JP5500336B2 - Battery connection assembly - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery connection assembly.

  In battery modules for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, a plurality of unit cells having positive and negative electrode terminals are arranged side by side. A plurality of single cells are connected in series or in parallel by connecting the electrode terminals of the adjacent single cells with a connecting member (bus bar) (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-067184

  By the way, in the said structure, since it is necessary to connect between several electrode terminals with a connection member, the complicated operation | work of repeating the operation | work which connects a connection member between electrode terminals is needed.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to form a battery connection plate in which a plurality of connection members arranged in a mold are integrally molded in a resin by insert molding or the like according to the number of electrode terminals to be connected.

  In this way, by simply attaching one battery connection plate to a plurality of electrode terminals protruding from a plurality of unit cells, the electrode terminals of adjacent unit cells can be connected together at a plurality of locations, and work efficiency can be improved. It becomes possible to improve.

  However, in the case of using a battery connection plate in which a plurality of connection members are integrally formed, when the number of single cells increases, a mold for forming the battery connection plate becomes large, and the cost for that increases. In addition, when changing the number of cells, it is necessary to newly prepare another mold having a length corresponding to the number of cells and to form a battery connection plate having a different length. The cost of forming the film will increase. Therefore, reducing the manufacturing cost has been a problem.

  The present invention has been completed based on the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a battery connection assembly that can simplify the mounting work of a plurality of connection members while reducing the manufacturing cost.

A battery connection assembly according to the present invention is a battery connection assembly for connecting the single battery groups in a battery module having a single battery group in which a plurality of single cells having positive and negative electrode terminals are arranged. A plurality of connection units each having a connection member that connects between the electrode terminals of the unit cells, wherein each of the connection units includes an engaging portion and an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion in an adjacent connecting unit; The plurality of connection units are connected by the engaging portion and the engaged portion, and the connection unit has a continuous wire receiving groove connected to each other when the connection unit is connected. The unit groove part which comprises is provided, The voltage detection wire connected to the said connection member is accommodated in the said electric wire accommodation groove, It has the characteristics (means 1).
According to the configuration of the means 1, since the battery connection assembly may be attached to the unit cell group when connecting the electrode terminals at a plurality of locations, the attachment work when connecting the electrode terminals can be simplified. . In addition, the voltage detection line can be easily routed.

  The battery connection assembly is connected between the electrode terminals by a plurality of connection units. Therefore, when the number of connected single cells changes, the number of connection units to be connected may be changed. That is, if one mold for preparing one connection unit is prepared, a plurality of connection units can be manufactured. Therefore, as in the case of manufacturing an integrated battery connection plate, the number of connected single cells is increased and the mold is increased in size, or the battery connection plate is formed each time according to the number of connected single cells. This eliminates the need for a separate mold or the like. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

In addition to the configuration of the means 1, the engaging portion is a hole edge portion of a locking hole provided on one end side in the arrangement direction of the connection units, and the engaged portion penetrates the locking hole. It may be a locking piece locked to the hole edge (means 2).
According to the configuration of the means 2, the engaged portion can be engaged with the engaging portion with a simple configuration.

In addition to the configuration of the means 2, the locking hole is formed to penetrate in the direction along the protruding direction of the electrode terminal, and the locking piece penetrates the locking hole from above in the protruding direction. (Means 3).
According to the configuration of the means 3, the locking piece can be passed through the locking hole from the same direction as the direction of passing the connecting member through the electrode terminal.
Therefore, not only the battery connection assembly in which the connection units corresponding to the number of connected single cells are connected in advance is attached to the single battery group, but, for example, the connection units are sequentially attached to the single battery group one by one. The number of connection units corresponding to the number of battery connections can be attached, or a plurality of connection units can be attached to the unit cell group, and additional connection units can be added one by one according to the added unit cell. It becomes possible.

In addition to the configuration of the means 2 or 3 , the locking piece may be a bending piece that can be bent and deformed (means 4).
According to the structure of the means 4, when a dimensional error with a cell group arises about a battery connection assembly, an error can be absorbed because a bending piece bends.

In addition to the configuration of any one of the means 1 to 4, the unit groove portion is formed with a pair of side walls opposed to each other, and one side wall has the engagement member at one end in the arrangement direction of the unit cells. An engaging portion is provided, the engaging portion is provided at the other end in the arrangement direction, and a holding portion that holds the connecting member via a flexible connecting portion on an outer surface of the one side wall. It may be arranged continuously (means 5 ).
According to the structure of the means 5 , even if the unit groove part side is connected by the engaging part and the engaged part, the holding part side can be bent by the flexible connecting part. Can be easily installed.

In addition to the configuration of the means 5, the flexible connecting portion may be formed with a wire passage recess, and a voltage detection line may be arranged in the wire passage recess (means 6 ).
According to the configuration of the means 6 , the voltage detection line can be protected by arranging the voltage detection line in the wire passage recess.

In addition to the configuration of the means 5 or 6, the one side wall may be provided with a cover that covers the unit groove portion so as to be openable and closable on the other side wall (means 7 ). .
According to the configuration of the means 7, the voltage detection line can be protected by the cover. Further, since the cover may be opened when the voltage detection line is routed, the voltage detection line can be easily routed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the battery connection assembly which can simplify the attachment operation | work of a several connection member can be provided, reducing manufacturing cost.

A top view showing a battery module in which a battery connection assembly is attached to a cell group. Perspective view showing connecting member Perspective view showing the base of the connection unit Top view of FIG. Sectional view showing flexible connection Rear view of FIG. Side view of FIG. The figure which represents the state which connected the base Rear view of FIG. Illustration of connecting member and voltage detection line attached Figure with closed cover Illustration of attaching the battery connection assembly to a single cell group

<Embodiment 1>
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, the battery module M of the present embodiment is a battery that connects a plurality (10 pieces) of single cells 10 (single cell group) arranged side by side and a plurality of single cells 10 (single cell group). And a connection assembly 20, which is used as a drive source of, for example, an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. In the following, the left and right direction (width direction) will be described with reference to FIG. 1, with the upper side of FIG. 1 being the front and the lower side being the rear.

The unit cell 10 includes a main body 11 in which a power generation element (not shown) is accommodated, and bolt-shaped electrode terminals 12A and 12B (shown as a positive electrode 12A and a negative electrode 12B) protruding vertically from an end surface of the main body 11. Have.
The electrode terminals 12A and 12B are provided at the upper and lower ends (the front side and the rear side in FIG. 1) of the main body 11 (only the upper end side is shown in FIG. 1), and the polarities at the upper and lower ends are reversed. It has become.

  Further, the polarities (positive and negative) of the single cells 10 are arranged so that the adjacent single cells 10 are opposite to each other, so that the electrode terminals 12A and 12B having different polarities are adjacent to each other. It is configured. The plurality of single cells 10 are fixed by a holding plate (not shown).

The battery connection assembly 20 includes a plurality (five) of connection units 20A.
Each connection unit 20A has the same shape, and is connected to a connection member 21 that electrically connects the electrode terminals 12A and 12B adjacent to each other, a voltage detection line 39 for measuring the voltage of the unit cell 10, and a connection. And a base 24 that accommodates the member 21 and the voltage detection line 39.

The connection member 21 is made of a metal such as copper, copper alloy, stainless steel (SUS), etc., and, as shown in FIG. Are integrally formed (molded).
The conductive connection portion 22 is formed with a pair of terminal insertion holes 22A and 22B through which the electrode terminals 12A and 12B are inserted.

  The pair of sandwiching pieces 23, 23 are provided on one end side (flexible coupling portion 40 side) in the width direction of the front end portion (front edge portion) of the conductive connection portion 22, and both are located above the base end portion. It has a shape curved in an arc shape toward the side. When the core wire of the voltage detection line 39 is passed between the pair of sandwiching pieces 23, 23, the core wire of the voltage detection line 39 is sandwiched between the pair of sandwiching pieces 23, 23 and welded by a laser welding machine or the like. The

  As shown in FIG. 3, the base portion 24 is made of synthetic resin, and is connected to the connection member holding portion 25 (corresponding to the “holding portion” of the present invention) in which the connection member 21 is accommodated, and the connection member holding portion 25. Unit groove portion 30A provided, and flexible connecting portion 40 for connecting (connecting) connecting member holding portion 25 and unit groove portion 30A to two adjacent (predetermined number) unit cells 10. One base 24 is placed on the upper surfaces of the two unit cells 10.

  The connecting member holding portion 25 is a rectangular region surrounded by a wall portion 26 that is large enough to receive the connecting member 21, and its width direction dimension is the width direction of a predetermined number (two) of unit cells 10. Slightly smaller than The connection member 21 is held by accommodating the connection member 21 in the connection member holding portion 25.

At the bottom of the connection member holding portion 25, an opening through which the electrode terminals 12A and 12B are inserted is formed in substantially the entire bottom, and a support for connecting the front and rear wall portions 26 to the intermediate portion in the width direction of the bottom. A portion 27 is formed.
The support portion 27 supports the connection member 21 disposed thereon, and is formed with a certain width dimension.

Of the front and rear wall portions 26, a pair of locking projections 28, 28 protruding inward are formed above the support portion 27 (intermediate portion in the width direction on the inner surface side of the wall portion 26). . The locking projection 28 has a tapered surface whose lower side increases in an inclined manner. Of the pair of front and rear locking projections 28, 28, the rear locking projection 28 is formed at the tip (lower end) of the bending piece 29 formed between the pair of left and right slits 29A, 29A. Yes. When the connecting member 21 is accommodated, the connecting member 21 that is in contact with the tapered surfaces of the locking projections 28 and 28 bends and deforms the bending piece 29 outward, and the connecting member 21 is the bottom surface (the support portion 27). , The bending piece 29 is elastically restored, and the connecting member 21 is locked in a state of being sandwiched between the bottom surface and the locking projections 28 and 28.
Of the rear wall portion 26, a portion connected to the flexible connecting portion 40 has an electric wire passing portion 26 </ b> A formed by dividing the wall portion 26.

  The flexible connecting portion 40 is formed with a U-shaped wire passage recess 41 through which the voltage detection line 39 is passed. The wire passage recess 41 has the same width dimension as the wire passage portion 26A, and includes a flat bottom portion 41A and a pair of side walls 41B and 41B, as shown in FIG. In the intermediate portion, a pair of wire receiving convex portions 42 and 42 are formed, both projecting inward. The electric wire accommodating convex portions 42 and 42 have a tapered surface in which a gap formed therebetween becomes narrower in an inclined manner toward the lower side. By passing the voltage detection line 39 through the gap between the pair of electric wire receiving projections 42, 42, the voltage detection line 39 is accommodated in the electric wire passage recess 41 so as not to protrude outside.

As shown in FIG. 3, the unit groove portion 30A is defined by a bottom plate 30B and a pair of side walls 31A and 31B that are erected from both side edges of the bottom plate 30B and arranged to face each other. It is the same length as the member holding part 25 (slightly smaller than the width of the predetermined number (two) of unit cells).
As a result, when the connection unit 20A is connected to the left and right, the unit groove portions 30A of the adjacent connection units 20A are connected to each other to form the wire receiving groove 30 (see FIG. 10), and the battery is stored in the wire receiving groove 30. A voltage detection line 39 extending to the ECU or the like can be accommodated.

As shown in FIG. 3, among the pair of side walls 31A and 31B, the side wall 31A on the front side (the flexible connecting portion 40 side), and the portion where the flexible connecting portion 40 is continuous is connected to the wire passage recess 41. And a unit groove portion 30A are formed.
The electric wire passage groove portion 38 is formed so as to divide the side wall 31 </ b> A to the left and right, and a gap having a dimension capable of passing the voltage detection line 39 is formed to reach the bottom surface.

  A cover 32 that covers the entire unit groove 30A is attached to the side wall 31B on the rear side (the side opposite to the flexible connecting portion 40 side). The cover 32 has a rectangular shape and is connected to the side wall 31B via a thin flexible portion 33. The flexible portion 33 is bent and deformed so that the cover 32 can be rotated.

A cover locking claw 34 protrudes from the tip of the cover 32, while the front side wall 31 </ b> A has a cover locking hole 35 in which the cover locking claw 34 is locked.
The cover latching claw 34 is tapered, and the outer surface thereof is an inclined surface whose thickness becomes thinner toward the tip side.

  The cover locking hole 35 has a through-hole penetrating vertically, and the opening of the through-hole has an inclined surface that comes into contact with the inclined surface of the cover locking claw 34. When the cover locking claw 34 is inserted until it passes through the through hole, the cover locking claw 34 is locked to the edge of the hole and the cover 32 is locked.

  One end portion (right end portion) of the side wall 31A on the front side (flexible connecting portion 40 side) is formed with an engaging portion 50 having a locking hole 52, while the other end portion of the side wall 31A. At the (left end portion), an engaged portion 53 that engages with the engaging portion 50 in the adjacent connection unit 20A (the base portion 24) is formed.

The engaging portion 50 has a rectangular frame portion 51 projecting from the front surface at the right end portion of the side wall 31 </ b> A, whereby a rectangular locking hole 52 penetrates in the vertical direction. A taper is formed at the upper end of the.
The engaged portion 53 is a U-shaped locking piece 53 formed on the front surface at the left end portion of the side wall 31A.
The locking piece 53 has a base end part integrally formed with the side wall 31A, and protrudes upward (in the direction along the protruding direction of the electrode terminal) from the base end part to the U-shape. The front end portion of the front end portion is a locking claw portion 54 having a tapered outer surface (left surface) formed in a tapered shape.

This locking piece 53 is a bending piece formed with a thickness that can be bent and deformed to the left and right (in the direction in which the connection units 20A are arranged), and the width dimension and thickness thereof can maintain a connected state when the connection unit 20A is connected. It is set so that a certain degree of strength can be obtained.
When the locking piece 53 is inserted into the locking hole 52 from above, the engaging portion 50 that is in contact with the locking claw portion 54 is bent and deformed to expand, and the locking claw portion 54 opens the locking hole 52. When penetrating, the engaging portion 50 is restored, and the locking claw portion 54 is locked to the hole edge portion of the locking hole 52.

As shown in FIG. 10, the voltage detection line 39 is a covered electric wire in which a core wire (conductor) is covered with an insulating layer, and the insulating layer is peeled off at the terminal (connection portion with the connecting member 21) to form the core wire. Is exposed.
The voltage detection line 39 welded to each connection member 21 passes through the wire passage recess 41 of the flexible connection portion 40, and is then collected in the wire passage groove portion 38 and connected to a battery ECU (not shown). This battery ECU is equipped with a microcomputer, elements, etc., and has a function for detecting voltage, current, temperature, etc. of the unit cell 10 and controlling charging / discharging of each unit cell 10. Of the configuration.
Since the battery module M is formed by connecting the cells 10 in series, although not shown, the battery connection assembly is connected to the lower surface side of the battery module M so as to connect adjacent electrode terminals of different polarities. It is attached.

Next, a method for assembling and attaching the battery connection assembly 20 will be described.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a case where ten unit cells 10 are connected in series will be described.
Since five connecting units 20A are attached to one surface of the ten unit cells 10, five connecting members 21 and five bases 24 constituting the five connecting units 20A are prepared. .

  And the operation | work which inserts and connects the locking piece 53 (engaged part 53) in the other base 24 to the locking hole 52 of the engaging part 50 in the base 24 is performed about all the bases 24 in order. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 8, the five bases 24 are connected via the engaging part 50 and the engaged part 53.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 10, the connection members 21 are accommodated in the connection member holding portions 25 for all the base portions 24, and the terminal portions of the five voltage detection wires 39 are removed, and the tip ends of the core wires are respectively removed. It exposes and the front-end | tip part of five exposed core wires is clamped between a pair of clamping pieces 23 and 23, respectively, and is welded.

Each voltage detection line 39 is passed through the wire passage recess 41 of the corresponding flexible connection portion 40 and the wire passage groove portion 38 of the side wall 31A, and at the battery ECU side (left side where the flexible connection portion 40 is provided). The wires 32 are sequentially passed through the electric wire receiving grooves 30 (unit groove portions 30A) toward the left side according to the close position, and each cover 32 is closed (FIG. 11).
Thereby, the battery connection assembly 20 is completed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12, all the terminal insertion holes 22A, 22B of the battery connection assembly 20 are integrated with all the electrode terminals 12A, 12B of the plurality of unit cells 10 (unit cell group) arranged side by side. To be inserted.
Next, the nuts are screwed into the electrode terminals 12A and 12B protruding from the terminal insertion holes 22A and 22B and tightened, and when all are tightened, as shown in FIG. 1, the battery module to which the battery connection assembly 20 is attached is attached. M is completed.

According to the structure of the said embodiment, there exist the following effects.
(1) When connecting a plurality of electrode terminals 12A and 12B with connecting members, if the battery connection assembly 20 is attached to 10 unit cells 10 (unit cell group) arranged side by side, all the electrode terminals 12A , 12B are connected by the connecting member 21, so that the mounting work when connecting the electrode terminals 12A, 12B can be simplified.
The battery connection assembly 20 is connected between the electrode terminals 12A and 12B by a plurality of connection units 20A. Therefore, when the number of connected unit cells 10 changes, the number of connection units 20A may be changed. That is, if one mold for preparing one connection unit 20A (base 24) is prepared, a plurality of connection units 20A can be manufactured, and a battery connection is made using the plurality of connection units 20A. The assembly 20 can be manufactured. Therefore, as in the case of manufacturing an integrated battery connection plate, the number of cells 10 to be connected increases, the mold or the like increases in size, or the battery connection plate is changed each time according to the number of cells 10 connected. There is no need to separately prepare a mold or the like for forming. Therefore, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

(2) The engaging portion 50 is a hole edge portion of the locking hole 52 provided on one end side in the arrangement direction of the connection units 20A, and the engaged portion 53 penetrates the locking hole 52 and is a hole edge portion. Therefore, the engaged portion 53 can be engaged with the engaging portion 50 with a simple configuration.

(3) The locking hole 52 is formed so as to penetrate in the direction along the protruding direction of the electrode terminals 12A and 12B, and the locking piece 53 penetrates the locking hole 52 from above in the protruding direction. Therefore, the locking piece 53 can be passed through the locking hole 52 from the same direction as the direction in which the connecting member 21 is passed through the electrode terminals 12A and 12B.
Therefore, as in the above embodiment, not only the battery connection assembly 20 in which the connection units 20A corresponding to the number of connected single cells are connected in advance is attached to the single battery group. The connection units 20A are attached one by one in order, so that the number of connection units 20A corresponding to the number of connected single cells can be attached, or a plurality of connection units 20A can be added from the state where they are attached to the single battery group. It becomes possible to add and attach the connection units 20A one by one according to the unit cell to be performed.

(4) Since the locking piece 53 is a bending piece that can be bent and deformed, when the dimensional error of the battery connection assembly 20 with the unit cell group occurs, the error is caused by the bending of the bending piece. Can be absorbed.

(5) The connecting unit 20A is provided with unit groove portions 30A that are connected to each other to form a continuous electric wire receiving groove 30 when connected, and the electric wire receiving groove 30 has a voltage detection connected to the connecting member 21. Since the line 39 is accommodated, the voltage detection line 39 can be easily routed.

(6) The unit groove portion 30A is partitioned and formed with the pair of side walls 31A and 31B facing each other, and one side wall 31A is provided with an engaged portion 53 at one end portion in the arrangement direction of the unit cells 10, and the side wall An engaging portion 50 is provided at the other end in the arrangement direction of 31A, and a connecting member holding portion 25 (holding) holding the connecting member 21 via a flexible connecting portion 40 on the outer surface of one side wall 31A. Part). Therefore, even if the unit groove portion 30 </ b> A side is connected by the engaging portion 50 and the engaged portion 53, the connecting member holding portion 25 side can be bent by the flexible connecting portion 40. Attachment to the electrode terminals 12A and 12B can be facilitated.

(7) The flexible connecting portion 40 is formed with a wire passage recess 41, and the voltage detection line 39 is disposed in the wire passage recess 41. Can be protected.

(8) Since the cover 32 covering the unit groove portion 30A so as to be openable and closable is provided on the one side wall 31A so as to be engageable with the other side wall 31B, the voltage detection line 39 can be protected by the cover 32. Further, since the cover 32 may be opened when the voltage detection line 39 is routed, the voltage detection line 39 can be easily routed.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) In the above embodiment, the connecting member 21 connects the electrode terminals 12A and 12B of different polarities (single cell 10 connected in series), but is not limited thereto, and connects the electrode terminals of the same polarity ( The unit cells 10 may be connected in parallel. For example, another unit cell 10 may be connected in parallel to the battery module M of the above embodiment, and the same polarity electrode terminals in this parallel connection may be connected by a plurality of connection members 21 (battery connection assemblies). .

  (2) In the above embodiment, the connection unit 20A is connected and then attached to the battery module M. However, when each connection unit 20A is attached to the electrode terminals 12A and 12B, the engaging portion 50 and the engaged portion The battery connection assembly 20 may be attached to the battery module M by repeatedly performing the operation of connecting 53 in order.

  (3) The number of unit cells 10 (the number to be connected) is not limited to the number in the above embodiment. Accordingly, the number of connection units 20A is not limited to five as described above, and may be, for example, a battery connection assembly including two to four or six or more connection units 20A.

M ... Battery module 10 ... Single battery 12A ... Positive electrode terminal (electrode terminal)
12B ... Negative electrode terminal (electrode terminal)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Battery connection assembly 20A ... Connection unit 21 ... Connection member 24 ... Base 25 ... Connection member holding | maintenance part (holding part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Electric wire accommodation groove 30A ... Unit groove part 31A, 31B ... Side wall 32 ... Cover 36 ... Engagement part 37, 37 ... Engagement convex part 39 ... Voltage detection line 40 ... Flexible connection part 41 ... Electric wire penetration recessed part 50 ... Engagement part 52 ... Locking hole 53 ... Locking piece 54 ... Locking claw part

Claims (7)

A battery connection assembly for connecting the unit cell group in a battery module having a unit cell group in which a plurality of unit cells having positive and negative electrode terminals are arranged,
A plurality of connection units having a connection member for connecting between the electrode terminals of the adjacent unit cells,
Each of the connection units includes an engaging portion and an engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion in an adjacent connecting unit, and the plurality of connecting units include the engaging portion and the engaged portion. Connected by
The connecting unit is provided with unit groove portions that form a continuous electric wire receiving groove when connected to each other, and a voltage detection line connected to the connecting member is received in the electric wire receiving groove. A battery connection assembly. The engaging portion is a hole edge portion of a locking hole provided on one end side in the arrangement direction of the connection units, and the engaged portion is locked to the hole edge portion through the locking hole. The battery connection assembly according to claim 1, wherein the battery connection assembly is a locking piece. The locking hole is formed to penetrate in a direction along the protruding direction of the electrode terminal, and the locking piece penetrates the locking hole from above in the protruding direction. The battery connection assembly according to claim 2. The locking piece is, the battery connection assembly according to claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that a deformable deforming pieces deflection. The unit groove portion is formed with a pair of side walls facing each other, and on one side wall, the engaged portion is provided at one end portion in the arrangement direction of the unit cells, and the other end portion in the arrangement direction. The engaging portion is provided on the outer surface of the one side wall, and a holding portion for holding the connecting member is provided on the outer surface of the one side wall via a flexible connecting portion. The battery connection assembly according to claim 4. The battery connection assembly according to claim 5, wherein the flexible connecting portion is formed with a wire passage recess, and a voltage detection line is disposed in the wire passage recess. The battery connection assembly according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a cover that covers the unit groove portion so as to be openable and closable is provided on the one side wall so as to be able to be locked to the other side wall.

Images