Battery tray

Abstract

Battery tray (5) for receiving at least one energy storage element (18), comprising a tray component (9) with a bottom section (10) and adjoining wall sections (8), wherein several webs (6, 16, 22) are arranged on the bottom section (10) to form a compartment structure comprising several compartments (17), wherein at least a part of the webs (6, 16, 22) each abut a wall section (8) with at least one end edge, each having at least one tab (7) angled to the longitudinal direction of the web and abutting the wall section (8), with which they are attached to the wall section (8), wherein the tab (7) adjoins a side surface (12) of the web (6, 16, 22) extending vertically to the bottom section (10) and the tab (7) is separated from the edges (13) of the web (6, 16, 22) that bound the side surface (12) upwards and downwards. is spaced apart,wherein recesses (11) of the side surface (12) adjoin the tab (7) in the plane of the side surface (12) on both sides of the tab (7), wherein the recesses (11) are spaced apart from the edges (13) of the web (6, 16, 22) that bound the side surface (12) upwards and downwards.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a battery tray for receiving at least one energy storage element, comprising a tray component with a bottom section and adjoining wall sections, wherein several webs are arranged on the bottom section to form a compartment structure comprising several compartments.

[0002] In electric vehicles, energy storage elements such as batteries or accumulators are frequently used to store the energy required to power the vehicle. To protect these energy storage elements from damage during operation or in the event of an accident, they are typically housed in a battery tray. The size of this tray depends on the number of energy storage elements to be accommodated and the available installation space in the vehicle, which is why battery trays must be available in various sizes. The battery tray can be part of a housing that completely encloses the energy storage elements within it. This housing protects the energy storage elements from environmental influences and ensures the mechanical stability of the entire assembly.This functionality must therefore also be provided by the battery tray as part of the housing.

[0003] Various possibilities for arranging or accommodating energy storage elements in motor vehicles are known from the prior art.

[0004] For example, German patent application DE 10 2008 027 293 A1 discloses a device for cooling a vehicle battery in which a plurality of energy storage elements are arranged on a flat, channeled heat sink. The heat sink can be designed as an extruded profile to make the device for cooling the vehicle battery simple and inexpensive to manufacture. The device primarily serves to cool the energy storage elements and not to safely enclose them.

[0005] German patent application DE 10 2011 107 007 A1 describes an arrangement of a traction battery for a motor vehicle, which consists of several cell assemblies of battery cells connected to cooling plates. These cooling plates are connected to a coolant supply via a surrounding frame. The frame is additionally supported by struts, which, together with the cooling plates, form a flat base for the traction battery. A battery box is formed by fitting a cover over the assembly.

[0006] German patent application DE 10 2014 225 845 A1 describes a battery arrangement for a motor vehicle in which several battery cells are arranged in a battery housing divided into compartments by bulkheads. The bulkheads are welded to the bottom of the housing or bonded to the bottom and surrounding wall elements, thus forming individual watertight chambers. The interior of the battery housing is fluidically connected to the environment by the wall elements, which at least partially have a hollow profile.

[0007] German patent application DE 10 2015 006 299 B3 describes an energy storage device comprising a housing and several compartment-like sections, each containing at least one storage module. At least one clamping element is arranged on the separating elements of each compartment-like section, and in its clamped position, this element rests laterally against adjacent energy storage modules. The clamping elements thus prevent modules, which expand during operation, from pressing firmly against the separating walls.

[0008] Document US 2014 / 0014428A1 describes a battery carrier tray comprising a tray body with a bottom having a concave-convex section extending in a first direction, a wall curved upward from a perimeter of the bottom, reinforcing frames arranged along opposite wall sections in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a crossbeam arranged on the top of the concave-convex section forming a first closed cross section with both ends of the crossbeam attached to the reinforcing frames, an inner crossbeam attached to the top of the beam with both ends also attached to the reinforcing frames, and mounting brackets attached to the reinforcing frames.

[0009] The invention is based on the objective of providing an improved battery tray for receiving at least one energy storage element.

[0010] To solve this problem, the invention provides that at least a part of the webs each abut a wall section with at least one end edge, each having at least one tab angled to the longitudinal direction of the web and abutting the wall section, with which they are attached to the wall section.

[0011] The advantage of the solution according to the invention is that the attachment of the struts by means of the tab abutting the wall section allows for compensation of length tolerances that occur during the manufacture of the battery tray and / or the struts. At the same time, the tab enables stable attachment of the struts to the wall sections of the tray component. The wall sections can, for example, connect to all edges of a rectangular base section, resulting in a circumferential rim which, together with the base section of the tray component, forms a tray. The tray component can, for example, be formed in one piece by folding or forming a flat base material. It is also possible for the tray component to be formed by a base plate to which a separate wall section is attached on each side, thus creating a circumferential rim.The ribs arranged on the base section of the tub component can, for example, be configured as transverse and longitudinal ribs, forming a rectangular compartment structure comprising several rectangular compartments. At the edge of this compartment structure, the ribs' end edges connect to at least one wall section of the tub component, to which they are attached by at least one tab angled to the rib's longitudinal direction and resting against the rib section. The end edges of the ribs can also be referred to as the rib structure edges. Flexibility of the tab allows for tolerance compensation of length differences between the ribs and the tub component.

[0012] According to the invention, the tab can be designed to connect to a side surface of the web that runs perpendicular to the bottom section. The tab can, in particular, be manufactured integrally with the web and thus be formed as part of the side surface. By angling the tab relative to the longitudinal direction of the web, it is enabled to abut the wall section. The angle at which the tab is angled relative to the longitudinal direction of the web corresponds to the angle at which the web abuts the wall section. An angled tab can also be curved with a radius in the bending area, resulting in a position of the tab angled relative to the longitudinal direction of the web.

[0013] Furthermore, according to the invention, the tab can be spaced apart from the edges of the web that bound the side surface upwards and downwards. This spacing of the tab from the edges of the web enables efficient force transmission of forces acting on the battery tray into the edges of the web. These edges, which, for example, run orthogonally or approximately orthogonally to an adjacent wall section, allow the forces acting on the battery tray to be transmitted or distributed within the webs of the compartment structure. The tab spaced apart from the edges of the web does not impair the contact between the edge of the web, which abuts the wall section via its end face, and the wall section of the tray component.

[0014] Additionally or alternatively, the invention may provide that, in addition to a tab in the plane of the side surface, recesses in the side surface adjoin it on both sides. These recesses, located laterally next to a tab in the side surface, make it possible to compensate for tolerance variations in width as well as tolerance variations in the longitudinal direction during the assembly of the battery tray. These recesses in the side surface are also spaced apart from the edges of the web in order not to impair the force transmission into the edges of the web as already described.

[0015] A further embodiment of the invention provides that a web has a C-shaped, I-shaped, U-shaped, T-shaped, or L-shaped cross-section. Depending on the shape of its cross-section and the resulting shape of its end edge, the web can include various tabs arranged relative to the end edge. The shape of the web's cross-section also influences the number and / or position of the web's edges, allowing the geometry of the web's cross-section to be adapted to the forces underlying the stability design.

[0016] According to the invention, the web and / or the tub component can be made of sheet metal, in particular sheet steel or aluminum. For example, various cross-sectional shapes can be formed on a web made of sheet metal by bending the sheet metal. It is also possible for one or more tabs of the web to be formed integrally with the sheet metal web. The tub component can also consist of sheet metal, with the wall sections and the bottom section being produced, for example, by forming the sheet metal.

[0017] According to the invention, the tab can be attached to the wall section by screwing, riveting, welding, or bonding. It is also possible that the webs of a compartment structure are attached to other webs of the compartment structure in addition to being attached to the wall sections. Furthermore, it is possible that webs arranged, for example, as transverse and longitudinal webs, are shaped so that they can be stacked on top of each other to form the compartment structure, with the compartment structure then being attached to the wall sections of the battery tray via the tabs on the end faces of at least some of the webs.

[0018] An energy storage arrangement according to the invention comprises a battery tray, wherein at least one energy storage element is arranged in the battery tray. In particular, it can be provided that one energy storage element is arranged in each compartment of the tray structure. The energy storage elements can be, for example, batteries or accumulators, or capacitors. The energy storage elements of an energy storage arrangement can be interconnected via electrical connections and / or connected to components outside the energy storage arrangement via further electrical connections. A motor vehicle according to the invention comprises an energy storage arrangement.This energy storage arrangement can, for example, be used to store energy that is used to operate an electric drive motor of the motor vehicle.

[0019] Further advantages and details of the invention will become apparent from the exemplary embodiments described below and from the drawing. The drawings show: Fig. 1 a schematic side view of a motor vehicle according to the invention, Fig. 2 a perspective detail view of a battery tray according to the invention, Fig. 3 a perspective view of a battery tray according to the invention, Fig. 4 a perspective view of an energy storage arrangement according to the invention, Fig. 5 a side view of a jetty, as well as Fig. 6 a side view of another embodiment of a bridge.

[0020] The in Fig. The motor vehicle 1 shown in Figure 1 has an energy storage arrangement 2, which is connected via electrical connectors 3 to a drive motor 4 of the motor vehicle 1, designed as an electric motor. Within the energy storage arrangement 2 are energy storage elements (not shown here), for example batteries or accumulators, which store energy for the operation of the drive motor 4 of the motor vehicle 1.

[0021] In Fig. Figure 2 shows a detailed view of a battery tray 5 according to the invention. The web 6 has a tab 7 angled relative to the longitudinal direction of the web, which rests against a wall section 8 of a tray component 9. The web 6 is arranged on a base section 10 of the tray component 9. On both sides of the tab 7, recesses 11 are provided in the plane of the side surface 12 of the web 6, which connect to the tab 7. The tab 7 and the recesses 11 are spaced apart from edges 13 of the side surface 12. The edges 13 that bound the side surface 12 upwards and downwards, as well as the other edges 14 of the web, are in contact with the wall section 8, so that forces acting on the wall section 8 can be transmitted to the edges 13, 14 of the web 6.

[0022] In this embodiment, the web 6 and the tub component 9 are made of sheet metal, with the tab 7 of the web 6 being integrally formed with the web. In this embodiment, the tab 7 is fastened to the wall section 8 by means of rivets 15. Alternatively, the tab 7 can also be fastened to the wall section 8 by means of screws, welding, or bonding.

[0023] In Fig. Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a battery tray 5 according to the invention. The battery tray 5 comprises the tray component 9, with the rectangular base section 10 in this embodiment, to each of whose edges a wall section 8 adjoins. Within the tray component 9, the web 6 is arranged as a transverse web and the web 16 as a longitudinal web on the base section 10. The webs 6 and 16 form a compartment structure, the compartments 17 of which are bounded by the webs 6 and 16 and the wall sections 8. It is particularly possible to use several webs 6 as transverse webs and / or several webs 16 as longitudinal webs, so that compartment structures with a larger number of compartments can be formed, which also include compartments that are bounded only by webs 6 and 16. The webs 6, 16 are fastened to the wall sections 8 at each end edge of the webs 6, 16 abutting a wall section 8 via the tab 7 as shown in Fig. Figure 2 shows that the webs 6 and 16 are shaped so that they can be stacked on top of each other to form the compartment structure comprising the compartments 17. Alternatively, it is also possible to use webs 6 and 16 of different lengths, which are fastened together in the areas where they abut each other, for example by welding, screwing or gluing, to form the compartment structure.

[0024] In Fig. Figure 4 shows an energy storage arrangement 2 according to the invention, which, in addition to the battery tray 5, comprises the energy storage elements 18 arranged in the compartments 17. By arranging the energy storage elements 18 in the compartments 17 formed by the webs 6, 16, the energy storage elements 18 are protected from mechanical damage. To also close the energy storage arrangement from above, a cover (not shown here) can be provided, which closes the top of the battery tray 5.

[0025] In Fig. Figure 5 shows a side view of the web 6. This consists of a metal sheet 19, which is bent along the edges 13 that bound the side surface 12 upwards and downwards, as well as around the edges 14, to form a C-shaped cross-section. In the areas 20 where the metal sheet 19 overlaps itself, it can, for example, be welded. The web 6, or the tab 7, can be attached to a wall section 8 of a battery tray 5 via the recess 21 of the tab 7.

[0026] In Fig.Figure 6 shows an alternative embodiment of a web 22, which comprises a metal sheet 19 bent into a T-shaped cross-section. On each of the side surfaces 12 bounded above and below by the edges 13, the web 22 has a tab 7, which serves to fasten the web 22 to a wall section 8. To allow fastening by screwing or riveting, the tabs 7 each have three recesses 21. Depending on how the metal sheet 19 is bent, various cross-sectional shapes of the webs can be realized. The shape of the webs can be determined, for example, by the position and number of edges 13, 14, which serve to transmit forces acting on the battery tray 5. The number of tabs 7 of a web can also be adjusted as required.

Claims

[1] Battery tray (5) for receiving at least one energy storage element (18), comprising a tray component (9) with a bottom section (10) and adjoining wall sections (8), wherein several webs (6, 16, 22) are arranged on the bottom section (10) to form a compartment structure comprising several compartments (17), wherein at least a part of the webs (6, 16, 22) each abut a wall section (8) with at least one end edge, each having at least one tab (7) angled to the longitudinal direction of the web and abutting the wall section (8), with which they are attached to the wall section (8), wherein the tab (7) adjoins a side surface (12) of the web (6, 16, 22) extending vertically to the bottom section (10) and the tab (7) is separated from the edges (13) of the web (6, 16, 22) that bound the side surface (12) upwards and downwards. 22) is spaced apart,wherein recesses (11) of the side surface (12) adjoin the tab (7) in the plane of the side surface (12) on both sides of the tab (7), wherein the recesses (11) are spaced apart from the edges (13) of the web (6, 16, 22) that bound the side surface (12) upwards and downwards. [2] Battery tray (5) according to claim 1, characterized by , that a web (6, 16, 22) has a C-shaped, I-shaped, U-shaped, T-shaped or L-shaped cross-section. [3] Battery tray (5) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by , that the bridge (6, 16, 22) and / or the tub component (9) is made of sheet metal, in particular sheet steel or aluminum sheet. [4] Battery tray (5) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by , that the tab (7) is attached to the wall section (8) by screwing, riveting, welding or gluing. [5] Energy storage arrangement (2) comprising a battery tray (5) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one energy storage element (18) is arranged in the battery tray (5). [6] Motor vehicle (1) comprising an energy storage arrangement (2) according to claim 5.

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