阅读说明：本技术 电池模块 (Battery module ) 是由 因和久 板谷弘毅 中野笃 于 2019-05-29 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种电池模块,其能够确保连接器的插拔空间且抑制高度尺寸。电池模块具备通过层叠多个电池单元而构成的电池单元层叠体、将相邻的电池单元的端子彼此进行连接的多个母线、以及对各电池单元的电压进行检测的传感器装置。传感器装置从宽度方向观察时,配置于在电池单元层叠体的上表面上配置的多个母线的上方,且具备电压检测用连接器,该电压检测用连接器在宽度方向上具有连接部。各母线具有弯折部,该弯折部在连接的电池单元之间向上方突出。电压检测用连接器配置于在层叠方向上相邻的母线的弯折部之间,且在上下方向上电压检测用连接器的下表面被设置于比所述弯折部的上部低的位置。(The invention provides a battery module, which can ensure the insertion and extraction space of a connector and restrain the height dimension. The battery module includes a battery cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells, a plurality of bus bars connecting terminals of the adjacent battery cells, and a sensor device for detecting a voltage of each battery cell. The sensor device is disposed above the plurality of bus bars disposed on the upper surface of the battery cell stack when viewed in the width direction, and includes a voltage detection connector having a connection portion in the width direction. Each bus bar has a bent portion that protrudes upward between the connected battery cells. The voltage detection connector is disposed between the bent portions of the bus bars adjacent in the stacking direction, and the lower surface of the voltage detection connector is disposed at a position lower than the upper portion of the bent portions in the vertical direction.)

1. A battery module comprising a battery cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells, a plurality of bus bars connecting terminals of adjacent battery cells, and a sensor device for detecting the voltage of each battery cell,

the sensor device is disposed above the plurality of bus bars disposed on the upper surface of the battery cell stack when viewed in a width direction orthogonal to the stacking direction and the vertical direction, and includes a connector having a connection portion in the width direction,

each bus bar has a bent portion that protrudes upward between the connected battery cells,

the connector is disposed between bent portions of the bus bars adjacent in the stacking direction, and a lower surface of the connector in the vertical direction is provided at a position lower than an upper portion of the bent portions.

2. The battery module of claim 1,

the sensor device comprises a substrate, an electronic component mounted on the substrate, and a case for accommodating the substrate and the electronic component,

the connector is arranged on the side surface of the shell.

3. The battery module according to claim 1 or 2,

the connector is connected with a voltage detection line connected with each bus.

4. The battery module according to claim 1 or 2,

the sensor device is also provided with further connectors,

the other connectors are connected to voltage detection lines connected to the respective bus bars of the other battery modules arranged adjacent to each other in one width direction, and the connection portions of the other connectors are provided in the one width direction.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a battery module mounted on an electric vehicle or the like.

Background

Conventionally, a battery module is mounted on an electric vehicle or the like. For example, patent document 1 discloses a battery module including a battery cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells, and a sensor device for detecting the voltage of each battery cell.

Prior art documents

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2016-072181

However, as shown in patent document 1, in a battery module in which a sensor device is disposed on the upper surface of a battery cell stack, the height dimension may be greatly increased. In particular, in a battery module to which a bus bar having a bent portion protruding upward at an intermediate portion in the cell stacking direction is applied in order to alleviate stress that acts as a result of expansion of the battery cells, the height dimension may be significantly increased, and insertion and removal of a connector connected to the sensor device may be hindered by the bent portion of the bus bar.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a battery module, which is provided with a sensor device on the upper surface of a battery unit laminating body, and can ensure the inserting and pulling space of a connector and restrain the height size.

The battery module of the present invention includes a battery cell stack formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells, a plurality of bus bars connecting terminals of the adjacent battery cells, and a sensor device for detecting a voltage of each battery cell,

the sensor device is disposed above the plurality of bus bars disposed on the upper surface of the battery cell stack when viewed in a width direction orthogonal to the stacking direction and the vertical direction, and includes a connector having a connection portion in the width direction,

each bus bar has a bent portion that protrudes upward between the connected battery cells,

the connector is disposed between bent portions of the bus bars adjacent in the stacking direction, and a lower surface of the connector in the vertical direction is provided at a position lower than an upper portion of the bent portions.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, since the connector of the sensor device is disposed between the bent portions of the bus bars adjacent in the stacking direction and the lower surface of the connector is provided at a position lower than the upper portion of the bent portions in the vertical direction, the connector can be inserted into and removed from the battery module in which the sensor device is disposed on the upper surface of the battery cell stack while the height dimension of the connector can be suppressed while securing the insertion and removal space.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from obliquely above.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the battery module of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top view of the battery module of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the sensor device of the battery module of fig. 1 viewed obliquely from below.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view B-B of fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view a-a of fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a plan view showing an example of wiring in a case where two battery modules are arranged adjacent to each other.

Description of reference numerals:

1. 1A battery module;

2 a stack of battery cells;

21 a battery cell;

211 a terminal;

23 bus bar;

231a bent portion;

231a upper part;

7 a sensor device;

71 a substrate;

72 an electronic component;

73 a housing;

a 74A voltage detection connector (connector);

a 74B voltage detection connector (other connector);

741 a connecting portion;

742 lower surface;

and 9, detecting a voltage line.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a battery module according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the drawings are viewed in the direction of the reference numerals.

[ Battery Module ]

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, a battery module 1 according to the present embodiment includes: a battery cell laminate 2 configured by laminating a plurality of battery cells 21 in the front-rear direction, the battery cell laminate 2 having a front surface, a rear surface, a left surface, a right surface, an upper surface, and a lower surface; a pair of end plates 3 disposed on the front and rear surfaces of the battery cell laminate 2; a pair of side frames 4 disposed on the left and right surfaces of the battery cell laminate 2 and connecting the pair of end plates 3; a lower plate 5 disposed on a lower surface of the cell laminate 2; a sensor device 7 that is disposed on the upper surface of the battery cell stack 2 and detects the voltage of each battery cell 21; and a top cover 6 that covers a region on the upper surface of the battery cell stack 2 where the sensor device 7 is not mounted.

In this specification and the like, for the sake of simplicity and clarity of description, the stacking direction of the battery cells 21 is defined as the front-rear direction, and the direction orthogonal to the stacking direction of the battery cells 21 is defined as the left-right direction (width direction) and the up-down direction (height direction), regardless of the front-rear direction of a product on which the battery module 1 is mounted. That is, when the battery module 1 is mounted on a vehicle, the stacking direction of the battery cells 21 may be the same as the front-rear direction of the vehicle, may be the vertical direction, the horizontal direction, or may be a direction inclined from these directions. In the drawing, the front of the battery module 1 is denoted as Fr, the rear is denoted as Rr, the left side is denoted as L, the right side is denoted as R, the upper side is denoted as U, and the lower side is denoted as D.

(Battery cell laminate)

As shown in fig. 2, the battery cell stack 2 is configured by alternately stacking a plurality of battery cells 21 and a plurality of insulating plates 22 in the front-rear direction. A plurality of bus bars 23 electrically connected to the terminals 211 of the battery cells 21 are arranged on the upper surface of the cell laminate 2. The plurality of bus bars 23 connect the terminals 211 of the adjacent battery cells 21 to each other so that the plurality of battery cells 21 are electrically connected in series. Specifically, the plurality of battery cells 21 are stacked such that the positive side terminal 211 and the negative side terminal 211 are sequentially inverted left and right, and the plurality of bus bars 23 sequentially connect the positive side (or negative side) terminal 211 of the battery cell 21 adjacent to the upstream side in the cell stacking direction and the negative side (or positive side) terminal 211 of the battery cell 21 adjacent to the downstream side in the cell stacking direction, thereby electrically connecting the plurality of battery cells 21 in series.

A bus bar plate 24 that holds the plurality of bus bars 23 is provided on the upper surface of the cell laminate 2. The bus bar plate 24 includes a plurality of bus bar holding portions 241, and when the bus bar plate 24 is placed on the upper surface of the battery cell stack 2 after the plurality of bus bars 23 are held by the bus bar holding portions 241, the plurality of bus bars 23 are positioned at predetermined positions where they can be connected to the corresponding terminals 211. The bus bar plate 24 of the present embodiment is not a jig for detaching the bus bar 23 after being connected to the terminal 211, but is a component of the battery module 1 that maintains the mounted state even after the bus bar 23 is connected to the terminal 211.

It is known that the battery cell 21 expands due to temperature change or aging degradation. The battery unit 21 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which the length in the up-down direction is longer than the length in the front-rear direction, and the length in the left-right direction is longer than the length in the up-down direction. Therefore, the areas of the front and rear surfaces of the battery cell 21 are much larger than those of the left, right, upper, and lower surfaces, and the left-right direction central portion and the up-down direction central portion thereof are easily expanded at the front and rear surfaces of the battery cell 21. When the battery cells 21 expand in the front-rear direction, stress acts on the bus bars 23, and the bus bars 23 connect the terminals 211 of the battery cells 21 to each other. In order to alleviate the stress that acts as a result of the expansion of the battery cells 21, the bus bar 23 of the present embodiment has a bent portion 231 that protrudes upward at an intermediate portion in the front-rear direction.

(end plate)

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the pair of end plates 3 are disposed on the front and rear surfaces of the cell stack 2, and receive a load in the cell stacking direction of the cell stack 2 due to expansion of the cells 21. The end plate 3 of the present embodiment is formed using an aluminum extrusion material, and a plurality of fastening portions 31 fastened to the side frames 4 via bolts B1 are provided at both left and right end portions of the outer surface that does not face the cell laminated body 2. Further, an external connection terminal plate 32 is provided on the upper surface of the pair of end plates 3, the external connection terminal plate 32 is used for transmitting and receiving electric power between the battery module 1 and an external electric device, and a sensor fixing portion 33 is provided on the upper surface of one of the end plates 3, and the sensor device 7 is fixed to the sensor fixing portion 33 via a bolt B2.

(side frame)

As shown in fig. 1 to 3, the side frame 4 is formed by press working a metal plate material, and includes: a side frame main body 41 along a left or right surface of the cell laminated body 2; front flange portions 42 extending from the front ends of the side frame bodies 41 in a direction in which the front ends of the front end plates 3 approach each other; a rear flange portion 43 extending from the rear end of the side frame body 41 in a direction to approach each other along the rear surface of the rear end plate 3; upper flange portions 44 extending from the upper ends of the side frame main bodies 41 in the direction in which the upper surfaces of the cell laminated bodies 2 approach each other; and a lower flange portion 45 extending from the lower end of the side frame main body 41 in a direction in which the lower surfaces of the cell stack 2 (lower plate 5) approach each other.

The front flange portion 42 and the rear flange portion 43 are fastened and connected to the front end plate 3 or the rear end plate 3 via bolts B1. Thereby, the pair of end plates 3 are coupled via the pair of side frames 4. The pair of side frames 4 allow relative displacement of the end plates 3 in the front-rear direction with respect to each other when the load in the cell stacking direction of the cell stack 2 increases. For example, the relative displacement of the end plates 3 in the front-rear direction with respect to each other is permitted by deformation of the side frame main bodies 41 in the front-rear direction, a change in the angle of the side frame main bodies 41 and the front flange portions 42 or the side frame main bodies 41 and the rear flange portions 43, or the like.

The upper flange portion 44 and the lower flange portion 45 sandwich the cell laminate 2 and the lower plate 5 from the top-bottom direction at the left end portion and the right end portion of the cell laminate 2. This suppresses the relative positional variation in the vertical direction of the battery cell laminate 2, the side frames 4, and the lower plate 5, and allows the plurality of battery cells 21 constituting the battery cell laminate 2 to be aligned.

The upper flange portion 44 of the present embodiment is formed of a plurality of elastic pieces 44a arranged in the front-rear direction, and the number and position of the elastic pieces 44a correspond to the number and position of the battery cells 21 stacked in the front-rear direction. Thus, the upper flange portion 44 has appropriate elasticity, and can elastically hold the plurality of battery cells 21 individually. The lower flange portion 45 is fixed to or engaged with the lower plate 5 via a restricted portion (not shown).

(lower plate)

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the lower plate 5 is formed using an aluminum extrusion material, and includes: a lower plate main body 51 extending along the lower surfaces of the cell stacked body 2 and the end plates 3; a plurality of fixing portions 52 fixed to a module support structure (not shown) that supports the battery module 1; and a regulating portion (not shown) for regulating the lower flange portion 45 of the side frame 4.

(sensor device)

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the sensor device 7 includes: a substrate 71; an electronic component 72 mounted on the substrate 71; a case 73 that houses the substrate 71 and the electronic component 72; voltage detection connectors 74A and 74B disposed on the side surface of the housing 73; and a detection signal output connector 75 disposed on a side surface of the case 73 and connected to a charge/discharge control unit (not shown) of the vehicle via a plurality of detection signal output lines 10 (see fig. 7). As will be described later, the sensor device 7 of the present embodiment includes both the voltage detection connectors 74A and 74B in order to be able to detect the voltages of both the battery modules 1 and 1A, but the number of the voltage detection connectors may be one, or may be three or more.

The substrate 71 of the present embodiment is a printed substrate having a rectangular shape in a plan view, which is long in the front-rear direction, and on the upper surface of which wiring is printed, and on the lower surface of which an electronic component 72, voltage detection connectors 74A and 74B, and a detection signal output connector 75 are mounted.

The housing 73 includes a housing main body 731 covering the lower surface side of the substrate 71, and a cover housing 732 covering the upper surface side of the substrate 71. A fixing portion 731B fixed to the sensor fixing portion 33 of the end plate 3 via a bolt B2 is provided at one end portion in the front-rear direction of the case main body 731, and a plurality of engaging portions 731c engaging with the plurality of insulating plates 22 are provided at each of the left and right side portions of the case main body 731.

The voltage detection connector 74A is connected to each bus bar 23 via a plurality of voltage detection lines 9. One end sides of the plurality of voltage detection lines 9 are connected to a cable-side connector 91, and are connected to the voltage detection connector 74A of the sensor device 7 via the cable-side connector 91. The other end sides of the plurality of voltage detection lines 9 are connected to the respective bus bars 23 through a space secured between the upper surface of the cell laminated body 2 and the lower surface of the sensor device 7.

The connection portion 741 of the voltage detection connector 74A is disposed on the left side surface of the housing 73, and the cable-side connector 91 is inserted and removed from the left-right direction. In the battery module 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the height dimension of the entire battery module 1, which is the sum of the cell stack 2 and the sensor device 7, is suppressed by securing the insertion/removal space of the cable-side connector 91 with respect to the connection part 741 of the voltage detection connector 74A and by arranging the sensor device 7 at a low position as much as possible.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 6, the sensor device 7 is disposed above the plurality of bus bars 23 disposed on the upper surface of the cell laminated body 2 when viewed in the left-right direction, but the voltage detection connector 74A (cable-side connector 91) is disposed between the bent portions 231 of the bus bars 23 adjacent in the front-rear direction, and the lower surface 742 of the voltage detection connector 74A (cable-side connector 91) is disposed at a position lower than the upper portion 231a of the bent portion 231 in the up-down direction.

According to the battery module 1, the sensor device 7 is disposed on the upper surface of the battery cell laminate 2, and the cable-side connector 91 can be inserted into and removed from the connection portion 741 of the voltage detection connector 74A with a reduced height. Further, since the connection portion 741 of the voltage detection connector 74A is disposed on the side surface of the sensor device 7, the voltage detection connector 74A and the cable-side connector 91 can be prevented from protruding above the sensor device 7. In fig. 6, a portion denoted by reference numeral 61 is a recess formed in the top cover 6 in order to secure a space for inserting and removing the cable-side connector 91 into and from the connection portion 741 of the voltage detection connector 74A.

Since the sensor device 7 of the present embodiment includes both the voltage detection connectors 74A and 74B, when another battery module 1A is disposed adjacent to the battery module 1, as shown in fig. 7, the voltage detection lines 9 connected to the bus bars 23 of the battery module 1 are connected to the voltage detection connectors 74A, and the voltage detection lines 9 connected to the bus bars (not shown) of the other battery module 1A are connected to the voltage detection connectors 74B. In this way, one sensor device 7 can detect the voltage of each battery cell (not shown) of the other battery module 1A in addition to the battery module 1, and therefore the other battery module 1A does not need a sensor device.

When the sensor device 7 of the battery module 1 detects the voltage of each battery cell of the other battery module 1A, the other battery module 1A is disposed adjacent to one of the left and right directions (left side in fig. 7) of the battery module 1, and the connection portion 741 is preferably provided on one of the left and right directions (left side in fig. 7) of the sensor device 7 with respect to the voltage detection connector 74B to which the voltage detection line 9 of the other battery module 1A is connected. In this way, the voltage detection lines 9 of the other battery modules 1A connected to the voltage detection connector 74B can be shortened. In fig. 7, the member denoted by reference numeral 11 is a cover member having substantially the same shape as the sensor device 7 in a plan view.

The voltage detection connector 74B (cable-side connector 91) is also disposed between the bent portions 231 of the adjacent bus bars 23 of the battery module 1 in the front-rear direction, and the lower surface 742 of the voltage detection connector 74B (cable-side connector 91) is provided at a position lower than the upper portion 231a of the bent portion 231 in the up-down direction. This ensures a space for inserting and removing the cable-side connector 91 into and from the connection portion 741 of the voltage detection connector 74B, and suppresses the height dimension.

The above embodiment can be modified and improved as appropriate.

[ general ] A

In the present specification, at least the following matters are described. Although the corresponding components and the like in the above embodiments are shown in parentheses, the present invention is not limited to these.

(1) A battery module (battery module 1) comprising a battery cell stack (battery cell stack 2) formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells (battery cells 21), a plurality of bus bars (bus bars 23) connecting terminals (terminals 211) of adjacent battery cells, and a sensor device (sensor device 7) for detecting the voltage of each battery cell,

the sensor device is arranged above the plurality of bus bars arranged on the upper surface of the battery cell laminate when viewed from a width direction orthogonal to the lamination direction and the vertical direction, and includes a connector (voltage detection connector 74A) having a connection portion (connection portion 741) in the width direction,

each bus bar has a bent portion (bent portion 231) which protrudes upward between the connected battery cells,

the connector is disposed between bent portions of the bus bars adjacent in the stacking direction, and a lower surface (lower surface 742) of the connector in the vertical direction is provided at a position lower than an upper portion (upper portion 231a) of the bent portions.

According to (1), since the connector of the sensor device is disposed between the bent portions of the bus bars adjacent in the stacking direction and the lower surface of the connector is provided at a position lower than the upper portion of the bent portions in the vertical direction, the battery module in which the sensor device is disposed on the upper surface of the battery cell stack can be configured while securing the insertion and extraction space of the connector and suppressing the height dimension.

(2) The battery module according to (1), wherein,

the sensor device comprises a substrate (substrate 71), an electronic component (electronic component 72) mounted on the substrate, and a case (housing 73) for accommodating the substrate and the electronic component,

the connector is arranged on the side surface of the shell.

According to (2), the substrate and the electronic component are accommodated in the housing, so that the substrate and the like can be protected by the housing and the height can be reduced.

(3) The battery module according to (1) or (2), wherein,

the connector is connected to a voltage detection line (voltage detection line 9) connected to each bus.

According to (3), the voltage detection lines connected to the respective bus bars are connected to the connectors provided on the side surface of the case, so that the height dimension of the battery module can be reduced.

(4) The battery module according to (1) or (2), wherein,

the sensor device further includes another connector (voltage detection connector 74B),

the other connectors are connected to voltage detection lines (voltage detection lines 9) connected to the bus bars of the other battery modules (other battery modules 1A) arranged adjacent to each other in one width direction, and the connection portions (connection portions 741) of the other connectors are provided in the one width direction.

According to (4), the voltage detection lines connected to the bus bars of the other battery modules arranged adjacent to each other in the width direction of the battery module are connected to the other connectors of the battery module, and the sensor device is not required for the other battery modules. Further, since the connection portion of the other connector is provided on the other battery module side (one side in the width direction), the voltage detection line connected to the connector can be shortened.