Battery pack

Abstract

The utility model relates to a battery pack carried on a vehicle. The battery pack provided by the utility model comprises 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 utility model relates to a battery pack, and particularly 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 has a plurality of battery modules capable of charging and discharging. In addition, in order to suppress the temperature rise of the battery, the battery pack has a coolant layer for circulating coolant.

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

[0004] In a battery pack, a cooler for cooling the battery module is sometimes installed. For example, in order to cool the battery module disposed on the upper surface of the lower case of the battery pack, the cooler is installed on the lower surface of the lower case. However, there are sometimes idle areas on the upper surface of the lower case where no battery modules are disposed. In this case, it is necessary to prevent dew condensation caused by cooling of the idle area.

[0005] The present utility model relates to a battery pack mounted on a vehicle. The battery pack of the present utility model includes: a battery module; a lower case on which the battery modules are arranged and mounted on the upper surface; and a cooler installed on the lower surface of the lower case. The upper surface of the lower case includes an idle area where the battery modules are not disposed. An adiabatic material and a bracket are disposed in the idle area, and the bracket presses and fixes the adiabatic material from above.

[0006] In the battery pack of the present utility model, the adiabatic material disposed in the idle area may be a foamed material.

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

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

[0009] The battery pack of the present utility model has an adiabatic material in the idle area disposed on the upper surface of the lower case. By disposing the adiabatic material in the idle area, it is possible to prevent dew condensation from occurring inside the battery pack due to cooling of the idle area by the cooler. In addition, since a bracket is disposed in the idle area, the strength of the battery pack can be increased by the rigidity of the bracket. Description of the Drawings

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

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

[0012] Figure 3 It is a perspective view showing an example of a foaming material and a bracket arranged in a free space area. Detailed implementation manners

[0013] The implementation manners of the present utility model will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0014] Figure 1 It is a top view showing a configuration example of the battery pack 1 mounted on a vehicle. In Figure 1 the internal structure of the battery pack 1 when viewed from above the vehicle is shown. Figure 1 Below is equivalent to the traveling direction of the vehicle, that is, 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 the lower part of the vehicle frame 2 so as to be located at the lateral center of the vehicle body. The battery pack 1 is used, for example, as a power source for electric vehicles including BEV, PHEV, and HEV.

[0016] A plurality of battery modules 11 are housed in the battery pack 1. The battery module 11 is composed of, for example, a battery stack formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells, a metal case housing the battery stack, various electrical components arranged above the battery stack, etc. The battery cell is a secondary battery capable of charging and discharging, such as a lithium-ion secondary battery. The metal case is made of 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, a 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 cross beam may be arranged between the battery modules 11 adjacent in the front and rear. The cross beam is arranged so as to extend horizontally between the battery modules 11. A part of the load acting on the battery pack 1 is input to the cross beam, and by sharing the load by the cross beam, 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 in which a plurality of flow paths are formed inside. The lower case 12 is cooled from below by using the cooling water flowing in the flow paths of the cooler 20. And, through the heat conduction of the lower case 12, the battery modules 11 arranged on the upper surface of the lower case 12 are cooled from the bottom surface.

[0020] Here, there may be a free space area in the lower case 12 where no battery module 11 is arranged. In Figure 1In the example, 12 battery modules 11 are arranged in pairs on the front side of the lower housing 12, and one battery module 11 is arranged near the rear end of the lower housing 12. Also, there are two idle areas 13 on the left and right of the one battery module 11 arranged near the rear end.

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

[0022] Figure 2 and Figure 3 is a perspective view of the enlarged idle area 13. There is a triangular idle area 13 beside the battery module 11a and the battery module 11b arranged on the upper surface of the lower housing 12. In the battery pack 1 of the present embodiment, an adiabatic material 14 and a bracket 15 are arranged in the idle area 13.

[0023] The adiabatic material 14 has a shape close to a triangular prism corresponding to the shape of the idle area 13. The adiabatic material 14 is, for example, a foamed material such as expanded polystyrene.

[0024] The bracket 15 presses and fixes the adiabatic material 14 from above so that the adiabatic material 14 is received in the idle area 13. In order to be able to press the adiabatic material 14 from above, the bracket 15 is a flat rigid member with a shape close to that of the adiabatic material 14 and slightly larger than the adiabatic material 14. The bracket 15 is, for example, made of light metal, resin, or steel plate. For the bracket 15, it is fixed, for example, by screwing three corners of it to the cross beam.

[0025] In addition, when the adiabatic material 14 is made of a flexible raw material, the adiabatic material 14 does not need to have exactly the same shape as the idle area 13, and it can also be a member with a bottom surface slightly larger than the idle area 13. In this case, the adiabatic material 14 is deformed by being pressed from above by the bracket 15 and follows the shape of the idle area 13.

[0026] According to the battery pack 1 of the present embodiment, by arranging the adiabatic material 14 in the idle area 13, condensation in the idle area 13 can be prevented. And 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 involved in this embodiment. In the above description, the case where 13 battery modules 11 are arranged inside the battery pack 1 is taken as an example, but the number of battery modules 11 accommodated in the battery pack 1 is arbitrary. In addition, the position of the idle area 13 is not limited either. For example, the structure of this embodiment can also be applied when the idle area 13 exists in the central part of the battery pack 1.

[0028] However, in the case where the idle area 13 exists at a position adjacent to the side surface of the battery pack 1 as shown in Figure 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, by sharing the load acting on the side surface of the battery pack 1 by the bracket 15, the strength of the battery pack 1 against the side collision load can be improved.

[0029] In addition, it is more effective when the idle area 13 is located at the corner of the battery pack 1. For example, when the idle area 13 is located at the corner of the rear end of the battery pack 1, in addition to the load input from the side to the battery pack 1, 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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