folded steel plate, and providing fold lines 13 in the vertical direction. The cylindrical body 12 has a rectangular annular shape when viewed from above and has a rectangular annular cross-sectional shape. The cylindrical body 12 has a front plate portion 12a and a rear plate portion 12b corresponding to the long sides of the rectangle, and a pair of side plate portions 12c and 12d corresponding to the short sides of the rectangle. The crease 13 is provided on the back plate portion 12b.

The cylindrical body 12 made of a steel plate can protect the storage battery unit 20 from ultraviolet rays and humidity outside the case, and has sufficient weather resistance. In particular, since the cylindrical body 12 has only one crease 13 as a joint, high waterproofness can be obtained. Further, by using a pre-coated steel plate as the material of the cylindrical body 12, a significant cost reduction is achieved. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the cylindrical body 12 is not provided with a reinforcing material, it can be easily formed, weight reduction is achieved, and manufacturing costs and material costs can be reduced. It is

The side plate portion 12c of the cylindrical body 12 is provided with a perfectly circular wire inlet 14 near the upper end portion. A wire entry portion 15 that defines a wire entry space S2 is attached to the side plate portion 12c of the tubular body 12 . The wire entry portion 15 is attached to a portion of the side plate portion 12c where the wire entry port 14 is provided and has a side opening 16a. The box portion 16 closes the side opening 16a and guides the wiring pipe 3. and a guide portion 17 . The box portion 16 has a communication port 16b that communicates with the wire inlet 14 of the side plate portion 12c of the tubular body 12, and a wire inlet 16c that is provided at the bottom. One end 3a of the wiring tube 3 is attached to the wire inlet port 16c of the box part 16 from below the box part 16, and the wiring passing through the inside of the wiring tube 3 is pulled into the wire inlet space S2 of the wire inlet part 15 once. The wire entry space S2 is kept airtight and watertight with respect to the outside. The body 12 is drawn into the accommodation space S1. The guide portion 17 covers the side plate portion 12c of the tubular body 12 with the box portion 16 interposed therebetween. The guide portion 17 extends in the vertical direction of the cylindrical body 12 and has a U-shaped cross section. The guide portion 17 is designed such that its upper end position is the same as the upper end position of the tubular body 12 and its lower end position is above the lower end position of the tubular body 12 . A lower end portion 17a of the guide portion 17 is slanted so that the rear side is higher than the front side, and is designed to easily guide the wiring tube 3 attached to the box portion 16 to the rear side.

The top plate 18 is a plate-like member that closes the upper opening of the cylindrical body 12, and defines the upper side of the accommodation space S1. In this embodiment, the top plate 18 also closes the upper opening of the guide portion 17 of the wire entry portion 15 . The top plate 18 can be attached to the upper end portion 12e of the cylindrical body 12 so as to fit therewith. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the edge of the top plate 18 is provided with a groove 18a along the entire circumference into which the upper end portion 12e is inserted. The top plate 18 covers the tubular body 12 so that the upper end 12e of the tubular body 12 enters the groove 18a. As a result, high waterproofness is achieved at the joint between the top plate 18 and the tubular body 12 . In addition, since it is not necessary to provide a flange on the upper end portion 12e of the cylindrical body 12, the situation in which the flange contacts the storage battery unit 20 does not occur, and the storage battery unit 20 can be designed more freely (for example, the size of the storage battery unit 20 can be increased). is raised. In this embodiment, a sealing material 18b is arranged in the groove 18a to enhance sealing. The sealing material 18b has some degree of elasticity and can function as a cushioning material. In this embodiment, the top plate 18 can be manufactured using a die casting method to form the grooves 18a shown in FIG. The top plate 18 can also be made of a resin material other than a metal material.

The bottom plate 19 is a plate-like member that closes the lower opening of the cylindrical body 12 and defines the lower side of the housing space S1. The bottom plate 19 can be attached to the tubular body 12 by screwing. The top plate 18 and the bottom plate 19 protect the storage battery unit 20 accommodated in the battery case 10 from rainwater, dust, and the like. When attaching the top plate 18 and the bottom plate 19 to the cylindrical body 12, a sealing member such as packing can be appropriately used in order to improve the airtightness of the battery case 10. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the storage battery unit 20 is accommodated in the accommodation space S1 defined by the battery case 10 . The storage battery unit 20 includes a plurality of battery modules 30 and a controller 40 . The plurality of battery modules 30 are stacked in multiple stages. In this embodiment, 30 battery modules 30 are stacked in 30 stages.

The 30 battery modules 30 have substantially the same shape and dimensions. Each battery module 30 has a substantially box-like outer shape, specifically a rectangular plate-like outer shape. That is, each battery module 30 has a long side and a short side, and its thickness is shorter than the length of the short side. Each battery module 30 is installed such that its long side direction is parallel to the long side direction of the cylindrical body 12 of the battery case 10 .

A control unit 40 that controls charging and discharging (or either charging or discharging) of each battery module 30 is arranged in the accommodation space S1 above the 30 battery modules 30 . The control unit 40 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape. More specifically, the control unit 40 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the top and bottom direction, and is installed so that its long side direction is parallel to the long side direction of the cylindrical body 12 of the battery case 10 . The dimension of the rectangle when the controller 40 is viewed from above and below is designed to be slightly shorter than the dimension of the rectangle when the battery module 30 is seen from above and below. In the present embodiment, the control unit 40 is positioned at the upper end of the housing space S<b>1 , making it easy to connect the wiring drawn from the wire entrance 14 to the control unit 40 . The controller 40 is electrically connected to each of the 30 battery modules 30 via wiring (not shown).

The storage battery unit 20 includes a pair of pillars 50 extending vertically (that is, in the stacking direction of the battery modules 30). The pair of pillars 50 face each other in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical body 12 of the battery case 10 . Of the pair of pillars 50, one pillar 50A extends parallel to the side plate 12c of the cylindrical body 12 and is separated from the side plate 12c by a predetermined distance. Of the pair of pillars 50, the other pillar 50B extends parallel to the side plate 12d of the tubular body 12 and is separated from the side plate 12d by a predetermined distance.

Each of the pair of pillars 50 is made of a single metal plate (for example, a steel plate with a thickness of 1 mm), and is formed by bending. Each column 50 includes a vertically extending rectangular main body 50a, a pair of lateral walls 50b and 50c provided on the lateral edges of the main body 50a, and an upper wall provided on the upper edge of the main body 50a. It has a portion 50d and a lower wall portion 50e provided at the lower edge of the main body portion 50a. As shown in FIG. 7, the lateral wall portions 50b and 50c of the column portion 50A and the lateral wall portions 50b and 50c of the column portion 50B are provided perpendicular to the main body portion 50a so as to approach each other. Therefore, each column portion 50 has a U-shaped cross section in a cross section orthogonal to the extending direction. Similarly, the upper wall portion 50d and the lower wall portion 50e of the column portion 50A and the upper wall portion 50d and the lower wall portion 50e of the column portion 50B are provided perpendicular to the main body portion 50a so as to approach each other.

An upper wall portion 50 d at the upper end of each column portion 50 abuts on the top plate 18 of the battery case 10 . The upper wall portion 50d of the column portion 50 and the top plate 18 are fastened with bolts or screws (not shown). The bolts or screws increase the torsional strength of the top plate 18 and the column portion 50, thereby improving the strength. A waterproof screw can be used for screw fastening, and a waterproof washer can also be used. Similarly, a lower wall portion 50 e at the lower end of each column portion 50 is in contact with the bottom plate 19 of the battery case 10 . The lower wall portion 50e of the column portion 50 and the bottom plate 19 are fastened with bolts or screws (not shown). That is, each column 50 extends between the top plate 18 and the bottom plate 19 of the battery case 10 and is fixed to the top plate 18 and the bottom plate 19 .

A plate member 52 can be attached to the lateral wall portions 50b and 50c of the column portion 50A as necessary. The plate material 52 is, for example, an aluminum plate with a thickness of 1.5 mm. The plate member 52 is fastened to the lateral wall portions 50b and 50c with screws, for example. A plate member 52 is provided on both the front side and the rear side of the tubular body 12, and the battery module 30 is wrapped with the plate member 52 and the column portion 50 to form a fireproof enclosure.

As shown in FIG. 6, a pair of pillars 50 spaced apart in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical body 12 of the battery case 10 hold a plurality of battery modules 30 therebetween. Each battery module 30 faces the main body portion 50a of the column portion 50 at the end corresponding to the short side, and the end is sandwiched between the lateral wall portions 50b and 50c. The pair of pillars 50 also hold the control unit 40 therebetween. As shown in FIG. 8 , a support plate 60 that supports the controller 40 is bridged between the pair of pillars 50 , and the controller 40 is mounted on the support plate 60 . The body portion 50a of the column portion 50 above the position over which the support plate 60 is bridged is provided with an opening 51 for passing the wiring extending from the incoming line portion 15 to the control portion 40. As shown in FIG.

In the storage battery system 1 , the pillars 50 extending in the stacking direction of the plurality of battery modules 30 hold the plurality of battery modules 30 and have increased strength against the load from the stacking direction. In particular, the mechanical strength is improved by making the cross-sectional shape of the column portion 50 U-shaped. Therefore, in the storage battery system 1, a high withstand load in the stacking direction can be achieved.

In particular, in the case of the cylindrical body 12 made of a steel plate, such as the battery case 10 according to the present embodiment, if the plate thickness is increased in order to increase the strength, the merits in terms of lightness, ease of manufacture, and cost decrease. put away. However, by applying the above-described pillars 50, it is possible to increase the withstand load in the stacking direction while keeping the plate thickness of the cylindrical body 12 thin.

In addition, the number of the pillars 50 may be one or a pair. When the column portions 50 are a pair, the battery module 30 can be held securely by sandwiching it from both sides.

Further, each column portion 50 may be a single member extending between the top plate 18 and the bottom plate 19 of the battery case 10, or may be a plurality of members extending in the same direction and joined together. good too. When each column portion 50 is composed of a plurality of members, the members forming the column portion are joined and extended from the bottom plate 19 to the top plate 18 . FIG. 9 shows pillars 50A and 50B that are composed of two members. Each of the pillars 50A and 50B is composed of a pillar 53 that holds the battery module 30 therebetween, and a pillar 54 across which the support plate 60 is bridged. The column portion 54 is joined to the upper side of the column portion 53 and indirectly supports the control section 40 mounted on the support plate 60 . Both the pillars 53 and 54 have the U-shaped cross section shown in FIG. 7 in a cross section perpendicular to the extending direction. If the battery module 30 has a portion that functions as the column portion 53 , that portion of the battery module 30 may be used as the column portion 53 . In this case, each column portion 50A, 50B can be understood as a structure in which the column portion 54 is joined to the upper side of the portion of the battery module 30 that functions as the column portion 53 .

The top plate 18 according to the embodiment described above can also be formed of a steel plate. In this case, the groove 18a provided on the edge of the top plate 18 can be shaped as shown in FIG. That is, the edge of the hanging top plate 18 can be folded inward to form the groove 18a. Also in this case, the top plate 18 is placed over the tubular body 12 so that the upper end portion 12e of the tubular body 12 enters the groove 18a. Thereby, high waterproofness can be achieved at the joint between the top plate 18 and the cylindrical body 12 .

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the number of battery modules (that is, the number of stages) included in the storage battery unit can be increased or decreased as appropriate.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Storage battery system 10... Battery case 12... Cylindrical body 18... Top plate 18a... Groove 19... Bottom plate 20... Storage battery unit 30... Battery module 40... Control part 50, 50A, 50B, 53, 54... Pillars.

Claims (6)

a plurality of stacked battery modules;
a control unit that controls charging or discharging of the plurality of battery modules;
a battery case having a cylindrical portion defining a housing space for housing the plurality of battery modules and the control unit;
A storage battery system, comprising: a pillar extending in a stacking direction of the plurality of battery modules and holding the plurality of battery modules in the housing space of the battery case. A pair of the pillars,
2. The storage battery system according to claim 1, wherein said pair of pillars are arranged to be separated from each other, and said plurality of battery modules are held between said pair of pillars. The storage battery system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said pillar holds said controller. The storage battery system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the columnar section has a U-shaped cross section. The battery case has an upper lid portion that closes an upper opening of the tubular portion and a lower lid portion that closes a lower opening of the tubular portion,
The column according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the column extends between the upper lid and the lower lid of the battery case and is attached to the upper lid and the lower lid. The storage battery system described. The storage battery system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein said column portion is composed of a plurality of members extending in the same direction.

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