Replaceable battery

Abstract

To provide a replaceable battery that can improve space efficiency within a battery case.SOLUTION: A replaceable battery includes a cell stack in a rectangular parallelepiped shape composed of a plurality of stacked battery cells and a case for accommodating the cell stack. The case includes: a first member with an L-shaped cross-section including a bottom plate that supports the cell stack and extending along the side of the cell stack; a second member with an L-shaped cross-section and that is arranged opposite to the first member to form a rectangular tube shape main body with the first member and extending along the side of the cell stack; a first lid part closing one opening end of the main body; and a second lid part having a connector and closing the other opening end of the main body. The cell stack is arranged closer to the side plate of the first member than to the side plate of the second member. A space region is provided above the cell stack in the case. A region of the side plate of the first member that projects into the space region and a top plate of the second member are fastened together by a fastening member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a replaceable battery.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a replaceable battery that is detachably attached to a vehicle. In the replaceable battery disclosed in Patent Document 1, a battery core pack (cell stack) composed of a plurality of single cells is housed in a case.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the related-art replaceable battery, in order to prevent interference of the fastening member that fastens a plurality of members forming the case with the cell stack, it is necessary to place the cell stack away from the fastening member and in the case, and there is room for improvement in the space efficiency in the case.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above background, and an object thereof is to provide a replaceable battery capable of improving the space efficiency in a battery case.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The replaceable battery according to the present disclosure is a replaceable battery including at least a rectangular parallelepiped cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, and a case that houses the cell stack. The case includes a bottom plate that supports the cell stack, and a first member having an L-shaped cross section that extends along a side surface of the cell stack, and a second member that is disposed opposite to the first member and forms a rectangular tubular main body portion together with the first member, and a second member having an L-shaped cross section that extends along the side surface of the cell stack, a first lid portion that closes an opening at a front end of the rectangular tubular main body portion, and a second lid portion that has a connector and closes an opening at a rear end of the rectangular tubular main body portion. The cell stack is disposed closer to the side plate of the first member than the side plate of the second member. A space region is provided above the cell stack in the case, and a region of the side plate of the first member that protrudes into the space region and the top plate of the second member are fastened by a fastening member. In this replaceable battery, regions that protrude into a space region provided in an upper portion inside the case among regions of a plurality of members forming the case are fastened by a fastening member. Thereby, in this replaceable battery, the cell stack can be disposed closer to one side plate of the case without being affected by the interference of the fastening member. Thereby, for example, a sufficient space region is secured between the cell stack and the other side plate of the case to dispose an electronic device such as a battery monitoring device. That is, this replaceable battery can improve space efficiency while preventing interference of the fastening member with the cell stack.

Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a replaceable battery capable of improving space efficiency inside a battery case.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

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Figure 4

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Figure 6

Figure 7

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiments. Also, not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential as means for solving the problems. For the sake of clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are appropriately omitted and simplified. In each drawing, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same elements, and duplicate explanations are omitted as necessary.

[0010] <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of a replaceable battery 1 according to Embodiment 1. The replaceable battery 1 is also called a battery pack, a battery module, etc., and is detachably mounted on a vehicle such as an electric vehicle that runs on a motor using electricity as a power source, for example. The replaceable battery 1 is miniaturized and lightened so that an operator can easily insert and remove it from the electric vehicle. Note that the operator includes a work robot and the like.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, in the replaceable battery 1, a rectangular parallelepiped outer shape is defined by a case 100 that houses a cell stack or the like. The case 100 includes a case body 101 having a rectangular tube shape, a front case 102 that is a lid portion for closing an opening at the front end of the case body 101 (i.e., one opening end), and a rear case 103 that is a lid portion for closing an opening at the rear end of the case body 101 (i.e., the other opening end). Further, a connector 104 is provided on the rear case 103 provided at the rear end of the replaceable battery 1, and the connector 104 is formed to protrude outward and be connectable to a vehicle-side connector. For example, when an operator slides the replaceable battery 1 in the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) and houses it in the accommodation space of the vehicle, the connector 104 of the replaceable battery 1 and the vehicle-side connector are connected.

[0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an enlarged periphery of the front case 102 provided at the front end of the replaceable battery 1. As shown in FIG. 2, a handle 141 for sliding the replaceable battery 1 is provided on the front case 102. The operator can slide the replaceable battery 1 by gripping the handle 141 and pushing or pulling the replaceable battery 1.

[0013] Also, the replaceable battery 1 can be, for example, placed on a cart and transported. When the replaceable battery 1 is housed from the cart into the accommodation space, the height of the cart is made to match the accommodation space, and the handle 141 is pushed to house the replaceable battery 1 in the accommodation space. On the other hand, when the replaceable battery 1 is taken out from the accommodation space and placed on the cart, the height of the cart is made to match the accommodation space, and the handle 141 is pulled to take out the replaceable battery 1 from the accommodation space.

[0014] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of an enlarged periphery of the rear case 103 provided at the rear end of the replaceable battery 1. As shown in FIG. 3, in addition to the connector 104, a handle 131 and a relief valve 132 are provided on the rear case 103.

[0015] The connector 104 includes a pedestal 1041, a high-voltage terminal 1042, a low-voltage terminal 1043, an alignment pin 1044, and a metal cover 1045. The pedestal 1041 is disposed on the main surface of the rear case 103. The high-voltage terminal 1042, the low-voltage terminal 1043, and the alignment pin 1044 are all formed to protrude outward from the main surface of the pedestal 1041. The cover 1045 is formed to surround the side surfaces of the high-voltage terminal 1042 and the low-voltage terminal 1043. The high-voltage terminal 1042 is a terminal for transmitting the electricity output from the cell stack housed in the case 100 of the rechargeable battery 1 to the vehicle in which the rechargeable battery 1 is mounted. The low-voltage terminal 1043 is a terminal for transmitting a control signal from the vehicle to the rechargeable battery 1 or a signal representing the monitoring result (such as a voltage measurement result) of the cell stack from the rechargeable battery 1 to the vehicle.

[0016] The relief valve 132 discharges the gas generated in the cell stack housed in the case 100 of the rechargeable battery 1. Here, even when gas is discharged from the relief valve 132, the high-voltage terminal 1042 and the low-voltage terminal 1043 are protected by the metal cover 1045.

[0017] The handle 131 is provided rotatably about an axis extending along the upper edge portion of the rear case 103 and is placed on the upper surface of the case body 101 when not in use. Therefore, the rear end of the rechargeable battery 1 can be lifted and carried by the handle 131 without interfering with the connection of the connector 104.

[0018] More specifically, when carrying the rechargeable battery 1, the operator lifts the rechargeable battery 1 by the rotatable handle 131 with one hand and supports the rechargeable battery 1 by the pull handle 141 with the other hand. Therefore, the operator can carry the rechargeable battery 1 while stabilizing the center of gravity (while maintaining the balance).

[0019] Here, on the upper surface of the case body 101, a rib groove 101c is formed along the longitudinal direction (X-axis direction) of the case body 101. Therefore, the handle 131 is housed in the rib groove 101c when not in use. Thereby, it becomes easier for the operator to house the replaceable battery 1 in the storage space of the vehicle. Furthermore, by forming the rib groove 101c, the strength of the upper surface of the case body 101 is also improved.

[0020] Note that it is preferable that the thickness of the case body 101 is made small and the thickness of the rear case 103 is larger than the thickness of the case body 101. By making the thickness of the case body 101 small, the case 100 is lightened, and by providing the handle 131 on the rear case 103 having a large thickness, deformation of the case 100 is suppressed. For example, a die-cast member is used as the rear case 103. With such a configuration, the rigidity of the rear case 103 provided with the handle 131 is improved, and the workability during use of the handle 131 is also improved. In addition, by making the thickness of the case body 101 small, even when gas is generated in the cell stack 110, the case body 101 elastically deforms and bulges outward, so that a rapid increase in the case internal pressure is suppressed.

[0021] Subsequently, while explaining the contents of the case 100 of the replaceable battery 1 with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, the flow of assembling the replaceable battery 1 will be explained. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of assembling the replaceable battery 1. FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic perspective views for explaining the flow of assembling the replaceable battery 1. The display contents of steps S101 to S105 in FIGS. 5 and 6 correspond to the processing results of steps S101 to S105 in FIG. 4.

[0022] First, the lower case 101b that forms the bottom plate and one side plate of the case body 101 is arranged (step S101). The lower case 101b is formed such that its YZ cross-section is L-shaped and extends along the X-axis direction.

[0023] After that, on the upper side of the bottom plate formed by the lower case 101b, a rectangular parallelepiped-shaped cell stack 110 is arranged close to one side plate formed by the lower case 101b (step S102). The cell stack 110 is configured by stacking a plurality of battery cells and is bundled into a rectangular parallelepiped shape by a bundling member 111 such as a binding band.

[0024] After that, on the upper side of the bottom plate formed by the lower case 101b, electronic devices such as a junction box 108 including a relay and a battery monitoring device 107 are further arranged (step S103). The battery monitoring device 107 includes a voltage measuring device that measures the voltage of the cell stack 110 or the voltage of each battery cell constituting the cell stack. The battery monitoring device 107 is arranged in a space region between the cell stack 110 and the other side plate of the case body 101 to be described later in the region above the bottom plate formed by the lower case 101b. This space region is formed by arranging the cell stack 110 close to one side plate of the case body 101. The junction box 108 is arranged in a space region between the rear end of the cell stack 110 and the rear case 103 to be described later.

[0025] Also, at the front end of the lower case 101b (case body 101), the inner case 102a of the front case 102 is arranged (step S103). At the rear end of the lower case 101b (case body 101), a rear case 103 having a connector 104 is arranged (step S103).

[0026] Thereafter, the upper case 101a that forms the top plate and the other side plate of the case body 101 is arranged to face the lower case 101b (step S104). The upper case 101a is formed such that its YZ cross-section is L-shaped and extends along the X-axis direction. The upper case 101a and the lower case 101b form a square tube-shaped case body 101. Among the internal regions of this case body 101, a space region 160 is provided above the cell stack 110. This space region 160 is also used as a smoke exhaust region for discharging the gas generated in the cell stack 110. For example, the gas generated in the cell stack 110 is discharged from the space region 160 to the outside of the case 100 through the relief valve 132.

[0027] Also, the upper case 101a and the lower case 101b are fastened by fastening members 151, 152 (step S104). FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the replaceable battery 1. As shown in FIG. 7, the end portion of one side plate formed by the lower case 101b that protrudes into the space region 160 and the end portion of the top plate formed by the upper case 101a are fastened by the fastening member 151. Also, the end portion of the other side plate formed by the upper case 101a and the end portion of the bottom plate formed by the lower case 101b are fastened by the fastening member 152. Thereby, the cell stack 110 can be arranged close to one side plate formed by the lower case 101b without being interfered with by the fastening member 151. Thereby, for example, a sufficient space region is secured between the cell stack 110 and the other side plate formed by the upper case 101a for arranging the battery monitoring device 107.

[0028] After that, on the front end of the case body 101, the outer case 102b of the front case 102 is arranged. Thereby, the replaceable battery 1 is completed (step S105). The case 102b has a cap shape and is attached so as to wrap the opening (opening end) at the front end of the case body 101 from the side. Thereby, before the gas is discharged from the relief valve 132, it is possible to suppress the gas from leaking from the side of the front case 102 where the operator is working.

[0029] As described above, in the replaceable battery 1 according to the present disclosure, among the regions of the plurality of members forming the case, the regions protruding into the space region provided in the upper part inside the case are fastened by the fastening members. Thereby, the replaceable battery 1 according to the present disclosure can arrange the cell stack close to one side plate of the case without being affected by the interference of the fastening members. Thereby, for example, a sufficient space region is secured between the cell stack and the other side plate of the case to arrange an electronic device such as a battery monitoring device. That is, the replaceable battery 1 according to the present disclosure can improve the space efficiency while preventing the interference of the fastening members with the cell stack. In other words, the replaceable battery 1 according to the present disclosure can effectively utilize the space region.

[0030] In the replaceable battery 1 according to the present disclosure, the heavy cell stack is arranged offset inside the case. Therefore, due to the shift of the center of gravity of the replaceable battery 1, it is easy to lose balance when the operator carries the replaceable battery 1. On the other hand, in the replaceable battery 1 according to the present disclosure, as described above, the replaceable battery 1 can be lifted by suspending one end of the replaceable battery 1 by the rotatable handle 131. More specifically, when carrying the replaceable battery 1, the operator suspends the replaceable battery 1 by the rotatable handle 131 with one hand and supports the replaceable battery 1 by the handle 141 with the other hand. Therefore, the operator can carry the replaceable battery 1 while stabilizing the center of gravity (while maintaining the balance).

[0031] In addition, in the replaceable battery according to the present disclosure, since the case body is composed of a pair of members having an L-shaped cross section, it is easy to accommodate the contents such as the cell stack into the case during assembly. That is, in the replaceable battery according to the present disclosure, the workability during assembly is improved.

Explanation of Reference Signs

[0032] 1 Replaceable battery 100 Case 101 Case body (main body part) 101a Upper case (first member) 101b Lower case (second member) 102 Front case (first lid part) 102a Inner case 102b Outer case 103 Rear case (second lid part) 104 Connector 107 Battery monitoring device 108 Junction box 110 Cell stack 111 Binding member 131 Handle 132 Relief valve 141 Pull handle 151 Fastening member 152 Fastening member 160 Space region 1041 Pedestal 1042 High-voltage terminal 1043 Low-voltage terminal 1044 Pin 1045 Cover

Claims

1. A rectangular parallelepiped cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, A case for housing the cell stack, A replaceable battery that is detachably attached to a vehicle and includes at least: The case includes A bottom plate that supports the cell stack, and a first member having an L-shaped cross section that extends along the side surface of the cell stack, A second member that is disposed opposite to the first member to form a rectangular tube-shaped main body portion together with the first member, and has an L-shaped cross section that extends along the side surface of the cell stack, A first lid portion that closes one open end of the rectangular tube-shaped main body portion, A second lid portion that has a connector formed to protrude outward and connectable to the vehicle, and closes the other open end of the rectangular tube-shaped main body portion, And includes The cell stack is disposed closer to the side plate of the first member than to the side plate of the second member, A space region is provided above the cell stack in the case, A region of the side plate of the first member that protrudes into the space region and the top plate of the second member are fastened by a fastening member. Replaceable battery.

2. The space region is a smoke exhaust region for discharging gas generated in the cell stack. The replaceable battery according to Claim 1.

3. It further has an electronic device including a voltage measuring device for measuring the voltage of the plurality of battery cells, The electronic device is provided between the cell stack and the side plate of the second member. The replaceable battery according to Claim 1.

4. The replaceable battery is attached to and detached from the vehicle by sliding in the longitudinal direction, The first lid portion has a handle, The second lid portion has a grip. The replaceable battery according to Claim 1.

5. On the upper surface of the main body portion, a rib groove extends in the longitudinal direction of the main body portion, The grip is housed in the rib groove when not in use. The replaceable battery according to Claim 4.

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