JP5735382B2 - Battery unit - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery unit in which a plurality of columnar batteries are electrically connected to each other.

  Conventionally, a battery unit in which a plurality of columnar batteries are electrically connected to each other is known. In such a battery unit, for example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, a plurality of columnar batteries are arranged on a circuit board, and these batteries are electrically connected to each other. Thereby, battery packs, such as an electric equipment, are comprised.

  In addition, as a battery unit, a battery row is formed by electrically connecting the batteries in a state where a plurality of columnar batteries are arranged so that the axes are parallel, and the battery rows are arranged side by side and electrically connected to each other. Such a configuration is also known. In such a battery unit, columnar batteries and battery rows are connected by metal wiring.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-345600

  By the way, in a battery unit in which a plurality of battery rows are connected side by side, if the battery rows are connected by metal wiring, the metal wiring may be damaged by an impact such as dropping.

  In addition, when connecting a plurality of battery rows as described above, the metal wiring that connects the batteries and the metal wiring that connects the battery rows are arranged so as to cross each other, and the metal wirings cross each other. A configuration for welding is conceivable. However, in such a configuration, the strength of the welded portion between the metal wirings is reduced, and is easily damaged.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to obtain a configuration that can improve the strength in a battery unit in which a plurality of columnar batteries are electrically connected to each other.

  A battery unit according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of battery rows in which a plurality of columnar batteries are electrically connected to each other in a state in which the axes of the batteries are arranged in parallel. A plurality of battery rows, the axes of the batteries constituting each battery row are parallel to each other, and the axes extend in the surface direction of the substrate. It arrange | positions with respect to a board | substrate (1st structure).

  In the above configuration, the plurality of battery rows are arranged in parallel to each other with respect to the substrate. Thereby, since a plurality of batteries are arranged in the vertical and horizontal directions when viewed from the axial direction, the batteries can support each other. Since each of the plurality of battery rows is electrically connected to the substrate, it is not necessary to connect the plurality of battery rows with metal wiring. Thereby, it can prevent that the metal wiring which connects battery rows by damage, such as dropping, receives damage. In addition, since the metal wiring for connecting the battery rows is not necessary as described above, the welded portion between the metal wiring for connecting the battery rows and the metal wiring for electrically connecting a plurality of batteries in the battery row. Disappears.

  Therefore, the above-described configuration can improve the strength of the battery unit.

  In the above-described configuration, since the substrate is disposed on the side surface of the battery, the substrate can be disposed in a more stable state with respect to the plurality of batteries.

  In the first configuration, the battery row includes a connection terminal that electrically connects a plurality of batteries constituting the battery row, and the connection terminal connects the end portions in the axial direction of the battery. The ends are electrically connected to the substrate (second configuration).

  Thereby, the battery row | line | column with which the axis line of the battery was arrange | positioned in parallel with respect to the surface direction of a board | substrate can be electrically connected to a board | substrate with the connecting terminal which connects the axial direction edge parts of a some battery. Therefore, with the above-described configuration, a battery row to which a plurality of batteries are connected can be easily and compactly connected to the substrate.

  In the second configuration, the connection terminal includes a plurality of connection members that electrically connect some of the plurality of batteries (third configuration). By doing so, the influence of the warp of the member is reduced as compared with a case where a plurality of batteries constituting the battery array are connected by one member. Therefore, with the above-described configuration, a plurality of batteries can be easily electrically connected by the connection terminals. Moreover, by configuring the connection terminal with a plurality of connection members, it is possible to prevent the connection terminal from being damaged or detached from the battery even when the battery is relatively moved in the battery array.

  In any one of the first to third configurations, a circuit component is mounted on the surface of the substrate on the battery array side (fourth configuration). Thereby, the circuit component mounted on a board | substrate is positioned in the one side of this board | substrate with a battery row | line | column. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the circuit components and the like from being exposed on the surface of the substrate opposite to the battery array.

  In the fourth configuration, the circuit component is attached between the battery rows on the substrate (fifth configuration). By doing so, since the circuit components mounted on the substrate are positioned between the battery rows, the battery unit as a whole can be made compact.

  In any one of the first to fifth configurations, the battery array further includes a reinforcing member disposed on the axial end side of the battery (sixth configuration). Thereby, since the axial direction edge part of the battery in a battery row | line can be supported by a reinforcement member, the improvement of an intensity | strength as the whole battery unit can be aimed at.

  In the sixth configuration, the reinforcing member is formed in a flat plate shape, and is disposed on a step portion formed by an axial end portion of the battery and an outer peripheral end portion of the substrate in the battery row ( (Seventh configuration). By carrying out like this, it can suppress that a reinforcement member protrudes outside of a battery unit. Therefore, the battery unit can be made compact by the above-described configuration.

  According to the battery unit of one embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of battery rows are arranged with respect to the substrate such that the battery axes are parallel to each other and parallel to the surface direction of the substrate. Each battery row was electrically connected to the above. Thereby, since it is not necessary to electrically connect the battery rows by the connection terminals, the strength of the battery unit can be improved. In addition, with the above-described configuration, the batteries support each other and the plurality of battery rows are supported by the substrate, so that the strength of the entire battery unit can be further improved.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a battery unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the reinforcing plate and the exterior film on one side are removed from the battery unit. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the positive electrode side of the battery in the battery array. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the negative electrode side of the battery in the battery array. FIG. 5 is a diagram when the substrate is viewed from the battery array side. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a step between the battery row and the substrate in the battery unit with the exterior film removed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding parts in the drawings are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a battery unit 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The battery unit 1 includes a plurality of cylindrical batteries 11 (cylindrical batteries) that are electrically connected. The battery unit 1 is used as part of a power source in a device such as a gas meter, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the battery unit 1 includes a plurality of batteries 11, a substantially rectangular substrate 21, wirings 31, reinforcing plates 41 and 42, spacers 43, and an exterior film 51.

  In the battery unit 1, the battery 11, the substrate 21, the reinforcing plates 41 and 42, and the spacer 43 are combined so as to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. Specifically, in the battery unit 1, the substrate 21 is arranged so that the surface direction is parallel to the axis of the battery 11 with respect to the plurality of batteries 11 arranged so that the axes are parallel to each other. Further, the reinforcing plates 41 and 42 are respectively disposed at both ends in the axial direction of the plurality of batteries 11. Furthermore, the spacer 43 is a substantially rectangular frame member as will be described later, and is disposed on the surface of the substrate 21 so as to open in the surface normal direction. And in the state which arranged the battery 11, the board | substrate 21, the reinforcement boards 41 and 42, and the spacer 43 as mentioned above, the battery unit 1 which has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole is comprised by covering these members with the exterior film 51. can do. In the present embodiment, the battery unit 1 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, but is not limited to this, and may be formed in another shape.

  In FIG. 1, in order to illustrate the internal structure of the battery unit 1, the exterior film 51 is indicated by a one-dot chain line. The exterior film 51 is made of a flame retardant resin film such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride).

  In the battery unit 1, the battery array 10 is configured by arranging and electrically connecting the batteries 11 in a row such that the axes of the plurality of batteries 11 (seven batteries 11 in this embodiment) are parallel to each other. (See FIGS. 2 to 4). As shown in FIG. 2, the battery unit 1 has a plurality of such battery rows 10 (5 rows in the present embodiment).

  2 illustrates a state in which the exterior film 51 and the reinforcing plate 41 are removed from the battery unit 1 in order to explain the arrangement and configuration of the battery array 10.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the battery array 10 includes a plurality of batteries 11, and a positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and a negative electrode side connection terminal 16 that electrically connect the batteries 11 to each other. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 connects the positive electrodes of the battery 11 to each other. The negative electrode side connection terminal 16 connects the negative electrodes of the battery 11 as shown in FIG. Each of the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 corresponds to a connection terminal.

  The positive electrode side connection terminal 13 includes a positive electrode side lead wire 14 and a PTC (Positive Temperature Coefficient) element 15 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The positive electrode side lead wire 14 is a member made of stainless steel, and electrically connects two adjacent batteries 11 in the battery array 10. The PTC element 15 electrically connects two adjacent batteries that are not electrically connected by the positive lead wire 14 in the battery array 10. That is, in this embodiment, in the battery array 10, a part of the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 is configured by the PTC element 15. The positive lead wire 14 and the PTC element 15 are connected to the positive electrode of each battery 11 by welding. Here, each of the positive lead wire 14 and the PTC element 15 corresponds to a connection member.

  In the above configuration, the PTC element cuts off the current when the current exceeds a threshold value. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the overcurrent from flowing in the battery array 10 by the PTC element 15. Further, by using the PCT element 15 as a part of the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 as described above, when the current flowing in the battery array 10 becomes smaller than the threshold value, the PTC element 15 in the battery array 10 becomes conductive. Thus, a current flows through the battery array 10. Since the PTC element has the same configuration as the conventional one, detailed description is omitted.

  A battery 11 positioned at one end of the battery array 10 is connected to a positive lead wire 14 having a distal end protruding outward from the battery 11. The distal end side of the positive lead wire 14 is electrically connected to the substrate 21 as will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 has several types (four types in this embodiment) of negative electrode side lead wires 17 to 20 (connection members) having different lengths. These negative electrode side lead wires 17 to 20 are members made of stainless steel. The negative electrode side lead wires 17 electrically connect the negative electrode sides of the four batteries 11 to each other. The negative lead wire 18 electrically connects another battery 11 to the battery 11 located at the end of the four batteries 11 connected to each other by the negative lead wire 17. The negative electrode lead wire 19 electrically connects another two batteries 11 to one battery electrically connected to the four batteries 11 by the negative electrode lead wire 18. The negative electrode side lead wire 20 is attached to the battery 11 located at the end of the plurality of batteries 11 connected by the negative electrode side lead wires 17 to 19 so that the tip side protrudes outward of the battery 11. . The distal end side of the negative lead wire 20 is electrically connected to the substrate 21 as described later.

  As described above, each of the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 is configured by a plurality of members, so that it is less likely to be affected by the warping of the members as in the case of a single member. Therefore, each of the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 can be easily attached to the plurality of batteries 11.

  In addition, with the above-described configuration, even when each battery 11 is relatively moved in the direction intersecting the arrangement direction in the battery row 10, the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 are damaged or detached from the battery 11. Can be prevented. That is, since the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 are divided at a plurality of positions, respectively, when the battery 11 in the battery array 10 moves relatively, the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 are connected. The constituent members move separately. Thereby, it is possible to prevent a large force from being applied to the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16, and the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 are damaged or detached from the battery 11. Can be prevented.

  The substrate 21 is a resin-made rectangular plate member, and a circuit (not shown) for electrically connecting a plurality of battery rows 10 electrically connected to the substrate 21 is formed. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the substrate 21 includes five batteries 11 positioned at the ends of the battery rows 10 in the state where five rows of battery examples 10 are arranged. It is formed in a size that can be arranged in parallel in the longitudinal direction. Further, as will be described later, the substrate 21 has a length corresponding to the axial direction of the battery 11 in the state in which the battery row 10 is disposed with respect to the substrate 21 (in this embodiment, the length in the short direction of the substrate 21). ) Is larger than the axial length of the battery 11. Note that the substrate 21 may have any size and shape as long as the substrate 21 has a size and shape that can connect the necessary number of battery arrays 10 as a power source.

  As shown in FIG. 5, openings 21 a and 21 b are formed in the substrate 21 at positions corresponding to the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the battery 11 of each battery array 10. In the case of the present embodiment, five openings 21a and 21b are formed on the substrate 21, respectively. The opening 21a is formed so that the positive lead wire 14 of the battery array 10 can be inserted. The opening 21b is formed so that the negative electrode side lead wire 20 of the battery array 10 can be inserted. The positive electrode side lead wire 14 inserted into the opening portion 21a and the negative electrode side lead wire 20 inserted into the opening portion 21b are respectively fixed by solder on the surface of the substrate 21 opposite to the battery array 10. Reference numeral 22 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is a solder portion where the end of the negative lead wire 20 is soldered.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a fuse 23 (circuit component) is mounted on the substrate 21 on the surface on which the battery array 10 is arranged. The fuses 23 are blown when a current larger than the current that the PTC element 15 cuts off flows in each battery array 10. In the case of this embodiment, five fuses 23 are provided on the substrate 21 corresponding to the number of battery rows 10.

  The fuse 23 is mounted on the substrate 21 in a region other than between the regions where the battery rows 10 are arranged, that is, between the opening 21a and the opening 21b. Thereby, the fuse 23 is positioned between the battery rows 10 in a state where the plurality of battery rows 10 are arranged with respect to the substrate 21. Therefore, with the above-described configuration, the substrate 21 on which the fuse 23 is mounted and the plurality of battery rows 10 can be arranged in a compact manner.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, wiring 31 is also connected to the substrate 21. That is, the wiring 31 is electrically connected to a circuit (not shown) having one end formed on the substrate 21. A connection portion 32 is provided at the other end of the wiring 31 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The connection unit 32 is connected to a device (not shown). In the present embodiment, the wiring 31 has one end portion inserted through the opening formed in the substrate 21 fixed to the surface of the substrate 21 opposite to the battery array 10 by soldering.

  The reinforcing plates 41 and 42 (reinforcing members) are flat plate members made of a flame-retardant resin material such as PC (polycarbonate). As shown in FIG. 1, the reinforcing plates 41 and 42 each have an area that covers the axial ends of all the batteries 11 in the battery unit 1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the reinforcing plates 41 and 42 are disposed at both ends in the axial direction with respect to each battery 11 of the battery array 10. As described above, the length of the substrate 21 corresponding to the axial direction of the battery 11 is longer than the length of the battery 11 in the axial direction in a state where the battery row 10 is disposed with respect to the substrate 21. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, step portions 25 are respectively formed between the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate 21 and both end portions in the axial direction of the battery 11. The reinforcing plates 41 and 42 are arranged so that the end portions are located at the stepped portion 25. Thereby, it can prevent that the reinforcement plates 41 and 42 protrude outside the battery unit 10. FIG.

  The spacer 43 is a substantially rectangular frame member made of a flame-retardant resin material such as PC. That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spacer 43 is a rectangular tube member having a substantially rectangular cross section having side walls 43a in four directions. Therefore, the spacer 43 has an opening 43b formed by four side walls 43a. The spacer 43 has the same outer shape as the substrate 21 when viewed from the opening direction of the opening 43b.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the spacer 43 is arranged with respect to the substrate 21 such that an opening 43 b is opened in the surface normal direction of the substrate 21. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the spacer 43 is arranged with respect to the substrate 21 such that the side wall 43 a extends in the thickness direction of the substrate 21.

  Thereby, the outer dimension of the battery unit 1 can be adjusted to an appropriate size by the spacer 43. In addition, the spacer 43 can protect the solder portion 22 and the like provided on the surface of the substrate 21 opposite to the battery array 10.

  The battery unit 1 having the above-described configuration is assembled by, for example, the following method.

  First, a plurality of batteries 11 are arranged so that their axes are parallel to each other, and the batteries 11 are electrically connected by the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16. Thereby, the battery array 10 is formed. Further, the fuse 23 is mounted on the substrate 21 and the wiring 31 is connected.

  A plurality of battery rows 10 are arranged in a box-shaped jig whose one surface is open so that the axes of the batteries 11 are parallel to each other. At this time, the plurality of battery rows 10 are placed in the jig so that the positive lead wires 14 and the negative lead wires 20 projecting outward from the batteries 11 in each battery row 10 are positioned in the opening of the box-shaped jig. To place.

  In the above-described state, the substrate 21 is disposed in the opening portion of the box-shaped jig. At this time, the substrate 21 is inserted into a plurality of battery rows so that the tip portion of the positive lead wire 14 is inserted into the opening 21a of the substrate 21 and the tip portion of the negative lead wire 20 is inserted into the opening 21b. Assemble to 10. Then, the positive lead wire 14 and the negative lead wire 20 are soldered to the substrate 21.

  Thereafter, the battery array 10 and the substrate 21 are taken out from the jig, and a spacer 43 is disposed on the substrate 21, and reinforcing plates 41 and 42 are disposed on the battery array 10. In this state, the battery array 10, the substrate 21, the reinforcing plates 41 and 42, and the spacer 43 are covered with the exterior film 51. Thereby, the battery unit 1 shown in FIG. 1 is obtained.

(Effect of embodiment)
As described above, according to this embodiment, the plurality of batteries 11 are connected by the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 to form the battery array 10, and the plurality of battery arrays 10 are electrically connected to the substrate 21. Connected. Thereby, it can prevent that the connection terminal which connects batteries and the connection terminal which connects battery rows overlap in this battery row like the case where battery rows are connected by a connection terminal. Therefore, it is not necessary to weld the overlapping portion between the connection terminals. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 from being damaged by an impact received when the battery unit 1 is dropped.

  In the above-described configuration, the plurality of battery rows 10 are arranged with respect to the substrate 21 so that the axis of the battery 11 is parallel to the surface direction of the substrate 21. Thereby, the edge part of the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 which electrically connect several batteries 11 in the battery row | line | column 10 can be connected to the board | substrate 21 simply and compactly. Moreover, since the substrate 21 also plays a role of bundling the plurality of battery rows 10, the strength of the entire battery unit 1 can be improved. Furthermore, by arranging the plurality of battery rows 10 as described above, the plurality of batteries 11 can support each other, and a stable battery unit 1 can be configured.

  Moreover, since the axial direction both ends of the battery 11 of each battery row 10 are connected to the substrate 21 by the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16, the battery 11 of the battery row 10 is more reliably tilted. Can be prevented.

  Furthermore, by arranging each battery row 10 with respect to the substrate 21 as described above, the substrate 21 is positioned on the side surface of the battery 11 of the battery row 10. Thereby, it becomes possible to arrange | position the board | substrate 21 with the more stable attitude | position with respect to the some battery 11. FIG.

(Other embodiments)
While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above-described embodiments are merely examples for carrying out the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the above-described embodiment can be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the spirit of the invention.

  In the embodiment, the battery array 10 includes seven batteries 11. However, the battery array may have six or fewer batteries, or may have eight or more batteries.

  In the embodiment, the battery unit 1 has five battery rows 10. However, the battery unit may have four or fewer battery rows, or may have six or more battery rows.

  In the embodiment, the battery 11 is cylindrical. However, the battery may have other shapes as long as it has a columnar shape such as a prismatic shape.

  In the embodiment, the battery unit 1 has the spacer 43. However, the spacer 43 may not be provided depending on the required size of the battery unit.

  In the said embodiment, the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 are each comprised by the some member. However, each of the positive electrode side connection terminal and the negative electrode side connection terminal may be constituted by one member. Moreover, in the said embodiment, the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 is comprised by the three PTC elements 15 and the four positive electrode side lead wires, and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 is comprised by the four negative electrode side lead wires 17-20. However, as long as the batteries 11 can be configured by electrically connecting the batteries 11 to each other, the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 and the negative electrode side connection terminal 16 may be configured by other numbers of members.

  In the embodiment, a part of the positive electrode side connection terminal 13 is constituted by the PTC element 15. However, the PTC element may not be used as long as it functions as the positive electrode side connection terminal 13.

  In the embodiment, the fuse 23 is mounted on the substrate 21, but other circuit components may be mounted on the substrate 21. For example, when the battery 11 is constituted by a secondary battery, the circuit components constituting the charging circuit may be mounted on the substrate 21.

  In the embodiment, the battery unit 1 has the reinforcing plates 41 and 42. However, the battery unit may have only one reinforcing plate or may have a configuration without the reinforcing plate. Moreover, in the said embodiment, the flat reinforcement plates 41 and 42 are used as a member which reinforces the battery unit 1. FIG. However, as long as it is a member that can reinforce the battery unit 1, the shape is not limited to a plate-like member, and may be another shape.

  The battery unit according to the present invention can be used as a battery unit having a plurality of columnar batteries.

1: battery unit, 10: battery array, 11: battery, 13: positive electrode side connection terminal (connection terminal), 14: positive electrode side lead wire (connection member), 15: PTC element (connection member), 16: negative electrode side connection Terminals (connection terminals), 17 to 20: negative electrode side lead wires (connection members), 21: substrate, 23: fuse (circuit parts), 25: stepped portions, 41, 42: reinforcing plates (reinforcing members)

Claims (5)

A plurality of columnar batteries, a plurality of battery rows electrically connected to each other in a state where the axis of each battery is arranged in parallel,
A substrate to which the plurality of battery rows are electrically connected,
The plurality of battery rows are arranged with respect to the substrate such that the axes of the batteries constituting each battery row are parallel to each other and the axes extend in the surface direction of the substrate,
The battery row has a connection terminal for electrically connecting a plurality of batteries constituting the battery row,
The connection terminal connects one end in the axial direction of the battery, and connects the positive side connection terminal whose end is electrically connected to the substrate and the other end in the axial direction of the battery. And a negative electrode side connection terminal whose end is electrically connected to the substrate,
Each of the positive electrode side connection terminal and the negative electrode side connection terminal is composed of a plurality of connection members that electrically connect some of the plurality of batteries constituting one battery row ,
The plurality of connection members constituting the positive electrode side connection terminal are battery units including a PTC element. The battery unit according to claim 1,
A battery unit in which circuit components are mounted on a surface of the substrate on the battery array side. The battery unit according to claim 2,
The circuit component is a battery unit attached between the battery rows on the substrate. The battery unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The battery unit further comprising a reinforcing member disposed on an end side in the axial direction of the battery in the battery array. The battery unit according to claim 4,
The said reinforcement member is a battery unit currently formed in flat form, and arrange | positioned at the step part formed by the axial direction edge part of the said battery and the outer peripheral edge part of the said board | substrate in the said battery row | line.

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