Motor vehicle with battery cell arrays

Abstract

Motor vehicle (1) comprising a traction battery (3; 13) comprising a plurality of cylindrical storage cells (7), wherein the storage cells (7) are electrically connected in series in groups in rows (8) by arranging the storage cells (7) one behind the other within a row (8) such that their longitudinal axes lie on a line (9) and adjacent storage cells (7) of the same row (8) directly contact each other, wherein the storage cells (7) are enclosed in a battery housing (6; 16) and wherein the outer storage cells (7) of a row (8) are held by a support (10) which contacts on one side a vehicle body (4) and / or a vehicle floor (5) and on the other side a wall of the battery housing (6; 16) facing away from the vehicle, wherein the outer storage cells (7) of each row (8) are sectionally received in the support (10).

Description

The invention relates to a motor vehicle with a traction battery having a plurality of cylindrical storage cells. Electrified motor vehicles with traction batteries are known from the prior art, and these batteries have a large number of storage cells. The storage cells are usually grouped together and electrically connected in series within a group. The groups are in turn connected in parallel. These electrical connections within a group are usually implemented using contact plates. From DE 10 2004 049 298 A1, an arrangement of battery cells is known which are stacked next to each other in the longitudinal direction of the battery cells and housed in a sill of a vehicle. DE 10 2018 122 080 A1 describes a battery module with a carrier and battery cells which are connected to the carrier by means of a thermal potting compound, wherein a venting channel is provided in the thermal potting compound for the removal of gases from a failed battery cell. Further examples of generic battery cell arrangements are disclosed, for example, in DE 199 30 399 A1, US 2017 / 0 373 287 A1 or DE 10 2011 001 370 A1. It is an object of the present invention to provide a motor vehicle with a more cost-effective traction battery. This object is achieved by a motor vehicle according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims. According to one embodiment of the invention, a motor vehicle is provided with a traction battery. The motor vehicle has a plurality of cylindrical storage cells, wherein the storage cells are electrically connected in series in groups by arranging the storage cells one behind the other within a row, such that their longitudinal axes lie on a line and adjacent storage cells of the same row directly contact each other, wherein the storage cells are enclosed in a battery housing and wherein the outer storage cells of a row are held by a holder which contacts on one side a vehicle body and / or a vehicle floor and on the other side a wall of the battery housing facing away from the vehicle, wherein the outer storage cells of each row are sectionally received in the holder.By arranging the cells in a row, at least some of the contacts between them can be eliminated, because the cells are directly connected to each other without the need for a separate contact element. The mounting bracket increases the stability of the battery housing and, in turn, improves the protection of the cells against mechanical damage. In particular, the bracket offers some protection against damage to the traction battery from below, such as from bollards. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the longitudinal axes of the storage cells lie within a plane that is perpendicular to a vertical axis of the vehicle. In this way, many storage cells can be accommodated in a very space-saving manner, requiring little installation space in the vertical direction. In particular, the traction battery is located below a vehicle passenger compartment. According to one embodiment of the invention, the storage cells are enclosed in a battery housing, and a degassing chamber is formed within the battery housing. This chamber is positioned such that it is intersected by the line on which the longitudinal axes of the storage cells lie. This provides a space-saving degassing chamber within the battery housing, which is intended to prevent hot gases from escaping into the vehicle's environment in the event of degassing of the storage cells. According to one embodiment of the invention, a wall of the degassing chamber facing the storage cells has a lower thermal resistance than a material of the battery housing. As a result, this wall is melted by the hot gases during degassing before the battery housing itself melts. Furthermore, the present invention provides a motor vehicle with such an internal combustion engine. A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings show the following: Fig. 1 schematically shows a motor vehicle; Fig. 2 schematically shows a traction battery of the motor vehicle according to a first embodiment; Fig. 3 schematically shows a detail view of area D1 from Fig. 2; Fig. 4 schematically shows a traction battery of the motor vehicle according to a second embodiment; Fig. 5 schematically shows a detail view of area D2 from Fig. 4. Fig. 1 shows a motor vehicle 1 with a passenger compartment 2 and a traction battery 3; 13, which is arranged below the passenger compartment 2. More precisely, the traction battery 3; 13 is attached from below to a vehicle body 4 and / or to a vehicle floor 5. The vehicle floor 5 is arranged between the passenger compartment 2 and the traction battery 3; 13 and separates the passenger compartment 2 from the traction battery 3; 13. The vehicle 1 is an electrified motor vehicle, in particular a passenger car, which is driven at least temporarily by purely electric power. The traction battery 3; 13 serves to store and provide electrical energy on an electrochemical basis, at least for the purpose of powering the motor vehicle. Fig. 2 shows a first embodiment of the traction battery 3 for the motor vehicle 1. The traction battery 3 has a battery housing 6 which encloses a plurality of storage cells 7. As shown in Fig. 2, the battery housing 6 is attached to the vehicle floor 5 from below, for example by screws. However, the battery housing 6 can also be attached directly to the vehicle body 4. Fig. 3 schematically shows a detailed view of area D1 from Fig. 2. The battery housing 6 contains the storage cells 7. These are cylindrical storage cells, so-called round cells, grouped in rows 8. The storage cells 7 of each row 8 are aligned such that all longitudinal axes of the storage cells 7 lie on a line 9. This line 9 lies within a plane that is perpendicular to a vertical axis of the vehicle 1. The line 9 can run parallel to a longitudinal direction of the vehicle 1 or perpendicular to it. The storage cells 7 of each row 8 are arranged directly one after the other within a row 8 along the line 9, so that two adjacent storage cells 7 are in mechanical and electrical contact with each other. In this way, the storage cells 7 of each row 8 form an electrical series circuit. The rows 8 are electrically connected to each other in parallel and / or series. Furthermore, several brackets 10 are arranged in the battery housing 6, extending between an upper and lower wall of the battery housing 6. In the illustrated embodiment, these brackets extend from the vehicle floor 5 to a wall of the battery housing 6 facing away from the vehicle 1 or towards a roadway. At least the outer storage cells 7 of each of the rows 8 are sectionally received in a bracket 10, so that the rows 8 are held and positioned. Fig. 4 shows a second embodiment of the traction battery 13 for the motor vehicle 1. Fig. 5 schematically shows a detailed view of area D2 from Fig. 4. The traction battery 13 has a battery housing 16, which differs from the battery housing 6 only by a degassing chamber 11. For the remaining structure, reference is made to the description of the first embodiment, which also applies to the second embodiment. The degassing chamber 11 is located within the battery housing 16 and positioned such that the lines 9 of the rows 8 intersect the degassing chamber 11. A wall 12, located between the interior of the degassing chamber 11 and the storage cells 7, is made of a material with lower thermal resistance than the material from which the battery housing 16 is made. Thus, hot gases that may occur in the event of outgassing from the storage cells 7 melt through the wall 12 before they can melt through the battery housing 16. While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and the preceding description, this illustration and description is to be understood as exemplary and not as limiting, and it is not intended to limit the invention to the disclosed embodiments. The mere fact that certain features are mentioned in various dependent claims is not intended to imply that a combination of these features could not also be advantageously used.

Claims

Motor vehicle (1) comprising a traction battery (3; 13) comprising a plurality of cylindrical storage cells (7), wherein the storage cells (7) are electrically connected in series in groups in rows (8) by arranging the storage cells (7) one behind the other within a row (8) such that their longitudinal axes lie on a line (9) and adjacent storage cells (7) of the same row (8) directly contact each other, wherein the storage cells (7) are enclosed in a battery housing (6; 16) and wherein the outer storage cells (7) of a row (8) are held by a support (10) which contacts on one side a vehicle body (4) and / or a vehicle floor (5) and on the other side a wall of the battery housing (6; 16) facing away from the vehicle, wherein the outer storage cells (7) of each row (8) are sectionally received in the support (10). Motor vehicle (1) according to claim 1, wherein the longitudinal axes of the storage cells (7) lie within a plane that is normal to a vertical axis of the vehicle (1). Motor vehicle (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the traction battery (3; 13) is arranged below a vehicle passenger compartment (2). Motor vehicle (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the storage cells (7) are enclosed in a battery housing (6; 16) and a degassing chamber (11) is formed within the battery housing (6; 16) which is positioned such that it is intersected by the line (9) on which the longitudinal axes of the storage cells (7) lie. Motor vehicle (1) according to claim 4, wherein a wall (12) of the degassing chamber (11) facing the storage cells (7) has a lower thermal resistance than a material of the battery housing (6; 16).

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