Battery pack

Abstract

To prevent dew condensation from being caused due to cooling of a space area in a battery pack.SOLUTION: The disclosure relates to a battery pack mounted on a vehicle. The battery pack includes battery modules, a lower case on which the battery modules are placed side by side; and a cooler attached to a lower surface of the lower case. The upper surface of the lower case includes a space area in which the battery modules are not disposed. At the space area on the upper surface of the lower case, a heat insulation material and a bracket which presses the heat insulation material from above to fix it are disposed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery pack, and more particularly to a battery pack to be mounted on a vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a battery pack housed in a vehicle body. The battery pack has a plurality of battery modules that can be charged and discharged. In addition, the battery pack has a coolant layer that circulates coolant to suppress a rise in temperature of the battery. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2022-138470 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] A cooler for cooling the battery modules may be attached to a battery pack. For example, the cooler is attached to the bottom surface of a lower case of the battery pack in order to cool the battery modules arranged on the top surface of the lower case. However, the top surface of the lower case may include an empty area where no battery modules are arranged. In this case, it is necessary to prevent condensation from occurring due to cooling of the empty area. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The present disclosure relates to a battery pack mounted on a vehicle. The battery pack is A battery module; a lower case on whose upper surface the battery modules are arranged; A cooler attached to the underside of the lower case; Equipped with. The upper surface of the lower case includes a space area in which no battery module is disposed. The empty space on the top of the lower case is Insulation material; A bracket that holds the insulation material in place from above, will be placed.

[0006] In the battery pack of the present disclosure, the insulating material placed in the empty area may be a foam material. Effect of the Invention

[0007] The battery pack of the present disclosure has a heat insulating material disposed in the empty space on the upper surface of the lower case. By disposing the heat insulating material in the empty space, it is possible to prevent condensation inside the battery pack caused by the empty space being cooled by a cooler. In addition, since a bracket is disposed in the empty space, the strength of the battery pack can be increased by the rigidity of the bracket. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of a battery pack. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an empty area of ​​the battery pack. [Diagram 3] 13A and 13B are perspective views showing examples of foam and brackets placed in the open area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of a battery pack 1 mounted on a vehicle. Fig. 1 shows the internal structure of the battery pack 1 as seen from above the vehicle. The bottom of Fig. 1 corresponds to the traveling direction of the vehicle, i.e., the front. In the following description, when directions such as up / down, left / right, front / rear, etc. are expressed, they are expressed based on the orientation of the vehicle body.

[0011] The battery pack 1 is mounted to the lower part of a vehicle frame 2 so as to be located at the lateral center of the vehicle body. The battery pack 1 is used as a power source for electric vehicles including, for example, BEVs, PHEVs, and HEVs.

[0012] The battery pack 1 contains a plurality of battery modules 11. The battery module 11 is composed of, for example, a battery stack formed by stacking a large number of battery cells, a metal case that contains the battery stack, and various electric components arranged on the battery stack. The battery cells are chargeable and dischargeable secondary batteries, for example, lithium-ion secondary batteries. The metal case is made of a light metal such as aluminum.

[0013] The outer shell of the battery pack 1 is composed of a lower case 12 and an upper case (not shown). The lower case 12 and the upper case are made of, for example, light metal, resin, or steel plate.

[0014] The battery modules 11 are arranged side by side on the upper surface of the lower case 12. To increase the strength of the battery pack 1, a cross member may be arranged between adjacent battery modules 11 in the front-rear direction. The cross member is arranged to extend laterally between the battery modules 11. A part of the load acting on the battery pack 1 is input to the cross member, and the strength of the battery pack 1 can be increased by sharing the load by the cross member.

[0015] A cooler 20 is attached to the underside of the lower case 12. The cooler 20 is a plate-shaped device with multiple flow paths formed therein. The lower case 12 is cooled from the underside by cooling water flowing through the flow paths of the cooler 20. The battery modules 11 arranged on the upper surface of the lower case 12 are cooled from the bottom by thermal conduction of the lower case 12.

[0016] Here, there may be empty areas in the lower case 12 where no battery modules 11 are arranged. In the example of Fig. 1, twelve battery modules 11 are arranged two by two on the front side of the lower case 12, and one battery module 11 is arranged near the rear end of the lower case 12. Furthermore, there are two empty areas 13 on the left and right of the one battery module 11 arranged near the rear end.

[0017] Even in the free space 13, the upper surface of the lower case 12 is cooled by thermal conduction of the lower case 12 cooled by the cooler 20. Therefore, if no object is placed in the free space 13 and space is left above the free space 13, the air present in the space above the free space 13 will be cooled. When the air is cooled to a temperature below a predetermined level, condensation occurs, which may reduce the insulation properties within the battery pack 1. Since the battery modules 11 are placed around the free space 13, condensation occurring in the free space 13 may cause a liquid junction. Therefore, it is necessary to appropriately prevent condensation from occurring in the free space 13.

[0018] 2 and 3 are enlarged perspective views of the empty space 13. A triangular empty space 13 exists next to the battery modules 11a and 11b arranged on the upper surface of the lower case 12. In the battery pack 1 according to the present embodiment, a heat insulating material 14 and a bracket 15 are arranged in this empty space 13.

[0019] The heat insulating material 14 has a shape close to a triangular prism to match the shape of the empty area 13. The heat insulating material 14 is, for example, a foam material such as expanded polystyrene.

[0020] Bracket 15 holds down and fixes insulation material 14 from above so that insulation material 14 fits into open space 13. Bracket 15 is a rigid, flat member that is similar in shape to insulation material 14 but slightly larger than insulation material 14 so that it can hold down insulation material 14 from above. Bracket 15 is made of, for example, light metal, resin, or steel plate. Bracket 15 is fixed, for example, by fastening its three corners to the cross member with screws.

[0021] When the insulating material 14 is made of a flexible material, it is not necessary for the insulating material 14 to have exactly the same shape as the free space 13, and it may be a member having a bottom surface that is slightly larger than the free space 13. In this case, the insulating material 14 is deformed by being pressed from above by the bracket 15, so that it conforms to the shape of the free space 13.

[0022] According to the battery pack 1 of this embodiment, by disposing the heat insulating material 14 in the empty space 13, it is possible to prevent condensation from occurring in the empty space 13. Furthermore, by disposing the bracket 15, the strength of the battery pack 1 can be increased by the rigidity of the bracket 15.

[0023] The above is an example of the configuration of the battery pack 1 according to the present embodiment. Although the above description has been given taking as an example a case where 13 battery modules 11 are arranged inside the battery pack 1, the number of battery modules 11 housed in the battery pack 1 is arbitrary. In addition, there is no limitation on the position of the free space 13, and the configuration according to the present embodiment can be applied to a case where the free space 13 is present in the center of the battery pack 1, for example.

[0024] However, a particularly large effect can be obtained when the free space 13 is located in contact with the side surface of the battery pack 1 as shown in Fig. 1. That is, part of the load acting on the side surface of the battery pack 1 is input to the bracket 15. In this way, the load acting on the side surface of the battery pack 1 is shared by the bracket 15, thereby increasing the strength of the battery pack 1 against a side impact load.

[0025] This is even more effective when the free space 13 is located at a corner of the battery pack 1. For example, when the free space 13 is located at a corner at the rear end of the battery pack 1, the load input from the rear end of the battery pack 1 is also shared by the bracket 15 in addition to the load input from the side of the battery pack 1, and durability against a collision load can be further improved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0026] 1 Battery pack 11 Battery module 12 Lower case 14 Insulation 15 Bracket

Claims

1. A battery pack to be mounted on a vehicle, A battery module; a lower case on an upper surface of which the battery modules are arranged and placed; A cooler attached to a lower surface of the lower case; Equipped with the upper surface of the lower case includes a space in which the battery module is not disposed, In the free area, Insulation material; A bracket that holds the heat insulating material from above and fixes it in place; is placed Battery pack.

2. 2. The battery pack according to claim 1, The empty area is located in contact with a side surface of the battery pack. Battery pack.

3. 3. The battery pack according to claim 2, The empty area is located at a corner of the battery pack. Battery pack.

Images