Battery case

Abstract

To prevent water from entering the inside of a case even when the water gets into a PF pipe.SOLUTION: A battery case 10 includes an upper case 11, a lower case 21, and a PF pipe connector 54 having a connection port 54A to which a PF pipe 92 is connected. A hole 17 through which an electric wire 94 is inserted is formed in a lower surface 15 of the upper case 11, and an electric wire 94 is inserted into the PF pipe 92. The PF pipe connector 54 is fixedly disposed between the upper case 11 and the lower case 21, and is disposed separately from the hole 17.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery case, and more particularly to a battery case having a structure in which a lower case for accommodating various modules and an upper case are stacked on top of each other.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a battery system using a battery case including a lower case and an upper case disposed on the lower case and connected to the lower case. A through protection member is provided on the back surface of the upper case of this battery case. An electric wire tube for accommodating electric wires such as power lines and signal lines is passed through the through protection member, and a converter circuit in the upper case is connected to an external power conditioner.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the battery system described in Patent Document 1 above, when a PF tube connector is used for the through protection member, the upper case and the power conditioner are connected by a PF tube, and an electric wire tube is passed through the PF tube, if some external force acts on the PF tube, the PF tube may come off from the power conditioner. In this case, if the opening of the PF tube that has come off from the power conditioner faces upward, rainwater or the like may enter the PF tube. Since the PF tube communicates with the inside of the upper case, there is a risk that the rainwater that has entered the PF tube will flow to the upper case and enter the upper case.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery case capable of suppressing water from entering the inside of the case even when water enters the PF pipe.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The battery case of the present invention is a battery case for accommodating a battery module in which an upper case is stacked on a lower case, and a hole for inserting an electric wire for electrically connecting to an external device is formed on the lower surface of the upper case. The electric wire drawn from the external device is inserted into a PF pipe, and the PF pipe is connected to the connection port of a PF pipe connector having a connection port and fixedly arranged between the upper case and the lower case, so as to be separated from the hole.

[0007] According to this, since the PF pipe connector is fixedly arranged between the upper case and the lower case, even if water enters the PF pipe connected to the PF pipe connector through the connection port, the water is discharged from the PF pipe into the space between the upper case and the lower case. The hole through which the electric wire inserted into the PF pipe passes is formed on the lower surface of the upper case and is separated from the PF pipe. As a result, it is possible to suppress water from entering the inside of the case even when water enters the PF pipe.

[0008] In the present invention, it is preferable that a grommet is arranged in the hole. Thereby, it becomes possible to pass the electric wire passed through the PF pipe into the upper case through the grommet. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress water from entering through the hole.

[0009] In the present invention, the upper case has an upper case body having an opening that opens forward, and a front panel for sealing the opening, the front panel being configured to be detachable from the upper case body. The hole is preferably disposed in front of the center in the front-rear direction on the lower surface of the upper case body. This makes it easier to pass the electric wire forward inside the upper case. And by removing the front panel from the upper case body, it becomes easier to wire the electric wire. Therefore, even if the installation location is narrow, it is possible to easily wire only by removing the front panel.

[0010] In the present invention, the PF pipe connector is preferably arranged such that the connection port is located behind the upper case and faces the rear. This makes it possible to easily connect the PF pipe from the rear of the battery case. For this reason, it is possible to arrange the PF pipe behind the battery case where it is difficult to be seen from the front.

[0011] In the present invention, a cover is further provided between the upper case and the lower case to cover the space between the two cases, and the PF pipe connector is preferably attached to the cover. This makes it possible to hide the electric wire from the PF pipe with the cover.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the battery case of the present invention, even if water enters the PF pipe, it is possible to suppress water from entering the inside of the case.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, a battery unit employing a battery case according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The vertical direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction shown in Fig. 1 are defined as the vertical direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction of the battery unit 1. The left-right direction is the direction when viewed from the front of the battery unit 1. The front side of the paper in Fig. 1 is the right side, and the back side of the paper in Fig. 1 is the left side. The front-rear direction is the orthogonal direction orthogonal to the vertical direction and the left-right direction.

[0015] (Battery Unit) As shown in Fig. 1, the battery unit 1 has a battery case 10 that houses three battery modules B1 to B3, a control box C, etc. The battery modules B1 to B3 are rechargeable batteries. The control box C has a control circuit for charging and discharging the battery modules B1 to B3. The battery unit 1 in this embodiment is connected via a known power conditioner 90 and a conduit 91 shown by a two-dot chain line in Fig. 3. The conduit 91 houses a plurality of electric wires 94 (such as power lines and signal lines) that connect the control box C and the power conditioner 90.

[0016] As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, the battery case 10 includes an upper case 11, a lower case 21, two connecting members 30 and 40 (see Fig. 4), and a cover 50. The upper case 11 houses the battery module B1 and the control box C. The lower case 21 houses two battery modules B2 and B3. Note that only the control box C or two or more battery modules may be housed in the upper case 11, and one or three or more battery modules may be housed in the lower case 21.

[0017] The upper case 11 is formed of a metal plate such as a rolled steel plate and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in Figs. 1 to 5. The upper case 11 has an upper case body 12 that is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box and a front panel 13. The upper case body 12 has an opening 14 that opens forward as shown in Fig. 6. The front panel 13 is attached to the front portion of the upper case body 12 by a plurality of screws as shown in Fig. 1 and seals the opening 14. That is, the front panel 13 can be removed from the upper case body 12 by removing a plurality of screws and is configured to be detachable from the upper case body 12.

[0018] In addition, the upper case 11 has a structure that can prevent water (such as rainwater) from entering from the outside to the inside when the front panel 13 is attached to the upper case body 12. That is, the upper case 11 is an outdoor installation type case and has a water-stopping function to prevent rainwater or the like from entering the inside even when it rains.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 5, two holes 16 and 17 penetrating in the vertical direction are formed in the lower surface (the lower surface of the upper case 11) 15 of the upper case body 12. The two holes 16 and 17 are for passing the electric wire 94 and the electric wire 95 described later, and are arranged in the front portion of the lower surface 15. The hole 16 is arranged at the center in the left-right direction of the lower surface 15. The hole 17 is arranged adjacent to the right side of the hole 16. Grommets 16A and 17A are attached to the respective holes 16 and 17. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the electric wire 94 and the electric wire 95 from coming into contact with the edges of the holes 16 and 17 and being damaged. In addition, the grommets 16A and 17A in the present embodiment are of a waterproof type. For this reason, it is possible to prevent water from entering the upper case 11 from the holes 16 and 17. Since the two holes 16 and 17 are formed in the lower surface 15, it is difficult for rainwater to enter the upper case 11 through the holes 16 and 17 due to the structure.

[0020] Similar to the upper case 11, the lower case 21 is formed of a metal plate such as a rolled steel plate and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In addition, the size of the lower case 21 is also substantially the same as that of the upper case 11, and it has a lower case body 22 that is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box body and a front panel 23. Similar to the upper case body 12, the lower case body 22 also has an opening that opens forward. As shown in FIG. 1, the front panel 23 is attached to the front portion of the lower case body 22 by a plurality of screws and seals the opening. That is, the front panel 23 is also configured to be detachable from the lower case body 22.

[0021] Also, the lower case 21, similar to the upper case 11, has a water-stopping function in a state where the front panel 23 is attached to the lower case body 22. Further, the lower case 21 has two fixing brackets 29 for fixing to a predetermined installation position such as a base. The two fixing brackets 29 are arranged at both ends in the left-right direction on the lower surface of the lower case 21.

[0022] On the upper surface (the upper surface of the lower case 21) 25 of the lower case body 22, as shown in FIG. 4, holes 26 penetrating in the vertical direction are formed. The holes 26 are for passing a plurality of electric wires 95 connecting the battery modules B2, B3 and the control box C, and are arranged in the front portion of the upper surface 25. More specifically, the holes 26 are arranged at the center in the left-right direction of the upper surface 25, and are arranged at a position vertically opposed to the holes 16 when the upper case 11 is connected to the lower case 21. Also, a waterproof grommet 26A is attached to the holes 26. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the electric wires 95 from coming into contact with the edge of the holes 26 and being damaged, and to prevent water from entering the lower case 21 from the holes 26.

[0023] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the two connecting members 30, 40 are arranged between the lower surface 15 of the upper case 11 and the upper surface 25 of the lower case 21. The two connecting members 30, 40 are arranged apart from each other in the left-right direction. The connecting member 30 is arranged at the right end of the lower surface 15 and the upper surface 25, and the connecting member 40 is arranged at the left end of the lower surface 15 and the upper surface 25.

[0024] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the connecting member 30 has an upper fixing portion 31, a lower fixing portion 32, and a connecting portion 33. The upper fixing portion 31 has a concave cross-section that opens upward and extends longitudinally in the front-rear direction. The lower fixing portion 32 has a concave cross-section that opens downward and extends longitudinally in the front-rear direction. The members constituting these upper fixing portion 31 and lower fixing portion 32 have the same shape, but are arranged in opposite directions so that their bottoms contact each other. The upper fixing portion 31 and the lower fixing portion 32 are fixed to the upper case 11 and the lower case 21 via mounting flanges 31A and 32A formed at the end portions on the opening side. Also, the upper fixing portion 31 and the lower fixing portion 32 are configured such that their bottoms can be connected to each other.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 4, the connecting portion 33 has a plate-like portion 33A that extends in the front-rear direction, and two protruding portions 33B that protrude leftward from the front end and the rear end of the plate-like portion 33A. The plate-like portion 33A is formed to be slightly longer than the longitudinal length of the upper fixing portion 31 and the lower fixing portion 32 in the front-rear direction. The connecting portion 33 is fixed to the upper fixing portion 31 and the lower fixing portion 32 with screws or the like in a state where the upper fixing portion 31 and the lower fixing portion 32 that are in contact with each other are covered from the right. The two protruding portions 33B face both ends in the front-rear direction of the upper fixing portion 31 and the lower fixing portion 32 in a state where the connecting portion 33 is fixed to the upper fixing portion 31 and the lower fixing portion 32. Also, the plate-like portion 33A of the connecting portion 33 has two support pieces 33C formed by partially cutting and raising. The two support pieces 33C are arranged to be spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction.

[0026] The connecting member 40 has a substantially the same configuration as the connecting member 30. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, it has an upper fixing portion 41 having a mounting flange 41A, a lower fixing portion 42 having a mounting flange 42A, and a connecting portion 43. Similar to the connecting portion 33, the connecting portion 43 has a plate-like portion 43A, two protruding portions 43B that protrude rightward from the front end and the rear end of the plate-like portion 43A, and two support pieces 43C. The detailed description of the connecting member 40 is omitted.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cover 50 is disposed in the space S between the upper case 11 and the lower case 21, and covers the electric wires 94, 95 and the connecting members 30, 40 disposed in the space S from the outside. As shown in FIG. 4, the cover 50 includes a front cover 51, a rear cover 52, and a small cover 53. The vertical widths of the front cover 51, the rear cover 52, and the small cover 53 are substantially the same and are slightly smaller than the height of the space S.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 4, the front cover 51 has a plate-like portion 51A that is long in the left-right direction, and two protruding portions 51B that protrude rearward from the right end and the left end of the plate-like portion 51A. The length of the plate-like portion 51A in the left-right direction is greater than or equal to the left-right interval between the support pieces 33C, 43C of the two connecting members 30, 40 fixed to the upper case 11 and the lower case 21. Further, a hole 51C for passing the electric wire 94 is formed in the plate-like portion 51A at a position slightly to the right of the center in the left-right direction. A grommet 51D is attached to the hole 51C. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the electric wire 94 from coming into contact with the edge of the hole 51C and being damaged.

[0029] The front cover 51 is disposed so as to cover the front portions of the two connecting members 30, 40 fixed to the upper case 11 and the lower case 21, and each protruding portion 51B is fixed to the front support pieces 33C, 43C of the respective connecting members 30, 40 with screws or the like. The two protruding portions 51B have a length in the front-rear direction such that when the front cover 51 is fixed to the connecting members 30, 40, the center in the front-rear direction of these connecting members 30, 40 and the tip of the protruding portion 51B can face each other in the left-right direction.

[0030] Similar to the front cover 51, the rear cover 52 has a plate-like portion 52A that is long in the left-right direction, and two protruding portions 52B that protrude forward from the right end and the left end of the plate-like portion 52A. The length of the plate-like portion 52A in the left-right direction is the same as that of the plate-like portion 51A. Further, a hole 52C for passing the electric wire 94 is formed in the plate-like portion 52A at a position slightly to the right of the center in the left-right direction. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a PF tube connector 54 is attached to the hole 52C.

[0031] The PF pipe connector 54 is a known cylindrical member that penetrates in the front-rear direction and has a connection port 54A to which the PF pipe 92 is connected as shown in FIG. 2. The PF pipe connector 54 in the present embodiment is disposed between the upper case 11 and the lower case 21 in the vertical direction as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the connection port 54A faces backward (outward). Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the connection port 54A is located behind the upper case 11. With such a configuration, the PF pipe 92 through which the electric wire pipe 91 is passed can be connected from the rear of the battery unit 1 to the power conditioner 90 via the rear cover 52. The PF pipe 92 in the present embodiment is connected to the power conditioner 90 and the PF pipe connector 54 as shown in FIG. 3, and the electric wire pipe 91 is passed through the inside thereof.

[0032] The rear cover 52 is disposed so as to cover the rear portions of the two connecting members 30 and 40 fixed to the upper case 11 and the lower case 21, and each protruding portion 52B is fixed to the rear support pieces 33C and 43C of the respective connecting members 30 and 40 with screws or the like. The two protruding portions 52B have a length in the front-rear direction such that the center in the front-rear direction of these connecting members 30 and 40 and the tip of the protruding portion 52B can face each other in the left-right direction in a state where the rear cover 52 is fixed to the connecting members 30 and 40.

[0033] The small cover 53 is attached to the front cover 51 so as to cover the center in the left-right direction of the front surface of the front cover 51. The small cover 53 has a substantially C-shaped planar shape. Further, the small cover 53 is attached to the front cover 51 so as to cover the hole 51C. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the small cover 53 is configured such that the hole 26 of the lower case 21 can be surrounded by the front cover 51 when the small cover 53 is attached to the front cover 51.

[0034] Next, the installation method of the battery unit 1 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10. As shown in FIG. 7, first, the lower case 21 containing the battery modules B2 and B3 is placed at a predetermined installation position. At this time, a plurality of electric wires 95 are drawn out from the inside of the lower case 21 to the outside through the holes 26 of the lower case 21. At this time, a grommet 26A is attached to the hole 26, and the plurality of electric wires 95 pass through the grommet 26A. Note that the plurality of electric wires 95 may be drawn out after removing the front panel 23 from the lower case main body 22 after the upper case 11 is placed on the lower case 21.

[0035] Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper case 11 is placed on the lower case 21 from above, and the upper case 11 and the lower case 21 are connected by the connecting members 30 and 40 as shown in FIG. 8. More specifically, the upper fixing portions 31 and 41 fixed to the upper case 11 are placed on the lower fixing portions 32 and 42 fixed to the lower case 21. Also, with the bottom portions of the upper fixing portions 31 and 41 and the lower fixing portions 32 and 42 in contact with each other, the upper fixing portion 31 and the lower fixing portion 32 are covered from the right by the connecting portion 33, and the upper fixing portion 41 and the lower fixing portion 42 are covered from the left by the connecting portion 43. These connecting portions 33 and 43 are fixed to the upper fixing portions 31 and 41 and the lower fixing portions 32 and 42 with screws or the like. In this way, the upper case 11 and the lower case 21 are connected by the connecting members 30 and 40. After that, the plurality of electric wires 95 drawn out to the outside of the lower case 21 are inserted into the upper case 11 through the grommet 16A of the hole 16 of the upper case 11.

[0036] Next, as shown in FIG. 9, insert a plurality of electric wires 94 housed in an electric wire conduit 91 for connection to a power conditioner 90 into the upper case 11 through a grommet 17A of a hole 17 in the upper case 11. Then, remove the front panel 13 from the upper case body 12 and connect the plurality of electric wires 94, 95 to the control box C and the battery module B1. After the wiring inside the upper case 11 is completed, attach the front panel 13 to the upper case body 12. Note that with the front panel 13 removed from the upper case body 12, the plurality of electric wires 94, 95 may be inserted into the upper case 11 through the grommets 16A, 17A.

[0037] Next, as shown in FIG. 10, place a cover 50 in the space S between the upper case 11 and the lower case 21 and attach the cover 50 to the connecting members 30, 40. More specifically, cover the front portions of the two connecting members 30, 40 with the front cover 51. At this time, draw out the plurality of electric wires 94 through the grommet 51D of the hole 51C and further through the electric wire conduit 91 to the rear. Also, the front cover 51 is disposed between the holes 16, 17, 26 and the connecting members 30, 40 in the front-rear direction. Then, fix the front cover 51 to the front support pieces 33C, 43C of each connecting member 30, 40 with screws or the like.

[0038] After that, cover the rear portions of the two connecting members 30, 40 with the rear cover 52. At this time, with the connection port 54A of the PF pipe connector 54 facing rearward, pass the electric wire conduit 91 through which the plurality of electric wires 94 are passed, together with the electric wires 94, from the front to the rear through the PF pipe connector 54. Then, fix the rear cover 52 to the rear support pieces 33C, 43C of each connecting member 30, 40 with screws or the like. Also, attach a small cover 53 to the front surface of the front cover 51 with screws or the like. At this time, cover the center in the left-right direction on the front surface of the front cover 51 and the hole 51C with the small cover 53. Also, at this time, the small cover 53 and the front cover 51 surround the three holes 16, 17, 26. In this way, cover the connecting members 30, 40 and the electric wires 94, 95 in the space S with the cover 50 so as to conceal them.

[0039] Next, as shown in FIG. 3, insert the wire conduit 91 into the PF pipe 92, and connect one end (lower end) of the PF pipe 92 to the PF pipe connector 54 via the connection port 54A. After that, pass the wire conduit 91 through the power conditioner 90, and then connect the other end (upper end) of the PF pipe 92 to the power conditioner 90. In this way, the installation of the battery unit 1 is completed. Note that the wiring of the plurality of electric wires 94 and 95 may be carried out collectively at the end.

[0040] As described above, according to the battery case 10 of the battery unit 1 of the present embodiment, the PF pipe connector 54 is fixedly arranged between the upper case 11 and the lower case 21 in the vertical direction. Therefore, even if water enters the PF pipe 92 connected to the PF pipe connector 54 via the connection port 54A, the water is discharged from the PF pipe 92 into the space S between the upper case 11 and the lower case 21. That is, the water is discharged onto the upper surface 25 of the lower case 21. The water discharged onto the upper surface 25 of the lower case 21 flows downward along the side surface of the lower case 21. The lower case 21 itself has a water-stopping function. Also, the upper case 11 itself has a water-stopping function. The hole 17 through which the electric wire 94 inserted into the PF pipe 92 passes is formed in the lower surface 15 of the upper case 11 and is separated from the PF pipe 92. As a result, even if water enters the PF pipe 92, it is possible to suppress the water from entering the inside of the upper case 11.

[0041] Also, a grommet 17A is arranged in the hole 17 of the upper case 11. Thereby, it becomes possible to pass the electric wire 94 passed through the PF pipe 92 into the upper case 11 via the grommet 17A. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the intrusion of water from the hole 17.

[0042] Further, the upper case 11 has a front panel 13 that is detachably configured with respect to the upper case main body 12, and holes 17 are arranged in the front. This makes it easier to pass the electric wire 94 forward inside the upper case 11. And by removing the front panel 13 from the upper case main body 12, it becomes easier to wire the electric wire 94. Therefore, even if the installation location is narrow, it is possible to easily wire only by removing the front panel 13.

[0043] Also, the PF pipe connector 54 is arranged such that the connection port 54A faces the rear while being located behind the upper case 11. This makes it possible to easily connect the PF pipe 92 from the rear of the battery case 10. For this reason, it is possible to arrange the PF pipe 92 behind the battery case 10 where it is difficult to be seen from the front.

[0044] Also, the PF pipe connector 54 is attached to a cover 50 that covers the space S between the two cases 11, 21. This makes it possible to hide the electric wire 94 (electric wire pipe 91) from the PF pipe 92 with the cover 50.

[0045] As described above, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible as long as they are within the scope described in the claims. In the above-described embodiment, grommets 16A, 17A are arranged in the holes 16, 17 of the upper case 11. However, if the holes 16, 17 are far enough above the lower case 21 so that water discharged from the PF pipe 92 cannot enter the upper case 11 through the holes 16, 17, the grommets 16A, 17A may not be arranged in the holes 16, 17.

[0046] The upper case 11 may have an upper case main body having an opening that opens toward the left, right, or rear, and a panel for sealing the opening, the panel being detachably configured with respect to the upper case main body. Also, the PF pipe connector 54 may be arranged such that the connection port 54A faces the outside such as the left, right, or front.

[0047] The PF tube connector 54 may be entirely disposed between the upper case 11 and the lower case 21. The battery case 10 may not be provided with the cover 50. In this case, the PF tube connector may be disposed between the two cases 11 and 21 in the vertical direction via a mounting jig attached to at least one of the upper case 11 and the lower case 21. Further, the PF tube connector may be attached to a connecting member that connects the upper case 11 and the lower case 21. Also, the cover 50 may not have the small cover 53.

[0048] The upper case and the lower case may have a polygonal shape, a circular shape, or an elliptical shape surrounded by three or more line segments in the planar shape, and are not particularly limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

Explanation of Signs

[0049] 1 Battery unit 10 Battery case 11 Upper case 12 Upper case body 13 Front panel 14 Opening 15 Bottom surface 16, 17 Holes 16a, 17a Grommets 21 Lower case 50 Cover 54 PF tube connector 54A Connection port 92 PF tube 94, 95 Electric wires B1~B3 Battery modules S Space

Claims

1. A battery case for accommodating a battery module in which an upper case is stacked on a lower case, wherein a hole for inserting an electric wire for electrically connecting to an external device is formed on the lower surface of the upper case, the electric wire drawn out from the external device is inserted into a PF tube, and the PF tube is connected to the connection port of a PF tube connector having a connection port and fixedly arranged between the upper case and the lower case, so as to be separately arranged from the hole. The battery case is characterized by this.

2. The battery case according to claim 1, wherein a grommet is arranged in the hole.

3. The upper case has an upper case body having an opening that opens forward, and a front panel for sealing the opening, the front panel being detachably configured with the upper case body, The battery case according to claim 2, wherein the hole is arranged in front of the center in the front-rear direction on the lower surface of the upper case body.

4. The battery case according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the PF tube connector is arranged such that the connection port is located behind the upper case and faces the rear.

5. further comprising a cover arranged between the upper case and the lower case and covering the space between the two cases, The battery case according to claim 1, wherein the PF tube connector is attached to the cover.

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