JP7297525B2 - Automotive battery case and its frame - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an in-vehicle battery case attached to a vehicle body and its frame.

Patent Literature 1 listed below describes a battery case made of a metal plate. A battery case made of sheet metal has the advantage of being easy to manufacture. However, the battery case made of sheet metal is likely to be restricted when providing various structures such as a mounting structure for mounting the battery to the battery case and a mounting structure for mounting the battery case to the vehicle body.

JP 2018-81797 A

An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle-mounted battery case that can be easily provided with various structures such as a mounting structure.

A vehicle-mounted battery case according to the present invention is a battery case to be attached to a vehicle body, comprising a die-cast frame body having an open top surface and a bottom surface and a vehicle body attachment portion for attachment to the vehicle body, and a die-cast frame body. with a bottom plate.

According to this configuration, the battery case includes the frame and the bottom plate. The frame and the bottom plate are separate from each other. The frame is made of die casting and has a vehicle body mounting portion. Since the frame is die-cast, the vehicle body mounting portion can be integrally formed during die-casting. Since the bottom surface of the frame body is open, the projected area of the product portion is smaller than that of a structure having a bottom surface, and the force required to open the mold when pouring the molten metal is small. Therefore, the mold clamping force of the die casting apparatus can be reduced, and the production can be performed at low cost.

In particular, it is preferable that the frame has an outer flange that protrudes outward at or near the upper end, and that the frame has a partition wall. According to this configuration, the frame is effectively reinforced by the outer flange and the partition wall.

Furthermore, it is preferable that the frame has an inner flange projecting inward at or near the lower end, and that the inner flange is provided with a battery mounting portion for mounting a battery. According to this configuration, the synergistic effect of the outer flange and the inner flange effectively reinforces the frame. Moreover, since the frame includes the battery mounting portion on the inner flange, the battery mounting portion can be arranged by effectively utilizing the inner flange. Moreover, the inner flange is reinforced by the battery mounting portion, and the frame is further reinforced.

Furthermore, it is preferable that a vehicle body mounting portion is provided at a position on the outer surface of the frame corresponding to the battery mounting portion. This configuration stabilizes the battery.

Further, the frame body of a battery case for vehicle use according to the present invention is a frame body of a battery case attached to a vehicle body, is made of die-casting, and has an open top surface and a bottom surface.

As described above, by providing the die-cast frame, various structures such as the vehicle body mounting portion can be easily provided. Since the bottom surface of the frame is open, it is possible to reduce the size of the manufacturing equipment for the frame and to manufacture the frame at low cost.

The perspective view which looked at the battery case from the plane side in one Embodiment of this invention. The top view of the same battery case. AA sectional view of FIG. The perspective view seen from the plane side which shows the state where the battery was accommodated in the same battery case. The perspective view seen from the plane side which shows the state where the battery was accommodated in the same battery case. The perspective view which looked at the frame used for the same battery case from the plane side. The perspective view which looked at the same frame from the bottom face side. A plan view of the same frame. A bottom view of the same frame. A side view of the same frame. A side view of the same frame. BB sectional view of FIG.

A battery case according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. FIG. 1 to 3 show a battery case 1 according to this embodiment. 4 and 5 show a state in which the battery 2 is accommodated in the battery case 1. FIG. A battery case 1 is for housing a plurality of batteries 2 . The upper surface of the battery case 1 is open, and the battery 2 is put into the battery case 1 through the opening of the upper surface. The battery case 1 has a frame 3 and a bottom plate 4 . The frame 3 and the bottom plate 4 are separate bodies. The frame 3 is made of die casting, and the bottom plate 4 preferably consists of a metal plate.

<Frame 3>
6 to 12 show the frame 3 as a single unit. The frame 3 has an open top surface and a bottom surface. The frame 3 has a rectangular shape in a plan view, and more specifically, a rectangular shape in a plan view. However, the shape of the frame 3 may be various. The frame 3 has a dimension in the height direction smaller than the dimension in the long side direction and the dimension in the short side direction. The frame 3 is symmetrical in the long side direction and symmetrical in the short side direction. The frame 3 has four walls. That is, the frame 3 has a pair of long wall portions 10 and a pair of short wall portions 11 . A pair of long wall portions 10 extend along the long side direction, and a pair of short wall portions 11 extend along the short side direction. The pair of long wall portions 10 and the pair of short wall portions 11 are orthogonal to each other. The pair of long wall portions 10 are opposed to each other in the short side direction. The pair of short wall portions 11 face each other in the long side direction.

<Partition wall 12>
The frame 3 has partition walls 12 . The partition wall 12 is positioned at the center of the frame 3 in the long side direction. The partition wall 12 divides the top opening and the bottom opening of the frame 3 into two. The internal space of the frame 3 is partitioned into two areas by the partition wall 12 . The internal space of the frame 3 is a storage space for storing the battery, and the storage space is divided into two by a partition wall 12 . The partition wall 12 extends along the short side direction. The partition wall 12 connects the pair of long wall portions 10 in the short side direction. The partition wall 12 has a height dimension corresponding to the overall height of the frame 3 . In this embodiment, since the frame 3 has the partition wall 12, the frame 3 has two bottom openings, that is, a first bottom opening 13 and a second bottom opening 14. there is

<Outer flange 20>
An outer flange 20 is provided at the upper end of the frame 3 . The outer flange 20 is formed over the entire circumference. The outer flange 20 protrudes substantially horizontally outward from the upper end of the frame 3 . The upper surface of the outer flange 20 is the upper end surface of the frame 3 . The upper surface of the outer flange 20 is a flat surface. The upper surface of the outer flange 20 and the upper end surface of the partition wall 12 are substantially flush. A plurality of screw holes 21 are formed in the outer flange 20 . The screw holes 21 are for screwing an upper cover (not shown) to the battery case 1 . A bag portion 22 is formed on the lower surface of the outer flange 20 . The bag portion 22 protrudes downward from the lower surface of the outer flange 20 . The bag portion 22 is connected to the outer surface of the frame 3 . A screw hole 21 is formed inside the bag portion 22 .

<Inner flange>
An inner flange is formed at the lower end of the frame 3 . The inner flange is formed over the entire circumference. The inner flange protrudes substantially horizontally inward from the lower end of the frame 3 . The bottom surface of the inner flange is the bottom end surface of the frame 3 . A lower surface of the inner flange is a flat surface. The lower surface of the inner flange and the lower end surface of the partition wall 12 are substantially flush.

Specifically, a first inner flange 31 , a second inner flange 32 , a third inner flange 33 , and a fourth inner flange 34 are formed at the lower ends of the pair of long wall portions 10 . The first inner flange 31 and the second inner flange 32 are positioned at the lower end of one long wall portion 10 . The first inner flange 31 and the second inner flange 32 are adjacent to each other with the partition wall 12 interposed therebetween. The third inner flange 33 and the fourth inner flange 34 are located on the other long wall portion 10 . The third inner flange 33 and the fourth inner flange 34 are adjacent to each other with the partition wall 12 interposed therebetween. A first inner flange 31 and a third inner flange 33 face each other, and a second inner flange 32 and a fourth inner flange 34 face each other. A fifth inner flange 35 and a sixth inner flange 36 are formed at the lower ends of the pair of short wall portions 11 . The amount of inward protrusion of the first inner flange 31, the second inner flange 32, the third inner flange 33, and the fourth inner flange 34 is the amount of inward protrusion of the fifth inner flange 35 and the sixth inner flange 36. bigger than Incidentally, when the first to sixth inner flanges 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36 are not particularly distinguished, they are simply collectively referred to as inner flanges.

A flange is formed at the lower end of the partition wall 12 . Specifically, a first partition flange 37 and a second partition flange 38 protrude from both sides of the lower end of the partition wall 12 . The first partition flange 37 projects substantially horizontally toward the first bottom opening 13 , and the second partition flange 38 projects substantially horizontally toward the second bottom opening 14 . A first partition flange 37 is connected to the first inner flange 31 and the third inner flange 33 . A second partition flange 38 is connected to the second inner flange 32 and the fourth inner flange 34 . A first inner flange 31 , a first partition flange 37 , a third inner flange 33 and a fifth inner flange 35 surround the first bottom opening 13 . A second inner flange 32 , a sixth inner flange 36 , a fourth inner flange 34 and a second partition flange 38 surround the second bottom opening 14 . As shown in FIG. 7, the lower surfaces of the first to sixth inner flanges 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and the lower surfaces of the first and second partition flanges 37, 38 are flush with each other, and the frame body 3 constitutes the lower end surface of the

<Battery mounting portion 40>
Battery mounting portions 40 are formed on the upper surfaces of the first inner flange 31, the second inner flange 32, the third inner flange 33, and the fourth inner flange 34, respectively. The battery attachment portion 40 is for attaching the battery 2 to the battery case 1 . A pair of battery mounting portions 40 are formed on the upper surfaces of the first inner flange 31, the second inner flange 32, the third inner flange 33, and the fourth inner flange 34, respectively. Therefore, the frame 3 has eight battery mounting portions 40 in total. The battery mounting portion 40 of the first inner flange 31 faces the battery mounting portion 40 of the third inner flange 33 . The battery attachment portion 40 of the second inner flange 32 faces the battery attachment portion 40 of the fourth inner flange 34 .

The configuration of the battery mounting portion 40 is arbitrary. In this embodiment, the battery 2 is screwed to the battery mounting portion 40 from above. Specifically, the battery mounting portion 40 includes a base portion 41 projecting in a trapezoidal shape from the upper surfaces of the first inner flange 31, the second inner flange 32, the third inner flange 33, and the fourth inner flange 34, It has a pair of screw boss portions 42 projecting from the upper surface of the base portion 41 . The base portion 41 is configured integrally with the inner surfaces of the pair of long wall portions 10 . The pair of screw boss portions 42 are arranged in the long side direction. A screw hole is formed in the screw boss portion 42 . The short side dimension of the base portion 41 is smaller than the amount of projection of the first inner flange 31 , the second inner flange 32 , the third inner flange 33 , and the fourth inner flange 34 . Therefore, the first inner flange 31 , the second inner flange 32 , the third inner flange 33 , and the fourth inner flange 34 protrude inward from the battery mounting portion 40 . The battery attachment portion 40 is located closer to the inner surface of the pair of long wall portions 10 among the upper surfaces of the first inner flange 31 , the second inner flange 32 , the third inner flange 33 , and the fourth inner flange 34 .

<Bracket 43 (vehicle mounting portion)>
Brackets 43 are formed on the outer surfaces of the pair of long wall portions 10 . The bracket 43 is a vehicle body mounting portion for mounting the battery case 1 to the vehicle body. The battery case 1 is screwed to the vehicle body from below via a bracket 43 . The bracket 43 protrudes outward from the outer surfaces of the pair of long wall portions 10 . The amount of protrusion of the bracket 43 is larger than the amount of protrusion of the outer flange 20 . The bracket 43 protrudes outside the outer flange 20 . The battery case 1 is attached to the vehicle body at a position outside the outer flange 20 . The bracket 43 is formed on the lower portion of the outer surface of the pair of long wall portions 10 .

A plurality of brackets 43 are provided on each of the pair of long wall portions 10 . The plurality of brackets 43 are arranged at intervals in the long side direction. Four brackets 43 are formed on each of the pair of long wall portions 10 . Therefore, the frame 3 has eight brackets 43 in total. The bracket 43 is positioned facing the outside of the battery mounting portion 40 . The eight brackets 43 are arranged corresponding to the eight battery mounting portions 40, respectively.

A lower flange 44 protrudes outward from the lower ends of the outer surfaces of the pair of long walls 10 . The lower flange 44 extends from the bracket 43 positioned at one end of the four brackets 43 to the bracket 43 positioned at the other end. All four brackets 43 are connected by a lower flange 44 .

<Vertical rib>
A plurality of vertical ribs are formed on the outer surface of the frame 3 . The longitudinal rib extends vertically. The plurality of vertical ribs are arranged along the entire circumference of the outer surface of the frame 3 while being spaced apart in the horizontal direction. Detailed specifications of the vertical ribs will be described in order of the vertical ribs on the long wall portion 10 and the vertical ribs on the short wall portion 11 .

As shown in FIG. 10 , longitudinal ribs 50 are formed between the bracket 43 and the outer flange 20 on the outer surface of the long wall portion 10 . The vertical rib 50 is connected to the bracket 43 and the outer flange 20 . The vertical rib 50 vertically connects the outer flange 20 and the bracket 43 . Three vertical ribs 50 are formed per bracket 43 . Vertical ribs 51 are formed between adjacent brackets 43 . The vertical rib 51 is positioned in the middle between adjacent brackets 43 . The vertical rib 51 is connected to the bag portion 22 and to the lower flange 44 . The vertical rib 51 vertically connects the bag portion 22 and the lower flange 44 . Longitudinal ribs 52 are formed near both ends of the outer surface of the long wall portion 10 in the long side direction. The vertical rib 52 is connected to the bag portion 22 and extends from the bag portion 22 to the lower end portion of the long wall portion 10 .

As shown in FIG. 11 , vertical ribs 60 are formed on the outer surface of the short wall portion 11 below each bag portion 22 . The vertical rib 60 is connected to the bag portion 22 and extends from the bag portion 22 to the lower end of the short wall portion 11 . Vertical ribs 61 are formed between adjacent bag portions 22 . The vertical rib 61 is positioned in the middle between the adjacent bag portions 22 . The vertical rib 61 is connected to the outer flange 20 and extends from the outer flange 20 to the lower end of the short wall portion 11 .

<Manufacturing of Frame 3>
As described above, the frame 3 is made by die casting. The mold opening direction of the main mold in the die casting mold (not shown) is, for example, the horizontal direction. The main mold consists of a fixed mold and a movable mold. The fixed mold and the movable mold are arranged, for example, facing each other in the horizontal direction. The range of the outer surface of the long wall portion 10 of the frame 3 where the bracket 43 is provided is reciprocated, for example, in a vertical direction or in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the opening direction of the main mold. formed by a sliding core that

<Bottom plate 4>
A bottom plate 4 is attached to the frame 3 . The bottom plate 4 closes the bottom opening of the frame 3 . In this embodiment, since the frame 3 has the first bottom opening 13 and the second bottom opening 14 , one bottom plate 4 is attached to each of the bottom openings 13 and 14 . That is, a total of two bottom plates 4 are attached to the frame 3 . The bottom plate 4 is attached to the frame 3 from above. The bottom plate 4 is placed on the upper surfaces of the inner flanges 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 and the partition flanges 37, 38. As shown in FIG. The bottom plate 4 is fixed by welding to the upper surfaces of the inner flanges 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 and 36 and the upper surfaces of the partition flanges 37 and 38 . A battery mounting portion 40 is positioned outside the bottom plate 4 in the short side direction of the frame 3 . The battery mounting portion 40 facing the frame 3 in the short side direction functions as positioning of the bottom plate 4 in the short side direction of the frame 3 .

<Battery accommodation state>
The battery case 1 accommodates a plurality of batteries 2 as shown in FIG. The battery 2 is placed on the bottom plate 4 . Since the frame 3 has the partition wall 12 , the battery case 1 has two battery storage sections 5 separated by the partition wall 12 . For example, four batteries 2 can be accommodated in one battery accommodating portion 5 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the battery case 1 can accommodate a total of eight batteries 2 . Although not shown, the battery 2 is formed by stacking and integrating a plurality of cells.

As shown in FIG. 5 , the battery 2 can be attached to the battery case 1 by pressing the battery 2 from above with the battery retainer 70 . The battery retainer 70 is made of sheet metal, for example. The battery retainer 70 can collectively attach two batteries 2 aligned in the short side direction of the frame 3 to the battery case 1 . The battery retainer 70 has a rectangular shape elongated in the short side direction of the frame 3 . Since four batteries 2 are accommodated in each battery accommodating portion 5 , two battery holders 70 are attached to each battery accommodating portion 5 . A total of four battery holders 70 are arranged along the long side direction of the frame 3 . The battery retainer 70 has screwing portions 71 at both ends thereof. The screwing portion 71 is positioned above the battery mounting portion 40 of the frame 3 so as to face it. A bolt 72 is screwed into the screw hole of the screw boss portion 42 of the battery mounting portion 40 from above the screwing portion 71 .

In the battery case 1 configured as described above, the frame 3 and the bottom plate 4 are separate members. And the frame 3 is made of die casting. Therefore, even a large-sized frame 3 can be easily manufactured by die casting. Compared to the configuration having a bottom surface, the projected area of the product portion is smaller, and the mold opening force required when pouring molten metal is smaller. Therefore, the mold clamping force of the die casting apparatus can be reduced, and the production can be performed at low cost. Further, since the frame body 3 is made of die casting, the bracket 43, the battery mounting portion 40, the outer flange 20, the bag portion 22, the inner flanges 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, the partition flanges 37, 38, and the partition walls 12, various shapes such as vertical ribs 50, 51, 52, 60, 61 can be easily formed.

Outer flange 20, inner flanges 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, partition wall 12, partition flanges 37, 38, vertical ribs 50, 51, 52, 60, 61, bracket 43, lower flange 44, bag portion 22 effectively reinforces the frame 3. Since the battery mounting portion 40 is provided on the first to fourth inner flanges 31, 32, 33, 34, the battery mounting portion 40 can be mounted by effectively utilizing the first to fourth inner flanges 31, 32, 33, 34. can be placed. Also, the battery mounting portion 40 serves as reinforcement of the frame 3 together with the first to fourth inner flanges 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 . In particular, since the battery mounting portion 40 is integrated with the inner surface of the long wall portion 10, the battery mounting portion 40 serves as reinforcement for the first to fourth inner flanges 31, 32, 33, 34, and as a result, the frame 3 is effective. effectively reinforced. Since the bracket 43 and the battery attachment portion 40 have a positional relationship corresponding to the inside and the outside, the battery 2 is stabilized.

1 Battery Case 2 Battery 3 Frame 4 Bottom Plate 5 Battery Housing 10 Long Wall 11 Short Wall 12 Partition Wall 13 First Bottom Opening 14 Second Bottom Opening 20 Outer Flange 21 Screw Hole 22 Bag 31 First Inner Flange 32 Second inner flange 33 Third inner flange 34 Fourth inner flange 35 Fifth inner flange 36 Sixth inner flange 37 First partition flange 38 Second partition flange 40 Battery attachment portion 41 Base portion 42 Screw boss portion 43 Bracket 44 Lower flange 50 Vertical rib 51 Vertical rib 52 Vertical rib 60 Vertical rib 61 Vertical rib 70 Battery retainer 71 Screw portion 72 Bolt

Claims (3)

A battery case attached to a vehicle body,
A die-cast frame having an open top surface and a bottom surface and a vehicle body mounting portion for mounting to the vehicle body, and a bottom plate attached to the frame ,
The frame body has an inner flange protruding inward at or near the lower end, and a battery attachment portion for attaching a battery is protruded from the upper surface of the inner flange, and the inner flange is attached to the battery attachment portion. protrudes inward from the
A vehicle-mounted battery case, wherein the bottom plate is mounted on the upper surface of the inner flange and at a position inside the battery mounting portion so that the battery mounting portion is positioned. 2. The vehicle-mounted battery case according to claim 1, wherein the frame has an outer flange projecting outward at or near the upper end, and the frame has a partition wall. 3. The vehicle - mounted battery case according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle body mounting portion is provided at a position on the outer surface of the frame corresponding to the battery mounting portion.

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