Device for sealing a battery installation in a motor vehicle and motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a device (100) for sealing a battery assembly (200) in a motor vehicle (1), comprising a cavity (10) designed to accommodate a battery assembly (200) and a sealing device (20) that seals the cavity (10) against water in liquid form and is permeable to water in vapor form.

Description

The present invention relates to a device for sealing a battery device in a motor vehicle and to a motor vehicle having such a device.In electrically operated motor vehicles, battery devices are usually fastened in or on the underbody. However, water can enter the battery receptacle and thus cause corrosion.It is therefore an object of the present invention to specify an improved device for sealing a battery device in a motor vehicle and an improved motor vehicle.This object is achieved by the subject matters of the independent claims. Advantageous further developments are specified in the dependent claims.According to a first aspect, a device for sealing a battery device in a motor vehicle is specified.The device comprises a cavity which is designed to receive a battery device and a sealing device which seals the cavity with respect to water in liquid form and which is permeable with respect to water in vapor form.The device according to the invention serves in particular to dewater a battery device or the cavity in which it is accommodated and thus to prevent corrosion.The device first comprises a cavity which is designed to receive a battery device.The cavity serves to receive one or more cells of a battery device. In the following, the term battery and accumulator is used interchangeably. The battery device serves to supply the motor vehicle with electrical energy, in particular to enable an electrical drive. The battery device is in particular a high-voltage battery device which consists of a plurality of interconnected battery cells.The cavity is usually arranged on the underbody of the motor vehicle and accommodates the battery devices therein. The cavity can be manufactured from a material such as sheet metal, for example, and is in particular predominantly or completely cuboidal in structure. In this case, typically four side surfaces and a lower surface of the cuboid are formed from a material, wherein the sixth side, in particular the cover or the upper surface, is formed by the body, in particular the underbody, of the motor vehicle. Alternatively, the lower surface can also be formed by the battery devices or a battery cover.The cavity is in particular configured in such a way that it provides an empty region between the battery device and the underbody of the motor vehicle, which empty region serves in particular to accommodate a possible expansion of the battery device. The empty region can also be referred to as a hollow region or air region and is formed in particular at the upper end of the cavity, in particular directly below the underbody and above the battery device.The apparatus also includes a sealing device which seals the cavity from water in liquid form and which is permeable to water in vapor form.The device is arranged in particular on the empty region and allows water vapor to escape therefrom, but prevents water in liquid form from entering the empty region.More than one sealing device can also be provided, for example two, four, eight or twelve. In particular, two different sealing devices, in particular consisting of different materials, can be provided, for example, in order to optimally cover different external temperature ranges.In particular, one or more sealing devices are arranged in a recess or hole, such as a paint drain hole, already provided in the vehicle body, in particular the underbody or the vehicle body floor panel, of the motor vehicle. In particular, the sealing device according to the invention replaces a conventional plug made of solid rubber. Alternatively, one or more recesses or holes may be provided in the body, which are made exclusively for receiving the sealing device or devices.The sealing device can comprise or have suitable fastening devices, such as, for example, one or more projections, lips and / or grooves with which the sealing device can be securely fastened in such a hole.In order to achieve the watertight and at the same time vapor-permeable property, the sealing device comprises a suitable material, as will be described in the further course.A temperature and / or moisture gradient may promote the removal of water vapor from the cavity, as will be described further below.By means of the device according to the invention, it is possible to reliably discharge water which has settled in the cavity in the vapour form and to prevent new water from entering.The water can already enter the cavity during the assembly of the battery device or because a sealing device, which will be described in the following, is fatigued and, contrary to its actual function, becomes partially water-permeable.In particular, the device according to the invention also enables an empty region above the battery device to be designed to be particularly small or with a particularly low height, as a result of which the overall height of the motor vehicle can be reduced and therefore the air resistance can be improved.According to a further development, the cavity is arranged at least in sections below a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle and the sealing device is arranged and configured in such a way as to discharge water in vapor form to the passenger compartment.For this purpose, the sealing device is arranged, for example, between the empty region and the passenger compartment and thus allows water vapor, which has formed from and accumulated in the empty region, to escape into the passenger compartment.In particular, an air-conditioning device which is present in the motor vehicle and has, for example, an air-dehumidifying function and flows through the passenger compartment, forms a moisture gradient or a moisture gradient with respect to the cavity or the empty region, which has the effect that the water vapor is drawn particularly well out of the cavity or the empty region on account of the properties of the sealing device into the passenger compartment and thus out of the cavity.In particular, the sealing device can be arranged under one or more seats and / or under a central console of the passenger compartment.This further development makes it possible to remove the water vapor particularly efficiently and at the same time to prevent a new introduction of water in the best possible manner.According to a further development, the device further comprises a sealing device which seals the cavity with respect to the environment of the motor vehicle.This sealing device is not the sealing device, but rather a device which is substantially different from the sealing device and which in particular has a different material than the sealing device.For example, the sealing device is formed from a silicone, a foam and / or a rubber material.The sealing device serves to seal the cavity and in particular also the empty region from above the outside world.In this case, the sealing device is designed in particular to seal the cavity with respect to water in vapor form and in liquid form. In addition, the sealing device also seals the cavity against dirt and dirt.In this case, the sealing device is arranged in particular circumferentially around the cuboid and thus generates the sealed cavity together with the underbody.This further development makes it possible to protect the battery device particularly well against weathering and to prevent water from entering the cavity.According to a further development, the sealing device has a membrane.A membrane is a thin structure which, like a skin or film, has a large planar extent in relation to its thickness.The membrane is arranged in particular in a central region surrounded by one or more fastening devices. In particular, the membrane closes off a hole formed in the sealing device, further in particular at its highest point.It is understood that the sealing device can also comprise two, in particular two different membranes.The membrane can be surrounded in particular by another material in or to which it is fastened. In particular, the membrane or the membranes can be formed from a predominantly or completely dense, or impermeable, material, in particular with respect to both water in liquid form and in vapor form, such as rubber and / or silicone, for example.The fastening devices can be integral with the material surrounding the membrane.Examples of suitable materials for the membrane will now be described below.According to a further development, the membrane is formed from a polymer of fluorine and carbon.In particular, the membrane comprises polytetrafluoroethylene or is formed therefrom.Furthermore, in particular, the membrane is microporous. In particular, the membrane has a plurality of pores, in particular more than thousand, more in particular more than one million, more in particular more than one billion pores, which have, for example, a diameter of less than 10 μm, in particular less than 1 μm, more in particular less than 0.1 μm.In particular, the pores are dimensioned such that they are smaller, in particular a multiple smaller, than a water drop and / or larger, in particular a multiple larger, than a water vapor molecule.This material can be in particular a Gore-Tex material.According to a further development, the membrane is formed from a polyester and a polyether.In particular, the membrane is designed poreless.In particular, the membrane comprises both hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials.This material can be in particular a Sympatex material.According to a further development, the membrane is formed from a polyurethane.This material can be, in particular, a hipora material.All of the materials described are particularly suitable for fulfilling the described properties of the sealing device.It goes without saying that a plurality of materials can also be combined with one another.According to a further aspect, a motor vehicle having a device according to the invention is specified.The motor vehicle according to the invention is preferably designed as a motor vehicle, in particular as a passenger car or truck, or as a passenger bus or motorcycle.With regard to the embodiments of the motor vehicle and the associated advantages, reference is made to the previously described embodiments of the device and the advantages in this respect.The invention also includes the combinations of the features of the described embodiments. The invention therefore also comprises implementations which each have a combination of the features of a plurality of the described embodiments, provided that the embodiments have not been described as mutually exclusive.Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described below. The following shows: FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a device for sealing a battery device in a motor vehicle; FIG. 2 shows a perspective detailed view of an embodiment of a sealing device of a device from FIG. 1 ; and FIG. 3 shows a further perspective detailed view of an embodiment of the sealing device from FIG. 2.The exemplary embodiments explained below are preferred embodiments of the invention. In the exemplary embodiments, the described components of the embodiments each represent individual features of the invention that are to be considered independently of one another and that also develop the invention independently of one another. Therefore, the disclosure is intended to include combinations of the features of the embodiments other than those illustrated. Furthermore, the described embodiments can also be supplemented by further features of the invention that have already been described.In the figures, identical reference numerals designate functionally identical elements.FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an embodiment of a device 100 for sealing a battery device 200 in a motor vehicle 1.The apparatus 100 comprises a cavity 10 which is designed to receive a battery device 200, and a sealing device 20 which seals the cavity 10 with respect to water in liquid form and which is permeable with respect to water in vapor form.The device also comprises a circumferential sealing device 30, which seals the cavity with respect to the environment of the motor vehicle.In this case, the battery device 200 is accommodated in the cavity 10 in such a way that an empty region 40 is formed at the upper end of the apparatus 100, in particular in the region of the sealing device 30, in which water accumulates in liquid form and in vapor form.The cavity 10 or the empty region 30 is arranged at least in sections under the underbody panel 2, under a passenger compartment, not shown, and the sealing device 20 is arranged and configured in such a way as to discharge the accumulated water in vapor form from the cavity 10 or from the empty region 40 to the passenger compartment.FIG. 2 shows a perspective detailed view of an embodiment of a sealing device 20 of a device 100 from FIG. 1 in a side view.The sealing device 20 is substantially circular and comprises a membrane 21 and a circumferential fastening ring 22.The membrane can be formed from a polymer of fluorine and carbon or from a polyester and a polyether, which enable the described properties of vapor permeability and water impermeability.FIG. 3 shows a further perspective detailed view of an embodiment of the sealing device 20 from FIG. 2 in a lower view.It can be seen here that the sealing device has a plurality of fastening devices 23, which enable fastening in a cutout of an underbody panel of the motor vehicle 1, as shown in FIG. 1.Overall, the examples show how corrosion protection can be provided by a watertight and vapor-permeable membrane.

Claims

Device (100) for sealing a battery device (200) in a motor vehicle (1), comprising: - a cavity (10) which is designed to receive a battery device (200); and - a sealing device (20) which seals the cavity (10) with respect to water in liquid form and which is permeable with respect to water in vapor form.The device (100) according to claim 1, wherein the cavity (10) is arranged at least in sections below a passenger compartment and the sealing device (20) is arranged and configured to discharge water in vapor form to the passenger compartment.Device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising a sealing device (30) which seals the cavity (10) with respect to the environment of the motor vehicle.Device (100) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the sealing device (20) has a membrane (21).The device (100) of claim 4, wherein the membrane (21) is formed from a polymer of fluorine and carbon.The device (100) of claim 4, wherein the membrane (21) is formed of a polyester and a polyether.Motor vehicle (1) comprising a device (100) according to one of the preceding claims.

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