Cooler welding method

Abstract

To provide a cooler welding method whereby a to-be-cooled object and a cooler attached to an external surface of the to-be-cooled object and having a flow passage composing portion forming a flow passage for cooling water between the flow passage composing portion and the external surface of the to-be-cooled object can be seam-welded so that distortions are less likely to occur in the cooler and the to-be-cooled object.SOLUTION: A cooler welding method includes: a step of temporarily fixing a cooler, which is attached to an external surface of a to-be-cooled object and has a flow passage composing portion forming a flow passage for cooling water between the external surface and passage composing portion, to the external surface at a plurality of points of the cooler; a step of causing the cooling water to flow through the flow passage; and a step of supplying the cooling water to the external surface of the cooler.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cooler welding method. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 below discloses an invention in which cooling water is supplied to a workpiece when seam welding is performed on the workpiece. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-305575 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Incidentally, it is possible to form a cooling water flow path between a flow path forming portion formed on the inner surface of the cooler and the outer surface of the object to be cooled by seam-welding the outer periphery of a plate-shaped cooler to the outer surface of the object to be cooled. When seam-welding the outer periphery of the cooler to the outer surface of the object to be cooled in this way, it is conceivable to supply cooling water to the cooler and the outer surface of the object to be cooled as in Patent Document 1.

[0005] However, this cooling method does not sufficiently cool the cooler and the object to be cooled, and therefore, when cooling water is supplied to the cooler and the object to be cooled by this method, distortion is likely to occur in at least one of the cooler and the object to be cooled after completion of seam welding.

[0006] In consideration of the above, the present invention aims to provide a cooler welding method that can seam-weld an object to be cooled and a cooler that is attached to the outer surface of the object to be cooled and has a flow path component that forms a cooling water flow path between the outer surface of the object to be cooled, in a manner that is less likely to cause distortion in the cooler and the object to be cooled. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The cooler welding method of claim 1 includes the steps of temporarily fastening a cooler, which is attached to the outer surface of an object to be cooled and has a flow path component that forms a cooling water flow path between the outer surface and the cooler, to the outer surface at multiple locations, flowing cooling water through the flow path, and supplying cooling water to the outer surface of the cooler.

[0008] The cooler welding method of claim 1 includes the steps of temporarily fastening, to the outer surface of an object to be cooled, a cooler having a flow path component that is attached to the outer surface of the object to be cooled at multiple locations and that forms a cooling water flow path between the outer surface of the object to be cooled and the flow path component of the cooler, and flowing cooling water through the flow path. The cooling water supplied to the flow path cools the outer surface of the object to be cooled and the flow path component of the cooler. Furthermore, a portion of the cooling water supplied to the flow path flows from between the portion of the cooler that is not temporarily fastened to the outer surface of the object to be cooled and the outer surface of the object to the outside of the cooler, thereby cooling the object to be cooled. The cooler welding method of claim 1 further includes the step of supplying cooling water to the outer surface of the cooler. The cooling water cools the outer surface of the cooler and the outer surface of the object to be cooled. Therefore, the cooler welding method of claim 1 can seam weld the object to be cooled and the cooler having a flow path component that is attached to the outer surface of the object to be cooled and that forms a cooling water flow path between the outer surface of the object to be cooled, without causing distortion in the cooler or the object to be cooled. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] As described above, the cooler welding method of the present invention has the excellent effect of being able to seam weld an object to be cooled and a cooler that is attached to the outer surface of the object to be cooled and has a flow path component that forms a cooling water flow path between the outer surface of the object to be cooled in a manner that is less likely to cause distortion in the cooler and the object to be cooled. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a state in which a case component and a cooler are separated, to which a cooler welding method according to an embodiment is applied. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the arrow 2-2 in FIG. [Figure 3]10 is a perspective view showing a state in which seam welding is performed on a case component and a cooler while the case component and the cooler are cooled using a cooler welding method according to an embodiment. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A cooler welding method according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The cooler welding method according to the embodiment is applied to a case component (object to be cooled) 10 and a cooler 20 using a spot welder 30, a first cooling water source 35, a second cooling water source 40, and a seam welder 50 shown in Figures 1 to 3. Note that the arrows UP, FR, and LH shown in each drawing indicate the upper side in the up-down direction, the front side in the front-to-rear direction, and the left side in the left-to-right direction, respectively.

[0012] First, the configurations of the case structure 10 and the cooler 20 will be described.

[0013] The hollow box-shaped case component 10 is made of metal, and its entire bottom surface is open. The case component 10 has an upper plate 11 that is approximately rectangular in plan view, and a peripheral wall 12 that is connected to the outer periphery of the upper plate 11 and has an annular plan view. The case component 10, together with another hollow box-shaped case component made of metal (not shown), constitutes a battery case. A plurality of battery modules (not shown) are provided inside this battery case.

[0014] Metal cooler 20 has base 21, a pair of hanging portions 23, inlet portion 27, and outlet portion 28. Base 21 is a flat plate having a substantially rectangular planar shape. The planar shape of base 21 is smaller than that of upper plate 11. The upper ends of a pair of left and right hanging portions 23 are connected to the front edge of base 21. Hanging portions 23 are perpendicular to base 21. A single flow path forming portion 25 is formed in base 21 and pair of hanging portions 23. The exterior of flow path forming portion 25 is formed by protrusions 25A that protrude from the outer surfaces of base 21 and hanging portions 23. Meanwhile, the interior of flow path forming portion 25 is formed by recessed grooves 25B formed on the inner surfaces of base 21 and hanging portions 23, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0015] The rear ends of cylindrical inlet portion 27 and outlet portion 28 are respectively connected to each hanging portion 23. The rear end opening of inlet portion 27 is connected in a watertight manner to recessed groove 25B at one end of flow path forming portion 25 formed in right hanging portion 23, and the rear end opening of outlet portion 28 is connected in a watertight manner to recessed groove 25B at the other end of flow path forming portion 25 formed in left hanging portion 23.

[0016] Next, referring to Figure 3, a method of seam welding while cooling the case structure 10 and the cooler 20 using a spot welding machine 30, a first cooling water source 35, a second cooling water source 40, and a seam welding machine 50 will be described.

[0017] As shown in Figure 3, the lower surface (inner surface) of base 21 is placed on upper plate 11 in such a manner that the rear surfaces of left and right hanging portions 23 of cooler 20 contact front surface 13 of peripheral wall 12 of case structure 10.

[0018] Next, using a spot welding machine 30, the four corners of the base 21 are spot-welded to the upper plate 11. That is, spot welds 32 are formed in the four corners of the upper plate 11 and the base 21. As a result, the four corners of the base 21 and the four corners of the upper plate 11 are integrated with each other. Meanwhile, small gaps (not shown) are formed between the upper surface of the upper plate 11 and points away from the spot welds 32 on the outer periphery of the base 21.

[0019] Next, one end of the tube 36, the other end of which is watertightly connected to the inlet portion 27, and one end of the tube 37, the other end of which is watertightly connected to the outlet portion 28, are connected to the first cooling water source 35. Furthermore, a second cooling water source 40 is positioned directly above the case component 10 and the cooler 20.

[0020] Next, the first cooling water source 35, which had been stopped, is activated. As a result, cooling water W1 is supplied from the first cooling water source 35 via the tube 36 to the end of the inlet portion 27 of the flow path (space) 26 (see FIG. 3) formed between the flow path forming portion 25 (recessed groove 25B) of the upper plate portion 11 and the upper plate portion 11 and the front surface 13, and this cooling water W1 flows into the flow path 26. Furthermore, a portion of the cooling water W1 that has flowed into the flow path 26 returns to the first cooling water source 35 via the end of the flow path 26 on the outlet portion 28 side, the outlet portion 28, and the tube 37. In other words, the cooling water W1 circulates through the first cooling water source 35, the tube 36, the inlet portion 27, the flow path 26, the outlet portion 28, and the tube 37.

[0021] Furthermore, a portion of the cooling water W1 supplied to the flow path 26 flows into the space between the periphery of the recessed groove 25B on the underside of the base 21 and the upper plate 11, and then flows out toward the outer periphery of the base 21 from the minute gap between the upper surface of the upper plate 11 and a location away from each spot weld 32 on the outer periphery of the base 21 (see the arrows in FIG. 3). A portion of this cooling water W1 is supplied to the outer surface of the case component 10.

[0022] Furthermore, the second cooling water source 40, which had been stopped, is activated. As a result, the cooling water W2 discharged downward from the second cooling water source 40 is supplied to the cooler 20 and the outer surface of the case structure 10.

[0023] Furthermore, first circular plate electrode 51 of seam welding machine 50 is brought into rotatable contact with the vicinity of the outer periphery of the upper surface of base portion 21, and second circular plate electrode 52 of seam welding machine 50 is brought into rotatable contact with the vicinity of the outer periphery of the lower surface of upper plate portion 11. Furthermore, while current is applied to first circular plate electrode 51 and second circular plate electrode 52, first circular plate electrode 51 is moved clockwise in a plan view along the upper surface of base portion 21 and the vicinity of the outer periphery of the front surface of each hanging portion 23, and second circular plate electrode 52 is moved clockwise in a plan view along the vicinity of the outer periphery of the lower surface of upper plate portion 11 and the inner surface of peripheral wall portion 12. As a result, base portion 21 and the entire vicinity of the outer peripheries of pair of hanging portions 23 are seam-welded to case constituent portion 10. That is, an annular seam weld (not shown) is formed as a whole in the annular region between the outer peripheries of base portion 21 and pair of hanging portions 23 and flow path constituent portion 25 (ribs 25A) and the flow path constituent portion 25.

[0024] When the seam welding operation using the seam welding machine 50 is completed, the current to the first circular electrode 51 and the second circular electrode 52 is cut off, the first circular electrode 51 and the second circular electrode 52 are moved away from the case component 10 and the cooler 20, and the first cooling water source 35 and the second cooling water source 40 are stopped. This completes the welding operation of the case component 10 and the cooler 20 using the cooler welding method using the spot welder 30, the first cooling water source 35, the second cooling water source 40, and the seam welding machine 50.

[0025] As described above, the cooler welding method of this embodiment includes the steps of spot welding (temporarily fastening) a plurality of locations of the cooler 20, which is attached to the outer surface of the case constituent 10, which is an object to be cooled, and which has a flow path forming portion 25 that forms a flow path 26 for the cooling water W1 between the outer surface of the case constituent 10, to the outer surface of the case constituent 10, and flowing the cooling water W1 through the flow path 26. Therefore, the cooling water W1 supplied to the flow path 26 cools the outer surface of the case constituent 10, the flow path forming portion 25 of the cooler 20, and the surrounding area of the flow path forming portion 25. Furthermore, a portion of the cooling water W1 supplied to the flow path 26 flows to the outer periphery of the cooler 20 through a small gap between the outer surface of the case constituent 10 and the portion of the cooler 20 that is not spot welded to the outer surface of the case constituent 10, thereby cooling the case constituent 10.

[0026] Furthermore, the cooler welding method of the present embodiment includes a step of supplying cooling water W2 discharged from the second cooling water source 40 to the outer surface of the cooler 20. The outer surface of the cooler 20 and the outer surface of the case constituent portion 10 are cooled by this cooling water W2.

[0027] As described above, the cooler welding method of this embodiment cools the case constituent part 10 and the cooler 20 by the cooling water W1 supplied to the flow path 26 formed between the outer surface of the case constituent part 10 and the cooler 20, and the cooling water W2 supplied to the outer surfaces of the case constituent part 10 and the cooler 20 from above the case constituent part 10 and the cooler 20. Therefore, the cooler welding method of this embodiment can cool the case constituent part 10 and the cooler 20 more effectively than when the case constituent part 10 and the cooler 20 are cooled only by the cooling water W2. Therefore, distortion is less likely to occur in the case constituent part 10 and the cooler 20 when seam welding of the case constituent part 10 and the cooler 20 by the seam welding machine 50 is completed.

[0028] Although the cooler welding method according to the embodiment has been described above, the cooler welding method can be modified in design as appropriate within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

[0029] For example, the cooler 20 may be seam-welded to a cooling object other than the case constituent part 10 using the cooler welding method of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0030] 10 Case components (objects to be cooled) 20 Cooler 25 Flow path configuration section 26 Flow path W1 W2 Cooling water

Claims

[Claim 1] a step of temporarily fixing a plurality of portions of a cooler, which is attached to an outer surface of an object to be cooled and has a flow path forming portion that forms a flow path for cooling water between the cooler and the outer surface, to the outer surface; flowing cooling water through the flow path; and supplying cooling water to an exterior surface of the cooler; A cooler welding method comprising:

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