KR102657679B1 - Battery case for electric vehicle with improved protection function of battery - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery case exclusively for electric vehicles, comprising: a main body having an outer wall protruding upward along the side and forming an arbitrary accommodation space inside the outer wall; a partition wall that protrudes upward from the bottom of the main body and divides the accommodation space at preset intervals; a first reinforcing member made of at least one reinforcing material and coupled along the outer wall of the main body; a second reinforcing member made of at least one reinforcing material and coupled along the partition wall; a battery pack that is accommodated in a plurality of partition spaces formed by the first and second reinforcement members, is concealed by the first and second reinforcement members, and is primarily subjected to pressure that buffers against external shock; And it is configured to have a restoring force due to elasticity, and is interposed between the battery pack and at least one of the first reinforcement member and the second reinforcement member facing the battery pack, so that a secondary buffered pressure against external shock is applied to the battery pack. Characterized in that it includes a buffer member that,
This has the effect of achieving improved durability by protecting the battery pack while minimizing damage to the battery pack.

Description

Battery case for electric vehicles with improved battery protection {BATTERY CASE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLE WITH IMPROVED PROTECTION FUNCTION OF BATTERY}

The present invention protects the battery pack while minimizing damage to the battery pack by using the restoring force of the elastic body to alleviate the impact on the battery pack even if the side member is damaged due to a side collision accident, thereby improving durability. This is about a battery case for electric vehicles that improves the achievable battery protection function.

In general, automobiles mainly use fossil fuels such as petroleum such as gasoline and diesel, or natural gas such as LPG and LNG.

However, fossil fuels are a resource with limited reserves and are being depleted over time. In the process of use, not only are various exhaust gases polluting the atmospheric environment emitted, but they also emit large amounts of carbon dioxide, which is a major cause of global warming. There was this.

As an alternative to solve these problems, an electric vehicle that uses electricity as an energy source has been proposed, which includes a pure electric vehicle (battery powered EV), a fuel cell electric vehicle that uses a fuel cell as an electric motor, and an electric motor. Hybrid electric vehicles (hybrid EVs) that use both engines are being developed.

Here, the battery pack applied to an electric vehicle is composed of a number of modules, which are a collection of secondary battery cells, installed inside. An electric vehicle equipped with such a battery pack is prone to fire and fire in the event of a vehicle collision. It can lead to an explosion and cause a serious accident to the driver and passengers.

Therefore, it is important for the battery case to have crash resistance characteristics to protect the battery pack inside, and to reinforce rigidity against various vibrations caused by the road surface while the vehicle is running.

To this end, referring to FIG. 1, the battery case is prepared for a collision accident with a vehicle body collision reinforcement material and a battery pack self-reinforcement material.

For example, the upper cover member and the lower base member, which cover the outer surface of the battery case according to the prior art, are mainly manufactured by press molding, and in order to reinforce the battery case, a number of reinforcing materials are added to the inside and outside of the battery case to improve performance. It is structured to satisfy.

At this time, the reinforcing materials must satisfy both functions of absorbing external shock and protecting the battery pack from explosion by maintaining its shape.

In particular, in the event of a front-to-back collision in an electric vehicle, the impact is alleviated by the vehicle's bumper and body frame, whereas in the case of a side-direction collision, the impact is transmitted directly to the battery pack, which may damage the battery and cause an explosion. .

In addition, referring to FIG. 2, even if the side member 11 is made of a reinforcing material as shown in (a), in the event of primary damage to the side member 11 due to a side impact in the direction of the arrow in (b) As shock is indirectly transmitted to the battery pack 12 by the damaged side member 11, there is a risk of secondary damage to the battery.

Therefore, there is a need to develop technology that can maintain the shape of the battery pack by reinforcing the rigidity of the battery case, especially the lateral rigidity, and achieve improved protection for the battery pack by assisting with reinforcing materials for the battery case to prevent explosion. .

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-1816912 (Title of invention: Battery case for electric vehicle and method of manufacturing the same)

Therefore, the present invention was devised to solve the above problems, and provides a buffer member that relieves the impact applied to the battery pack by using the restoring force of the elastic body even when the first reinforcement member is damaged due to a side collision accident. The purpose is to provide a battery case for electric vehicles with improved battery protection that can achieve improved durability by protecting the battery pack while minimizing damage to the battery pack.

However, the technical problems to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly apparent to those skilled in the art from the description below. It will be understandable.

In the battery case exclusively for electric vehicles according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is a technical means for achieving the above object, an outer wall protrudes upward along the side, and an arbitrary accommodation space is formed inside the outer wall. a body that does; a partition wall that protrudes upward from the bottom of the main body and divides the accommodation space at preset intervals; a first reinforcing member made of at least one reinforcing material and coupled along the outer wall of the main body; a second reinforcing member made of at least one reinforcing material and coupled along the partition wall; a battery pack that is accommodated in a plurality of partition spaces formed by the first and second reinforcement members, is concealed by the first and second reinforcement members, and is primarily subjected to pressure that buffers against external shock; And it is configured to have a restoring force due to elasticity, and is interposed between the battery pack and at least one of the first reinforcement member and the second reinforcement member facing the battery pack, so that a secondary buffered pressure against external shock is applied to the battery pack. It may include a buffer member.

In addition, the cushioning member extends to have an arbitrary length in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction with a hollow formed therein, one side in the longitudinal direction is open, and the other side is provided with the battery pack, first and second reinforcement. a housing installed to face each other on any one of the members; a spring made of elastic material and accommodated in the housing to exert a restoring force in the longitudinal direction of the housing; And a part is inserted into one open side of the housing, and the end of the inserted part is coupled to the spring, and when an external shock occurs, the spring is pressed and flows along the longitudinal direction of the housing by the restoring force of the spring. It may include a pressurizing rod.

In addition, the partition space formed by the first and second reinforcement members may be formed in a square shape, and a total of four buffer members, one each near each corner of the square-shaped partition space, are provided to protect any of the battery pack. Two of the housing and the pressure rod are arranged side by side on each side, and one of the housing and the pressure rod is supported in close contact with the battery pack, and the other is supported in close contact with at least one of the first and second reinforcement members to prevent external shock. When this occurs, the impact can be dispersed while allowing the battery pack to have fluidity in the longitudinal direction of the housing.

In addition, it may further include a separation prevention member provided on the main body and the buffer member to prevent the housing from being separated from the main body while ensuring that the housing flows in the longitudinal direction together with the pressure rod due to external shock. You can.

In addition, the separation prevention member includes a guide groove formed along the longitudinal direction of the housing on the bottom of the main body; and a guider that protrudes from the bottom of the housing facing the guide groove, is detachably coupled to the guide groove, and moves along the guide groove when an external shock occurs.

The battery case for an electric vehicle with improved battery protection according to the present invention has a buffer member that uses the restoring force of the elastic body to relieve the impact applied to the battery pack even when the first reinforcement member is damaged due to a side collision accident. This has the effect of achieving improved durability by protecting the battery pack while minimizing damage to the battery pack.

In addition, according to the present invention, a relatively low unit price and mass production process can be expected through the configuration of the buffer member with an easier structural design, and when using the protective function of the buffer member, it is prevented from being separated from the main body, It is possible to achieve higher reliability of use and ease of replacement through the configuration of a separation prevention member that allows it to be separated from the main body when its durability is exhausted.

In addition, according to the present invention, the durability of the buffer member itself can be improved while dispersing external shock to the battery pack more efficiently through the arrangement structure of the buffer member, and a notification member that detects damage to the buffer member and visually notifies it is provided. This has the advantage of not only being able to more easily recognize the need for replacement of the buffer member, but also inferring damage to the battery pack located in the buffer member.

However, the effects that can be obtained from the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. You will be able to.

Figure 1 is an image showing an actual use example of a battery case for an electric vehicle according to the prior art.
Figure 2 is a 3D image showing an example of damage caused by a side collision with the battery case according to Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a battery case for an electric vehicle with improved battery protection function according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 4 is a partially enlarged view showing the operation of the shock absorbing member of the battery case according to Figure 3.
Figure 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of a buffer member, a separation prevention member, and a notification member of the battery case according to Figure 3.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present invention. However, since the description of the present invention is only an example for structural or functional explanation, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as limited by the examples described in the text. In other words, since the embodiment can be modified in various ways and can have various forms, the scope of rights of the present invention should be understood to include equivalents that can realize the technical idea. In addition, the purpose or effect presented in the present invention does not mean that a specific embodiment must include all or only such effects, so the scope of the present invention should not be understood as limited thereby.

The meaning of terms described in the present invention should be understood as follows.

Terms such as “first” and “second” are used to distinguish one component from another component, and the scope of rights should not be limited by these terms. For example, a first component may be named a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be named a first component. When a component is referred to as being “connected” to another component, it should be understood that it may be directly connected to the other component, but that other components may also exist in between. On the other hand, when a component is referred to as being “directly connected” to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between. Meanwhile, other expressions that describe the relationship between components, such as "between" and "immediately between" or "neighboring" and "directly neighboring" should be interpreted similarly.

Singular expressions should be understood to include plural expressions, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, and terms such as “comprise” or “have” refer to the specified features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or them. It is intended to specify the existence of a combination, and should be understood as not excluding in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

All terms used herein, unless otherwise defined, have the same meaning as commonly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the field to which the present invention pertains. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the related technology, and cannot be interpreted as having an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless clearly defined in the present invention.

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a battery case for an electric vehicle with improved battery protection function according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 4 is a partially enlarged view showing the operation of the buffer member of the battery case according to Figure 3. , and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the buffer member, separation prevention member, and notification member of the battery case according to FIG. 3.

As shown in Figures 3 to 5, the battery case 100 for an electric vehicle with improved battery protection function according to the present invention is a battery case exclusively for electric vehicles, including a main body 110, a partition wall 120, and a first It may be configured to include a reinforcing member 130, a second reinforcing member 140, a battery pack 150, a buffer member 160, a departure prevention member 170, and a notification member 180.

The main body 110 is a body that supports the overall structure to be described later, and may be made of a rigid aluminum alloy, but is not limited thereto.

According to the present invention, the main body 110 is preferably configured to have an outer wall that protrudes upward along the side, and to form an arbitrary accommodation space inside the outer wall.

In addition, a groove may be provided on the bottom of the main body 110 to form a separation prevention member 170, which will be described later, and this will be described in more detail in the description of the separation prevention member 170.

The partition 120 is a wall that divides the accommodation space for installation of the battery pack 150, which will be described later, and is formed to protrude upward from the bottom of the main body 110 to partition the accommodation space at preset intervals. Perform.

The first reinforcement member 130 is a side frame for primarily protecting the side of the main body 110 and the battery pack 150 against external shock, and is made of at least one reinforcing material and forms the outer wall of the main body 110. It is preferable to combine according to.

Here, the reinforcing material may be a metal material, but may also be a plastic composite material. It is not limited thereto, and various known reinforcing materials are handled and used within the technical scope of the present invention by those skilled in the art. Can be combined.

The second reinforcement member 140 supports the battery pack 150 together with the first reinforcement member 130 on the inside of the main body 110 to prevent it from being separated from the outside of the main body 110 in response to external shock. According to the present invention, the internal frame that primarily protects the battery pack 150 while doing so is preferably made of at least one reinforcing material and coupled along the partition wall 120.

The second reinforcing member 140 may be the same as the reinforcing material applied to the above-described first reinforcing member 130, but is not limited thereto, and may be formed of various known reinforcing materials different from the reinforcing material applied to the first reinforcing member 130. It goes without saying that reinforcements can be handled and combined.

The battery pack 150 is made up of a module type that is a collection of secondary battery cells and is configured to provide power to an electric vehicle. The first reinforcement member 130 and the second reinforcement member 140 are each accommodated in a plurality of partition spaces (S) formed by each other and are concealed by the first and second reinforcement members 130 and 140, and a pressure that primarily buffers against external shock is applied.

At this time, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the partition space S formed by the first and second reinforcement members 130 and 140 is preferably configured to have a rectangular shape.

The buffer member 160 is made to have a restoring force due to elasticity, and is interposed between the battery pack 150 and at least one of the first reinforcement member 130 and the second reinforcement member 140 facing the battery pack 150, and externally It is a configuration that allows pressure secondary to shock to be applied to the battery pack, and more specifically, may include a housing 161, a spring 162, and a pressure rod 163.

The housing 161 may be formed with a hollow inside and may be extended to have any length in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction. One side of the housing 161 may be open in the longitudinal direction, and more preferably, the other side may be open. It may be installed to face each other in any one of the battery pack 150 and the first and second reinforcement members 130 and 140.

Additionally, the housing 161 may be made of aluminum alloy, but is not limited thereto, and various known rigid materials may be applied.

The spring 162 is preferably made of an elastic material and is accommodated in the housing 161 so that a restoring force acts in the longitudinal direction of the housing 161.

The spring 162 may be manufactured using various known elastic materials or a deformation process for elasticity, but is not limited thereto, and is within the technical scope of the present invention to apply a restoring force in the longitudinal direction of the housing 161. Various elastic materials may be used instead.

The pressure rod 163 is partially inserted into one open side of the housing 161, so that the end of the inserted portion can be coupled to the spring 162, and when an external shock occurs, the spring 162 is While being pressed, it flows along the longitudinal direction of the housing 161 due to the restoring force of the spring 162.

Here, the pressure rod 163 may be made of polyurethane or rubber material, but is not limited thereto.

That is, the entire length of the buffer member 160 formed by the housing 161 and the pressure rod 163 can be expanded and contracted by the spring 162.

In addition, a total of four buffer members 160 configured as described above are provided, one each near each corner of the rectangular partition space S, and two are positioned side by side on either side of the battery pack 150. It is preferable that the housing 161 and the pressure rod 163 are arranged so that one of the housing 161 and the pressure rod 163 is supported in close contact with the battery pack 150 while the other one of the first and second reinforcement members 130, 140) may be configured to be closely supported by at least one of the following.

Accordingly, when an external shock occurs, the shock absorbing member 160 can disperse the shock while allowing the battery pack 150 to have fluidity in the longitudinal direction of the housing 161. In particular, the battery pack 150 The stable arrangement structure centered on not only provides a more efficient buffering function, but also improves its own durability.

The separation prevention member 170 is provided on the main body 110 and the buffer member 160, and ensures that the housing 161 flows in the longitudinal direction together with the pressure rod 163 due to external shock, while maintaining the housing 161. 161 performs a function of preventing separation from the main body 110, and more specifically, may be configured to include a guide groove 171 and a guider 172.

The guide groove 171 is preferably formed along the longitudinal direction of the housing 161 on the bottom of the main body 110.

The guider 172 is formed to protrude from the bottom of the housing 161 facing the above-mentioned guide groove 171 and can be detachably coupled to the guide groove 171. When an external shock occurs, the guide It is configured to move along the groove 171.

The positions of the guide groove 171 and the guider 172 may be mutually changed, and one of the guide groove 171 and the guider 172 may be formed on the side rather than the bottom of the housing 161. In this case, the other one may be formed on at least one of the first and second reinforcement members 130 and 140.

For example, in order to prevent the shock absorbing member 160 from being separated from the main body 110, a groove and protrusion structure in which the shock absorbing member 160 is simply detachably pressed together may be applied. The degree of shock dispersion may vary depending on whether the housing 161 moves, and the shock absorbing member 160 according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured to form the above-described separation prevention member 170 to support the battery pack 150. ), not only the pressure rod 163 but also the housing 161 flows together in response to the flow, so the impact can be dispersed more effectively than when the housing 161 is fixed.

The notification member 180 is installed on the buffer member 160 and performs a visual notification function by detecting damage to the buffer member 160 in real time, and includes a piezoelectric element 181 and a luminescent lamp 182. It can be configured to include.

The piezoelectric element 181 is preferably installed in the housing 161 to sense pressure in real time and generate an electric signal when the sensed pressure value exceeds a preset reference value.

Here, the piezoelectric element 181 is more preferably configured to entirely cover the inner surface of the housing 161.

The light-emitting lamp 182 is installed on the outer surface of the housing 161 and electrically connected to the piezoelectric element 181, and may be configured to emit light according to an electrical signal generated from the piezoelectric element 181. .

The piezoelectric element 181 and the light-emitting lamp 182 may be made of various known piezoelectric elements and light-emitting elements. Since this is a commonly known configuration, a more detailed description will be omitted.

For example, even when an external shock is generated by the notification member 180 configured as described above, the light emitting lamp 182 may blink momentarily due to the pressure of the pressing rod 163, but the above of the present invention When checking by opening the battery case 100, if the light emitting lamp 182 continues to emit light even though no external shock occurs, the pressing rod 163 is bent and the housing 161 is damaged. Structural deformation, that is, damage, of the cushioning member 160, including conditions such as continuous pressurization of the inner surface, can be suspected, as well as damage to the battery pack 150 located in the buffering member 160. can do.

At this time, since it is difficult for the structurally deformed shock absorbing member 160 to perform its normal function, the user can replace it, and the battery pack 150 can also be replaced by checking the degree of damage.

Therefore, the battery case 100 for an electric vehicle with improved battery protection function of the present invention protects against impact applied to the battery pack 150 by using the restoring force of the elastic body even when the first reinforcement member 130 is damaged due to a side collision accident. Through the configuration of the buffer member 160 that alleviates damage to the battery pack 150, it is possible to protect the battery pack 150 and achieve improved durability.

In addition, according to the present invention, a relatively low unit price and mass production process can be expected through the configuration of the buffer member 160 with an easier structural design, and when using the protective function of the buffer member 160, the main body 110 The advantage of achieving higher reliability of use and ease of replacement is the configuration of the separation prevention member 170, which prevents the shock absorber 160 from being separated from the main body 110 when the durability of the buffer member 160 is exhausted. there is.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the durability of the buffer member 160 itself can be improved while more efficiently dispersing external shock to the battery pack 150 through the arrangement structure of the buffer member 160, and the durability of the buffer member 160 itself can be improved. ) It is possible to more easily recognize the need for replacement of the corresponding buffer member 160 through the notification member 180 that detects and visually notifies the damage of the battery pack 150 located in the corresponding buffer member 160. It has the effect of being able to infer damage.

A detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention disclosed above is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or practice the invention. Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and changes can be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, a person skilled in the art may use each configuration described in the above-described embodiments by combining them with each other. Accordingly, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential features of the present invention. Accordingly, the above detailed description should not be construed as restrictive in all respects and should be considered illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein. In addition, claims that do not have an explicit reference relationship in the patent claims can be combined to form an embodiment or included as a new claim through amendment after filing.

100: battery case 110: main body
120: Bulkhead 130: First reinforcement member
140: Second reinforcement member 150: Battery pack
160: Buffering member 161: Housing
162: spring 163: pressurizing rod
170: separation prevention member 171: guide groove
172: Guider 180: Absence of notification
181: Piezoelectric element 182: Luminous lamp
S: compartment space

Claims (5)

In the battery case exclusively for electric vehicles,
A main body having an outer wall protruding upward along the side, and forming an arbitrary accommodation space inside the outer wall;
a plurality of partition walls that protrude upward from the bottom of the main body to partition the accommodation space at preset intervals;
a first reinforcing member made of at least one reinforcing material and coupled along the outer wall of the main body;
a second reinforcing member made of at least one reinforcing material and coupled along the partition wall;
a battery pack that is accommodated in a plurality of partition spaces formed by the first and second reinforcement members, is concealed by the first and second reinforcement members, and is primarily subjected to pressure that buffers against external shock; and
It is configured to have a restoring force due to elasticity, and is interposed between the battery pack and at least one of the first reinforcement member and the second reinforcement member facing the battery pack, so that a secondary buffered pressure against external shock is applied to the battery pack. Includes a buffer member,
The buffer member extends to have an arbitrary length in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction with a hollow formed therein, one side in the longitudinal direction is open, and the other side is one of the battery pack and the first and second reinforcement members. Housings installed to face each other; a spring made of elastic material and accommodated in the housing to exert a restoring force in the longitudinal direction of the housing; And a part is inserted into one open side of the housing, and the end of the inserted part is coupled to the spring, and when an external shock occurs, the spring is pressed and flows along the longitudinal direction of the housing by the restoring force of the spring. It includes a pressurizing rod that does,
The partition space formed by the first and second reinforcement members is formed in a square shape,
The buffer members are arranged in a total of four, one each near each corner of the rectangular partition space, and two are positioned side by side on either side of the battery pack, wherein one of the housing and the pressurizing rod is One is supported in close contact with the battery pack, and the other is supported in close contact with at least one of the first and second reinforcement members, so that when an external shock occurs, the battery pack disperses the shock while allowing fluidity in the longitudinal direction of the housing,
A separation prevention member provided on the main body and the buffer member, which prevents the housing from being separated from the main body while ensuring that the housing moves in the longitudinal direction together with the pressure rod due to external shock,
The separation prevention member is,
a guide groove formed on the bottom of the main body along the longitudinal direction of the housing; and
Improved battery protection function, including a guider that protrudes from the bottom of the housing facing the guide groove, is detachably coupled to the guide groove, and moves along the guide groove when an external shock occurs. Battery case for electric vehicles. delete delete delete delete

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