Battery module unit, battery pack, and method for manufacturing battery module unit

Abstract

To make the thickness of a heat conductive material uniform.SOLUTION: The battery module unit includes a pair of battery modules arranged in parallel in a state of facing each other, a cooler that is arranged between the pair of battery modules in parallel to the battery modules and cools the battery modules, a heat conductive material that is arranged between the battery modules and the cooler and conducts heat of the battery modules to the cooler, a pair of holding members that respectively hold both end portions of the pair of battery modules, and a spacer that is arranged together with the heat conductive material between the battery modules and the cooler.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery module unit, a battery pack, and a method for manufacturing a battery module unit. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART A battery module unit in which a battery module is cooled by a cooler is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-046659 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is preferable to apply a thermally conductive material between the battery module and the cooler to ensure mutual contact and ensure efficient heat exchange. In this case, it can be difficult to control the thickness of the thermally conductive material between the cooler and the battery module. This can make it difficult to properly position the battery module and the cooler (leveling, etc.), which can lead to a risk of the thermally conductive material not being of uniform thickness.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of such problems, and its main object is to provide a battery module unit, a battery pack, and a method for manufacturing a battery module unit that can make the thickness of a thermally conductive material uniform. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present disclosure is to a pair of battery modules arranged in parallel and facing each other; a cooler disposed between the pair of battery modules in parallel to the battery modules and configured to cool the battery modules; a thermally conductive material disposed between the battery module and the cooler, for conducting heat from the battery module to the cooler; a pair of holding members that hold both end portions of the pair of battery modules, respectively; a spacer disposed between the battery module and the cooler together with the thermally conductive material; Equipped with Battery Module Unit is. In this aspect, the battery module includes a plurality of battery cells; The spacer may be provided at a position where it does not overlap with the battery cell when viewed in the horizontal direction of the battery module. In this aspect, The spacer may be provided on a surface of the cooler, on a surface of the battery module, or on the holding member. In this aspect, The spacer may be disposed between one of the pair of battery modules and the cooler. In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present disclosure is to A battery pack includes the battery module unit. In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the present disclosure is to placing one battery module; connecting a pair of holding members to both ends of the one battery module; applying a thermally conductive material to one surface of the cooler or the one battery module; placing a spacer between both ends of one surface of the one battery module and one surface of the cooler, and placing the cooler on the one battery module such that the thermally conductive material is sandwiched between the spacers between the one surface of the one battery module and one surface of the cooler; applying a thermally conductive material to the other surface of the cooler or to one surface of the other battery module; placing the other battery module on the cooler so that the thermally conductive material is sandwiched between one surface of the other battery module and the other surface of the cooler; connecting both ends of the other battery module to the pair of holding members, respectively; Including, Battery module unit manufacturing method is. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a battery module unit, a battery pack, and a method for manufacturing a battery module unit that can make the thickness of a thermally conductive material uniform. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a battery module unit according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view of the battery module unit shown in FIG. 1 taken along line AA. [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are views showing the top and bottom surfaces of a cooler. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a modified example of the spacer. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a modified example of the spacer. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of a manufacturing method of a battery module according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a battery module unit configured such that a cooler is sandwiched between right and left battery modules. [Figure 8] 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a battery module unit according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the battery module unit shown in Fig. 1 taken along line AA. Note that in Fig. 1, the upper battery module is shown separated from the cooler for ease of understanding, but in reality, the lower surface of the upper battery module is close to the upper surface of the cooler as shown in Fig. 2.

[0010] The battery module unit 1 of this embodiment comprises a pair of upper and lower battery modules 2, a cooler 3 that cools each battery module 2, a thermally conductive material 4 that conducts heat from each battery module 2 to the cooler 3, a pair of holding members 5 that respectively hold both ends of the pair of battery modules 2, and a spacer 6 that is arranged to be sandwiched between the battery modules 2 and the cooler 3.

[0011] The pair of upper and lower battery modules 2 are arranged parallel to each other and facing each other. The battery module 2 is formed, for example, by stacking a plurality of film-like battery cells 21 in the depth direction of Fig. 2. The battery cells 21 are formed from lithium-ion batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, etc.

[0012] The cooler 3 is disposed between a pair of battery modules 2 and parallel to each battery module 2. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the top and bottom surfaces of the cooler. As shown in Fig. 3, the cooler 3 is formed, for example, in a substantially rectangular plate-like member with multiple flow paths 31 formed therein through which coolant or cooling air flows to absorb heat from the battery modules 2. The flow paths 31 are preferably formed so as to follow the battery cells 21.

[0013] 2, the thermally conductive material 4 is disposed so as to be sandwiched between the battery module 2 and the cooler 3, and conducts heat from the battery module 2 to the cooler 3. The thermally conductive material 4 is made of, for example, a sticky urethane adhesive that solidifies from a liquid state after a certain period of time, but is not limited to this.

[0014] The thermally conductive material 4 may be configured, for example, as a thermally conductive sheet, and may be arranged so as to be sandwiched between the battery module 2 and the cooler 3, and may be configured of any material as long as it can appropriately conduct heat from the battery module 2 to the cooler 3.

[0015] The pair of holding members 5 respectively hold both end portions of the pair of battery modules 2. A protrusion 22 that protrudes outward is provided at each end of the battery module 2. The protrusion 22 may be molded integrally with the case of the battery module 2 or may be attached as a separate body. The protrusion 22 of the battery module 2 and the holding members 5 are connected by a fastening member 7 such as a bolt.

[0016] As a result, the pair of holding members 5 hold each battery module 2 while maintaining a uniform distance s1 between the pair of battery modules 2. At this time, the distance s1 between the pair of battery modules 2 can be adjusted by adjusting the thickness t1 of the holding members 5. In other words, the holding members 5 determine the distance s1 between the lower surface of the upper battery module 2 and the upper surface of the lower battery module 2 while keeping the distance s1 uniform.

[0017] The spacer 6 is arranged so as to be sandwiched together with the thermally conductive material 4 between the upper surface of the lower battery module 2 and the lower surface of the cooler 3. The spacer 6 is also arranged at both ends of the lower battery module 2 and the cooler 3, sandwiching the thermally conductive material 4 therebetween.

[0018] This spacer 6 maintains a uniform distance between the upper surface of the lower battery module 2 and the lower surface of the cooler 3. Therefore, the thickness t2 of this spacer 6 determines the thickness of the lower thermal conductive material 4. Thickness of the lower thermal conductive material 4 = Thickness t2 of the spacer 6

[0019] On the other hand, as described above, the thickness t1 of the holding member 5 determines the distance s1 between the bottom surface of the upper battery module 2 and the top surface of the lower battery module 2. The thickness t3 of the cooler 3 is predetermined. That is, the thickness t1 of the holding member 5 and the thickness t2 of the spacer 6 determine the thickness of the upper thermal conductive material 4. Thickness of the upper thermal conductive material 4 = distance s1 between a pair of battery modules 2 - thickness t3 of cooler 3 - thickness t2 of spacer 6

[0020] In this way, the thickness of the upper and lower thermally conductive materials 4 can be easily adjusted while maintaining the thickness uniform by using the holding member 5 and the spacer 6. Therefore, the cooling performance of the cooler 3 can be improved, and deformation of the cooler 3 due to the compressive reaction force of the thermally conductive materials 4 can be suppressed.

[0021] 3, the spacer 6 is provided on the lower surface of the cooler 3. A plurality of spacers 6 may be provided on both end edges of the lower surface of the cooler 3 along both end sides.

[0022] The spacers 6 are provided intermittently at a predetermined interval on both end edges of the lower surface of the cooler 3, but are not limited to this. The spacers 61 may be provided continuously in a straight line as shown in Fig. 4. The spacers 62 may be provided continuously in an annular shape along the end edges of the lower surface of the cooler 3 as shown in Fig. 5.

[0023] As shown in Fig. 3, the spacer 6 is a box-shaped member, but is not limited to this. The spacer 6 may have any shape, such as a cylindrical, conical, prismatic, or linear shape. The spacer 6 may have any shape as long as it has a contact surface of a predetermined area that comes into contact with the battery module 2, has a uniform thickness (pitch), and can maintain a uniform distance between the cooler 3 and the battery module 2.

[0024] The spacers 6 are formed integrally with the cooler 3, but may be provided separately from the cooler 3. The number, position, shape, and formation method of the spacers 6 are not limited to the above configuration, and may be any as long as the distance between the battery module 2 and the cooler 3 can be maintained uniform.

[0025] Instead of being provided on the lower surface of the cooler 3 as described above, the spacer 6 may be provided on the upper surface of the lower battery module 2. The spacer 6 may also be provided on the holding member 5.

[0026] Furthermore, the spacer 6 does not have to be fixed to any of the battery module 2, the cooler 3, and the holding member 5. In this case, the spacer 6 is placed on the upper surface of the lower battery module 2, and then sandwiched between the lower surface of the cooler 3 from above, thereby being fixed.

[0027] Here, the spacers 6 are preferably provided in positions that do not overlap the battery cells 21 when viewed from the horizontal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2 ) of the battery module 2. By arranging them in this manner, it is possible to prevent the spacers 6 from damaging the battery cells 21 when subjected to external input such as a collision or road interference.

[0028] When arranged as described above, the spacers 6 are preferably fixed to any one of the cooler 3, the battery module 2, and the holding member 5, as described above. This allows the spacers 6 to be fixed in a position away from the battery cells 21.

[0029] Next, a method for manufacturing the battery module 2 according to this embodiment will be described. Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the method for manufacturing the battery module according to this embodiment. In this manufacturing method, as will be described later, each member may be arranged so as to be stacked from the bottom member onwards.

[0030] First, the lower (one) battery module 2 is placed (step S101). A pair of holding members 5 are connected to the protrusions 22 on both ends of the lower battery module 2 with fastening members 7 such as bolts (step S102).

[0031] Liquid thermally conductive material 4 is applied to the lower surface (one surface) of the cooler 3 (step S103). At this time, the thermally conductive material 4 may also be applied to the upper surface of the cooler 3. Alternatively, the thermally conductive material 4 may be applied to the upper surface (one surface) of the lower battery module 2 instead of the lower surface of the cooler 3.

[0032] The spacers 6 are sandwiched between both ends of the upper surface (one side) of the lower battery module 2 and both ends of the lower surface of the cooler 3, and the cooler 3 is placed on the lower battery module 2 so that the thermally conductive material 4 is sandwiched between the spacers 6 between the upper surface of the lower battery module 2 and the lower surface of the cooler 3 (step S104).

[0033] The thermally conductive material 4 is applied to the upper surface (other surface) of the cooler 3 (step S105). Note that the thermally conductive material 4 may be applied to the lower surface (one surface) of the upper battery module 2 instead of the upper surface of the cooler 3.

[0034] The upper battery module 2 is placed on the cooler 3 so that the thermally conductive material 4 is sandwiched between the lower surface of the upper battery module 2 and the upper surface (other surface) of the cooler 3 (step S106).

[0035] The protrusions 22 at both ends of the upper battery module 2 are connected to the pair of holding members 5 by fastening members 7 such as bolts (step S107). At this time, the protrusions 22 at both ends of the lower battery module may also be connected to the pair of holding members 5 by fastening members 7 such as bolts.

[0036] The battery module unit 1 according to the above embodiment is configured so that the cooler 3 is sandwiched between the upper and lower battery modules 2, but is not limited to this. For example, as shown in Fig. 7, the battery module unit 1 may be configured so that the cooler 3 is sandwiched between the right and left battery modules 2.

[0037] In this case, the components may be stacked in the left-right direction, or, as described above, the components may be assembled by stacking them from the bottom up, and then turned sideways as shown in Figure 7, so that the cooler 3 is sandwiched between the battery modules 2 on the right and left sides.

[0038] Next, a battery pack including the above-described battery module unit 1 will be described. Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the configuration of a battery pack according to this embodiment. The battery pack 10 is mounted on a vehicle (such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle) that has an electric motor such as a motor as a drive source, and is used to supply power to the electric motor.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of battery module units 1 are arranged in a battery case 11.

[0040] An equipment base 13 for fixing the junction box 12 is provided on the battery module 2. A battery case cover 17 for closing the upper side of the battery case 11 is provided on the battery case 11. The lower end of an equipment case 14 is fixed to the battery case cover 17. The equipment case 14 houses an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 15 and the junction box 12.

[0041] The junction box 12 is fixed on an equipment base 13. For example, a plurality of ECUs 15 are fixed on the junction box 12. The ECUs 15 and the junction box 12 are electrically connected to the battery module unit 1 via bus bars or the like. An equipment cover 16 that covers the upper part of the equipment case 14 is fixed to the upper end of the equipment case 14 with bolts or the like.

[0042] Although several embodiments of the present disclosure have been described, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can be embodied in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included within the scope and spirit of the invention, and are also included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as defined in the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 battery module unit, 2 battery module, 3 cooler, 4 thermally conductive material, 5 holding member, 6 spacer, 7 fastening member, 10 battery pack, 11 battery case, 12 junction box, 13 equipment base, 14 equipment case, 15 ECU, 16 equipment cover, 17 battery case cover, 21 battery cell, 22 protrusion, 31 flow path, 61 spacer, 62 spacer

Claims

1. a pair of battery modules arranged in parallel and facing each other; a cooler disposed between the pair of battery modules in parallel to the battery modules and configured to cool the battery modules; a thermally conductive material disposed between the battery module and the cooler, the thermally conductive material conducting heat from the battery module to the cooler; a pair of holding members that hold both end portions of the pair of battery modules, respectively; a spacer disposed between the battery module and the cooler together with the thermally conductive material; Equipped with Battery module unit.

2. The battery module unit according to claim 1, the battery module includes a plurality of battery cells; the spacer is provided at a position where it does not overlap with the battery cell when viewed in the horizontal direction of the battery module. Battery module unit.

3. The battery module unit according to claim 1, the spacer is provided on a surface of the cooler, a surface of the battery module, or the holding member; Battery module unit.

4. The battery module unit according to claim 1, the spacer is disposed between one of the pair of battery modules and the cooler; Battery module unit.

5. A battery pack comprising the battery module unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. placing one battery module; connecting a pair of holding members to both ends of the one battery module; applying a thermally conductive material to one surface of the cooler or the one of the battery modules; placing the cooler on the one battery module such that spacers are sandwiched between both ends of one surface of the one battery module and one surface of the cooler, and the thermally conductive material is sandwiched between the spacers between the one surface of the one battery module and one surface of the cooler; applying a thermally conductive material to the other surface of the cooler or to one surface of the other battery module; placing the other battery module on the cooler so that the thermally conductive material is sandwiched between one surface of the other battery module and the other surface of the cooler; connecting both ends of the other battery module to the pair of holding members, respectively; Including, A manufacturing method of a battery module unit.

Images