WO2012117697A1

WO2012117697A1 - Pipe structure, and battery temperature regulating system using same

Info

Publication number: WO2012117697A1
Application number: PCT/JP2012/001210
Authority: WO
Inventors: 一丸　貴秀
Original assignee: 株式会社ニフコ
Priority date: 2011-02-28
Filing date: 2012-02-22
Publication date: 2012-09-07
Also published as: JP2012180876A

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a pipe structure configured in such a manner that the structure thereof, such as the number of branches and the length, can be easily changed according to the number of structures to which the pipe structure is connected. [Solution] A pipe structure (4) comprises pipe units (15) connected together. Each of the pipe units (15) comprises: a pipe-shaped main pipe section (17) having both ends open; a circular pipe-shaped insertion end section (18) continuous with one end of the main pipe section; a receiving end section (33) continuous with the other end of the main pipe section; and a branch pipe section (40) branched from the intermediate portion of the main pipe section. A protrusion (27) is formed either on the outer peripheral surface of the insertion end section or on the inner peripheral surface of the receiving end section, and an engagement hole (37) greater than the protrusion is formed in the other of the outer and inner peripheral surfaces. The insertion end section of any one of the pipe units is inserted into the receiving end section of another pipe unit, and the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the insertion end section and the inner peripheral surface of the receiving end section is sealed by a flexible seal member (30). The protrusion is loosely fitted in the engagement hole, and the insertion end section is supported by the receiving end section so that, within a range in which the protrusion can move in the engagement hole, the insertion end section can enter and exit from the receiving end section and can rotate relative thereto.

Description

Tube structure and battery temperature control system using the same

The present invention relates to a pipe structure formed by connecting a plurality of pipe units. The present invention also relates to a battery temperature control system that uses this tube structure as a heat exchange medium feed passage.

There are some which use a battery pack in which a plurality of battery cells are connected in series or in parallel as a power source of an electric vehicle or the like. Since the charge / discharge performance of the battery pack depends on the temperature, when taking out a large current, the battery pack is cooled to suppress the temperature rise, while when the temperature is low, such as when starting use, the battery pack is heated up. Is preferred. From such a point of view, there is a battery pack that is arranged in a housing and warm-up or cooling air is supplied to the housing to adjust the temperature of the battery pack (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-225485 A

In the battery pack temperature control system as described above, there is a demand for temperature control using a medium such as water instead of air in order to perform temperature control more stably and efficiently. In this case, it is necessary to dispose a heat exchanger provided with a passage between the battery cells and to supply a medium to each of the heat exchangers. However, when the number of battery cells constituting the battery pack is large, a plurality of heat exchangers are required, and there is a problem that a pipe structure for supplying a medium to each heat exchanger becomes complicated. . In addition, since the number of necessary battery cells increases / decreases depending on the desired voltage, the number of heat exchangers to be interposed also increases / decreases, and a tube structure according to the number of heat exchangers can be appropriately constructed. There is a problem that it is necessary and a lot of time is required for designing and manufacturing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can be easily changed in structure such as the number of branches and length according to the number of structures such as heat exchangers to be connected. It is an object to provide a structure. It is another object of the present invention to provide a battery temperature control system having a simple structure using the tube structure.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a pipe structure (4) formed by connecting a plurality of pipe units (15), the pipe unit being a tubular main pipe portion (17) having both ends opened. A tubular insertion end (18) continuous to one end of the main pipe, and a receiving end (33) having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the insertion end and continuing to the other end of the main pipe ) And a branch pipe part (40) branched from an intermediate part of the main pipe part of the main pipe part, and the insertion end part of any of the pipe units is connected to the receiving end part of the other pipe unit. The insertion end portion is inserted in such a manner that the outer peripheral surface of the insertion end portion and the inner peripheral surface of the receiving end portion are sealed by a flexible sealing member (30), and the insertion end portion is another receiving portion. It is characterized by being displaceable with respect to the end.

According to this configuration, since it is possible to construct a pipe structure of an arbitrary scale simply by connecting the pipe units, for example, the scale of the pipe structure can be easily changed according to the number of battery cells and heat exchangers. Can do. Since the connection between the tube units is performed by inserting the insertion end portion into the receiving end portion, the connection operation is easy. In addition, each pipe unit is connected through a flexible sealing member, and can be slightly displaced relative to each other by sliding or deformation of the sealing member. Even if the body has a dimensional error, the tube structure can be reliably connected to the connection object by the relative displacement of each tube unit.

In another aspect of the present invention, a convex portion (27) is formed on one of the outer peripheral surface of the insertion end portion and the inner peripheral surface of the receiving end portion, and the other is larger than the convex portion. A hole (37) is formed, and when the insertion end of any of the tube units is inserted into the receiving end of another tube unit, the convex portion loosely fits into the locking hole, The insertion end is displaceable with respect to the other receiving end within a range in which the convex portion can be displaced within the locking hole.

According to this configuration, the convex portions are loosely fitted into the locking holes so that the tube units are maintained in a connected state. Moreover, since the convex portion can be displaced in the locking hole, the tube units can be displaced relative to each other within the displacement range.

In another aspect of the present invention, the insertion end of any of the tube units has an outer peripheral surface (26) capable of sliding contact with an inner peripheral surface (34) of the receiving end of the other tube unit. It is characterized by.

れば According to this configuration, the pipe units are connected without rattling.

In another aspect of the present invention, a connector (41) for connecting an end of a pipe to be connected to the branch pipe is provided at an end of the branch pipe, and the connector includes the pipe (8, 9) has a pipe insertion tube (43) through which the pipe is inserted and removed, and a pipe locking portion (53) for locking the pipe, and the pipe locking portion locks the pipe and the engagement position. A lock member (44) held against the pipe insertion tube so as to be movable between a lock release position for releasing the stop, and a biasing means (53, 56) for biasing the lock member toward the lock position. ).

According to this configuration, since the connection between the branch pipe portion and the pipe to be connected can be made detachable by the connector, the connection work is easy.

Another aspect of the present invention is a battery temperature control system (1) having the above tube structure, which includes a plurality of heat exchangers (3) interposed between a plurality of battery cells (2). Each of the plurality of heat exchangers has a passage (7) inside, and an inlet pipe (8) and an outlet pipe (9) communicating with the passage on the outer surface project, and the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe Are connected to each branch pipe portion of the pipe structure, and a medium is fed to each of the plurality of heat exchangers via the pipe structure.

According to this configuration, it is possible to easily construct a pipe structure according to the number of heat exchangers.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a tube structure whose scale can be easily changed according to the number of structures to be connected. Moreover, the battery temperature control system of a simple structure can be provided using this pipe structure.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a battery temperature control system according to an embodiment. The top view which shows the principal part of the battery temperature control system which concerns on embodiment The perspective view of the tube unit concerning an embodiment IV-IV sectional view of Fig. 2 VV cross section of Fig. 4 VI-VI cross section of Fig. 2

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a temperature control system for an automobile battery will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a battery temperature control system 1 for an automobile is connected to a plurality of battery cells 2, a plurality of heat exchangers 3 interposed between the battery cells 2, and each heat exchanger 3. A pair of tube structures 4.

Each battery cell 2 is a lithium ion battery, and its casing has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape. The casing of the battery cell 2 is formed from a resin material such as ABS resin. Each battery cell 2 is laminated | stacked mutually so that main surfaces may oppose. Each battery cell 2 includes a positive terminal and a negative terminal (not shown), and these terminals are connected by a conductive member so that the battery cells 2 are in series, for example. The battery cell 2 may be another known battery such as a lead battery.

The heat exchanger 3 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape whose outer shape is flat, and its main surface is formed in substantially the same shape so as to be opposed to the main surface of the casing of the battery cell 2. The heat exchanger 3 is preferably formed from a material having high thermal conductivity, and is formed from a metal such as aluminum or copper, for example. The heat exchanger 3 includes a passage 7 through which liquid and gas can be conducted. One end of the passage 7 protrudes from the end of the heat exchanger 3 as an inlet pipe 8, and the other end protrudes from the end opposite to the end from which the inlet pipe 8 of the heat exchanger 3 protrudes as an outlet pipe 9. The inlet pipe 8 and the outlet pipe 9 are circular pipes having the same shape, and annular bulge portions 10 extending in the circumferential direction are respectively provided on the outer peripheral surface.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the battery cell 2 and the heat exchanger 3 are laminated with a repeating unit in which one heat exchanger 3 is arranged after two battery cells 2 are arranged in succession. Moreover, the heat exchanger 3 is arrange | positioned at the both ends of the laminated body of the battery cell 2 and the heat exchanger 3. As shown in FIG. In addition, each heat exchanger 3 is oriented so that each inlet pipe 8 faces in the same direction and each outlet pipe 9 faces in the same direction.

The pair of pipe structures 4 are branched pipes continuous to the respective inlet pipes 8 or the respective outlet pipes 9 and are formed by connecting pipe units 15 having the same configuration.

As shown in FIG. 3, the pipe unit 15 is made of a resin material such as POM (polyacetal), for example, and has a main pipe portion 17 which is a circular pipe. An insertion end 18 is integrally provided at one end of the main pipe portion 17. The insertion end 18 has, in order from the main tube portion 17 side, a base end portion 19 having a circular tube shape and a distal end portion 20 coaxially. The distal end of the distal end portion 20 includes the inside of the insertion end portion 18 and the inside of the main tube portion 17. An opening 21 that communicates with is formed.

The base end portion 19 has an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the main pipe portion 17 and has a stepped portion 23 at the boundary with the main pipe portion 17 on the outer surface. The distal end portion 20 has an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the proximal end portion 19 and smaller than the inner diameter of the main pipe portion 17, and has a stepped portion 24 at the boundary with the proximal end portion 19 on the outer surface.

A pair of convex portions 27 are formed on the outer peripheral surface 26 of the base end portion 19 at positions opposite to each other in the radial direction. Each convex portion 27 has a tapered portion whose protrusion amount from the outer peripheral surface 26 increases toward the main pipe portion 17 side at a portion on the distal end portion 20 side, and an axis line of the base end portion 19 on a portion on the main pipe portion 17 side. And an orthogonal check surface.

The tip 20 has a plurality of annular ridges 28 extending in the circumferential direction. It should be noted that the outer diameter of the distal end portion 20 including the protrusion 28 is smaller than the inner diameter of the main pipe portion 17. One of the ridges 28 is formed with an annular groove 29 extending in the circumferential direction. An O-ring 30 serving as a sealing member made of flexible rubber or silicone resin is fitted in the annular groove 29.

At the end opposite to the insertion end 18 side of the main pipe portion 17, a circular tubular receiving end portion 33 that is continuous with the main pipe portion 17 is provided integrally. The outer diameter of the receiving end portion 33 is the same as the outer diameter of the main pipe portion 17, and the outer peripheral surfaces of the receiving end portion 33 and the main pipe portion 17 form a continuous surface. As shown in FIG. 5, a large-diameter portion 34 and a small-diameter portion 35 are formed on the inner peripheral side of the receiving end portion 33 in order from the end portion side. The small-diameter portion 35 has the same inner diameter as the inner diameter of the main pipe portion 17, and the inner peripheral surface smoothly continues to the inner peripheral surface of the main pipe portion 17. The large-diameter portion 34 is concentrically continuous via the small-diameter portion 35 and the step portion 36, and forms an open end. The inner diameter of the large-diameter portion 34 is larger than the inner diameter of the small-diameter portion 35 and is formed in a size that allows the proximal end portion 19 of the insertion end portion 18 to be fitted.

The large diameter portion 34 is formed with a locking hole 37 penetrating in the radial direction at a position corresponding to each convex portion 27 in the circumferential direction. The locking hole 37 has a larger width (length) than the convex portion 27 in the circumferential direction and the axial direction of the large diameter portion 34. That is, each locking hole 37 has a width L1 in the circumferential direction of the large-diameter portion 34 (main pipe portion 17) and a width L2 in the axial direction of the large-diameter portion 34, and each convex portion 27 has a large-diameter portion 34 (main pipe portion). 17) has a width L3 in the circumferential direction and a width L4 in the axial direction of the large diameter portion 34, and the relationship is L1> L3 and L2> L4.

A branch pipe portion 40 branches at an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the main pipe portion 17 so as to be orthogonal to the main pipe portion 17. The branch pipe part 40 is formed integrally with the main pipe part 17, and the inside thereof communicates with the inside of the main pipe part 17. A connector 41 for connecting pipes is provided at the opening end of the branch pipe portion 40. The connector 41 is used to connect to the inlet pipe 8 (the same is true for the outlet pipe 9 having the same shape), a pipe insertion pipe 43 into which the inlet pipe 8 is inserted and removed, and an outer peripheral portion of the pipe insertion pipe 43. And a lock member 44 for fixing and releasing the inlet pipe 8 and the like according to the displacement.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the connector 41 is described with reference to the coordinate axis shown in FIG. 3. The connector 41 includes a cylindrical pipe insertion tube 43 integrally formed at the end of the branch tube portion 40, and a pipe insertion tube 43. And a locking member 44 attached to the outer periphery of the. The pipe insertion tube 43 has a symmetrical shape in the vertical and horizontal directions, and two Os for sealing the flow path are provided on the proximal end side (front side) in the insertion hole 45 into which the inlet tube 8 is inserted. A ring 48 is held by a fitted spacer 46 and bush 47. Locking openings 51, which are through-holes, are formed in the upper and lower portions on the distal end side (rear side) of the pipe insertion tube 43.

The lock member 44 is a substantially cylindrical member made of a resin material such as polyamide resin, and has a symmetrical shape in the vertical and horizontal directions. On the top and bottom of the lock member 44, elastic locking pieces 53 project from the rear end toward the rear. A slit 54 extending forward is formed in the left and right portions of the base end portion of the elastic locking piece 53, and the base end of the elastic locking piece 53 extends forward.

The elastic locking piece 53 is curved inwardly in the radial direction of the lock member 44, and the distal end portion enters the locking opening 51. A cam portion 56, which is an inclined surface facing forward and radially inward, is formed in the radially inner portion of the elastic locking piece 53 and facing the front edge of the locking opening 51. Thus, when the lock member 44 moves forward with respect to the pipe insertion tube 43, the cam portion 56 is in sliding contact with the front edge portion of the locking opening 51, and the elastic locking piece 53 is in the radial direction of the locking member 44. It is elastically deformed outward, and the distal end portion of the elastic locking piece 53 is detached from the locking opening 51. Therefore, in the initial state (normal state), the cam portion 56 presses the front edge portion of the locking opening 51 by the restoring force of the elastic locking piece 53, and the lock member 44 moves rearward with respect to the pipe insertion tube 43. As a result, the distal end portion of the elastic locking piece 53 enters the locking opening 51. That is, the lock member 44 is urged rearward with respect to the pipe insertion tube 43 by the elastic locking piece 53. The rearward displacement of the lock member 44 relative to the pipe insertion tube 43 is regulated by the front end of the elastic locking piece 53 coming into contact with the rear edge of the locking opening 51. The forward limit displacement position of the lock member 44 with respect to the pipe insertion tube 43 is restricted by the front edge of the lock member 44 coming into contact with a restriction piece 57 protruding from the outer surface of the pipe insertion tube 43.

At the tip of the elastic locking piece 53, a locking claw 58 protrudes toward the inside in the radial direction of the lock member 44. In the normal state, the locking claw 58 protrudes into the pipe insertion tube 43. Further, the locking claw 58 has a protruding piece 59 that protrudes radially inward and extends rearward from its tip. In a normal state (that is, a state in which the lock member 44 is located rearward with respect to the pipe insertion tube 43), the projecting piece 59 is hooked from the radially inner side to the front edge portion of the locking opening 51, and is elastically locked. Elastic deformation of the piece 53 outward in the radial direction is prohibited. The radially inner portion of the protruding piece 59 is a tapered surface that protrudes radially inward as it advances forward.

In the connector 41 configured as described above, when the inlet pipe 8 is inserted in the initial state, the locking claw 58 is pressed forward by the bulge portion 10 of the inlet pipe 8, and the lock member 44 is connected to the pipe insertion pipe 43. Move forward against. As a result, the catch between the projecting piece 59 and the front edge of the locking opening 51 is released, and the elastic locking piece 53 can be elastically deformed radially outward. When the locking claw 58 is further pushed forward by the bulge portion 10 and the lock member 44 moves forward with respect to the pipe insertion tube 43, the cam portion 56 comes into sliding contact with the rear edge portion of the locking opening 51, and the elastic engagement. The stop piece 53 is elastically deformed radially outward. Further, when the bulge portion 10 presses the tapered surface of the protruding piece 59, the elastic locking piece 53 is elastically deformed outward in the radial direction. As a result, the bulge portion 10 moves over the locking claw 58 forward and moves forward until it contacts the bush 47. After the bulge portion 10 gets over the locking claw 58 forward, the load that presses the locking claw 58 forward disappears, so that the restoring force of the elastic locking piece 53 causes the cam portion 56 to move to the locking opening 51. The front edge is pressed, and the lock member 44 is displaced rearward with respect to the pipe insertion tube 43 to return to the initial state. In this state, the protruding piece 59 is hooked on the front edge of the locking opening 51 from the inside in the radial direction, and elastic deformation of the elastic locking piece 53 in the radially outward direction is prohibited. The pawl 58 cannot be moved rearward, and the inlet pipe 8 is held in a state of protruding into the pipe insertion pipe 43. At this time, the gap between the outer surface of the distal end portion of the inlet pipe 8 and the inner surface of the pipe insertion pipe 43 is sealed by the two O-rings 48.

When the inlet pipe 8 is removed from the connector 41, the lock member 44 is moved forward with respect to the pipe insertion pipe 43 by hand or a tool, so that the protrusion 59 and the front edge of the locking opening 51 are caught. The inlet tube 8 may be removed from the connector 41 in the released state.

Since the connector 41 can form a connection structure simply by inserting the inlet pipe 8 into the pipe insertion pipe 43, the connection work is easy. In the above description, the inlet pipe 8 has been described, but the same applies to the outlet pipe 9 having the same shape as the inlet pipe 8.

A method of forming the pipe structure 4 by connecting the pipe units 15 configured as described above will be described. The tube units 15 are connected to each other by inserting the insertion end 18 of any first tube unit 15 into the receiving end 33 of another second tube unit 15. By the insertion operation, the distal end portion 20 of the first tube unit 15 enters into the small diameter portion 35 of the second tube unit 15, and the proximal end portion 19 of the first tube unit 15 enters the large diameter portion 34 of the second tube unit 15. Then, the protrusions 27 of the first pipe unit 15 are loosely fitted in the locking holes 37 of the second pipe unit 15. At this time, the first tube unit 15 and the second tube unit 15 are arranged coaxially by fitting the proximal end portion 19 so that the large diameter portion 34 does not rattle and is rotatable about the axis. Further, the O-ring 30 seals the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the tip portion 20 and the inner peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 35.

As shown in FIG. 6, each convex portion 27 is prevented from slipping out of the insertion end portion 18 from the receiving end portion 33 by being caught on the hole edge portion of each locking hole 37 on its non-return surface. Since the locking hole 37 is wider in the axial direction and the circumferential direction of the large-diameter portion 34 than the protruding portion 27 (L1> L3, L2> L4), the protruding portion 27 is displaced in the locking hole 37. Can do. As a result, the first tube unit 15 moves relative to the second tube unit 15 in the axial direction within a range in which the convex portion 27 can be displaced within the locking hole 37, and rotates relative to the axis. It is possible.

2 and 5, the receiving end portion 33 located at the end of the tube structure 4 is sealed with a blind cover 60. In this way, the pipe structure 4 having a branched passage is formed. The distance between the adjacent branch pipe portions 40 of the pipe structure 4 matches the distance between the inlet pipes 8 and the distance between the outlet pipes 9 of the two heat exchangers 3 arranged with the two battery cells 2 interposed therebetween. As described above, the length of the main pipe portion 17 of each pipe unit 15 is set in advance.

The pipe structure 4 configured as described above is connected to the corresponding inlet pipe 8 or outlet pipe 9 via the connector 41 in each branch pipe section 40. An insertion end 18 provided at one end of the pipe structure 4 connected to the inlet pipe 8 is connected to the supply side of the circulation passage and is provided at one end of the pipe structure 4 connected to the outlet pipe 9. The end 18 is connected to the return side of the circulation passage. The circulation path includes a pump for pumping the medium in the path, and a temperature adjusting device for heating and cooling the medium. The medium is a known heat exchange medium such as a liquid such as water or silicone oil, or a gas such as water vapor or ammonia, and may be appropriately selected depending on the purpose of use. In this way, the battery temperature control system 1 including the tube structure 4 is configured.

In the battery temperature control system 1 configured as described above, the medium pumped by the pump is branched (distributed) by the pipe structure 4 connected to the inlet pipe 8 and supplied to each heat exchanger 3. Then, the medium discharged from each heat exchanger 3 is collected by the pipe structure 4 connected to the outlet pipe 9 and returned to the pump. The temperature control device arranged in the circulation path of the medium heats the medium when it is desired to warm up each battery cell 2 at the start of operation and cools each battery cell 2 when it is continuously used. Cools the medium.

When the number of heat exchangers 3 increases as the number of battery cells 2 increases, the tube structure 4 configured as described above can be obtained by increasing the number of tube units 15 to be connected. Since a piping structure corresponding to the number of the pipes can be constructed, the expandability and versatility are high. Moreover, since each tube unit 15 which comprises the tube structure 4 can change a relative position a little, even if the external shape of the battery cell 2 or the heat exchanger 3 has a dimensional error, each inlet tube 8 and each outlet pipe 9 can be appropriately connected without being twisted. Moreover, since the connector 41 which can form a connection structure only by inserting the inlet pipe 8 etc. in the connection part of the branch pipe part 40, the inlet pipe 8, and the outlet pipe 9 is used, connection work is easy.

This is the end of the description of the specific embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be widely modified. For example, the locking hole 37 may be a bottomed hole that is not a through hole as long as the protrusion 27 can be loosely fitted. In the above embodiment, the convex portion 27 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the base end portion 19 and the locking hole 37 is provided on the large diameter portion 34. However, the convex portion 27 is provided on the large diameter portion 34, You may provide the bottomed locking hole 37 in which the convex part 27 loosely fits in the edge part 19. FIG. Moreover, in the pipe unit 15, you may abbreviate | omit either the convex part 27 and the latching hole 37. FIG.

When it is desired to restrict the relative rotation between the tube units 15, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3, a key portion 65 projects from the outer peripheral surface 26 of the base end portion 19, and the key portion 65 extends from the large diameter portion 34. A key hole 66 for fitting the two may be formed to fit the two. Further, by making the width L3 of the convex portion 27 equal to the width L1 of the locking hole 37 and engaging the convex portion 27 and the locking hole 37 in the circumferential direction, the relative rotation between the tube units 15 is restricted. May be.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Battery temperature control system, 2 ... Battery cell, 3 ... Heat exchanger, 4 ... Pipe structure, 7 ... Passage, 8 ... Inlet pipe, 9 ... Outlet pipe, 10 ... Bulge part, 15 ... Pipe unit, 17 ... Main pipe part, 18 ... Insertion end part, 19 ... Base end part, 20 ... Tip part, 26 ... Outer peripheral surface, 27 ... Convex part, 30 ... O-ring, 33 ... Receiving end part, 34 ... Large diameter part, 35 ... Small diameter , 37 ... locking hole, 40 ... branch pipe part, 41 ... connector, 43 ... pipe insertion pipe, 44 ... locking member, 45 ... insertion hole, 51 ... locking opening, 53 ... elastic locking piece, 56 ... cam Part, 58 ... locking claw, 59 ... projecting piece, 60 ... lid

Claims

A pipe structure formed by connecting a plurality of pipe units,
The tube unit is
A tubular main pipe opening at both ends;
A circular tubular insertion end continuous with one end of the main pipe,
A receiving end portion having an inner diameter larger than an outer diameter of the insertion end portion and continuing to the other end of the main pipe portion;
A branch pipe part branched from an intermediate part of the main pipe part of the main pipe part,
The insertion end portion of any of the tube units is inserted into the receiving end portion of another tube unit so as to be able to project and retract, and a space between the outer peripheral surface of the insertion end portion and the inner peripheral surface of the receiving end portion is allowed. The tube structure is sealed by a flexible sealing member, and the insertion end is displaceable with respect to the other receiving end.
A convex portion is formed on one of the outer peripheral surface of the insertion end portion and the inner peripheral surface of the receiving end portion, and a locking hole larger than the convex portion is formed on the other,
When the insertion end of any of the tube units is inserted into the receiving end of another tube unit, the convex portion loosely fits in the locking hole, and the convex portion is in the locking hole. The tube structure according to claim 1, wherein the insertion end portion is displaceable with respect to the other receiving end portion within a range in which the insertion end portion can be displaced.
The said insertion end part of arbitrary said pipe units has an outer peripheral surface which can be slidably contacted with the inner peripheral surface of the said receiving end part of the said other pipe unit, The Claim 1 or Claim 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Tube structure.
At the end of the branch pipe part, a connector for connecting the end of the pipe to be connected to the branch pipe is provided,
The connector is
A pipe insertion tube into which the pipe is inserted and removed;
The pipe insertion pipe has a pipe locking portion for locking the pipe, and the pipe locking portion is movable between a lock position for locking the pipe and a lock release position for releasing the locking. A locking member held against the
The tube structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising an urging unit that urges the lock member toward the lock position.
A battery temperature control system having the tube structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Having a plurality of heat exchangers interposed between a plurality of battery cells,
Each of the plurality of heat exchangers has a passage inside, and an outer pipe is provided with an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe communicating with the passage.
Each of the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe is connected to each branch pipe portion of the pipe structure,
A battery temperature control system, wherein a medium is supplied to each of the plurality of heat exchangers via the tube structure.