Device for fastening at least one battery module in a battery box of a traction battery

Abstract

Device for fastening at least one battery module (3) in a battery box of a motor vehicle, comprising at least one clamping unit (9) which has a head part and a base part (13) on opposite module sides (8) which are connected to each other via at least one clamping element (15), the head part being adjustable into a clamping position in which the battery module (3) is clamped between the head and base part (13), characterized in that the head part of the clamping unit (9) is a clamping lever (31) which can be pivoted into the clamping position and which can be attached to a lever arm (43) on a lever extension (27) of the clamping element (15), wherein the clamping lever (31) is supported on the module side of the battery module (3) by means of a clamping support (47) and is in particular fixed on the clamping support (47) in the clamping position.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a device for fastening at least one battery module in a battery box of a traction battery of an electrically powered motor vehicle according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] The traction battery of an electric vehicle consists of battery cells grouped into several box-shaped battery modules. These battery modules are, in turn, housed in a battery box located, for example, beneath the rear seat of a vehicle.

[0003] From EP 1 548 858 A2, a generic device for fastening battery modules in a vehicle battery box is known. Each of these battery modules is attached to the vehicle body by means of a clamping unit. The clamping unit has screw bolts at each of the outer corners of the battery module, which are clamped to the vehicle body on the bottom and top sides by means of nuts. This results in a space-consuming installation with a total of four screw bolts at each outer corner of the battery module. The clamping units, constructed with screw bolts and nuts, are complex to assemble and require considerable installation space. This results in a correspondingly large overall height of the assembly.

[0004] DE 10 2008 059 680 A1 discloses a device for holding a battery in a motor vehicle, comprising a receiving element for receiving a battery, a bracket element which at least partially encloses the receiving element and / or the battery, and a fixing element which can be attached to the bracket element, wherein the battery is fixed within the receiving element by means of the fixing element. This makes it possible to provide a device for holding a battery which offers the greatest possible protection for the battery, even in the event of an accident.

[0005] Vehicle power supply system known from US 2004 / 0 251 858 A1.

[0006] In a vehicle power supply system consisting of a battery, an inverter to convert the battery's direct current (DC) into alternating current (AC) and supply it to a rotating electric motor, an AC cable to connect the rotating electric motor to the inverter, and a DC cable to connect the inverter to the battery, the inverter is located close to the battery, making the DC cable shorter than the AC cable. This reduces the voltage drop in the DC cable and improves the torque of the rotating electric motor.

[0007] From JP H07-223 499 A, a battery holder with a battery carrier is known, to which an arm can be easily attached on one side. The holder is vibration-resistant and allows the battery to be discharged without affecting its lifespan. A slot is located on one side of the underside of the battery carrier. A corresponding attachment point is provided on the perimeter wall of the battery carrier. An arm with a curved lower section is inserted into the slot and has an opening into which the attachment point engages. A through-hole penetrates the curved part of the arm and the battery carrier, allowing the arm, battery carrier, and housing to be screwed together.

[0008] The object of the invention is to provide a device for fastening at least one battery module in a battery box of a motor vehicle, in which the battery module can be fastened in the battery box or on the vehicle body in a simple manner and with reduced installation space requirements.

[0009] The problem is solved by the features of claim 1. Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

[0010] The fastening device according to the invention also has a head part and a base part on opposite sides of the battery module, which are connected to each other via a clamping element. However, according to the characterizing part of claim 1, the head and base parts are not screwed to the clamping element. Rather, at least the head part is designed as a clamping lever that can be pivoted into a clamping position and whose lever arm can be attached to a corresponding lever projection on the clamping element. The clamping lever is supported on the module side of the battery module by means of a clamping support and is, in particular, fixed to the clamping support in the clamping position. Accordingly, the head part can be moved into its clamping position via a lever mechanism, in which the head and base parts exert opposing clamping forces on the battery module arranged between them.The base part opposite the head part is preferably made of the same material and / or integrally connected to the base of the clamping element, particularly by a welded connection. According to the invention, the clamping element is therefore not a screw bolt, but rather a strip or flat profile positioned vertically with respect to the base part. Such a connection saves, in particular, the overall height that would otherwise be required due to a space-consuming screw connection.

[0011] The lever arm of the clamping element can be, for example, a U-shaped recess in which a lever arm of the clamping lever can be hooked.

[0012] The clamping lever can be designed with two arms: the aforementioned lever arm and a second lever arm positioned opposite the lever's pivot axis. The clamping lever can be moved into the clamping position by pivoting it around its pivot axis. To secure the clamping lever in the clamping position, the second lever arm can be fixed by a detent or screw connection.

[0013] The tensioning bracket evens out the clamping forces applied to the battery module via the clamping lever. Preferably, the tensioning bracket can be designed in the form of a strip and extend along an edge of the battery module. In the case of adjacent battery modules, the tensioning bracket can cover the facing edge edges of the battery modules.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the battery module can be constructed in a box shape from battery cells. These cells can extend between two opposing end faces, for example, aluminum pressure plates. The pressure plates are preferably lightweight hollow metal profiles, such as extruded profiles, cut to the appropriate length. Such hollow profile sections are already perforated with continuous channels. These can also serve a dual purpose as feedthroughs for the clamping elements.

[0015] Depending on the available installation space, the battery modules can be arranged in at least one row behind the other, with adjacent end walls. Additionally or alternatively, the battery modules can also be stacked on top of each other in the vertical direction of the vehicle. The battery modules arranged in this way can be securely attached to the vehicle body using the device according to the invention.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the clamping element can be designed in two parts, comprising a lower strip section and an upper strip section, the latter extending the lower strip section in the stacking direction. One end of the upper strip section can be coupled to the lower strip section. The other end of the lower strip section can be provided with the lever attachment to which the clamping lever according to the invention can be mounted. Preferably, the two strip sections of the clamping strip can be coupled by a releasable snap-fit ​​connection.

[0017] Preferably, the battery modules are not stacked directly on top of each other in the stacking direction, but rather arranged one above the other with a spacer in between. This allows for an even load distribution across the upper battery modules. Preferably, the spacer can also be designed as a strip and cover the edge edges of adjacent battery modules arranged in series. Preferably, both the spacer and the aforementioned tensioning beam can each be designed as a strip with a corrugated profile to achieve a defined force transmission into the battery modules.

[0018] The base part, the clamping bracket, and / or the spacer may have centering elements that can engage in corresponding centering openings of the battery modules. The centering elements are preferably centering mandrels that are mounted separately from the clamping element, for example, on the base part.

[0019] The base part, with the clamping element preferably permanently attached to it, can be an integral component of the battery box base. In this way, the battery modules can be firmly clamped to the battery box base.

[0020] The advantageous embodiments and / or further developments of the invention described above and / or described in the dependent claims can be used individually or in any combination with each other, except, for example, in cases of clear dependencies or incompatible alternatives.

[0021] The invention and its advantageous developments and refinements, as well as their advantages, are explained in more detail below with reference to drawings.

[0022] They show: Fig. 1 in a perspective view a battery box of a traction battery for a vehicle, in which the top shell of the battery box has been removed and the battery modules are exposed; Fig. 2 in an enlarged detail view two adjacent battery modules which are attached to the lower shell of the battery box via a clamping unit; Fig. 3 an enlarged sectional view along the section plane II from the Fig. 2; Fig. 4 an enlarged sectional view along the section plane II-II from the Fig. 2; Fig. 5 an enlarged sectional view illustrating the assembly of the traction battery; Fig. 6 in perspective view and in isolation a strip-shaped base part with clamping elements and positioning pins; and Fig. 7 to 9 views illustrating the assembly of the clamping elements.

[0023] In the Fig. Figure 1 shows a traction battery for an electrically powered vehicle, which, in its installed position in the vehicle, can be located, for example, below a rear seat. The traction battery has a battery box with a [missing information - likely a specific component or feature] in the Fig. 1 upper shell and a lower shell 1. Several battery modules 3 are arranged in the lower shell 1 of the battery box. In the Fig. 1 The battery modules 3 are indicated as cuboid components. These each have lateral aluminum pressure plates 5 in the transverse direction y of the vehicle ( Fig. 2) on, between which the in the Fig. The two indicated battery cells extend. The end-face pressure plates 5 serve to stiffen the battery modules 3. In addition, the pressure plates 5 are shown here as an example cut from an extruded hollow profile of a predetermined length, which corresponds to the height of the battery modules 3. The cut edges 6 ( Fig. 2) The pressure plates 5, designed as hollow profiles, each point upwards and downwards in the vertical direction z, so that the hollow profile channels 35 described later ( Fig. 3 and Fig. 4) the printing plates 5 run vertically in the vertical direction z.

[0024] In the Fig. 1. The battery modules 3 are arranged one behind the other in the transverse direction y of the vehicle in two module rows I, II such that the pressure plates 5 of the battery modules 3 arranged in series face each other. In each of the module rows I, II, upper and lower battery modules 3 of identical construction are stacked on top of each other.

[0025] The pressure plates 5 of stacked battery modules 3 are arranged vertically in alignment.

[0026] Furthermore, in the Fig. 1 on the upper module side 8 the transition edges running in the longitudinal direction x of the vehicle 10 ( Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) and the outer lateral edge edges 12 are covered with tension carrier strips 47 to achieve a uniform load distribution along the edge profiles. These are part of clamping units 9, by means of which the battery modules 3 are secured in position by applying clamping forces F. S on the ground 11 ( Fig. 3) are clamped to the lower shell 1.

[0027] The construction of one of the clamping units 9 is shown below based on the Fig. 3 and Fig. 4 described: Thus, the clamping unit 9 has, according to the Fig. 3, Fig. 4 and Fig. 6 a base strip 13, which is attached as a flat metal profile to the bottom 11 of the lower shell 1. On the upper flat side 14 of the base strip 13, according to the Fig. 3 a clamping strip 15 is formed, which is connected at the foot side by a welded connection 17 ( Fig. 3) are connected to the horizontal base rail 13. The tensioning rail 15 is guided through a hollow profile channel 35 of the end-face battery module pressure wall 5 of the two stacked upper and lower battery modules 3. In addition, in the Fig. 3 on the upper flat side 14 of the base strip 13 an upwardly projecting positioning pin 33 is provided, which also protrudes into a corresponding hollow profile channel 35.

[0028] The tensioning strip 15 is in the Fig. 3. The clamping strip is constructed in two parts, comprising a lower strip section 16 and an upper strip section 18, which are connected to each other via a connecting profile 19 described later. The assembly of the lower and upper strip sections 16 and 18 of the clamping strip 15 will be described later based on the Fig. Described in sections 7 to 9.

[0029] The upper end of the clamping strip 15 projects beyond the Fig. 3 the upper module side 8 of the battery modules 3 and is formed with a hook-shaped lever attachment 27 with a U-shaped recess 29. In the Fig. In the clamping position shown in Figure 3, the lever arm 27 of the clamping bar 15 is operatively connected to a clamping lever 31. Accordingly, a first lever arm 43 of the two-armed clamping lever 31 is pivoted upwards counterclockwise about a lever pivot axis 51 and hooked into the U-shaped recess 29 of the lever arm 27. The second lever arm 45, which is opposite the first lever arm 43 with respect to the lever pivot axis 51, is in the Fig. 3 is pivoted downwards in a counterclockwise direction and is in contact with and screwed into the clamping support strip 47. The lever pivot axis 51 is according to the Fig. 3 defined by a projection provided on the underside of the clamping lever 31, which rests on the strip-shaped clamping support 47.

[0030] In the, in the Fig. 1 and Fig. In the clamping position of the clamping lever 31 shown in Figure 2, opposing clamping forces F are thus exerted on the clamping support strips 47 at the head and on the base strips 13 at the foot. s on.

[0031] When installing the battery modules 3 into the battery box, the following steps are first carried out according to the Fig. 5. The battery modules 3 are inserted into the lower shell 1 of the battery box. This is done according to the... Fig. 5 The vertically positioned lower strip section 16 of the clamping strip 15 is guided through a hollow profile channel 35 of the pressure plate 5 of the battery module 3. At the same time, the positioning pin 33 is inserted into a corresponding channel 35 of the pressure plate 5. Subsequently, a spacer strip 57 ( Fig. 3 and Fig. 4) placed on the edge edges of the lower battery modules 3, which ensures an even load distribution between the stacked battery modules 3. The spacer strips 57 also have upward and downward projecting positioning pins 33 to align the stacked battery modules 3. In a further assembly step, the lower strip parts 16 are then coupled to the upper strip parts 18, and subsequently the upper battery module 3 is stacked on top. The upper strip part 18 of the tensioning strip 15 is guided through the corresponding channel 35 of the upper battery module 3.

[0032] To exert the clamping forces F SThe tension carrier strips 47 are then loosely placed on the upper module side 8, and the tension levers 31 are loosely inserted into the U-shaped recesses 29 of the lever attachments 27 of the upper strip parts 18. The tension carrier strips 47 and the spacer strips 57 are not designed as continuously flat profiles, but rather each has a corrugated profile in order to apply the tensioning forces F via predefined pressure points. s to distribute as evenly as possible in the battery modules 3.

[0033] As from the Fig. As can be seen from Figure 6, the base strip 13 carries a total of four clamping strips 15, which are arranged in pairs. The eight positioning pins 33 are also arranged in pairs on the base strip 13. In each pair of clamping strips 15 / positioning pins 33, the clamping strips / positioning pins are spaced apart such that a free vertical transition gap 36 ( Fig. 4) between battery modules 3 arranged in a row. In addition, the spacer strips 57 are dimensioned such that the stacked battery modules 3 do not lie directly on top of each other but via free horizontal transition gaps 37 ( Fig. 4) are spaced apart from each other. The horizontal transition gaps 37 are dimensioned such that sufficient installation space is provided for the connecting profiles 19 of the tensioning strips 15.

[0034] Based on the Fig. Sections 7 to 9 describe the assembly of a clamping strip 15. The connecting profile 19 of the two paired lower strip sections 16 of the clamping strips 15 each has a keyhole-shaped locking opening 59 with an upper circular opening area 61 and a downwardly adjoining rectangular opening area 63. An inclined insertion channel 65 opens into the circular opening area 61 of the locking opening 59. The upper strip sections 18, also arranged in pairs, are connected by a transverse web 23, which is part of the connecting profile 19. The transverse web 23 is laterally flattened, with its flat sides running parallel to the longitudinal edges of the two upper strip sections 18. The contour of the transverse web 23 is designed such that it can be positioned at an angle ( Fig. 7) can be inserted through the insertion area 65 into the locking opening 59. The crossbar 23 can then be rotated into a vertical upright position together with the upper strip parts 18 ( Fig. 8) Subsequently, the upper strip parts 18 together with the crossbar 23 can be positively engaged into the narrow, right-angled opening section 63 of the locking opening 53 due to the force of gravity ( Fig. 9) When a clamping force is applied, the crossbar 23 is moved upwards together with the two upper strip parts 18 until the crossbar 23 abuts the upper apex area of ​​the circular opening area 61 of the locking opening 59.

Claims

[1] Device for fastening at least one battery module (3) in a battery box of a motor vehicle, with at least one clamping unit (9) which has a head part and a base part (13) on opposite module sides (8) which are connected to each other via at least one clamping element (15) which head part is adjustable into a clamping position in which the battery module (3) is clamped between the head part and base part (13), characterized by , that the head part of the clamping unit (9) is a clamping lever (31) which can be pivoted into the clamping position and which can be attached to a lever arm (43) on a lever attachment (27) of the clamping element (15), wherein the clamping lever (31) is supported on the module side of the battery module (3) with an intermediate clamping support (47) and is in particular fixed on the clamping support (47) in the clamping position. [2] Device according to claim 1, characterized by, that the clamping element (15) is a strip erected vertically with reference to the base part (13), and that in particular the strip (15) is connected to the base part (13) at the foot end in a single piece of material and / or by a welded connection (17). [3] Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that the clamping lever (31), in particular the lever arm (45) of the clamping lever (31) opposite a lever axis (51), can be fastened in the clamping position by a detent connection and / or by a screw connection (49). [4] Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by, that the battery module (3) is constructed in a box shape from battery cells which extend between two opposing end walls (5), in particular aluminium pressure plates, and that in particular at least one row (I, II) with at least two battery modules (3) can be attached by means of the device and / or at least two battery modules (3) stacked on top of each other in the vehicle vertical direction (z) can be attached. [5] Device according to claim 4, characterized by , that the end walls (5) of the battery module (3) are hollow profile parts with channels (35) through which the clamping element (15) can be guided. [6] Device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized by , that the clamping element (15) has a lower strip part (16) fixed to the base part, which can be extended in a stacking direction (z) with an upper strip part (18) which has the lever attachment (27). [7] Device according to one of claims 4, 5 or 6, characterized by, that a spacer (57) is provided between the battery modules (3) stacked on top of each other around the vehicle vertical direction (z), and that the spacer (57) extends along the edge edges (12) of the battery modules (3) and / or, in the case of battery modules (3) arranged in series (I, II), covers the adjacent edge edges (10) of the battery modules (3). [8] Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the base part (13), the tension carrier (47) and / or the spacer (57) has centering elements (33) which project into corresponding centering openings (35) of the battery modules (3). [9] Device according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the base part (13) is part of the battery box base (11).

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