JPH09115490A - Unit cell of storage battery - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve its heat radiating performance by reliably positioning cells in a unit cell. SOLUTION: In a unit cell 10 where cells 1 being a minimum unit of a storage battery are layered in a plurality, and end plates 11 are arranged on respective ones of both layered ends, and both side surfaces of both end plates 11 are connected to each other by belt-like cross-linking bodies 12, and the cells 1 in a layered condition are restrained and held by these belt-like cross-linking bodies 12, horizontal ribs 2 and 3 contacting with the upper edge and the lower edge of the belt-like cross linking bodies 12 are protrusively arranged on both side surfaces of the respective cells 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a unit battery formed by connecting a plurality of unit cells, which are the minimum unit of a storage battery, in a stacked state.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A storage battery system in which a plurality of unit batteries, each of which is a minimum unit of storage batteries, are stacked to form an assembled battery is used in the field of electric vehicles. There is. In addition, since an electric vehicle or the like requires a voltage of 200V to 300V,
It is necessary to use a considerable number of cells in combination, and considering the expansion of the cells due to the heat generated when the storage battery is charged, the vibration during use, etc., the method of restraining and holding the cells that make up the unit cell is very important. It becomes a problem.

By the way, a conventional unit battery is as shown in FIGS. That is, the unit cell 1 is provided with short and small knocks 6 and front and rear faces of the unit cell 1 at predetermined positions, and at the time of stacking, the front and rear faces of the plurality of unit cells are alternately arranged. The individual batteries 1 were positioned by fitting the knocks 6 and the knock holes 7, and the single batteries 1 were stacked to form the unit battery 10 shown in FIG. 4. Then, end plates 11 are arranged at both stacked ends of the unit battery 10, and the end plates 11 are connected by the band-shaped cross-linked bodies 12 provided in the stacking direction on the left and right side surfaces of each unit cell 1, Each unit cell 1 laminated by the end plate 11 and the band-shaped cross-linked body 12 is only restrained and held, and each unit cell 1 is positioned only by coupling the knock 6 and the knock hole.

[0004]

As described above, when the assembled battery is used as the storage battery, each unit cell is restrained and held in the unit battery in consideration of heat generation during charging, vibration during use, and the like. However, in the above-mentioned conventional example, since the positioning in the stacking direction between the individual cells is performed only by connecting the small knocks and the knock holes, the vertical position between the single cells in the unit cell is displaced. There was a problem that said it was easy. In particular, when the unit cell expands unevenly due to heat generated when the storage battery is charged, positional deviation in the vertical direction easily occurs, which is a problem.

Further, the wall pressure on the side surface of the unit cell is increased to reduce the wall pressure only in the positioning portion of the crosslinked body to form a recess, and the crosslinked body is positioned in the recess. However, if the cross-linked body is made to have a strip shape to increase its rigidity, it is necessary to make the width of the thin portion on the side surface of the battery case large, and the thin portion expands and deforms under the influence of the change in the battery internal pressure during charging and discharging. There was a problem. In addition, there is also a problem that the heat dissipation is poor because the wall pressure on the side surface of the battery case becomes thick as a whole.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a structure in which a plurality of unit cells, which are the minimum unit of storage batteries, are stacked, and end plates are arranged at both ends of the stack, and both end plates are provided on both sides. In a unit battery in which the surfaces are connected by a band-shaped crosslinked body and the unit cells in a stacked state by these band-shaped crosslinked bodies are restrained and held, both side surfaces of each unit cell are connected to the upper and lower edges of the band-shaped crosslinked body. It is characterized by protruding ribs.

According to the present invention, the unit cells constituting the unit cell are held and constrained by the end plates and the band-shaped crosslinked bodies at the laminated ends of the unit cells. By providing the lateral ribs in contact with the upper edge and the lower edge, the strip-shaped bridge is also restrained in the vertical direction. Therefore, the vertical displacement of the stacked cells does not occur.

By providing the ribs, the left and right side plates of the battery case of the unit cell can be reinforced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the wall pressure of the left and right side plates, improve the heat dissipation of the unit cell against heat generated during charging, and reduce the weight of the unit cell, the unit battery, and the storage battery system as a whole.

[0009]

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 shows a unit battery 10 when ten unit cells 1 are stacked. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the unit cell 1.

The unit battery 10 is composed of ten unit cells 1, a pair of end plates 11, four band-shaped bridges 12, and nine connecting terminals 21.

The unit cell 1 is a sealed alkaline storage battery housed in a rectangular parallelepiped battery case 1a, and the battery case 1a is made of synthetic resin for weight reduction. The battery case 1a is short in the stacking direction and long in the left-right direction, and is designed so as not to be too long in the stacking direction. In addition, on the front and rear surfaces corresponding to both surfaces in the stacking direction of the battery case 1a, the diagonally two
A knock 6 is provided at one place, and two knock holes 7 are provided on the other diagonal line. The shape of the knock 6 is a columnar short projection, and the knock hole 7 is a hole fitted into the knock 6.

The knock 6 and the knock hole 7 are provided at positions corresponding to the front and rear surfaces of the unit cell 1 in the stacking direction.
In addition, the upper and lower sides of each side of the battery case 1a
A pair of lateral ribs 2 and 3 is provided at each of the positions in the stacking direction, and the upper lateral rib 2 and the lower lateral rib 3 form a pair, and the distance corresponds to the width of the band-shaped bridge 12. There is. The amount of protrusion of the lateral ribs 2 and 3 is about 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm, and the length in the stacking direction is substantially equal to the width of the unit cell 1 in the stacking direction.
By providing the lateral ribs 2 and 3, the left and right side surfaces of the unit cell 1 are reinforced, and the wall thickness of the battery case 1a on both side surfaces can be made thinner than in the conventional case. The wall thickness could be about 1 mm to 3 mm. Therefore, the heat dissipation from the left and right side surfaces of the unit cell 1 is improved, and the weight can be reduced.

The end plate 11 conforms to the shape of the front and rear surfaces of the unit cell 1, and the knock 6 of the unit cell 1 is attached to the contact surface thereof.
Further, a knock hole and a knock to be fitted into the knock hole 7 are provided. Attachment portions 13 for the band-shaped cross-linked body 12 are provided at upper and lower two positions on both left and right side surfaces of the end plate 11.

The band-shaped cross-linked body 12 has a band shape, and its length is determined by the number of the unit cells 1 to be stacked. In the present embodiment, 10 unit cells 1 are stacked to form the unit battery 10. Therefore, the length of 10 unit cells 1 plus the length for fixing to the end plates 11 at both ends is obtained. The width thereof is equal to the vertical distance between the horizontal ribs 2 and 3, and the thickness thereof is substantially equal to the protruding amount of the horizontal ribs 2 and 3. Belt-shaped cross-linked body 12
The mounting portion 13 has a screw hole so that it can be fixed with a screw 14. The connection terminal 21 is a unit cell 1
This is for connecting the unit cells 1 in series when the cells are alternately stacked.

Next, the assembly of the above members will be described.

A predetermined number of unit cells 1 (10 in this embodiment) are arranged alternately so that the positive and negative electrodes of the unit cells 1 are alternately arranged in the stacking direction. At this time, the cells 6 are stacked so that the knocks 6 and the knock holes 7 provided on the front and rear surfaces of the unit cell 1 fit into each other. The end plates 11 are arranged at the stacking ends so that the knocks and the knock holes of the end plates 11 fit into the knock holes 7 and the knocks 6 of the unit cell 1, and the mounting portions of the end plates 11 are provided at a total of four positions on the left and right sides. Both ends of the strip-shaped cross-linked body 12 are fixed to 13 with screws 14, and the unit cell 1 is restrained and held. At this time, the unit cells 1 are closely adhered and stacked, and the upper and lower edges of the band-shaped crosslinked body 12 are provided with the lateral ribs 2, 3 of the unit cell 1.
By fixing them so as to be in contact with each other and to be closely attached to the left and right side surfaces of the unit cell 1, the end plate 11 and the band-shaped cross-linking body 12 can securely hold the unit cell 1 and the band-shaped cross-linking body. Since the upper edge and the lower edge of 12 are in contact with the lateral ribs 2 and 3, the vertical position of the unit cell 1 is restricted, and the vertical position shift can be prevented.

In this embodiment, the unit battery 10 is composed of the unit cell 1 in which both the knock 6, the knock hole 7, and the lateral ribs 2 and 3 are provided at the same time. However, only the lateral ribs 2 and 3 and the band-shaped cross-linked body 12 are formed. However, the unit cell 1 can be sufficiently positioned, the knock 6 and the knock hole 7 can be omitted from the unit cell 1, and the cost can be reduced and the productivity at the time of assembly can be improved.

[0019]

According to the present invention, by positioning the upper and lower edges of the band-shaped crosslinked body between the horizontal ribs provided on both side surfaces of the unit cell, the unit cells can be reliably positioned. It is possible to provide a unit cell of a storage battery which can be carried out and which can surely hold each cell at a predetermined position even under the influence of expansion of the cell due to heat generation during charging and vibration during use. .

Further, by providing the lateral ribs, the strength of both side surfaces of the unit cell can be reinforced, so that the wall thickness of both side surface plates of the battery case can be reduced and the heat dissipation of the unit cell can be improved. it can. In particular, even when a large amount of heat is generated at the time of charging or the like, the improvement of the heat dissipation can prevent the battery case of the unit cell from being damaged or deformed.

Further, since the battery case can be made thin, the weight of the unit cell can be reduced, and as a result, the weight of the unit battery and the entire storage battery system can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a unit battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the unit cell.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a conventional unit cell.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a conventional unit battery.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 unit cell 2 lateral rib 3 lateral rib 10 unit battery 11 end plate 12 strip-shaped cross-linked body

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of unit cells, which are the minimum unit of a storage battery, are stacked, and end plates are arranged at both ends of the stack,
In a unit battery in which both side surfaces of both end plates are connected by a band-shaped crosslinked body and the unit cells in a stacked state by these band-shaped crosslinked bodies are restrained and held, both side surfaces of each unit cell have an upper edge of the band-shaped crosslinked body and A unit battery of a storage battery, which is provided with a lateral rib that is in contact with the lower edge.