JP5312239B2 - Temperature sensor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a temperature sensor suitable for use in, for example, temperature detection of a cell of an in-vehicle battery.

  Usually, a battery mounted on a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle has a plurality of battery cells connected in series to obtain a predetermined output voltage. In order to prevent overcharge and overdischarge of these battery cells, it has been proposed to attach a temperature sensor to the battery cell and monitor the temperature of the battery cell.

5 and 6 show a conventional temperature sensor used for monitoring the temperature of a battery cell and its mounting structure.
The temperature sensor 1 and its mounting structure shown in FIG. 5 are disclosed in Patent Document 1 below, and the temperature sensor 2 and its mounting structure shown in FIG. 6 are disclosed in Patent Document 2 below.

  Each of the temperature sensors 1 and 2 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 includes a sensor main body 5 in which the periphery of the thermistor is covered with resin, and a locking arm 6 extending from the outer peripheral portion of the sensor main body 5. Yes.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sensor main body 5 is provided with a flat temperature measuring surface 5 a that abuts on the surface 8 a of the battery cell 8 that is a measurement target portion. Further, a lead wire 9 connected to a thermistor in the main body is drawn out at the rear end of the sensor main body 5, and the lead wire 9 is connected to a temperature measuring device or a temperature measuring circuit board.

  The locking arm 6 is provided to extend to the side of the sensor body 2, and the free end 6 a, which is the tip of the locking arm 6, is provided at a fixed position with respect to the surface 8 a of the battery cell 8. The positioning with respect to the battery cell 8 is achieved.

  In the case of the conventional temperature sensors 1 and 2, the base end 6 c of the locking arm 6 is rigidly (rigidly) coupled to the sensor body 5, and the displacement of the free end 6 a is applied to the intermediate portion of the locking arm 6. A bending portion 6b is provided to assist.

  The sensor latching portion 11 that latches the free end 6a of the latching arm 6 applies a pressing load to the surface 8a side of the battery cell 8 that is the portion to be measured, on the free end 6a, thereby elastically acting on the latching arm 6. Cause deformation. The elastic restoring force of the locking arm 6 ensures a close contact state between the temperature measuring surface 5a and the surface 8a that is the portion to be measured.

JP 2005-189080 A JP 2008-304295 A

  However, in the above-described conventional temperature sensors 1 and 2, since the base end 6 c of the locking arm 6 is rigidly coupled to the sensor main body 5, the locking arm 6 is bent and deformed by pressing by the sensor locking portion 11. Sometimes, stress concentration tends to occur at the base end 6 c of the locking arm 6.

  Therefore, when the position of the sensor locking portion 11 is shifted to the battery cell 8 side due to an assembly error or the like and the pressing force acting on the locking arm 6 from the sensor locking portion 11 increases, the base end 6c of the locking arm 6b is applied. Excessive stress may act to break the proximal end 6c.

  Therefore, when the conventional temperature sensors 1 and 2 are used, a counterpart component (for example, the sensor locking portion 11 or a member to which the sensor locking portion 11 is attached) to which the temperature sensors 1 and 2 are mounted. Therefore, it is necessary to set a small dimensional tolerance for suppressing the positional deviation of the sensor engaging portion 11.

  However, when the dimensional tolerance is set to be small, there is a problem that the productivity is lowered or the cost is increased due to an increase in processing cost in order to obtain a highly accurate dimension.

  In the case of the temperature sensors 1 and 2 as described above, in order to improve the measurement accuracy and responsiveness, the adhesion between the temperature measuring surface 5a and the measured portion is increased, and the measured portion is moved to the measured temperature surface. It is effective to increase the heat conduction efficiency.

  However, in the above temperature sensors 1 and 2, stress concentration tends to occur at the base end 6 c of the locking arm 6, so that the pressing load acting on the locking arm 6 from the sensor locking portion 11 cannot be increased. Therefore, it was not possible to improve the adhesion between the temperature measuring surface 5a and the portion to be measured by strengthening the pressing load on the locking arm 6.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and by increasing the pressing load acting on the locking arm, the adhesion between the measured portion and the temperature measuring surface of the sensor body is improved, and the measurement accuracy is improved. An object of the present invention is to provide a temperature sensor that can be improved and that can reduce the dimensional tolerance of the mating shape to which the temperature sensor is attached, thereby improving productivity and reducing costs.

The above-described object of the present invention is achieved by the following configuration.
(1) A sensor main body having a temperature measuring surface in contact with the measured portion at the tip, a flexible member extending from both side surfaces of the sensor main body so as to be elastically displaceable, and from the middle of the flexible member An elastically deformable locking arm that extends and is attached to the measured portion in a form in which a free end of the locking arm receives a pressing load to the measured portion side, and the locking arm A temperature sensor that secures a close contact state between the temperature measuring surface and the portion to be measured by an elastic restoring force of
Each of the flexible members has a linear arm shape extending rearward from the outer peripheral portion of the sensor body, and a free end side thereof serves as a grip portion for gripping the temperature sensor when the temperature sensor is attached to the measurement target portion. a temperature sensor, characterized in that are.

(2) The locking arm includes a first bent portion serving as a branch portion from the flexible member as a bent portion that bends and deforms according to a load acting on a free end of the arm, and the first bent portion. (1) , characterized in that a second bent portion adjacent to the bent portion is provided, and the first bent portion and the second bent portion form a smooth wavy bent shape. temperature sensor according to.

  According to the configuration of (1) above, when a pressing load is applied to the free end of the locking arm that is mounted on the measured part, the locking arm is elastically deformed, and the sensor is caused by the elastic restoring force accompanying the elastic deformation. The temperature measuring surface of the main body is in close contact with the part to be measured, so that the temperature of the part to be measured can be measured.

  In addition, stress is generated in the locking arm due to the pressing load acting on the free end of the locking arm, but the base end of the locking arm is placed on a flexible member that is elastically displaced on the sensor body. For this reason, the stress propagated to the proximal end side of the locking arm causes the flexible member to be elastically displaced and is distributed to the flexible member side.

  Therefore, compared with the case of the conventional temperature sensor in which the base end of the locking arm is rigidly fixed to the sensor body, it is possible to prevent stress concentration from occurring at the base end of the locking arm that receives the pressing load. The load bearing performance of the stop arm can be improved. Therefore, it is possible to improve the measurement accuracy by improving the adhesion between the measured part and the temperature measuring surface of the sensor main body by increasing the pressing load acting on the locking arm when it is attached to the measured part. Can do.

  In addition, since the base end of the locking arm can be displaced by elastic deformation of the flexible member, the locking arm is free as compared with a conventional temperature sensor in which the base end of the locking arm is rigidly fixed to the sensor body. The movable range at the end is expanded.

  Therefore, even if the displacement of the free end of the locking arm increases due to an assembly error or the like, the locking arm can be prevented from being damaged by the increased displacement.

  In other words, by restricting the dimensional tolerance of the mating shape to which the temperature sensor is to be mounted, it is not necessary to reduce variations such as assembly errors, and the dimensional tolerance of the mating shape to which the temperature sensor is to be mounted can be relaxed. The productivity can be improved and the cost can be reduced by easing the machining accuracy of the components that make up.

Further , according to the configuration of (1) above, the flexible member to which the base end of the locking arm is coupled is a member that also serves as a gripping part that is gripped when the temperature sensor is attached to the part to be measured. Since a dedicated flexible member is not added only for the mounting of the stop arm, the structure of the temperature sensor can be prevented from becoming complicated.

According to the configuration of (2) above , the first bent portion and the second bent portion provided in the locking arm are deformed when being bent and deformed according to the load acting on the free end of the locking arm. Responsible for the distribution of stresses And since these 1st bending part and 2nd bending part form the smooth waveform bending shape, the substantially uniform bending characteristic is provided to the wide range used as the whole region of a waveform, It is possible to disperse the stress substantially uniformly over a wide range that is the entire range.

  Therefore, stress can be efficiently distributed at the bent portion on the locking arm to prevent the occurrence of stress concentration, so that the load bearing performance of the locking arm is further improved.

  Therefore, it is possible to further increase the pressure load acting on the locking arm when mounted on the measured part side and further improve the adhesion between the measured part and the temperature measuring surface of the sensor body, and further improve the measurement accuracy. Can be achieved.

  In addition, since the first bent portion and the second bent portion provided in the locking arm form a smooth wavy bent shape, a substantially uniform bending characteristic over a wide range of the wavy range. Therefore, the stress burden due to bending can be distributed over a wide range on the locking arm, and the movable range of the free end of the locking arm can be expanded. The effect of expanding the movable range due to the smooth wavy bent shape is synergistic with the effect of expanding the movable range by providing the locking arm on the flexible member, and provides a larger movable range at the free end of the locking arm. Make it possible to secure.

  Therefore, it is not necessary to reduce the variation in assembly error and the like by limiting the dimensional tolerance of the counterpart shape to which the temperature sensor is mounted, and it becomes possible to further relax the dimensional tolerance of the counterpart shape to which the temperature sensor is attached. It becomes possible to further promote the relaxation of the processing accuracy of the parts constituting the counterpart shape, and further promote the improvement of productivity and the reduction of cost.

  According to the temperature sensor of the present invention, the stress propagated to the proximal end side of the locking arm is dispersed on the flexible member side by elastically displacing the flexible member. It is possible to prevent stress concentration from occurring at the end and improve the load bearing performance of the locking arm. Therefore, it is possible to improve the measurement accuracy by improving the adhesion between the measured part and the temperature measuring surface of the sensor body by increasing the pressing load acting on the locking arm when mounted on the measured part side. .

  Further, since the base end of the locking arm can be displaced by elastic deformation of the flexible member, the movable range of the free end of the locking arm is widened. Therefore, even if the displacement of the free end of the locking arm increases due to an assembly error or the like, the locking arm can be prevented from being damaged by the increased displacement. Therefore, by restricting the dimensional tolerance of the mating shape to which the temperature sensor is mounted, it is not necessary to suppress variations such as assembly errors, and the dimensional tolerance of the mating shape to which the temperature sensor is mounted can be relaxed. Productivity can be improved and costs can be reduced by easing the machining accuracy of the components.

It is a perspective view of one embodiment of a temperature sensor concerning the present invention. (A) is the front view of the temperature sensor shown in FIG. 1, (b) is the same side view. It is explanatory drawing of the attachment state of the temperature sensor shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the attachment state at the time of equip | installing the sensor main body with the base end of the latching arm of the temperature sensor of one Embodiment for the comparison. (A) is the side view which carried out the partial cross section of the conventional temperature sensor, (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the attachment structure of the temperature sensor shown to (a). (A) is a perspective view of another conventional temperature sensor, (b) is explanatory drawing of the attachment structure of the temperature sensor shown to (a).

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a temperature sensor according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 show an embodiment of a temperature sensor according to the present invention.
The temperature sensor 21 of this embodiment includes a sensor main body 23 in which the periphery of the thermistor is covered with a resin case, and a locking arm 25 extending from the sensor main body 23 to the side thereof.

  The sensor main body 23 is provided with a flat temperature measuring surface 23a at the tip, which comes into contact with the surface 8a of the battery cell 8 which is a part to be measured. A lead wire 9 connected to a thermistor in the main body 23 is drawn out at the rear end of the sensor main body 23, and the lead wire 9 is connected to a temperature measuring device or a temperature measuring circuit board via a cable 26.

  The locking arm 25 is provided so as to extend on both sides of the sensor main body 23, and a free end 25 a that is a tip portion of the locking arm 25 is provided at a fixed position with respect to the surface 8 a of the battery cell 8. As a result, the battery cell 8 is positioned.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the sensor locking portion 27 is a wall member that presses the free end 25 a of the locking arm 25 toward the battery cell 8, and is integrated with a resin module component 28 that is fixed to the upper surface side of the battery cell 8. Is formed.

  The sensor locking portion 27 is provided so as to narrow the upper end opening of the sensor receiving hole 31 formed in the module component 28.

  The temperature sensor 21 is mounted on the battery in such a manner that the free end of the locking arm 25 receives a pressing load on the surface side of the battery cell 8 by the sensor locking portion 27, and the temperature is measured by the elastic restoring force of the locking arm 25. The contact state between the surface 23a and the surface 8a of the battery cell 8 which is the part to be measured is ensured.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the locking arm 25 is provided on a flexible member 33 that extends to the sensor body 23 so as to be elastically displaceable.

  The flexible member 33 has an arm shape extending rearward from the outer peripheral portion of the sensor main body 23 and is provided on both sides of the sensor main body 23. The flexible member 33 can be elastically displaced in the directions of arrows A and B in FIG. 2A when receiving an external force, and the free end side is gripped when the temperature sensor 21 is attached to the measurement target. It becomes the holding part 34 to be.

In the case of this embodiment, the locking arms 25 on both sides extend from the middle of the flexible member 33.
As shown in FIG. 2A, each locking arm 25 has a first branched portion from the flexible member 33 as a bent portion that bends and deforms in response to a load acting on the free end 25a of the arm. And a second bent portion 37 adjacent to the first bent portion 36.

  In FIG. 2A, the first bent portion 36 has an upward convex smooth curved shape, and the second bent portion 37 has an upward convex smooth curved shape. An inflection point that transitions from the first bent portion 36 to the second bent portion 37 is set between the first bent portion 36 and the second bent portion 37.

  In other words, the first bent portion 36 and the second bent portion 37 form a smooth wavy bent shape such as a sin curve.

  The first bent portion 36 has a smooth curved shape in which the flexible member 33 is a circumscribed tangent.

  Note that a temperature sensor 41 as a comparative example is shown in FIG. 4 in order to make the difference in structure between the above-described embodiment and the conventional temperature sensor remarkable.

  The temperature sensor 41 has a shape close to that of the temperature sensor 21 of the embodiment, and reproduces the conventional structure in which the locking arm 25 is rigidly extended to the sensor body 23. The shape on the battery cell 8 side is as shown in FIG. 3 and common.

  The temperature sensor 21 according to the embodiment described above is mounted on a measured part (the surface 8a of the battery cell 8) as shown in FIG. 3 and is pressed from the sensor locking part 27 to the free end of the locking arm 25. When a load is applied, elastic deformation occurs in the locking arm 25, and the temperature measuring surface 23a of the sensor body 23 is brought into close contact with the surface 8a by the elastic restoring force accompanying the elastic deformation, so that the temperature of the surface 8a can be measured. It becomes a state.

  In addition, stress is generated in the locking arm 25 due to the pressing load applied to the free end of the locking arm 25, but the proximal end of the locking arm 25 is extended to the sensor body 23 so as to be elastically displaceable. Since it is on the flexible member 33, the stress propagated to the proximal end side of the locking arm 25 is elastically displaced by the flexible member 33 and is distributed to the flexible member 33 side.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 4, the base end of the locking arm 25 that receives the pressing load is compared with the case of the conventional temperature sensor 41 in which the base end of the locking arm 25 is rigidly fixed to the sensor body 23. The stress concentration can be prevented from occurring, and the load bearing performance of the locking arm 25 can be improved. Therefore, by increasing the pressing load that acts on the locking arm 25 when it is attached to the measured part, the adhesion between the measured part and the temperature measuring surface 23a of the sensor body 23 is improved, and the measurement accuracy is improved. Can be achieved.

  Further, since the base end of the locking arm 25 can be displaced by the elastic deformation of the flexible member 33, compared with the conventional temperature sensor 21 in which the base end of the locking arm 25 is rigidly fixed to the sensor body 23, The movable range of the free end of the locking arm 25 is expanded.

  Therefore, even if the displacement of the free end of the locking arm 25 increases due to an assembly error or the like, the locking arm 25 can be prevented from being damaged by the increased displacement.

  In other words, by restricting the dimensional tolerance of the mating shape to which the temperature sensor 21 is mounted, it is not necessary to suppress variations such as assembly errors, and the dimensional tolerance of the mating shape to which the temperature sensor 21 is mounted can be relaxed. Productivity can be improved and costs can be reduced by, for example, relaxing processing accuracy of parts constituting the mating shape.

  Further, in the case of the temperature sensor 21 of the above-described embodiment, the flexible member 33 has an arm shape extending rearward from the outer peripheral portion of the sensor main body 23, and the free end side attaches the temperature sensor 21 to the measurement target portion. It becomes the holding part 34 to hold when doing.

  That is, the flexible member 33 to which the base end of the locking arm 25 is coupled is a member that also serves as a grip portion 34 that is gripped when the temperature sensor 21 is mounted on the measured portion. Since the dedicated flexible member 33 is not added only to this, the structure of the temperature sensor 21 can be prevented from becoming complicated.

  Further, in the case of the temperature sensor 21 of the above-described embodiment, the locking arm 25 becomes a branch portion from the flexible member 33 as a bent portion that bends and deforms according to a load acting on the free end 25a of the arm. A first bent portion 36 and a second bent portion 37 adjacent to the first bent portion 36 are provided, and these bent portions 36, 37 act on the free end of the locking arm 25. When bending and deforming according to the load, it is responsible for the dispersion of stress causing deformation. Since the first bent portion 36 and the second bent portion 37 form a smooth wavy bent shape, a substantially uniform bending characteristic is given to a wide range of the wavy range, It becomes possible to disperse the stress substantially uniformly over a wide range that is the entire range of the waveform.

  Therefore, stress can be efficiently dispersed at the bent portion on the locking arm 25 to prevent the occurrence of stress concentration, so that the load bearing performance of the locking arm 25 is further improved.

  Therefore, it is possible to further improve the adhesion between the measured portion and the temperature measuring surface 23a of the sensor main body 23 by further increasing the pressing load acting on the locking arm 25 when mounted on the measured portion side. Further improvement can be achieved.

  Further, since the first bent portion 36 and the second bent portion 37 provided in the locking arm 25 form a smooth wavy bent shape, the wavy range is substantially uniform over a wide range. Therefore, the stress load due to the bending can be distributed over a wide range on the locking arm 25, and the movable range of the free end of the locking arm 25 can be widened. The effect of expanding the movable range due to the smooth wavy bent shape is greater than the effect of expanding the movable range by providing the locking arm 25 on the flexible member 33, and is even greater at the free end of the locking arm 25. It is possible to secure a movable range.

  Therefore, by limiting the dimensional tolerance of the mating shape to which the temperature sensor 21 is mounted, it is not necessary to suppress variations such as assembly errors, and the dimensional tolerance of the mating shape to which the temperature sensor 21 is mounted can be further relaxed. Accordingly, it is possible to further promote the relaxation of the processing accuracy of the parts constituting the counterpart shape, and further promote the improvement of productivity and the reduction of cost.

  As described above, the locking arm 25 can be bent and deformed at the three locations of the flexible member 33, the first bent portion 36, and the second bent portion 37, so that the locking arm 25 is provided at two locations in the conventional example shown in FIG. The degree of freedom in bending is increased as compared with those that bend and deform. For this reason, when mounting on the measured object side, the sensor locking portion 27 can be reliably pressed from below by the free end of the locking arm 25, and as a result, the degree of adhesion with the measured object increases. Furthermore, the tolerance of the pressing amount by the sensor locking portion 27 can be increased, and it is not necessary to process the mounting partner with high accuracy, so that the productivity can be improved and the cost can be reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the applicant of the present application sets the dimension between the surface 8 a of the battery cell 8 to which the temperature sensor 21 of the embodiment is mounted and the sensor engaging portion 27 as X ± β, and a temperature sensor having a conventional structure. The dimension between the surface 8a of the battery cell 8 on which the battery 41 is mounted and the sensor locking portion 27 is set to X ± α, and the temperature sensors 21, 41 are appropriately fixed without imposing an excessive burden on the locking arm 25. The respective tolerances α and β that could be measured were measured.

  Then, in the case of the temperature sensor 41, the allowable tolerance α is 0.6, but in the case of the temperature sensor 21, the allowable tolerance β is 1.6, which can relax the tolerance nearly three times. The usefulness of the configuration could be confirmed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately modified and improved. In addition, the material, shape, dimension, numerical value, form, number, arrangement location, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and are not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

  In the temperature sensor 21 of the above-described embodiment, the corrugated bent shape formed on the locking arm 25 is composed of the minimum two bent portions 36 and 37, and the corrugated length is also suppressed to less than one cycle. Therefore, the locking arm 25 can be reduced in size.

  However, in the temperature sensor according to the present invention, the corrugated bent shape formed on the locking arm is formed into a corrugated shape having three or more bent portions when there is no dimensional limitation, and is further movable. It is also possible to expand the range and improve the stress dispersibility.

  The application of the temperature sensor of the present invention is not limited to the temperature measurement of the battery cell 8 shown in the above embodiment. It can be used for temperature measurement of various devices and members other than batteries.

8 Battery cell 8a Surface (measured part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Temperature sensor 23 Sensor main body 23a Temperature measuring surface 25 Locking arm 25a Free end 27 Sensor locking part 28 Module part 31 Sensor accommodation hole 33 Flexible member 34 Grip part 36 1st bending part 37 2nd bending part

Claims (2)

A sensor body having a temperature measuring surface in contact with the part to be measured at the tip, a flexible member extending from each side surface of the sensor body so as to be elastically displaceable, and extending from the middle of the flexible member An elastically deformable locking arm provided, and the free end of the locking arm is attached to the measured portion in a form to receive a pressing load toward the measured portion, and the locking arm is elastically restored. A temperature sensor that secures a close contact state between the temperature measuring surface and the portion to be measured by force,
Each of the flexible members has a linear arm shape extending rearward from the outer peripheral portion of the sensor body, and a free end side thereof serves as a grip portion for gripping the temperature sensor when the temperature sensor is attached to the measurement target portion. a temperature sensor, characterized in that are. The locking arm includes a first bent portion serving as a branch portion from the flexible member as a bent portion that bends and deforms according to a load acting on a free end of the arm, and a first bent portion. 2. The temperature according to claim 1, further comprising an adjacent second bent portion, wherein the first bent portion and the second bent portion form a smooth wavy bent shape. Sensor.

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