Electrical energy store, motor vehicle and method for producing electrical energy store

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical energy store comprising: a housing having a housing upper part and a housing lower part; the upper side of the foam structure is foamed to the upper part of the housing and the lower side of the foam structure is foamed to a fluid-tight arrangement surface of the support structure, the arrangement surface is arranged between the foam structure and the lower part of the housing, and the foam structure has a side surface which is arranged between the upper part of the housing and the lower part of the housing. The side surfaces are shaped in the production of the foam structure by means of a mold profile and / or by foaming to one or more side walls which are connected to the support structure in a fluid-tight manner.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an electrical energy storage device, a motor vehicle and a method for producing an electrical energy storage device. Background Art

[0002] Electrical energy storage devices of the type described are used in partially or fully electric motor vehicles, such as cars. Such energy storage devices are generally very large and usually require a large area of ​​the floor in a car. The design of such energy storage devices is difficult to design, since a large number of energy storage units must be installed. These energy storage units must be electrically connected and cooled during operation. Furthermore, the highest safety requirements must be met while maintaining low production costs. Summary of the invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide an electrical energy storage device, a motor vehicle and a method for producing an electrical energy storage device, wherein the energy storage device should be able to be produced at low cost and at a very high quality.

[0004] This object is achieved by an electrical energy storage device according to claim 1, a motor vehicle according to claim 9 and a method according to claim 10. Further advantages and features emerge from the dependent claims as well as from the description and the drawings.

[0005] According to the invention, the electric accumulator comprises a housing having an upper housing part and a lower housing part and a plurality of accumulator units embedded in a foam structure, the foam structure being foamed with its upper side to the upper housing part and with its lower side to the fluid-tight arrangement surface of the supporting structure, the arrangement surface being arranged between the foam structure and the lower housing part, and the foam structure having a side surface, which is formed by a mold contour and / or by foaming to one or more side walls during the manufacture of the foam structure, the side walls being connected to the supporting structure in a fluid-tight manner. Therefore, the foam structure is preferably manufactured directly "in the product". According to a preferred embodiment, the foam structure does not completely fill the housing here, but is only arranged where it is actually needed. Observing along the vertical axis (wherein the vertical axis is oriented perpendicular to the driving plane or the arrangement surface), the foam structure is adjacent to the upper housing part here. On the opposite side, i.e. below, the foam structure is adjacent to the arrangement surface of the supporting structure. The arrangement surface is preferably constructed to be fluid-tight here. Therefore, it is advantageously possible to pour a foamable medium, in particular a foamable fluid, onto the arrangement surface. The medium / material used for this purpose is usually very thin. This is not a problem in the present invention, since the arrangement surface does not have any holes, recesses or the like, i.e. is in particular fluid-tight. Therefore, foaming can advantageously be carried out "from the bottom to the top". The arrangement surface, together with one or more mold contours and / or side walls that are also arranged in a fluid-tight manner, forms a cavity into which the foamable material can be introduced. Advantageously, the side walls and / or at least one mold contour define the cavity. The foam structure is foamed only to the upper part of the housing and not to the lower part of the housing, which is particularly advantageous for the removability of the housing. In addition, there are direct advantages when manufacturing the electrical accumulator, since the electrical accumulator does not need to be turned over during manufacturing or for foaming, which would cause problems due to the large number of assembled accumulator units and the size of the accumulator.

[0006] It should be mentioned here that preferably round batteries, in particular cylindrical round batteries, are used as energy storage units. Their longitudinal axis is oriented along the above-mentioned vertical axis. Alternatively, other housing shapes, such as prismatic housings, etc., can also be used.

[0007] According to one embodiment, the accumulator unit is arranged at a distance from the arrangement surface by a plurality of spacer elements. The accumulator unit can be arranged on the arrangement surface indirectly or directly. Preferably, they are arranged indirectly on the above-mentioned spacer elements. Suitably, these spacer elements are designed so that a gap or a gap is formed between the actual arrangement surface and the lower side of the accumulator unit, and the gap or the gap is, for example, between 1 and 5 mm, preferably about 2 to 3 mm, according to the embodiment. The exhaust valve of the accumulator unit is suitably positioned on the above-mentioned bottom side of the accumulator unit. The foam structure thus forms a more or less thin layer under the accumulator unit, which can be broken in the event of a thermal event, that is, when the accumulator unit penetrates. Suitably, the accumulator unit can therefore be exhausted downward. Here, the required pressure reduction is suitably achieved by the design of the above-mentioned support structure. Advantageously, the spacer elements enable a limited covering of the accumulator unit with foaming.

[0008] Suitably, the support structure is an element made of foamed plastic. Suitably, the support structure is a plate with a thickness of about 2-8 cm. The plate is preferably made of foamed plastic and suitably has a plurality of channels, recesses, holes, etc. These channels, recesses, etc. can reduce the pressure in a targeted manner when one or more accumulator units penetrate. At the same time, the support structure protects the accumulator unit from below. According to one embodiment, the support structure is indirectly or directly arranged at the bottom of the housing. In the case where the motor vehicle presses onto an obstacle, such as a curbstone or the like, the load occurring here can be absorbed or offset by the support structure. Suitably, the material of the support structure is correspondingly softer and more flexible than the material or material of the foam structure in which the accumulator unit is embedded.

[0009] According to a preferred embodiment, an additional element is arranged on the support structure. According to one embodiment, the additional element forms or constitutes the layout surface. The additional element is suitably designed so that load distribution can be performed in the plane of the layout surface or perpendicular to the vertical axis. The additional element can be understood and referred to as a load distribution plate accordingly. According to one embodiment, the additional element is a plate with a thickness of several millimeters (e.g. 2-8 mm), wherein the above-mentioned dimensions can vary upward and downward. According to one embodiment, plastic is used as the material of the additional element. The additional element is arranged or fixed, for example, bonded to the support structure. Suitably, the additional element is a closed plate without recesses or holes, that is, a closed plate that is particularly fluid-tight. Accordingly, the layout surface is a closed, fluid-tight plane. The additional element, such as the above-mentioned intermediate layer of the foam structure, is advantageously designed so that they can rupture in the event of a thermal event. The pressure can be distributed in the channels of the support structure or reduced there. The spacer element can advantageously achieve accurate and accurate repetitive covering of the accumulator unit with foaming, especially in the area of ​​the exhaust valve of the accumulator unit. If an additional element is arranged on the arrangement surface, the spacing element is preferably integrated into the arrangement surface. The additional element then preferably comprises the spacing element or forms the spacing element.

[0010] According to a preferred embodiment, the support structure is connected to the housing lower part, in particular the pot-shaped part, by material closure, in particular adhesive bonding. The housing lower part is expediently connected to the housing upper part by form-locking and / or force-locking. According to one embodiment, the housing lower part is riveted or adhesively bonded to the housing upper part. The fastening method is expediently selected to achieve a gas-tight fastening or connection.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the accumulator comprises two, in particular opposite side walls, which extend along a vertical axis, wherein the first side wall has a device for guiding a cooling medium and the second side wall has a device for guiding an electric current. According to one embodiment, the accumulator units are arranged in a plurality of adjacent rows. Cooling elements are arranged between these rows. In the case of cylindrical round batteries, these cooling elements preferably have a wave shape. According to one embodiment, the cooling element has not only a device for guiding a fluid in one direction, but also a device for guiding a fluid in the corresponding other direction, and the cooling element is formed by a metal material and formed by an extruded profile according to a preferred embodiment. The coolant input and the coolant output can be realized from the same side accordingly. According to one embodiment, a channel is arranged in the first side wall accordingly for introducing a cooling medium into the cooling element and out of the cooling element.

[0012] A contact system, in particular an electrical cell contact system, is expediently arranged on the energy storage unit, that is, in particular between the upper housing part and the top side of the energy storage unit, which is designed and provided for electrical contacting of the energy storage unit, in particular for connection and sensor monitoring, etc. The current path is expediently designed in such a way that it is realized via the second side wall, which accordingly preferably has means for conducting current, etc.

[0013] According to a preferred embodiment, the support structure is composed of a plurality of segments, in particular fluid-tightly, or in particular plugged together. Advantageously, the support structure does not have to be formed from one component, which is often difficult to realize due to the size of such accumulators. According to one embodiment, the support structure has, for example, a quadrilateral shape, in particular a rectangular shape. Here, the shorter side is, for example, between 1 m and 2 m, and the longer side is, for example, between 1.5 m and 3.5 m. By forming the support structure from a plurality of segments, the support structure can be manufactured significantly more easily.

[0014] According to one embodiment, accumulator units, for example one or more rows of accumulator units, are (already) arranged on individual sections of the support structure. Preferably, cooling elements are also already provided / arranged. Alternatively, one or more side wall sections may already be additionally arranged. According to one embodiment, additional element sections are also arranged on individual sections of the support structure. Preferably, the above-mentioned cavities, in particular fluid-tight cavities, can be assembled or plugged together.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the side walls or at least one side wall is also composed of a plurality of segments in a fluid-tight manner.

[0016] According to one embodiment, in order to establish a fluid-tight connection, cutting elements and / or form-locking elements are formed between or on the segments / sections. The cutting element can be designed, for example, as a blade or the like, which is designed to cut into the material of the respective other segment or the respective other segment or into an additional element, thereby producing a fluid-tight connection between the segments, sections, etc. The above-mentioned components can also be brought into contact with each other by form-locking elements to produce a fluid-tight connection.

[0017] The invention also relates to a motor vehicle comprising at least one electrical energy storage device according to the invention. A motor vehicle of the type described is in particular a land vehicle, for example a motorcycle, a passenger car or a commercial vehicle.

[0018] The invention also relates to a method for producing an electrical energy storage device, the method comprising the following steps:

[0019] - providing a support structure, wherein the support structure has a fluid-tight arrangement surface;

[0020] - arranging a plurality of energy storage units on the arrangement surface;

[0021] - fluid-tightly arranging one or more side walls on the support structure and / or using one or more molds to form a cavity for the foam structure in order to embed the accumulator unit;

[0022] - introducing a foamable fluid or medium into the cavity;

[0023] The cavity is closed by arranging an upper housing part of the energy storage device.

[0024] According to one embodiment, the support structure is arranged on the workpiece support. According to one embodiment, in the next step, an additional element is arranged on the support structure and an accumulator unit is arranged on the additional element. For electrical contact, a (unit) contact system is arranged on the accumulator unit. Foaming can be advantageously achieved directly on the layout surface by the fluid-tight construction of the layout surface and the fluid-tight arrangement of one or more side walls and / or mold contours. The side walls, mold contours, housing top and placement surface form a cavity here, which determines the shape of the foam structure.

[0025] By arranging one or more side walls on the support structure and / or by arranging one or more molds, a cavity is formed together with the support structure or the arrangement surface, into which the foamable medium can be introduced. After the medium has been introduced, the cavity is closed by arranging the housing top part. The foamable medium now fills the cavity, wherein the housing top part is foamed, just as any side walls and / or arrangement surfaces are.

[0026] According to a preferred embodiment, the method comprises the following steps:

[0027] -The support structure consists of multiple sections.

[0028] It should be mentioned here that the advantages and features mentioned in conjunction with the electrical energy storage device also apply analogously to the method, and vice versa.

[0029] According to a preferred embodiment, an energy storage unit is arranged on the segment. Preferably, a cooling element or a side wall segment is also arranged in addition. Therefore, the support structure together with the arrangement surface or the additional element and the side segment is preferably composed of individual segments, parts or segments. According to one embodiment, the additional element is also formed by a plurality of individual elements / segments. According to one embodiment, the above-mentioned segment of the energy storage unit already has individual elements of the additional element.

[0030] According to one embodiment, the method comprises the following steps:

[0031] The segments, side walls and / or sections are connected in a fluid-tight manner by providing form-fitting elements and / or cutting elements between the components, segments and / or sections which are designed to provide fluid-tightness.

[0032] In this case, the fluid-tightness is advantageously always designed in such a way that a foamable material or medium can be introduced into or onto the arrangement surface or the formed cavity, so that foaming is possible, in particular from the bottom to the top. As already mentioned, the support structure advantageously has channels, recesses, etc. Furthermore, the fluid-tight arrangement surface ensures that foaming cannot extend beyond the arrangement surface.

[0033] According to one embodiment, the method comprises the following steps:

[0034] The housing lower part of the energy storage device is connected to the supporting structure in a materially bonded manner.

[0035] According to one embodiment, the housing bottom part is in particular adhesively bonded to the supporting structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] Further advantages and features result from the following description of specific embodiments of the energy storage device and the method with reference to the attached drawings.

[0037] In the figure:

[0038] Figure 1 A schematic diagram shows a top view of one embodiment of a support structure;

[0039] Figure 2 Shown as Figure 1 Section AA shown in;

[0040] Figure 3 In the next method step, the Figure 2 known arrangements;

[0041] Figure 4 A schematic detail view of an energy storage unit arranged on a layout surface is shown;

[0042] Figure 5 Two schematic diagrams showing sections of a support structure;

[0043] Figure 6 An embodiment of two support structure sections for producing a fluid-tight connection is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] Figure 1The schematic diagram shows a top view of an embodiment of a support structure 10. The energy storage unit comprises an arrangement surface 12, on which a plurality of energy storage units 1 are arranged in the present case. The energy storage units 1 are cylindrical round units which are arranged upright on the arrangement surface 12. Side walls 50, in particular a first side wall 51 and a second side wall 52, are arranged on both sides of the support structure 10. Figure 2 Section AA is shown in FIG.

[0045] Figure 2 Shown in Figure 1 AA shown in FIG. 1 , wherein other components are now added. In particular, it is shown that the support structure 10 is arranged on the mold frame 2. The energy storage unit 1 extends along the vertical axis H. The side walls 50, 51 or 52 are also oriented along the vertical axis. The contact system 70 is arranged on the energy storage unit 1. The contact system is designed and arranged for making electrical contact with each other, providing sensor signals, etc. According to one embodiment, a current path is established, for example, through the second side wall 52, which correspondingly has a device for electrical connection and electrical contact. It can be seen that the two side walls 51 and 52 together with the support structure 10 or the arrangement surface 12 (for the sake of clarity, no additional reference numerals are provided here) form a cavity for forming a foam structure. This "cavity" is completed by arranging the upper shell part 42. Before arranging the upper shell part 42, the medium to be foamed is appropriately brought into, for example injected into, the support structure 10. Next, the housing top part 42 is placed and the cavities between the energy storage units 1 are filled with foam. Here, the housing top part 42, the side walls 51 and 52, the support structure 10 or the arrangement surface 12 and the corresponding mold contours on the side where no side walls 50 are provided act as boundaries. Figure 2 It is shown that a closing force is applied by a mold (not shown in detail here), see the arrow denoted by the reference symbol F, which supports the housing top part 42 and / or the side wall 50 etc. during the foaming process.

[0046] Figure 3 The state in which the foam structure 30 is produced is shown. It can be seen that the housing upper part 42 is foamed. Now, the housing lower part 44 can be fixed to the housing upper part 42. According to a preferred embodiment, the housing lower part 44 is fixed to the support structure 10 by means of bonding. Figures 1 to 3 It can be clearly seen that the entire arrangement does not need to be turned or inverted in order to produce the foam structure 30. Instead, a defined foaming process can be achieved which can be achieved without any difficulty.

[0047] Figure 4A schematic enlarged detail view of an embodiment of an accumulator unit 1 is shown. The accumulator unit is arranged on a layout surface 12. The layout surface 12 is formed by an additional element 20, which is arranged on the support structure 10. It can be seen that the accumulator unit 1 is not arranged directly on the layout surface 12, but indirectly through the spacing element 60. Therefore, a gap is formed between the accumulator unit 1 and the layout surface 12. During the foaming covering of the accumulator unit, the gap is filled with foam. The support structure 10 includes one or more channels 16. Typically, the exhaust valve of the accumulator unit is arranged on the lower side. If a thermal event occurs, the foam intermediate layer below the accumulator unit 1 and the additional element 12 are penetrated, and the pressure is directed into the support structure 10. The spacing element 60 can achieve a defined foaming covering of the accumulator unit 1.

[0048] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of two support structure sections 14 is shown, wherein each support structure section comprises a row of energy storage cells 1. Corrugated cooling elements 80 have been arranged on the row of energy storage cells 1. The two support structure sections 14 here each comprise a side wall section 54. These side wall sections 54 are each connected to the cooling elements 80 in a flow-conducting manner. In other words, the side wall sections 54 comprise means for guiding the cooling medium. As can be seen from the right half of the figure, the sections 14 can be assembled or plugged together. A similar situation also applies to the side wall sections 54, which now schematically form the first side wall 51. In this way, the energy storage units can be "assembled" into a large component, for example in Figure 1 The key point is that the supporting structure sections 14 are connected to each other in a fluid-tight manner. A similar situation also applies to additional elements arranged thereon if necessary, for example in Figure 4 . According to one embodiment, the additional element can also be a separate planar plate, which is arranged on the corresponding section 14. Suitably, the side wall sections 54 are also connected to each other in a fluid-tight manner or to the support structure section 14 in a fluid-tight manner. This also applies to the case where the side wall sections 54 are designed to form side walls with components for conducting current.

[0049] Figure 6 A schematic diagram is shown comprising two support structure segments 14 with cutting elements 90. By means of such cutting elements 90, which are designed here in the form of blades, and / or also by means of correspondingly designed form-fitting elements between the segments, sections, parts, etc., a fluid-tight connection can be established which enables foaming within the product.

[0050] Reference numerals list

[0051] 1Accumulator unit

[0052] 2 mold rack

[0053] 10 Support structure

[0054] 12 layout surface

[0055] Section 14 (Supporting structure)

[0056] 16 channels

[0057] 20Additional components, load distribution components

[0058] 30 Foam structure

[0059] 32 Side surface

[0060] 40 Shell

[0061] 42 Upper part of the housing

[0062] 44 Lower part of the housing

[0063] 50 Sidewall

[0064] 51 First side wall

[0065] 52 Second side wall

[0066] 54 (side wall) section

[0067] 60 Spacer element

[0068] 70 contact contact system

[0069] 80 Cooling element

[0070] 90 Cutting element

[0071] F-Force

[0072] H vertical axis

Claims

1. An electric energy accumulator, comprising: A housing (40) having an upper housing portion (42) and a lower housing portion (44); and a plurality of accumulator units (1) embedded in the foam structure (30), The foam structure (30) is foamed with its upper side to the housing upper part (42) and with its lower side to a fluid-tight arrangement surface (12) of the support structure (10), the arrangement surface being arranged between the foam structure (30) and the housing lower part (44), and The foam structure (30) has side surfaces (32) which are formed during the production of the foam structure (30) by a mold contour and / or by foaming to one or more side walls (50) which are connected to the support structure (10) in a fluid-tight manner.

2. The electrical energy storage device according to claim 1, wherein: The energy storage unit (1) is arranged at a distance from the arrangement surface (12) by means of a plurality of spacer elements (60).

3. The electrical energy storage device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The deployment surface (12) is formed by an additional element (20) arranged on the support structure (10).

4. The electrical energy storage device according to claim 1, wherein: The supporting structure (10) is adhesively bonded to the housing lower part (44), which is in particular cup-shaped.

5. The accumulator according to claim 1 , comprising two, in particular opposite, side walls ( 51 , 52 ), which extend along a vertical axis (H), in, The first side wall (51) has means for guiding a cooling medium, and The second side wall (52) has a device for guiding current.

6. An accumulator according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The support structure (10) is composed of a plurality of segments (14) and is particularly fluid-tight.

7. The accumulator according to claim 6, wherein: The side walls (51, 52) are composed of a plurality of sections (54) in a fluid-tight manner.

8. An accumulator according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: In order to produce a fluid-tight connection, cutting elements (90) and / or form-fitting elements are formed between or on the sections (14) / sections (54). 9 . A motor vehicle comprising an electrical energy storage device according to claim 1 .

10. A method for producing an electrical energy storage device, comprising the following steps: - providing a support structure (10), wherein the support structure (10) has a fluid-tight arrangement surface (12); - arranging a plurality of energy storage units (1) on the arrangement surface (12); - arranging one or more side walls (50) on the support structure (10) in a fluid-tight manner and / or using one or more molds to form a cavity for the foam structure (30) in order to embed the energy storage unit (1); - introducing a foamable fluid into the cavity; The cavity is closed by arranging an upper housing part (42) of the accumulator.

11. The method according to claim 10, comprising the steps of: The support structure (10) is composed of a plurality of segments (14).

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein: An energy storage unit (1) is arranged on the section (14).

13. The method according to claim 11 or 12, wherein: A cooling element (80) and / or a side wall segment (54) is arranged on the section (14).

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, comprising the steps of: The segment (14), the side wall (50) and / or the segment (54) are connected in a fluid-tight manner by providing a positive locking element and / or a cutting element (90) between components, segments (14) and / or segments (54) designed to provide fluid-tightness.

15. The method according to claim 13 or 14, comprising the steps of: - The housing bottom part (44) of the energy storage device is fixed to the supporting structure (10) by integral bonding.

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