阅读说明：本技术 电池模块 (Battery module ) 是由 太田孝生 青岛良树 原川和也 于 2019-06-24 设计创作，主要内容包括：一种电池模块,包括：排列的电池单元；电池监控单元,该电池监控单元被配置为监控电池模块的各个电池单元；电池单元侧的电路板,该电池单元侧的电路板电连接于电池单元；和电池监控单元侧的电路板,该电池监控单元侧的电路板电连接于电池监控单元和电池单元侧的电路板。电池单元侧的电路板与电池监控单元侧的电路板互相连接,并且电池单元侧的电路板上的电压检测线与电池监控单元侧的电路板上的电压检测线电连接。电池单元侧的电路板上的电压检测线的电路以它们的电位顺序排列,并且电池监控单元侧的电路板上的电压检测线的电路以它们的电位顺序排列。(A battery module, comprising: an arranged battery cell; a battery monitoring unit configured to monitor respective battery cells of the battery module; a battery-unit-side circuit board electrically connected to the battery unit; and a circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side, the circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side being electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit and the circuit board on the battery unit side. The circuit board on the battery unit side and the circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side are connected to each other, and the voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery unit side are electrically connected to the voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side. The circuits of the voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery cell side are arranged in order of their potentials, and the circuits of the voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery monitoring cell side are arranged in order of their potentials.)

1. A battery module, comprising:

a plurality of battery cells arranged;

a battery monitoring unit electrically connected to the plurality of battery cells and configured to monitor each of the plurality of battery cells;

a battery cell-side circuit board electrically connected to the plurality of battery cells as a wiring member; and

a battery monitor unit-side circuit board electrically connected as a wiring member to the battery monitor unit and the battery unit-side circuit board, wherein,

the circuit board on the battery unit side and the circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side are connected to each other, and the plurality of voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery unit side and the plurality of voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side are electrically connected, and

the circuits of the voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery cell side are arranged in order of potential, and the circuits of the voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery monitoring cell side are arranged in order of potential.

2. The battery module of claim 1,

the battery cell-side circuit board is a flexible printed wiring board including a plurality of circuits on one surface, and

the battery monitoring unit-side circuit board is a flexible printed wiring board including a plurality of circuits on both surfaces.

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

a circuit for the voltage detection line of a first column of electrodes on the battery cell-side circuit board is electrically connected to a circuit on the first surface of the battery monitoring cell-side circuit board, wherein the first column of electrodes is one column of electrodes in a column separately formed from electrodes of the plurality of battery cells at each end side of the battery cells, and

a circuit for the voltage detection line of a second column of electrodes on the battery cell-side circuit board is electrically connected to a circuit on the second surface of the battery monitoring cell-side circuit board, wherein the second column of electrodes is another column of electrodes in a column separately formed from electrodes of the plurality of battery cells at each end side of the battery cells, and

an intersection is partially formed on the first surface, wherein the intersection is a portion where the circuits intersect when disposed on the same plane in the second surface.

4. The battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

the circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side is bent and arranged between the battery unit and the battery monitoring unit, and the bent circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side is electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a battery module having a battery monitoring unit that monitors states of a plurality of battery cells.

Background

JP 2010-283918A discloses a battery module for an electric vehicle. The battery module for an electric vehicle includes a plurality of battery cells arranged in series, a battery monitoring unit for monitoring states of voltages and the like of the plurality of battery cells, and a communication line.

In a battery module including a plurality of such battery cells connected in series, bus bars including connection portions that fix and electrically connect adjacent electrode terminals are alternately arranged at separate positions. In a battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are connected in series, the voltage of the bus bar increases in order from the side of the circuit. Further, it is necessary to connect the voltage detection lines to the IC input portions of the battery monitoring units in a state in which the potentials of the respective bus bars detected by the voltage detection lines are arranged in order. Therefore, when the voltage detection lines linearly extend from the bus line to the connector of the IC input section, the arrangement of the voltage detection lines does not coincide with their potential order, and cannot be connected to the IC input section as they are.

When the electric wires are used as the voltage detection lines, the electric wires can be laid three-dimensionally, and the electric wires can be rearranged in conformity with their potential order. However, in this case, the total weight is large and their size is large.

In order to cope with the above problems, a device for connecting adjacent electrode terminals of battery modules by bus bars and flat cables is disclosed in JP 2017-112066A. However, in this case, since the flat cable can be arranged only two-dimensionally, the circuit becomes complicated by providing a circuit or the like for rearranging the voltage detection lines in order of their potentials on the battery monitoring unit side.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention relates to a battery module that can achieve thinning and weight reduction of the battery module, and can achieve simple and reliable wiring to a battery monitoring unit.

A battery module, comprising: a plurality of battery cells arranged; a battery monitoring unit electrically connected to the plurality of battery cells and configured to monitor each of the plurality of battery cells; a circuit board on the battery cell side electrically connected to the plurality of battery cells as a wiring member; and a circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit and the circuit board on the battery unit side as a wiring member. The circuit board on the battery unit side and the circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side are connected to each other, and the plurality of voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery unit side are electrically connected to the plurality of voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery monitoring unit side. The circuits of the voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery cell side are arranged in order of potential (align), and the circuits of the voltage detection lines on the circuit board on the battery monitoring cell side are arranged in order of potential.

According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a battery module which can be simply and reliably arranged in a battery monitoring unit and which can realize thinning and weight reduction of the entire battery module by employing a circuit board such as a flexible printed wiring board as a wiring material between the battery monitoring unit and a plurality of battery cells.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a battery module of a first embodiment;

fig. 2 is a plan view schematically illustrating a flexible printed wiring board employed in the battery module;

fig. 3 is a partial perspective view of a main portion of the battery module;

fig. 4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification of the flexible printed wiring board; and is

Fig. 5 is a side view schematically illustrating a battery module according to a second embodiment.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It may be evident, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.

A description of embodiments of the present invention will be provided hereinafter by referring to the drawings. It should be noted that: the same or similar parts or components in the drawings will be denoted by the same or similar reference numerals, and the description of such parts and components will be omitted or simplified. In addition, it should be noted that: the drawings are schematic and thus differ from reality.

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a battery module of a first embodiment, fig. 2 is a plan view schematically illustrating a flexible printed wiring board employed in the battery module, and fig. 3 is a partial perspective view of a main portion of the battery module.

As shown in fig. 1, the battery module 10 includes: a plurality of battery cells 11, a battery monitoring unit (CMU)20, a flexible printed wiring board 30 as a circuit board (wiring member) on the battery cell side, and a flexible printed wiring board 40 as a circuit board (wiring member) on the battery monitoring unit side. The plurality of battery cells 11 are each chargeable and are arranged in series in the battery module 10. The battery monitoring unit 20 is provided adjacent to the upper surface side of the plurality of battery cells 11, and monitors the state of each battery cell 11 by measuring voltage or the like. The flexible printed wiring board 30 is disposed on the upper surface side of the plurality of battery cells 11. Each wiring pattern included in the plurality of wiring patterns 31 formed on the flexible printed wiring board 30 is laid out so as to be able to measure the voltage between the positive and negative electrode terminals 12, 12 of each battery cell 11 included in the plurality of battery cells 11. One end of the flexible printed wiring board 40 is electrically connected to the plurality of wiring patterns 31 of the flexible printed wiring board 30 via the connector 18, and the other end is electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit 20 via the connector 19. The battery module 10 is a battery pack mounted on an electric vehicle such as an Electric Vehicle (EV) or a Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV).

In each battery cell 11, positive and negative electrode terminals 12, 12 are provided at both ends of the upper surface. In the battery module 10, the electrode terminals 12 are arranged in two rows on the upper surface side of the plurality of battery cells 11 in a state where the plurality of battery cells 11 are arranged in series. The electrode terminals 12 of the respective columns are arranged such that the adjacent electrode terminals 12, 12 have different polarities, thereby enabling the adjacent battery cells 11 to be connected in series. As shown in fig. 2, the flexible printed wiring board 30, which is a circuit board on the battery cell side, is formed in pairs in a divided manner, and is applied to the column electrode terminals 12, 12 of the plurality of battery cells 11. On one surface 30a of the flexible printed wiring board 30, a plurality of wiring patterns (circuits) 31A to 31G corresponding to the respective battery cells 11 are formed, respectively. In fig. 1 and 3, the respective wiring patterns are denoted by reference numerals 31. That is, the flexible printed wiring board 30 is manufactured by forming a circuit with a conductive metal such as a copper foil on one side of a thin base film having insulation and flexibility such as polyimide, and by bonding a film-like cover of polyimide or the like to one side of the thin base film with an adhesive. The wiring patterns 31(31A to 31G) formed on the one side 30a of the flexible printed wiring board 30 are laid out so as to be able to measure the voltage of each battery cell 11 with the battery monitoring unit 20.

As shown in fig. 1 and 3, a pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30 arranged on the battery cell side are linearly routed from the respective battery cells 11 toward the battery monitoring unit 20 side.

As shown in fig. 2, on one end side of each flexible printed wiring board 30 of the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, a connection portion 32 to which the corresponding connector 18 is connected is provided.

Further, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, each of the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30 is provided with a plurality of battery connection portions 33, the plurality of battery connection portions 33 protruding as one member from one side in the width direction of the flexible printed wiring board 30 at positions capable of being connected with the electrode terminals 12, 12 in each column of electrode terminals. Each of the wiring patterns 31 linearly arranged on the one side 30a of each flexible printed wiring board 30 extends from each of the connections 32 to the base end portion of each of the battery connections 33, and is electrically connected to each of the battery connections 33. The terminal portions of the respective battery connection parts 33 are welded and electrically connected to the bus bars 50 in a rectangular plate shape, in which a pair of circular holes 51, 51 are fitted to the electrode terminals 12, 12 of the adjacent battery cells 11, 11 having different polarities. The plurality of bus bars 50 arranged on one side in the width direction of each of the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30 are soldered to the respective battery connection portions 33 and alternately arranged on both sides of the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30 so that the plurality of battery cells 11 can be connected in series.

As shown in fig. 2, a plurality of wiring patterns 41 are arranged on the flexible printed wiring board 40. The plurality of wiring patterns 41 arranged on the one surface 40a of the flexible printed wiring board 40 are circuits connected to the respective wiring patterns 31 of one flexible printed wiring board 30 of the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30 on the battery cell side. The plurality of wiring patterns 41 arranged on the other surface 40b of the flexible printed wiring board 40 are circuits connected to the respective wiring patterns 31 of the other flexible printed wiring board 30 of the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30. That is, a plurality of wiring patterns 41A to 41G are formed on the front surface and the back surface of the flexible printed wiring board 40, respectively. In fig. 1, a plurality of wiring patterns 41A to 41G are collectively denoted by reference numeral 41. The flexible printed wiring board 40 is manufactured by forming wiring patterns with a conductive metal such as a copper foil on both surfaces of a thin base film having insulation and flexibility such as polyimide, and adhering film-like coverlays of polyimide or the like on the respective surfaces of the thin base film with an adhesive. The wiring patterns 41 formed on both surfaces 40a and 40b of the flexible printed wiring board 40 are lines for measuring the voltage of the battery cell 11 with the battery monitoring unit 20.

The wiring patterns 41 are laid out to be directly connectable without changing the arrangement before being connected to an IC input section (not shown) in the battery monitoring unit 20. The circuit of the flexible printed wiring board 30 on the battery cell side is electrically connected to the circuit of the flexible printed wiring board 40 on the monitor cell side. Specifically, the circuits 31A to 31G of the voltage detection lines of the flexible printed wiring board 30 on the battery cell side are connected to the circuits 41A to 41G of the voltage detection lines of the flexible printed wiring board 40 on the monitor cell side, respectively. In the flexible printed wiring board 30 on the battery cell side and the flexible printed wiring board 40 on the monitor cell side, the wiring patterns 31A to 31G, 41A to 41G of the voltage detection lines are arranged in potential order in a state of being connected to the battery cell 11.

More specifically, the wiring patterns 31A, 31C, 31E, and 31G are voltage detection lines for one of two columns separately formed by the electrode terminals 12 of the plurality of battery cells 11, and the wiring patterns 31A, 31C, 31E, and 31G are electrically connected to the wiring patterns 41A, 41C, 41E, and 41G on the front surface 40a of the flexible printed wiring board 40 on the monitoring unit side, respectively.

Further, the wiring patterns 31B, 31D, and 31F are voltage detection lines for the other of the two columns separately formed by the electrode terminals 12 of the plurality of battery cells 11, and the wiring patterns 31B, 31D, and 31F are electrically connected to the wiring patterns 41B, 41D, and 41F on the back surface 40B of the flexible printed wiring board 40 on the monitoring unit side, respectively. As shown in fig. 2, the wiring patterns 41B, 41D, and 41F arranged on the back surface 40B of the flexible printed wiring board 40 include intersections B, B formed between the wiring patterns 41B and 41D and between the wiring patterns 41B and 41F, and intersections D formed between the wiring patterns 41D and 41F. Intersections B and D are formed partially on front surface 40 a.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, a pair of connection portions 42, 42 provided at one end side of the flexible printed wiring board 40 on the battery monitoring unit side are electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit 20 via a pair of connectors 19, 19. As shown in fig. 2 and 3, a pair of connection portions 43, 43 provided on the other end side of the flexible printed wiring board 40 is electrically connected to a pair of connection portions 32, 32 provided on one end side of the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30 via a pair of connectors 18, 18. As shown in fig. 1 to 3, long and short U-slit-shaped cutouts 44, 45 are formed at the centers of both end sides of the flexible printed wiring board 40 so as to be easily connected to the respective connectors 18, 18 and 19, 19.

Incidentally, the battery monitoring unit 20 is disposed on the front side (the side closest to the battery monitoring unit 20) of the plurality of battery cells 11, and includes a voltage measuring circuit (not shown) capable of measuring the voltage of each battery cell 11 and a power supply circuit (not shown) capable of converting a high voltage into a voltage suitable for a CPU (processing unit) or the like. Further, the battery monitoring unit 20 is connected to a battery control unit (MPU) (not shown), and controls the battery module 10 based on the monitoring result.

According to the battery module 10 of the first embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, since the flexible printed wiring board 30 on the battery cell side and the flexible printed wiring board 40 on the battery monitoring cell side having the wiring patterns 31A to 31G and 41A to 41G arranged in the order of the respective potentials are used, these voltage detection lines can be directly connected to the IC input section of the battery monitoring cell 20.

Since the arrangements of the wiring patterns 31A to 31G and 41A to 41G as the voltage detection lines of the respective flexible printed wiring boards 30, 40 have been arranged in their potential order in advance so as to be able to be directly connected to the IC input section of the battery monitoring unit 20, the thickness of the substrate in the battery monitoring unit 20 can be reduced by omitting the rearrangement of the voltage detection lines in the unit 20, and as a result, the size of the battery monitoring unit 20 itself can be reduced and the manufacturing of the battery monitoring unit 20 can be simplified.

Further, since the plurality of battery cells 11 and the battery monitoring unit 20 are electrically connected to the respective flexible printed wiring boards 30, 40 via the connectors 18, 19, the thickness and weight of the entire battery module 10 can be reduced.

Moreover, by using the flexible printed wiring board 40 in which the plurality of wiring patterns 41A to 41G are formed on the respective surfaces 40a, 40b as the circuit boards to be arranged on the battery monitoring unit 20 side, the battery monitoring unit 20 and the flexible printed wiring board 40 can be easily and reliably connected even when two-dimensional wiring is employed. Therefore, the substrate (not shown) disposed in the battery monitoring unit 20 can be made thin and flexible.

Fig. 4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a modification of the flexible printed wiring board.

The flexible printed wiring board 130 on the battery cell side according to this modification differs from the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30 on the battery cell side of the first embodiment in that: the flexible printed wiring board 130 is formed to extend in two rows separately arranged across the electrode terminals 12 of the plurality of battery cells 11, instead of being separately formed as a pair like the flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30. A short U-shaped slit-like cutout 134 is formed at the center of one end side of the flexible printed wiring board 130, and the other configurations are the same as those of the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30 in the first embodiment, the same constituent parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the modification of the flexible printed wiring board 130, similarly to the pair of flexible printed wiring boards 30, 30 of the first embodiment, since the plurality of battery cells 11 and the battery monitoring unit 20 are electrically connected to the respective flexible printed wiring boards 130, 40 via the connectors 18, 19, the thickness and weight of the entire battery module 10 can be reduced.

Fig. 5 is a side view schematically illustrating a battery module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the battery module 210 of the second embodiment, the flexible printed wiring board 240 on the monitoring unit side is arranged between the battery cells 11 closest to the battery monitoring unit 20 so as to be bent in a U-shape, and the battery monitoring unit 20 is electrically connected to the flexible printed wiring board 240 on the monitoring unit side which is bent in a U-shape.

According to the battery module 210 of the second embodiment, the center of the flexible printed wiring board 240 on the battery monitoring unit side is bent in a U-shape and connected to the battery monitoring unit 20, so that the same action and effect as in the first embodiment can be achieved, and the entire body can be further miniaturized than in the first embodiment.

According to the above respective embodiments, a flexible printed wiring board (FPC) is used as a wiring member that is arranged on a plurality of battery cells and electrically connected to the respective battery cells, but the wiring and/or the connection member is not limited to the FPC. Alternatively, a Flexible Flat Cable (FFC), a Flat Cable (FC), or the like may be used as the wiring and/or the connection member.

According to the above respective embodiments, the connector is used for connecting between the battery monitoring unit and the flexible printed wiring board, or for connecting between the flexible printed wiring boards. However, instead of the connector connection, a connection by inserting a metal pin into a through hole plated with gold on the inner surface, a connection by soldering, thermocompression bonding, or the like may be employed.

Further, in the first embodiment, the battery monitoring unit arranged on the front side (the side closest to the battery monitoring unit) of the plurality of battery units has been described. However, the battery monitoring unit may be arranged above (on the upper surface side) the plurality of battery cells by bending the flexible printed wiring board on the battery cell side into a U-shape.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the invention are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

Moreover, the effects described in the embodiments of the present invention merely list the best effects achieved by the present invention. Therefore, the effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects described in the embodiments of the present invention.