Conductive module

Abstract

A conductive module (1) comprises a bus bar (10) physically and electrically connected to an electrode terminal (BCb) of one or a pair of battery cells (BC) of a battery module (BM) in which a plurality of battery cells (BC) are arranged, a first conductive path (21) that sends battery state information of each of the battery cells (BC) to a battery monitoring device (SBM), a second conductive path (22) that is responsible for sending and receiving a signal between the battery monitoring device (SBM) and a battery management device (BMS) that performs battery management control on the battery module (BM), a first connector (31) connected to the battery monitoring device (SBM) for sending the battery state information from the first conductive path (21) to the battery monitoring device (SBM), and a second connector (32) connected to the battery management device (BMS).to send and receive a signal.

Description

Background of the invention 1. Field of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a conductive module. 2. Description of the state of the art

[0002] Typically, a rechargeable battery includes a battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are arranged, a battery management device that performs battery management control to ensure the safety of the battery module, a battery monitoring device connected to the battery module and monitoring the battery status of each battery cell, a conductive module connected to the battery module, and a second conductive path, such as an electrical wire, responsible for transmitting and receiving a signal between the battery management device and the battery monitoring device. The conductive module includes, for example, a bus bar that is physically and electrically connected to an electrode terminal of one or a pair of battery cells of the battery module, and a first conductive path that transmits information about the battery status of each battery cell to the battery monitoring device.The battery monitoring device calculates and determines a battery state based on a signal of the battery state information received from the first conductive line of the conductive module and sends a battery state monitoring result to the battery management device via the second conductive line. The battery management device performs charge / discharge control for each battery cell or calculates a state of charge (SOC) for each of the battery cells based on the battery state monitoring result received from the battery monitoring device. This type of rechargeable battery is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. JP 2023-095261 A.

[0003] In a conventional rechargeable battery, a first conductive pattern and a second conductive pattern are prepared as separate components. Therefore, the first conductive pattern is laid on a battery module by attaching a conductive module to the battery module. On the other hand, the second conductive pattern is laid and connected to a battery management device via a separate conductive path without being connected to the conductive path of the first conductive pattern, depending on where the battery management device is installed. As described above, in conventional rechargeable batteries, in addition to an installation space for installing and fixing the conductive module on the battery module, a routing space for routing the second conductive pattern to the battery management device and a fixing structure for fixing the second conductive pattern to the battery module, or the like, are required.Therefore, the conventional battery needs improvement to reduce the size of the battery. Overview of the invention

[0004] The aim of the present invention is to provide the conductive module which can reduce the size of the battery.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned objective, a conductive module according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a bus bar configured to be physically and electrically connected to an electrode terminal of one or a pair of battery cells of a battery module in which a plurality of the battery cells are arranged; a first conductive path configured to transmit battery state information of each of the battery cells to a battery monitoring device configured to monitor a battery state of each of the battery cells; a second conductive path configured to be responsible for transmitting and receiving a signal between the battery monitoring device and a battery management device configured to execute battery management control on the battery module;a first connector configured to be connected to the battery monitoring device, to transmit the battery status information from the first conductive trace to the battery monitoring device, and to transmit and receive a signal between the second conductive trace and the battery monitoring device; and a second connector configured to be connected to the battery management device, to transmit and receive a signal between the second conductive trace and the battery management device.

[0006] The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of this invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Short description of the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective view for explaining a conductive module according to an embodiment; Fig. 2 is a plan view for explaining the conductive module according to the embodiment; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a battery module. Detailed description of the preferred embodiments

[0007] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a conductive module according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. Embodiment

[0008] One of the embodiments of a conductive module according to the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to 3.

[0009] The reference number 1 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 denotes the conductive module of the present embodiment. The conductive module 1 is attached to a battery module BM ( Fig. 3) in which a plurality of battery cells BC are arranged (approximately in a single row).

[0010] The battery cell BC comprises a cell body BCa and positive and negative electrode terminals BCb ( Fig. 3). In the battery cell BC described here, the cell body BCa has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with six outer wall surfaces. In the numerous battery cells BC of the battery module BM, the cell bodies BCa, which are adjacent to one another in the arrangement direction, are arranged with one outer wall surface facing one another. The battery module BM comprises an electrode terminal group BCc, in which one electrode terminal BCb is arranged in each battery cell BC along the arrangement direction, and the other electrode terminal group BCc, in which the other electrode terminal BCb is arranged in each battery cell BC along the arrangement direction.

[0011] In this example, each battery cell BC has positive and negative electrode terminals BCb on one of the six outer wall surfaces of the cell body BCa ( Fig. 3). Therefore, in the battery module BM, two electrode connection groups BCc are provided on one level BMa ( Fig. 3) (hereinafter, the surface is referred to as the "electrode installation surface"). It should be noted that in the battery module BM, four wall surfaces intersecting with the electrode installation surface BMa are referred to as outer peripheral wall surfaces BMb. In the battery module BM, two of the four outer wall surfaces BMb arranged parallel to each other are referred to as side wall surfaces BMb1. Furthermore, in the battery module BM, one of the remaining two of the four outer peripheral wall surfaces BMb arranged parallel to each other is referred to as the front wall surface BMb2, and the other is referred to as the rear wall surface BMb3.

[0012] As a battery cell BC, although not shown here, a battery cell is also known in which the positive electrode terminal BCb is provided on one of the six outer wall surfaces of the cell body BCa and the negative electrode terminal BCb is provided on another outer wall surface. In the battery module BM including such a battery cell BC, the electrode terminal groups BCc are arranged on different planes. The plane is a portion referred to as the side wall surface BMb1 in the battery module BM described above. The conductive module 1 of the present embodiment is also applied to such a battery module BM.

[0013] Furthermore, the electrode terminal BCb described here is formed in the shape of a flat plate and physically and electrically connects a bus bar 10, to be described later, in the conductive module 1 by welding or the like. However, the electrode terminal BCb may also be formed in the shape of a pole with an externally threaded portion.

[0014] The battery module BM forms a battery BP by assembling the conductive module 1 and physically and electrically connecting the busbar 10 to the electrode terminal BCb ( Fig. 1). The battery BP is installed, for example, in a vehicle (BEV: Battery Electric Vehicle, HEV: Hybrid Electric Vehicle, etc.) with a rotating machine as its power source and serves to supply power to the rotating machine. The battery BP consists, for example, of a plurality of battery modules BM.

[0015] In the battery BP, the conductive module 1 is caused to acquire information about the battery state to monitor the battery state of each battery cell BC, and a battery management device BMS ( Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) is caused to execute battery management control for the battery module BM based on the monitoring result of the battery state of each battery cell BC.

[0016] In a small-capacity battery pack BP with a small number of battery modules BM, the conductive module is physically and electrically connected to the battery management device BMS because the battery management device BMS is installed near the battery module BM. Therefore, the conventional battery management device BMS monitors the battery state of each battery cell BC based on the battery state information signal received from the conductive module and executes battery management control for the battery module BM based on the monitoring result.

[0017] However, in recent years, a battery BP with a higher capacity than this has been installed in a vehicle. For the large-capacity battery BP, a battery monitoring device SBM ( Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) that monitors the battery state of each battery cell BC. Furthermore, in the high-capacity battery BP, the battery management device BMS is installed near some battery modules BM, and the battery management device BMS is installed at a position remote from some battery modules BM. The conductive module 1 of the present embodiment is applied to such a high-capacity battery BP (for example, the battery BP of a vehicle represented by a BEV or the like).

[0018] The battery management device BMS described here is a main electronic control unit (ECU) of a battery management system that performs battery management control to ensure the safety of the battery module BM. The battery monitoring device SBM is a sub-ECU as a satellite battery module in the battery management system. The battery monitoring device SBM calculates and determines the battery state of each battery cell BC based on the battery state information signal received from the conductive module 1 and sends the battery state monitoring result to the battery management device BMS.Based on the battery state monitoring result received from the battery monitoring device SBM, the battery management device BMS performs charge / discharge control (such as charge / discharge control for preventing overcharging and overdischarging of the battery cell BC) for each battery cell BC, performs temperature management for each battery cell BC, and calculates the state of charge (SOC) of each battery cell BC.

[0019] The conductive module 1, together with the battery module BM, the battery management device BMS and the battery monitoring device SBM, forms the battery BP ( Fig. 1). The battery pack BP includes the conductive module 1 and the battery monitoring device SBM for each battery module BM. The battery monitoring device SBM for each battery module BM is connected to a battery management device BMS. The battery monitoring device SBM is attached, for example, to the outer peripheral wall surface BMb (here, the rear wall surface BMb3) of the battery module BM.

[0020] The conductive module 1 comprises the busbar 10, which is physically and electrically connected to the electrode terminal BCb of one or a pair of battery cells BC of the battery module BM ( Fig. 1). The busbar 10 is a plate-shaped, conductive metal component and is manufactured by pressing using, for example, a metal plate as the base material. The busbar 10 described here has the shape of a rectangular, flat plate.

[0021] The conductive module 1 comprises a first conductor track 21 which sends the battery status information of each battery cell BC to the battery monitoring device SBM, and a second conductor track 22 which is responsible for sending and receiving a signal between the battery monitoring device SBM and the battery management device BMS ( Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). In addition, the conductive module 1 comprises a first connector 31 connected to the battery monitoring device SBM for transmitting battery status information from the first conductive track 21 to the battery monitoring device SBM and for transmitting and receiving a signal between the second conductive track 22 and the battery monitoring device SBM, and a second connector 32 connected to the battery management device BMS for transmitting and receiving a signal between the second conductive track 22 and the battery management device BMS ( Fig. 1 and Fig. 2).

[0022] In the conductive module 1, for example, a voltage detection circuit electrically connecting the bus bar 10 to the battery monitoring device SBM, a temperature detection circuit electrically connected to a thermistor that detects the temperature of the battery cell BC, and the like are provided as the first circuit 21. The first circuit 21 is provided for each bus bar 10. The first voltage detection circuit 21 is physically and electrically connected to the bus bar 10 via an electrical connection component (not shown, for example, a conductive component such as a terminal or an electrical wire) that is paired with it.

[0023] The conductive module 1 is mounted on the electrode installation surface BMa of the battery module BM ( Fig. 1). Then, in the conductive module 1, the bus bar 10 is physically and electrically connected to the electrode terminal BCb by laser welding or the like on the electrode installation surface BMa, and the first conductive track 21 and the second conductive track 22 are laid on the electrode installation surface BMa ( Fig. 1). In the conductive module 1, the first conductor track 21 and the second conductor track 22 are routed to the outer peripheral wall surface BMb (here rear wall surface BMb3) of the battery module BM, and the first connector 31 is connected to the battery monitoring device SBM on the outer peripheral wall surface BMb (rear wall surface BMb3) ( Fig. 1). Furthermore, in the conductive module 1, the second conductor 22 is pulled out of the battery module BM beyond the electrode installation area BMa and led to the location of the battery management device BMS, and the second connector 32 is connected to the battery management device BMS ( Fig. 1).

[0024] The conductive module 1 comprises in particular a conductor track component 20 which is provided with a first conductor track 21 and a second conductor track 22 ( Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). The first connector 31 and the second connector 32 are physically and electrically connected to the conductive track component 20. The conductive module 1 includes, for example, a resin-made holding member (not shown) that holds the bus bar 10 and the conductive track component 20 and is attached to the battery module BM.

[0025] For example, a flexible printed circuit board (FPC) can be used as the conductor track component 20, which is provided with a first conductor pattern as the first conductor track 21 and a second conductor pattern as the second conductor track 22. The flexible printed circuit board is shown here as an example as the conductor track component 20 ( Fig. 1 and Fig. 2).

[0026] In addition, a flexible flat cable (FFC), for example, which is provided with a first core wire as the first conductor track 21 and a second core wire as the second conductor track 22, can be used as the conductor track component 20.

[0027] Furthermore, in the circuit component 20, an electrical wire may be used as the first circuit 21 and the second circuit 22. In this case, in the circuit component 20, the first connector 31 is physically and electrically connected to one end of the first circuit 21 and the second circuit 22, and the second connector 32 is physically and electrically connected to the other end of the first circuit 21 and the second circuit 22.

[0028] It should be noted that in a case where the conductive module 1 is attached to the battery module BM located at a position remote from the battery management device BMS, a conductive component (not shown) may be inserted between the second conductive path 22 and the second terminal 32. In this case, the second conductive path 22 interrupts the conductive path on the battery module BM and is not extended from the battery module BM beyond the electrode attachment surface BMa. The conductive component is responsible for a part of the second conductive path 22, which, in the above example, is extended from the battery module BM and led to the location of the battery management device BMS, and has a length corresponding to the distance between the battery module BM and the battery management device BMS.

[0029] The conductor component includes, for example, a third terminal physically and electrically connected to the second conductive trace 22, a fourth terminal connected to the third terminal, and a third conductive trace physically and electrically connected to the fourth terminal and the second terminal 32. The third conductive trace sends and receives a signal to and from the second conductive trace 22 via the third connector and the fourth connector, and sends and receives a signal to and from the battery management device (BMS) via the second connector 32. The third conductive trace may be an electrical wire or mounted on another conductive trace component, such as a flexible printed circuit board or a flexible flat cable.

[0030] As described above, the conductive module 1 of the present embodiment includes the first conductive line 21 that transmits the battery state information of each battery cell BC of the battery module BM to the battery monitoring device SBM, and the second conductive line 22 that is responsible for transmitting and receiving a signal between the battery monitoring device SBM and the battery management device BMS. Furthermore, the conductive module 1 includes the first connector 31 that transmits battery state information from the first conductive line 21 to the battery monitoring device SBM and transmits and receives a signal between the second conductive line 22 and the battery monitoring device SBM, and the second connector 32 that transmits and receives a signal between the second conductive line 22 and the battery management device BMS.Therefore, the battery BP with the conductive module 1 can reduce the installation space for the first conductive pattern 21 and the second conductive pattern 22 on the battery module BM, compared to the conventional battery in which the first conductive pattern and the second conductive pattern, which are prepared as separate components, are arranged at different locations. Accordingly, the conductive module 1 of the present embodiment enables a reduction in the size of the battery module BM and thus also a reduction in the size of the battery BP.

[0031] As described above, the conductive module according to the present embodiment includes the first conductive line that transmits the battery state information of each battery cell of the battery module to the battery monitoring device, and the second conductive line that is responsible for transmitting and receiving a signal between the battery monitoring device and the battery management device. Furthermore, the conductive module includes a first connector that transmits the battery state information from the first conductive line to the battery monitoring device and transmits and receives a signal between the second conductive line and the battery monitoring device, and a second connector that transmits and receives a signal between the second conductive line and the battery management device.Therefore, the battery with the conductive module can reduce the installation space for the first conductive line and the second conductive line on the battery module compared to a conventional battery. Accordingly, the conductive module according to the present embodiment enables a reduction in the size of the battery module and thus a reduction in the size of the battery. QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] JP 2023 - 095 261 A

[0002]

Claims

[1] Conductive module (1), comprising: a bus bar (10) adapted to be physically and electrically connected to an electrode terminal (BCb) of one or a pair of battery cells (BC) of a battery module (BM) in which a plurality of the battery cells (BC) are arranged; a first conductor track (21) configured to send battery state information of each of the battery cells (BC) to a battery monitoring device (SBM) configured to monitor a battery state of each of the battery cells (BC); a second conductor (22) configured to be responsible for transmitting and receiving a signal between the battery monitoring device (SBM) and a battery management device (BMS) configured to perform battery management control on the battery module (BM); a first connector (31) configured to be connected to the battery monitoring device (SBM) to transmit the battery status information from the first conductive track (21) to the battery monitoring device (SBM) and to transmit and receive a signal between the second conductive track (22) and the battery monitoring device (SBM); and a second connector (32) configured to be connected to the battery management device (BMS) to send and receive a signal between the second conductive path (22) and the battery management device (BMS). [2] Conductive module (1) according to claim 1, further comprising: a conductor track component (20) provided with the first conductor track (21) and the second conductor track (22), wherein the first connector (31) and the second connector (32) are physically and electrically connected to the conductor component (20). [3] Conductive module (1) according to claim 1, further comprising: a conductor component (20) provided with a first conductor pattern serving as the first conductor track (21) and a second conductor pattern serving as the second conductor track (22), wherein the first connector (31) and the second connector (32) are physically and electrically connected to the conductor component (20). [4] Conductive module (1) according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the first conductive track (21) is provided for each of the bus bars (10) and electrically connects the bus bar (10) to the battery monitoring device (SBM).

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