Battery pack

Abstract

The invention relates to a battery pack mounted on a vehicle. This battery pack is provided with: a battery module; a lower case on the upper surface of which the battery modules are arranged; and the cooler is mounted on the lower surface of the lower shell. The upper surface of the lower shell comprises a free area without the battery module. A heat insulating material and a bracket for pressing and fixing the heat insulating material from the upper part are arranged in a free area on the upper surface of the lower housing. Consequently, it is possible to prevent the generation of condensation due to the cooling of the free area of the battery pack.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery pack, and in particular to a battery pack mounted on a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a battery pack housed in a vehicle body. The battery pack includes a plurality of battery modules that can be charged and discharged. In addition, the battery pack includes a coolant layer that circulates a coolant in order to suppress a temperature rise of the battery.

[0003] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2022-138470 Summary of the invention

[0004] In a battery pack, a cooler is sometimes installed to cool the battery module. For example, in order to cool the battery module arranged on the upper surface of the lower shell of the battery pack, the cooler is installed on the lower surface of the lower shell. However, sometimes the upper surface of the lower shell includes an empty area where no battery module is arranged. In this case, it is necessary to prevent the generation of condensation caused by cooling the empty area.

[0005] The present invention relates to a battery pack mounted on a vehicle. The battery pack of the present invention comprises: a battery module; a lower shell, the battery modules are arranged and placed on the upper surface of the lower shell; and a cooler mounted on the lower surface of the lower shell. The upper surface of the lower shell includes an empty area where the battery module is not arranged. A heat insulating material and a bracket are arranged in the empty area, and the bracket presses and fixes the heat insulating material from the upper part.

[0006] In the battery pack of the present invention, the heat insulating material disposed in the idle area may be a foam material.

[0007] In addition, the vacant area may exist at a position adjacent to a side surface of the battery pack.

[0008] In addition, the vacant area may be located at a corner of the battery pack.

[0009] The battery pack of the present invention has a heat insulating material disposed in the idle area of ​​the upper surface of the lower shell. By disposing the heat insulating material in the idle area, it is possible to prevent condensation from occurring inside the battery pack due to the idle area being cooled by the cooler. In addition, since the bracket is disposed in the idle area, the rigidity of the bracket can improve the strength of the battery pack. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Figure 1 It is a plan view showing a configuration example of a battery pack.

[0011] Figure 2 It is a perspective view showing the empty area of ​​the battery pack.

[0012] Figure 3 It is a perspective view showing an example of a foam material and a bracket arranged in a vacant area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0013] Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0014] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a top view showing a configuration example of a battery pack 1 mounted on a vehicle. Figure 1 2 shows the internal structure of the battery pack 1 when viewed from above the vehicle. Figure 1 The lower side is equivalent to the traveling direction of the vehicle, i.e. the front. In addition, hereinafter, in this specification, when indicating directions such as up and down, left and right, front and back, the directions are indicated based on the orientation of the vehicle body.

[0015] The battery pack 1 is mounted on a lower portion of a vehicle frame 2 so as to be located in a transversely central portion of a vehicle body. The battery pack 1 is used as a power source for electric vehicles including BEVs, PHEVs, and HEVs, for example.

[0016] The battery pack 1 contains a plurality of battery modules 11. The battery module 11 is composed of, for example, a battery stack formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells, a metal casing containing the battery stack, and various electrical components disposed above the battery stack. The battery cells are secondary batteries that can be charged and discharged, such as lithium-ion secondary batteries. The metal casing is made of, for example, a light metal such as aluminum.

[0017] The outer shell of the battery pack 1 is composed of a lower case 12 and an upper case (not shown). The lower case 12 and the upper case are made of, for example, light metal, resin, or steel plate.

[0018] The battery modules 11 are arranged on the upper surface of the lower case 12. In order to improve the strength of the battery pack 1, a crossbeam may be arranged between the front and rear adjacent battery modules 11. The crossbeam is arranged so as to extend laterally between the battery modules 11. A part of the load acting on the battery pack 1 is input to the crossbeam, and by sharing the load with the crossbeam, the strength of the battery pack 1 can be improved.

[0019] A cooler 20 is mounted on the lower surface of the lower case 12. The cooler 20 is a plate-shaped device having a plurality of flow paths formed therein. The lower case 12 is cooled from below by cooling water flowing in the flow paths of the cooler 20. Furthermore, the battery modules 11 arranged on the upper surface of the lower case 12 are cooled from the bottom surface by heat conduction from the lower case 12.

[0020] Here, there may be an empty area in the lower case 12 where no battery module 11 is arranged. Figure 1In the example, 12 battery modules 11 are arranged two by two on the front side of the lower case 12, and one battery module 11 is arranged near the rear end of the lower case 12. In addition, there are two empty areas 13 on the left and right of the one battery module 11 arranged near the rear end.

[0021] Even in the portion of the idle area 13, the upper surface of the lower shell 12 is cooled by heat conduction from the lower shell 12 cooled by the cooler 20. Therefore, assuming that nothing is arranged in the idle area 13 and there is still space above the idle area 13, the air in the space above the idle area 13 is cooled. If the air is cooled and becomes below the specified temperature, condensation occurs, which may reduce the insulation inside the battery pack 1. Since the battery modules 11 are arranged around the idle area 13, the condensation generated in the idle area 13 may produce a liquid interface. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately prevent condensation from occurring in the idle area 13.

[0022] Figure 2 and Figure 3 This is an enlarged perspective view of the empty area 13. A triangular empty area 13 exists next to the battery modules 11a and 11b arranged on the upper surface of the lower case 12. In the battery pack 1 of the present embodiment, a heat insulating material 14 and a bracket 15 are arranged in the empty area 13.

[0023] The heat insulating material 14 has a shape close to a triangular prism corresponding to the shape of the vacant area 13. The heat insulating material 14 is, for example, a foam material such as foamed polystyrene.

[0024] The bracket 15 presses and fixes the heat insulating material 14 from above so that the heat insulating material 14 is accommodated in the empty area 13. In order to press the heat insulating material 14 from above, the bracket 15 is a rigid flat plate-shaped member that is similar in shape to the heat insulating material 14 and slightly larger than the heat insulating material 14. The bracket 15 is made of, for example, light metal, resin, or steel plate. The bracket 15 is fixed, for example, by fastening its three corners to the crossbeam with screws.

[0025] In addition, when the heat insulating material 14 is made of a flexible material, the heat insulating material 14 does not need to have a shape completely identical to the shape of the free area 13, and may be a member having a bottom surface slightly larger than the free area 13. In this case, the heat insulating material 14 is deformed by being pressed from above by the bracket 15, and follows the shape of the free area 13.

[0026] According to the battery pack 1 of the present embodiment, by arranging the heat insulating material 14 in the empty area 13, condensation can be prevented from occurring in the empty area 13. Furthermore, by arranging the bracket 15, the strength of the battery pack 1 can be improved by the rigidity of the bracket 15.

[0027] The above is an example of the configuration of the battery pack 1 according to the present embodiment. In the above description, the case where 13 battery modules 11 are arranged inside the battery pack 1 is described as an example, but the number of battery modules 11 accommodated in the battery pack 1 is arbitrary. In addition, there is no limitation on the position of the vacant area 13, and for example, the configuration of the present embodiment can be applied even when the vacant area 13 is present in the center of the battery pack 1.

[0028] However, in Figure 1 When the vacant area 13 is located at a position in contact with the side surface of the battery pack 1, a particularly large effect can be obtained. That is, a part of the load acting on the side surface of the battery pack 1 is input to the bracket 15. In this way, the load acting on the side surface of the battery pack 1 is shared by the bracket 15, and the strength of the battery pack 1 against the side collision load can be improved.

[0029] In addition, it is more effective when the empty area 13 is located at the corner of the battery pack 1. For example, when the empty area 13 is located at the corner of the rear end of the battery pack 1, in addition to the load input to the battery pack 1 from the side, the load input from the rear end of the battery pack 1 is also shared by the bracket 15, and the durability against the collision load can be further improved.

Claims

1. A battery pack mounted on a vehicle, characterized in that: have: Battery modules; A lower shell, the battery modules are arranged and placed on the upper surface of the lower shell; and A cooler is mounted on the lower surface of the lower shell, The upper surface of the lower housing includes an empty area where the battery module is not configured. A heat insulating material and a bracket are arranged in the vacant area, and the bracket presses and fixes the heat insulating material from above.

2. The battery pack according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vacant area exists at a position adjacent to a side surface of the battery pack.

3. The battery pack according to claim 2, characterized in that: The vacant area is located at a corner of the battery pack.

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