JP6358079B2 - Method for adjusting thickness of elastic member in power storage device module - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for adjusting the thickness of an elastic member in a power storage device module.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a stacked body having a battery cell and a battery holder that holds the battery cell, a pair of end plates disposed on both sides of the stacked body, and disposed between the stacked body and the end plate. A battery module including an elastic member having elasticity in the stacking direction is disclosed. In such a battery module, after laminating the laminated body, the elastic member, and the end plate, the elastic member is compressed and deformed by applying a load in the laminating direction.

JP 2009-81056 A

  In the above battery module, it is necessary to compress the elastic member so that the thickness of the elastic member becomes a design value. However, when the elastic member is compressed by applying a load as in the above-described prior art, the thickness of the elastic member is likely to vary, and it is difficult to keep the thickness of the elastic member within the design value range.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a method for adjusting the thickness of an elastic member in a power storage device module capable of keeping the thickness of the elastic member within a desired range.

  An elastic member thickness adjusting method in a power storage device module according to one aspect of the present invention includes a plurality of power storage device units arranged in one direction, and a plurality of power storage device units arranged by a plurality of bolts and nuts. Preparing a power storage device module comprising a pair of restraining members restraining from both sides in the direction, and an elastic member disposed between the restraining member and the power storage device unit, and sandwiched between the restraining member and the power storage device unit And a step of preparing a jig having a thickness setting portion for setting the thickness of the elastic member, and a thickness setting portion is disposed between the restraining member and the power storage device unit. After performing the process of tightening the bolt and nut so as to be sandwiched between the device unit and the process of tightening the bolt and nut, Is rotated by a predetermined rotation number of the loosening direction relative to the person, characterized in that it comprises a step of taking out the thickness setting portion from between the restraining member and the storage device unit in this state.

  In such a method for adjusting the thickness of the elastic member, first, a jig thickness setting portion is disposed between the restraining member and the power storage device unit. At this time, a thickness setting portion having a width dimension slightly smaller than the design value of the thickness of the elastic member is used. Then, the bolt and the nut are tightened so that the thickness setting portion is sandwiched between the restraining member and the power storage device unit. Then, the thickness of the elastic member becomes equal to the width dimension of the thickness setting portion. Thereafter, one of the bolt and the nut is rotated by a predetermined number of rotations in the direction of loosening the other, and in this state, the thickness setting unit is taken out between the restraining member and the power storage device unit. At this time, the predetermined number of rotations is set to a number of rotations such that the thickness of the elastic member does not deviate from the design value range after one of the bolt and the nut is rotated. Thereby, the thickness of an elastic member can be stored in a desired range.

  In the step of tightening the bolt and the nut, a thickness setting unit may be disposed between the restraining member and the power storage device unit above and below the elastic member, respectively. In this case, the thickness of the upper part and the lower part of the elastic member can be made uniform. Therefore, the thickness of the elastic member can be adjusted with high accuracy.

  In the step of preparing the jig, a jig having two thickness setting portions sandwiched between the restraining member and the power storage device unit above and below the elastic member and a connection portion connecting the two thickness setting portions is prepared. Also good. In this case, the jig is moved in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction and the height direction of the power storage device units so that the two thickness setting portions are located between the restraining member and the power storage device unit above and below the elastic member. Can be placed simultaneously. Therefore, it is possible to reduce time and labor when adjusting the thickness of the elastic member.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the thickness adjustment method of the elastic member in the electrical storage apparatus module which can keep the thickness of an elastic member in a desired range is provided.

It is an upper side top view which shows a battery module as an electrical storage apparatus module to which the thickness adjustment method of the elastic member which concerns on one Embodiment is applied. It is a perspective view which shows the state by which the jig | tool for rubber | gum thickness adjustment was supported by the rubber member of the battery module shown by FIG. It is a side view which shows the battery module shown by FIG. 2 with the cross section of the jig | tool for rubber | gum thickness adjustment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process of adjusting the thickness of a rubber member using the jig | tool for rubber thickness adjustment shown by FIG. It is a graph showing the relationship between the load added to a rubber member, and the thickness of a rubber member. It is a graph which compares and shows the result when the thickness adjustment of a rubber member is implemented by pressure restraint, and the result when the thickness adjustment of a rubber member is implemented by fixed size restraint.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a top plan view illustrating a battery module as a power storage device module to which an elastic member thickness adjusting method according to an embodiment is applied. In FIG. 1, a battery module 1 includes a battery unit group 3 composed of a plurality of (seven here) battery units 2 as power storage device units arranged in one direction, and is arranged on both sides of the battery unit group 3. And a pair of end plates 4.

  The battery unit 2 includes a secondary battery 5 as a power storage device and a battery holder 6 that holds the secondary battery 5. In the present embodiment, the secondary battery 5 is a lithium ion secondary battery. The secondary battery 5 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

  A positive electrode terminal 7 and a negative electrode terminal 8 are provided on the upper part of the secondary battery 5. Two adjacent secondary batteries 5 are arranged such that the positive electrode terminal 7 and the negative electrode terminal 8 are opposite to each other. The positive terminal 7 and the negative terminal 8 of two adjacent secondary batteries 5 are connected to each other through a bus bar 9. A bus bar cover 10 is disposed above the battery unit group 3 (see FIG. 2).

  The battery holder 6 is made of resin. The battery holder 6 has a frame body portion 11 that houses the secondary battery 5 so as to surround it. A plurality (two in this case) of bolt guide portions 12 having bolt insertion holes through which screw portions 16a of bolts 16 to be described later are inserted are provided at the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the frame body portion 11.

  An intermediate plate 13 and a rubber member 15 are arranged in the arrangement direction of the battery units 2 between the one end plate 4 and the battery unit 2 positioned at one end of the battery units 2 constituting the battery unit group 3. Are arranged as follows. The intermediate plate 13 is disposed adjacent to the battery unit 2. The rubber member 15 is disposed adjacent to the end plate 4.

  The end plate 4 is a restraining member that restrains the plurality of battery units 2 from both sides in the arrangement direction of the battery units 2 by a plurality of sets (here, four sets) of bolts 16 and nuts 17. The end plate 4 is made of a highly rigid metal (for example, iron). The nut 17 is screwed with the bolt 16 on the rubber member 15 side.

  The rubber member 15 is an elastic member for absorbing the expansion of the secondary battery 5. As shown in FIG. 2, the rubber member 15 has a flat plate shape that is rectangular in plan view. The rubber member 15 is disposed at a height position corresponding to the secondary battery 5. The rubber member 15 is assembled in a state where the rubber member 15 is compressed in the arrangement direction of the battery unit 2 by a certain amount by the end plate 4, the bolt 16 and the nut 17. For this reason, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 needs to be adjusted with high accuracy. The thickness A of the rubber member 15 is a dimension in the arrangement direction of the battery units 2 in the rubber member 15.

  Therefore, in the method for adjusting the thickness of the elastic member according to the present embodiment, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 is restrained by sizing using a U-shaped jig 20 for adjusting the rubber thickness as shown in FIGS. Adjust.

  The rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 includes two thickness setting portions 21 and 22 that set the thickness A of the rubber member 15 and a connection portion 23 that connects one end portions of these thickness setting portions 21 and 22. Yes. Each of the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 has a bar shape with a rectangular cross section. The shape of the thickness setting sections 21 and 22 is not particularly limited to a rectangular cross section, and may be a circular cross section (columnar shape) or the like.

  The thickness setting portion 21 is disposed in a space between the upper surface of the rubber member 15 and the bolt 16 guided by the bolt guide portion 12 provided at the upper end portion of the frame body portion 11 of the battery holder 6. 4 and the battery unit 2. The thickness setting portion 22 is disposed in a space between the lower surface of the rubber member 15 and a bolt 16 guided by a bolt guide portion 12 (not shown) provided at the lower end portion of the frame body portion 11 of the battery holder 6. And is sandwiched between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2. In FIG. 2, the end plate 4 is omitted.

  The width dimension B of the thickness setting parts 21 and 22 is equal. At this time, the width dimension B of the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 is slightly smaller than the target thickness value of the rubber member 15. Specifically, the width dimension B of the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 is such that when the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 are taken out from between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2 as will be described later, The thickness of the rubber member 15 is smaller than the target thickness by a dimension corresponding to the amount of rotation in the direction of loosening (a predetermined number of rotations described later). The target thickness value of the rubber member 15 is, for example, the center value of the design value range of the thickness A of the rubber member 15. The height dimension of the thickness setting part 21 is larger than the height dimension of the thickness setting part 22. The distance between the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 is substantially equal to the height dimension of the rubber member 15.

  The connection portion 23 is formed with an oval through hole 23a. The wall portion located on the opposite side of the tip of the thickness setting portion 21, 22 with respect to the through hole 23 a in the connection portion 23 constitutes a handle 24. By providing the handle 24 in the connection portion 23 in this manner, the rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 can be easily used.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a step of adjusting the thickness A of the rubber member 15 using the rubber thickness adjusting jig 20. In FIG. 4, first, the battery module 1 in which the thickness adjustment of the rubber member 15 is not completed is prepared (step S1). At this time, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 is larger than the width dimension B of the thickness setting portions 21 and 22. Also, a rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 is prepared (step S2).

  Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, with the battery module 1 supported by the support device 25, the rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 is moved in the width direction of the battery unit 2 (the arrangement direction and the height of the battery unit 2). The thickness setting portion 21 is disposed between the end plate 4 above the rubber member 15 and the battery unit 2 by moving the end plate 4 below the rubber member 15 and the battery. A thickness setting unit 22 is disposed between the unit 2 and the unit 2. Specifically, the thickness setting units 21 and 22 are disposed between the end plate 4 and the intermediate plate 13 (step S3). At this time, since the distance between the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 is substantially equal to the height dimension of the rubber member 15, the rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 is supported by the rubber member 15.

  In this state, the bolts 16 and nuts 17 of each set are tightened so that the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 are sandwiched between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2 (step S4). At this time, the battery unit 2 holds the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 in cooperation with the end plate 4 via the intermediate plate 13. For this reason, the thickness setting parts 21 and 22 are in contact with the end plate 4 and the intermediate plate 13. Thereby, the rubber member 15 is compressed, and the thickness A of the rubber member 15 becomes equal to the width dimension B of the thickness setting portions 21 and 22.

  Thereafter, each nut 17 is rotated by a predetermined number of rotations in a direction to loosen each bolt 16 (a direction opposite to the tightening direction) (step S5). Thereby, a slight gap is formed between the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 and the end plate 4 and the intermediate plate 13. Further, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 is slightly larger than the width dimension B of the thickness setting portions 21 and 22. At this time, the predetermined rotational speed is set to a rotational speed that prevents the thickness A of the rubber member 15 from exceeding the design value range after the nut 17 is rotated in the loosening direction, for example, half rotation or one rotation.

  Then, by moving the rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 in the width direction of the battery unit 2, the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 are taken out between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2. Specifically, the thickness setting units 21 and 22 are taken out between the end plate 4 and the intermediate plate 13 (step S6). Thereby, the thickness adjustment of the rubber member 15 in the battery module 1 is completed.

  By the way, when the thickness of the rubber member 15 is adjusted by pressure restraint that applies a load to the rubber member 15 with the bolt 16 and the nut 17, it is difficult to keep the thickness A of the rubber member 15 within the design value range. It is. The reason is as follows.

  FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the load applied to the rubber member 15 and the thickness A of the rubber member 15. In the graph shown in FIG. 5, the horizontal axis indicates the thickness A of the rubber member 15, and the vertical axis indicates the load applied to the rubber member 15. As the load applied to the rubber member 15 increases, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 decreases.

  In such a rubber characteristic, in a region where the design value range H of the thickness A of the rubber member 15 exists, if the load applied to the rubber member 15 is slightly changed, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 varies greatly. For this reason, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 tends to vary, and as a result, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 falls outside the design value range H.

  FIG. 6A is a graph showing the results when the thickness adjustment of the rubber member 15 is performed three times for each sample of the five battery modules 1 by pressure restraint. As can be seen from FIG. 6A, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 is out of the design value range H for any of the thickness adjustments.

  FIG. 6B is a graph showing the results when the thickness adjustment of the rubber member 15 is performed three times for each sample of the four battery modules 1 by the constant-size constraint using the rubber thickness adjustment jig 20. is there. As can be seen from FIG. 6B, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 is within the design value range H for any of the thickness adjustments.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, first, the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 of the rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 are disposed between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2. At this time, the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 have a width dimension B slightly smaller than the target thickness value of the rubber member 15. Then, the bolt 16 and the nut 17 are tightened so that the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 are sandwiched between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2. Then, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 becomes equal to the width dimension B of the thickness setting portions 21 and 22. Thereafter, the nut 17 is rotated by a predetermined number of rotations in the direction of loosening the bolt 16, and the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 are taken out between the end plate 4 and the intermediate plate 13 in this state. At this time, the predetermined rotational speed is set to a rotational speed that prevents the thickness A of the rubber member 15 from deviating from the design value range after the nut 17 is rotated in the loosening direction. Thereby, the thickness A of the rubber member 15 can be kept within a desired range. As a result, the quality of the battery module 1 can be improved.

  Further, by arranging the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2 above and below the rubber member 15, the thicknesses of the upper and lower portions of the rubber member 15 can be made uniform. . Therefore, the thickness adjustment of the rubber member 15 can be performed with high accuracy.

  Furthermore, the rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 has thickness setting portions 21 and 22 and a connection portion 23 that connects these thickness setting portions 21 and 22. For this reason, by moving the rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 in the width direction of the battery unit 2, the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 are simultaneously placed between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2 above and below the rubber member 15. Can be arranged. Therefore, it is possible to reduce time and labor when adjusting the thickness of the rubber member 15.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the U-shaped rubber thickness adjusting jig 20 having the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 and the connecting portion 23 is used, but the rubber thickness adjusting jig to be used is not particularly limited thereto. For example, you may consist of two components which comprise the thickness setting part. In this case, the structure of the rubber thickness adjusting jig can be simplified.

  Further, the number of parts constituting the thickness setting unit may be only one. In this case, components constituting the thickness setting portion may be disposed only between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2 above the rubber member 15, or the end plate 4 and the battery unit below the rubber member 15. The parts constituting the thickness setting unit may be disposed only between the two.

  Further, in the above embodiment, after the bolt 16 and the nut 17 are tightened so that the thickness setting portions 21 and 22 are sandwiched between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2, the nut 17 is loosened with respect to the bolt 16 in a predetermined direction. Although it is rotated by the number of rotations, the method is not particularly limited, and the bolt 16 may be rotated by a predetermined number of rotations in the direction of loosening the nut 17.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, although the intermediate plate 13 is arrange | positioned between the battery unit group 3 and the rubber member 15, such an intermediate plate 13 does not need to be especially.

  In the above embodiment, the rubber member 15 is disposed between the end plate 4 and the battery unit 2, but the material for the expansion absorbing elastic member is not particularly limited to rubber, and may be, for example, plastic. There may be.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the power storage device of the power storage device unit is a secondary battery such as a lithium ion secondary battery, but the present invention is not particularly limited to such a secondary battery, for example, an electric double layer capacitor or The present invention can also be applied to a power storage device module including a power storage device such as a lithium ion capacitor.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Battery module (electric storage apparatus module), 2 ... Battery unit (electric storage apparatus unit), 4 ... End plate (restraint member), 15 ... Rubber member (elastic member), 16 ... Bolt, 17 ... Nut, 20 ... Rubber thickness Adjustment jig, 21 ... thickness setting section, 22 ... thickness setting section, 23 ... connection section.

Claims (3)

A plurality of power storage device units arranged in one direction, a pair of restraining members that restrain the plurality of power storage device units from both sides in the arrangement direction of the power storage device units with a plurality of sets of bolts and nuts; Preparing a power storage device module comprising an elastic member disposed between the power storage device units;
Preparing a jig having a thickness setting portion that is sandwiched between the restraining member and the power storage device unit and sets the thickness of the elastic member;
The thickness setting portion is disposed between the restraining member and the power storage device unit, and the bolt and the nut are tightened so that the thickness setting portion is sandwiched between the restraining member and the power storage device unit in that state. Process,
After performing the step of tightening the bolt and the nut, rotate one of the bolt and the nut by a predetermined number of rotations in a loosening direction with respect to the other, and in that state, between the restraining member and the power storage device unit The method for adjusting the thickness of the elastic member in the power storage device module, further comprising:   2. The power storage device according to claim 1, wherein in the step of tightening the bolt and the nut, the thickness setting portion is disposed between the restraining member and the power storage device unit above and below the elastic member, respectively. A method for adjusting the thickness of an elastic member in a module.   The step of preparing the jig includes two thickness setting portions sandwiched between the restraining member and the power storage device unit above and below the elastic member, and a connection portion that connects the two thickness setting portions. The method for adjusting the thickness of an elastic member in a power storage device module according to claim 2, wherein the jig is prepared.

Images