JPH11242947A - Battery connection structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery connection structure capable of dealing with a battery layout change easily. SOLUTION: Multiple mounting holes 31 which allow connection fittings 40 to be mounted and dismounted are penetratingly formed, in advance, in a lid body 30 which is fitted to a housing 20. In order to connect a desired number of batteries 11, that number of batteries 11 are stored in the housing 20, the connection fittings 40 each are mounted to a predetermined mounting hole 31 selected from multiple ones corresponding to battery posts 12 of each on the batteries 11 and the lid body 30 is fitted to the housing 20. Then, the connection fittings 110 are pressed against the posts of the battery 11 in such a way as to bridge between the predetermined battery posts 12, and thereby, all the batteries 11 are connected. Because the mounting positions of the mounting holes 31 are changeable like this, the change of the layout of the batteries 11 can easily be dealt with.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a battery connection structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a connection structure for a battery of this type, there is known a structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-125544, which is shown in FIGS. This battery has a structure in which twelve batteries 1 are housed in a box 2, and a bus bar 5 is fixed to a lid 4 attached to the box 2 in correspondence with the battery posts 3, 3 of each battery 1. Has become. At the upper end of each battery post 3, as shown in FIG. 12, a bifurcated connection opening 3A is formed, into which the bus bar 5 is inserted for electrical connection.

[0003]

By the way, in the case of connecting a plurality of batteries, in particular, for a power battery for an electric vehicle, for which the technical development is remarkable, the layout (number or number) of the plurality of batteries depends on the type of the power motor. Arrangement) is often changed. However, in the conventional structure described above, since the bus bar 5 is fixed to the lid 4 and the bus bar 5 has a special shape for connecting 12 batteries, it is difficult to cope with a change in the layout of the battery. Met. The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery connection structure that can easily cope with a change in the layout of a battery.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to a first aspect of the present invention provides an open-top box capable of accommodating a plurality of batteries each having a pair of battery posts having different polarities on an upper surface, A lid capable of covering the top opening of the box, and a plurality of connection fittings attached to the lid and capable of connecting predetermined battery posts of a plurality of batteries by covering the lid with the box. It is characterized in that the attachment position of the connection fitting to the lid can be changed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the battery connection structure according to the first aspect, more mounting portions are provided on the lid than the number of the connecting metal portions in advance, and the mounting portions are selectively provided on the mounting portion. It is characterized in that a connection fitting can be attached to the connector.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the battery connection structure according to the first or second aspect, the mounting portion is provided with a mounting hole formed through the lid, and the connection fitting is provided with a mounting hole. It is characterized in that a lock piece which is inserted into the lock piece so as to be in a retaining state is provided.

[0007]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to connect the batteries, the batteries are housed in a desired number and arrangement in a box, and the connection fittings are made to correspond to the battery posts of each battery. The cover may be moved to a predetermined position and attached, and the lid may be fitted to the box. Then, the connection fitting is pressed against the battery post so as to bridge between the predetermined battery posts, and the entire battery is connected. As described above, since the mounting position can be changed, it is possible to easily cope with a change in the layout of the battery.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is only necessary to attach the connection fitting to one selected from the plurality of attachment portions.
A connection fitting is provided at a position connecting predetermined battery posts. This eliminates the need for a fine positioning operation of the connection fitting, and facilitates the connection work.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the connection fitting is mounted simply by inserting the lock piece of the connection fitting into the mounting hole provided in the lid.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. The connection case 10 to which the battery connection structure of the present invention is applied allows a desired number of batteries 11 up to 24 to be connected. As shown in FIG. 1, the battery 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and is provided with a pair of battery posts 12, 12 each having a positive pole and a negative pole at both ends in the longitudinal direction of an upper surface 11A. The battery post 12 has a cylindrical shape as shown in FIGS.
A connection fitting 40 described below can be brought into surface contact with the upper surface.

The connection case 10 is formed of an insulating synthetic resin, and as shown in FIG.
And a lid 30 fitted on the upper surface of the box 20. The box 20 and the lid 30 can be fixed in a fitted state by a lock mechanism (not shown). As shown in FIG. 1, the box body 20 can accommodate up to 24 batteries 11 in four rows and six rows.
As shown in FIG. 2, 24 concave cells 21 into which the bottom of the battery 11 can be fitted are provided (in FIG. 2, the batteries 11 are accommodated in the lower two rows of the cells 21 in FIG. 2). Is shown). When the battery 11 is fitted into the cell 21, the battery 11 is positioned in the horizontal direction, and both battery posts 12, 12 of each battery 11 are positioned.
Are arranged in the lateral direction of the box 20 (the left-right direction in FIG. 2). Also,
The positive pole and the negative pole can be arranged on either side of FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the battery posts 12, 12 of the batteries 11 adjacent to each other in the lateral direction are provided.
(See L1 in FIG. 2) and the space between the battery posts 12 and 12 of the battery 11 adjacent in the vertical direction (see L2 in FIG. 2) have the same dimensions. In addition, a connection fitting 40 (see FIG. 5) described later for connecting the battery posts 12, 12 to each other is shared.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the cover 30 is formed with a plurality of mounting holes 31 for mounting the connection fittings 40. In FIG. 2 shows the arrangement of the mounting holes 31 in a state where the mounting holes 31 are closed. Each of the mounting holes 31 has an oval shape, and is disposed between the battery posts 12, 12 which may be connected, as shown in FIG. 4, and is elongated in a direction connecting the battery posts 12, 12. The long axis of the circle is oriented.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the connection fitting 40 has a configuration in which an insulating synthetic resin portion 42 surrounds an intermediate portion of a conductive metal piece 41 in the longitudinal direction. On the upper surface of the synthetic resin portion 42, an oval pedestal 43 that can be fitted into the mounting hole 31 protrudes, and an arrowhead-shaped clip 44 protrudes upward from the center of the pedestal 43. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the pair of locking pieces 45 provided on the clip 44 pass through the mounting hole 31 and are attached to the mounting hole 31.
And the base 43 is fitted into the mounting hole 31 to prevent the fitting from rotating. Both ends 46, 46 of the metal piece 41 are bent in a crank shape and approach the battery posts 12, 12, and the lower surface thereof has a cylindrical cup 4 facing the battery post 12.
7 (see FIG. 6) are protruded. Then, the battery post 12 is fitted inside the cup 47, and the metal piece 41 and the battery post 12 are connected. Also,
The upper surface of both ends 46, 46 of the metal piece 41 is provided with an emboss 4
8, a compression coil spring 49 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the emboss 48, and can be compressed between the lid 30 and the metal piece 41, and assists the elastic reaction force of the metal piece 41.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described. (1) When eight batteries are connected in series In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, eight batteries 11 are housed in a box 20 in four rows in the left-right direction of FIG. The battery 11 in the lower row has a negative pole on the left side and a positive pole on the right side, and the upper row has a negative pole on the right side and a positive pole on the left side, and is positioned by the cell 21. The output wires 16 and 16 are connected to the battery posts B1 and B2 (see FIG. 2) adjacent in the center of the lower row.
Is connected.

In order to connect all the batteries 11, the battery posts 12, 12 of the adjacent batteries 11, 11 having the battery posts B1, B2 at both ends so as to form an annular shape of the entire batteries 11, are connected. The pair P1 to P7 surrounded by the two-dot chain line in the figure)
Connect with 0. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
The connection fitting 40 is set in the predetermined mounting hole 31. Then, the cover 30 is fitted to the box 20, and both are fixed by a lock mechanism (not shown). Then, the box 20 and the lid 30
, The both ends 46, 46 of the connection fitting 40.
A pair of battery posts 1 on the back of the cups 47, 47
2 and 12 are pressed, and the connection fitting 40 is attached to the lid 3.
The battery 40 bends to the zero side, and the reaction force causes the connection fitting 40 to come into contact with both battery posts 12 with a contact pressure. Here, when the connection fitting 40 bends toward the lid 30 side, the compression coil spring 49 bends to assist the elastic force, so that the connection fitting 40 can contact the battery post 12 with a large contact pressure, and the connection reliability is improved. In this way, the eight batteries 11 are connected in series as shown in FIG. 7, and the output wires 16, 16 can be connected to the electric device to supply the electric power from the battery 11 to the electric device.

(2) Case where 16 batteries are connected in series In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, for example, as shown in FIG. The eight batteries 11 on the right side and the eight batteries 11 on the left side are connected in a meandering shape as shown in FIG.
In addition, the battery posts 12 adjacent at the center of the top row
In order to connect them, a connection fitting 40 may be set on the lid 30 as shown in FIG.

(3) Case of Connecting 24 Batteries in Series In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, of the 24 batteries 11 housed in the box 20, 12 batteries on the right side from the center on the right and left in FIG. The battery 11 and the 12 batteries 11 on the left side are connected in a meandering shape as shown in FIG.
In addition, the battery posts 12 adjacent at the center of the top row
In order to connect them, a connection fitting 40 may be set on the lid 30 as shown in FIG.

(4) When 18 batteries are connected in series In this case, the right vertical column shown in FIG. 11 is removed from the case where the 24 batteries 11 are connected in series as shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 15, the connection fitting 40 may be set on the lid 30 as shown in FIG.

As described above, according to the battery 11 connection structure of the present invention, the mounting position of the connection fitting 40 can be changed, so that the layout of the battery 11 can be easily changed. Moreover, by simply attaching the connection fitting 40 to one selected from the plurality of mounting holes 31, the connection fitting 40 is positioned so as to connect the predetermined battery posts 12, 12, so that a fine positioning operation can be performed. It becomes unnecessary and connection work becomes easy. Furthermore, the lid 3
The clip 44 of the connection fitting 40 is
, The connection fitting 40 can be attached with a single touch, thereby improving work efficiency.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention.
In addition to the following, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the embodiment, the clip 44 is attached to the connection fitting 40.
Is provided so as to be attached to the lid 30. However, for example, a structure in which a pair of holding pieces are projected from the ceiling surface of the lid 30 and the fitting piece 41 is held there may be used.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a battery connection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a box.

FIG. 3 is a top view of a lid.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state where a lid is fitted to the box.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a connection fitting.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a connection fitting.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a state in which eight batteries are connected.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a box housing 16 battery terminals.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram in a state where a battery is connected in that case.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the lid showing the mounting arrangement of the connection fitting in that case.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a box housing 24 battery terminals.

FIG. 12 is a circuit diagram showing a state in which a battery is connected in that case.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of the lid showing the mounting arrangement of the connection fitting in that case.

FIG. 14 is a plan view of a box housing 18 battery terminals.

FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram showing a state where a battery is connected in that case.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the lid showing the mounting arrangement of the connection fitting in that case.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a conventional battery connection structure.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged perspective view showing the connection portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Battery 12 ... Battery post 20 ... Box 30 ... Lid 31 ... Mounting hole (mounting part) 40 ... Connection fitting 44 ... Clip (lock piece) 49 ... Compression coil spring

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An open-top box capable of accommodating a plurality of batteries having a pair of battery posts having different polarities on an upper surface, a cover capable of covering an open-top portion of the box, and the cover. And a plurality of connection fittings that can connect predetermined battery posts of the plurality of batteries by covering the lid with the box, and a mounting position of the connection fitting to the lid. However, the connection structure of the battery can be changed. 2. The mounting device according to claim 1, wherein a number of attachment portions to which the connection fittings can be attached and detached are provided in advance on the lid body, more than the number of the connection fittings, and the connection fittings can be selectively attached to the attachment portions. A connection structure for a battery according to claim 1. 3. The mounting portion is provided with a mounting hole formed through the lid, and the connection fitting is provided with a lock piece that is inserted into the mounting hole so as to be in a retaining state. The battery connection structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: