Conduction module

Abstract

To reduce the prime cost.SOLUTION: A wiring component 20 has a wiring main body 21, and a branch body 22 that is branched from the wiring main body 21 for each of a plurality of bus bars 10. The bus bar has a bus bar body 11 that is physically and electrically connected with electrode terminals BC2 adjacent to each other in an arrangement direction of a pair of battery cells BC, and a circuit connection body 12 that is connected with a first circuit conductor 23. The circuit connection body has a through hole 12b that has the arrangement direction as a longitudinal direction, and a circuit connection part 12a that is provided on a hole peripheral part 12c of the through hole and is connected to the first circuit conductor on a mounting surface 22a of the branch body. The branch body blocks a part of the through hole with the mounting surface between one end 12d and the other end 12e in the longitudinal direction of the through hole and defines the mounting surface in the part as a bottom face of the through hole, and has second circuit conductors 24 on the bottom face. An electronic component 30 is connected with the second circuit conductors on the bottom face in the through hole and covered by an insulative sealing member (40).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a conductive module. [Background technology]

[0002] The conductive module is a wiring module that electrically connects a battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are arranged and a battery monitoring unit that monitors the battery state of the battery cells. The conductive module includes a bus bar that is connected to one or a pair of battery cells of the battery module, a wiring component that includes a plurality of circuit conductors that are electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit, and an electronic component such as a thermistor that detects the temperature of the battery cell. The bus bar includes a bus bar body that is physically and electrically connected to the electrode terminal of the battery cell, a circuit connector that is physically and electrically connected to a first circuit conductor of the wiring component, and a heat collector that is disposed in a through hole and surrounds the electronic component. The circuit connector and the heat collector are provided in a protruding state relative to the bus bar body. The electronic component is physically and electrically connected to a second circuit conductor of the wiring component. This type of conductive module is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1 below. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2021 / 005999 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, some conductive modules include wiring components in which branch bodies are branched off from a wiring main body for each of a plurality of bus bars, and the circuit connectors of the bus bars are physically and electrically connected to first circuit conductors of the branch bodies. In this conductive module, the position of the branch bodies and the shape of the bus bars change depending on the shape of the battery module, such as the inter-cell pitch of the battery cells (i.e., the inter-terminal pitch of the electrode terminals). Therefore, conventional conductive modules require bus bars of different shapes to be prepared for each battery module, which may lead to an increase in costs.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT EMBODIMENTS An object of the present invention is to provide a conductive module that can reduce costs. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention provides a battery module having a plurality of battery cells arranged therein, the battery module including a bus bar connected to a pair of the battery cells, a wiring component formed flat and flexible, containing a plurality of circuit conductors electrically connected to a battery monitoring unit that monitors the battery state of the battery cells, and an electronic component electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit via the wiring component, the wiring component having a wiring main body and branch bodies branched from the wiring main body for each of the plurality of bus bars, the bus bar having a bus bar main body physically and electrically connected to each of the electrode terminals adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction of the pair of battery cells, and a first circuit conductor of the plurality of circuit conductors. and a circuit connection body that is physically and electrically connected to the first circuit conductor on the mounting surface of the branching body, the circuit connection body having a through hole whose longitudinal direction is the arrangement direction, and a circuit connection portion that is provided on the periphery of the through hole and that is physically and electrically connected to the first circuit conductor on the mounting surface of the branching body, the branching body having a portion of the through hole between one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction thereof that is covered with the mounting surface, the mounting surface in this portion being a bottom surface of the through hole, and having a second circuit conductor among the plurality of circuit conductors on the bottom surface, the electronic component being physically and electrically connected to the second circuit conductor on the bottom surface within the through hole, and being covered with an insulating sealing member. Effect of the Invention

[0007] In the conductive module according to the present invention, a circuit connection body is formed between one end and the other end of the through hole so that a part of the through hole can be blocked by the mounting surface of the branch body. Therefore, in this conductive module, in the case of a wiring path of the branch body in which the mounting surface is arranged at one end of the through hole, the mounting surface of the branch body can be attached to the hole periphery at one end of the through hole. In addition, in this conductive module, in the case of a wiring path of another branch body in which the mounting surface is arranged at the other end of the through hole, the mounting surface of the branch body can be attached to the hole periphery at the other end of the through hole. In addition, in this conductive module, in the case of a wiring path of another branch body in which the mounting surface is arranged, for example, in the center between one end and the other end of the through hole, the mounting surface of the branch body can be attached to the hole periphery at the center of the through hole. In this way, the conductive module according to the present invention can accommodate the arrangement of mounting surfaces at multiple locations according to the wiring path of the branch body with one bus bar. Therefore, this conductive module can be shared by multiple bus bars, thereby reducing the cost. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a part of a conductive module according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the battery module. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a bus bar according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part of the wiring component according to the embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the thermistor and electronic components according to the embodiment together with wiring components. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating an example of a sealing member according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a conductive module according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

[0010] [Embodiment] One embodiment of a conductive module according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0011] Reference numeral 1 in Fig. 1 indicates a conductive module of this embodiment. This conductive module 1 is assembled to a battery module BM (Fig. 2) in which a plurality of battery cells BC are arranged (for example, arranged in a row), and this battery module BM is electrically connected to, for example, a battery monitoring unit (not shown), which allows the battery monitoring unit to monitor the battery state of the battery cells BC. This conductive module 1 constitutes a battery pack BP together with the battery module BM (Figs. 1 and 2). The battery pack BP is mounted, for example, on a vehicle (such as a Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) or Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV)) that has a rotating machine as a drive source, and is used to supply power to the rotating machine.

[0012] The battery cell BC includes a cell body BC1 and positive and negative electrode terminals BC2 (FIG. 2). The battery cell BC shown here has a cell body BC1 formed in a rectangular shape with six outer wall surfaces, and the positive and negative electrode terminals BC2 are provided on one of the six outer wall surfaces of the cell body BC1. In the battery module BM, the cell bodies BC1 adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction are arranged with one outer wall surface facing each other. Thus, in the battery cell BC shown here, the positive and negative electrode terminals BC2 are provided on one of the four outer wall surfaces along the arrangement direction of the battery cells BC. On one outer wall surface of the cell body BC1, the electrode terminal BC2 serving as a positive electrode is arranged at one end in a direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the battery cells BC, and the electrode terminal BC2 serving as a negative electrode is arranged at the other end in the perpendicular direction.

[0013] The positive and negative electrode terminals BC2 may be, for example, plate-shaped or rectangular-shaped provided on one of the outer wall surfaces of the cell body BC1, or may be columnar poles protruding from one of the outer wall surfaces of the cell body BC1. In the case of the plate-shaped or rectangular-shaped electrode terminal BC2, a bus bar described later is physically and electrically connected to the electrode terminal BC2 by welding or the like. In the case of the columnar electrode terminal BC2, a male screw portion is provided in the electrode terminal BC2, so that the electrode terminal BC2 is inserted into a through hole of the bus bar described later, and a female screw member (not shown) is screwed into the male screw portion of the electrode terminal BC2, thereby physically and electrically connecting the bus bar described later to the electrode terminal BC2. Here, the columnar electrode terminal BC2 is taken as an example.

[0014] In the battery module BM, one electrode terminal BC2 and the other electrode terminal BC2 of the plurality of battery cells BC are arranged in the arrangement direction of the plurality of battery cells BC. In this battery module BM, one electrode terminal BC2 of a pair adjacent in the arrangement direction is electrically connected to each other electrode terminal BC2 of the pair by a bus bar described later. In addition, in this battery module BM, the other electrode terminal BC2 of a pair adjacent in the arrangement direction is electrically connected to each other electrode terminal BC2 of the pair by a bus bar described later. One of the pair of electrode terminals BC2 adjacent in the arrangement direction may be a positive electrode and the other may be a negative electrode, or both may be positive electrodes or negative electrodes. Here, the plurality of battery cells BC are arranged such that one of the pair of electrode terminals BC2 adjacent in the arrangement direction is a positive electrode and the other is a negative electrode. In this battery module BM, a bus bar described later is physically and electrically connected to one electrode terminal BC2 that is a total positive electrode, and a bus bar described later is physically and electrically connected to one electrode terminal BC2 that is a total negative electrode.

[0015] The conductive module 1 includes a bus bar that is connected to one or a pair of battery cells BC of the battery module BM. This bus bar is a metal plate-shaped conductive part, and is formed by press forming using a metal plate as a base material, for example.

[0016] When a single battery cell BC is to be connected, the bus bar is formed to physically and electrically connect to the electrode terminal BC2 serving as the total positive electrode or the electrode terminal BC2 serving as the total negative electrode. The pair of battery cells BC to be connected to the bus bar are adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction of the multiple battery cells BC, and each of the pair includes one electrode terminal BC2 and the other electrode terminal BC2 of the pair adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction. Thus, when a pair of battery cells BC is to be connected, the bus bar is formed to physically and electrically connect to one electrode terminal BC2 of the pair adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction, thereby electrically connecting the one electrode terminal BC2 of the pair. Furthermore, the bus bar in this case is formed to physically and electrically connect to the other electrode terminal BC2 of the pair adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction, thereby electrically connecting the other electrode terminal BC2 of the pair.

[0017] The bus bar 10 shown here is connected to a pair of battery cells BC (FIGS. 1 and 3). In the conductive module 1, the bus bar 10 is provided for each combination of a pair of electrode terminals BC2.

[0018] The busbar 10 has a busbar body 11 that is physically and electrically connected to each of the electrode terminals BC2 that are adjacent in the arrangement direction of the pair of battery cells BC (FIGS. 1 and 3). The busbar body 11 has through holes 11a for each of the two electrode terminals BC2, and the pair of electrode terminals BC2 are inserted into the through holes 11a for each of the electrode terminals BC2. With the busbar body 11 installed in a predetermined position, the busbar 10 physically and electrically connects the busbar body 11 to each of the electrode terminals BC2 by screwing a female screw member into the male screw portion of the electrode terminal BC2.

[0019] The conductive module 1 electrically connects the bus bars 10 to a battery monitoring unit, thereby allowing the battery monitoring unit to monitor the battery state of each battery cell BC. Therefore, the conductive module 1 includes a wiring component 20 that is flexible and flat and contains multiple circuit conductors that are electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit (FIGS. 1, 4, and 5).

[0020] The wiring component 20 shown here is a flexible printed circuit board, and the circuit conductors are formed by a conductor pattern. This wiring component 20 is provided with various films formed flat with flexibility as an insulating coating, and a conductor pattern is formed on at least one of the various films. The conductor pattern (circuit conductor) is enclosed by the insulating coating, and, for example, a place that becomes an electrical contact point with other components is exposed.

[0021] The wiring component 20 has a wiring main body 21 and branch bodies 22 branched from the wiring main body 21 for each of the bus bars 10 (FIGS. 1, 4, and 5).

[0022] The wiring main body 21 runs parallel to the multiple battery cells BC aligned in the arrangement direction of the multiple battery cells BC. In the wiring component 20, a first circuit conductor 23 (FIGS. 4 and 5) of the multiple circuit conductors contained in the wiring main body 21 is electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit.

[0023] In the wiring component 20, a first circuit conductor 23 contained in a branch body 22 is physically and electrically connected to the bus bar 10. The branch body 22 branches off from a wiring main body 21 and protrudes from the wiring main body 21 toward an outer wall surface of one of a pair of battery cells BC electrically connected by the bus bar 10. Here, the branch body 22 protrudes toward the outer wall surface of the battery cell BC on which the electrode terminal BC2 is arranged.

[0024] The busbar 10 has a circuit connection body 12 that is physically and electrically connected to the first circuit conductor 23 (FIGS. 1 and 3). The circuit connection body 12 is disposed at a position protruding from the busbar body 11, and is physically and electrically connected to the first circuit conductor 23 contained in the branch body 22. The circuit connection body 12 has a circuit connection portion 12a that is physically and electrically connected to the first circuit conductor 23 on the mounting surface 22a (FIGS. 1, 4, and 5) of the branch body 22 (FIG. 3). For example, in the circuit connection body 12, the circuit connection portion 12a is soldered to the first circuit conductor 23 exposed from the insulating coating on the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22.

[0025] In the busbar 10 shown here, the busbar body 11 and the circuit connectors 12 are each formed in a flat plate shape, and the busbar body 11 and the circuit connectors 12 are arranged on the same plane. The busbar 10 is molded as a single member with the circuit connectors 12 protruding from the busbar body 11 on the same plane. Note that in the busbar 10, the busbar body 11 and the circuit connectors 12 may not be arranged on the same plane, but the busbar body 11 and the circuit connectors 12 may each be molded as separate members, and the busbar body 11 and the circuit connectors 12 may be fixed together by welding or the like to be integrated.

[0026] The busbar main body 11 and the circuit connector 12 of this example are each formed in a rectangular flat plate shape with the same length in the arrangement direction of the pair of battery cells BC (the pair of electrode terminals BC2), and are arranged on the same plane. In other words, the busbar 10 of this example is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape having the rectangular flat busbar main body 11 and the rectangular flat circuit connector 12.

[0027] The circuit connection body 12 has a through hole 12b whose longitudinal direction is the arrangement direction of the pair of battery cells BC (the pair of electrode terminals BC2), and a circuit connection part 12a is provided on a hole peripheral part 12c of the through hole 12b (FIGS. 1 and 3). The branch body 22 has a mounting surface 22a that covers a part of the through hole 12b of the circuit connection body 12 between one end 12d and the other end 12e in the longitudinal direction, and this mounting surface 22a in the part serves as the bottom surface of the through hole 12b (FIG. 1). The branch body 22 has a second circuit conductor 24 of the multiple circuit conductors on its bottom surface (FIGS. 4 and 5).

[0028] The circuit connection body 12 shown here has a rectangular through hole 12b with the longitudinal direction being the arrangement direction of a pair of battery cells BC (a pair of electrode terminals BC2) and an annular hole periphery 12c (FIGS. 1 and 3). One end 12d of the through hole 12b is arranged next to one of the through holes 11a for the electrode terminal BC2 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and the other end 12e is arranged next to the other through hole 11a for the electrode terminal BC2 (FIGS. 1 and 3). The branch body 22 shown here is led to one end 12d of the through hole 12b so that its mounting surface 22a is arranged at the one end 12d, and the one end 12d of the through hole 12b is closed by the mounting surface 22a (FIG. 1).

[0029] In the wiring component 20, the second circuit conductor 24 contained in the wiring main body 21 is electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit side, similar to the first circuit conductor 23. The first circuit conductor 23 and the second circuit conductor 24 are routed in the branch body 22 from the wiring main body 21 side to the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22. For example, the first circuit conductor 23 and the second circuit conductor 24 are linearly routed in the branch body 22 from the wiring main body 21 side to the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22.

[0030] In the circuit connection body 12, the hole periphery 12c is placed on the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22, and the circuit connection part 12a of the hole periphery 12c is physically and electrically connected to the first circuit conductor 23 exposed from the insulating coating on the mounting surface 22a. Meanwhile, the second circuit conductor 24 is wired across the hole periphery 12c into the through hole 12b, and is exposed from the insulating coating of the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22 at the bottom of the through hole 12b.

[0031] The conductive module 1 includes an electronic component 30 that is electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit via a wiring component 20 (FIGS. 1 and 5). The electronic component 30 may be, for example, a thermistor that detects the temperature of the battery cell BC via the branch body 22, a circuit protection component such as a fuse that cuts off an overcurrent that flows through the first circuit conductor 23, or an electronic component for noise suppression such as a capacitor or inductor.

[0032] The electronic component 30 is physically and electrically connected to the second circuit conductor 24 at the bottom surface (mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22) in the through hole 12b. For example, the electronic component 30 has electrical connection parts 31, 32 at one end and the other end (FIG. 5). The electronic component 30 physically and electrically connects the electrical connection part 31 at one end and the electrical connection part 32 at the other end to a first contact point on one side and a second contact point on the other side of the second circuit conductor 24 separated by the branch body 22, respectively. In the electronic component 30, the electrical connection part 31 at one end is soldered to the first contact point of the second circuit conductor 24, and the electrical connection part 31 at the other end is soldered to the second contact point of the second circuit conductor 24.

[0033] In the conductive module 1, the electronic component 30 is covered with an insulating sealing member 40 (FIG. 1). The sealing member 40 is poured in a liquid state onto the bottom surface (the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22) in the through hole 12b and cured (for example, UV cured). However, in the conductive module 1, the through hole 12b is not blocked except for a part of the bottom surface, so there is a risk that the liquid sealing member 40 poured onto the bottom surface will flow out of the through hole 12b. Therefore, in the conductive module 1, a material having high viscosity and high thixotropy is used for the liquid sealing member 40 to prevent the liquid sealing member 40 from leaking out of the through hole 12b. For example, a material having high viscosity and high thixotropy is used for the liquid sealing member 40, which can ensure a film thickness on the cured electronic component 30 that is required to protect the electronic component 30 and can provide the desired insulation. Thereby, in the conductive module 1, the liquid sealing member 40 is poured into the bottom surface of the through-hole 12b, and after the liquid sealing member 40 hardens, a suitable film thickness is formed.

[0034] Here, in this conductive module 1, in order to more accurately suppress the outflow of the liquid sealing member 40 from the through hole 12b, the liquid sealing member 40 may be poured into the through hole 12b in the following manner. In this conductive module 1, one end 12d of the through hole 12b is disposed vertically lower than the other end 12e, and the mounting surface 22a of the circuit connecting body 12 and the branching body 22 is tilted, and the liquid sealing member 40 having high viscosity and high thixotropy is poured from above the electronic component 30. Then, in this conductive module 1, the liquid sealing member 40 continues to be poured from above the electronic component 30 until the one end 12d of the through hole 12b is filled with the liquid sealing member 40. In this case, since the sealing member 40 is formed in such a form, the height from the mounting surface 22a of the branching body 22 in the through hole 12b increases from the other end 12e side toward the one end 12d side (FIG. 6).

[0035] As described above, in the conductive module 1 of this embodiment, the circuit connection body 12 is formed between one end 12d and the other end 12e of the through hole 12b such that a part of the through hole 12b can be blocked by the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22. Therefore, in this conductive module 1, in the case of an arrangement path of the branch body 22 in which the mounting surface 22a is arranged at one end 12d of the through hole 12b as illustrated above, the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22 can be attached to the hole periphery 12c at one end 12d of the through hole 12b. Also, in this conductive module 1, in the case of an arrangement path of another branch body 22 in which the mounting surface 22a is arranged at the other end 12e of the through hole 12b, the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22 can be attached to the hole periphery 12c at the other end 12e of the through hole 12b. In addition, in this conductive module 1, if the wiring path of another branch body 22 is such that the mounting surface 22a is disposed, for example, in the center between one end 12d and the other end 12e of the through hole 12b, the mounting surface 22a of the branch body 22 can be attached to the hole peripheral portion 12c at the center of the through hole 12b. In this manner, the conductive module 1 of this embodiment can accommodate the arrangement of the mounting surfaces 22a at multiple locations according to the wiring path of the branch body 22 with one bus bar 10. Therefore, this conductive module 1 can be shared by multiple bus bars 10, thereby reducing the cost. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1 Conductive Module 10 Bus bar 11 Busbar body 12 Circuit connector 12a Circuit connection 12b Through hole 12c Hole periphery 12d one end 12e Other end 20 Wiring parts 21 Mainly wiring 22 Branched body 22a Mounting surface 23 First circuit conductor 24 Second circuit conductor 30 Electronic Components 40 Sealing member BC Battery Cell BC2 electrode terminal BM Battery Module

Claims

1. a bus bar connected to a pair of battery cells of a battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are arranged; a wiring component that is formed flat and flexible and that includes a plurality of circuit conductors that are electrically connected to a battery monitoring unit that monitors the battery state of the battery cell; an electronic component electrically connected to the battery monitoring unit via the wiring component; Equipped with the wiring component includes a wiring main body and branch bodies branched from the wiring main body for each of the plurality of bus bars, the bus bar includes a bus bar main body that is physically and electrically connected to each of the electrode terminals that are adjacent to each other in an arrangement direction of the pair of battery cells, and a circuit connector that is physically and electrically connected to a first circuit conductor of the plurality of circuit conductors, the circuit connection body has a through hole whose longitudinal direction is the arrangement direction, and a circuit connection portion provided on a peripheral edge of the through hole and physically and electrically connected to the first circuit conductor on the mounting surface of the branch body, the branch body is partially covered by the mounting surface between one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the through hole, the mounting surface in this portion serves as a bottom surface of the through hole, and a second circuit conductor among the plurality of circuit conductors is provided on the bottom surface; A conductive module characterized in that the electronic component is physically and electrically connected to the second circuit conductor on the bottom surface within the through hole and is covered with an insulating sealing material.

2. The conductive module according to claim 1 , wherein the bus bar is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape having the bus bar body in a rectangular flat plate shape and the circuit connection body in a rectangular flat plate shape.

3. the branched body closes the one end of the through hole with the mounting surface, The conductive module according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the sealing member is configured such that the height of the branch body from the mounting surface within the through hole increases from the other end side to the one end side.

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