Power storage device

Abstract

To provide a power storage device capable of more easily covering an outer end of a flange part in a housing.SOLUTION: A power storage device includes a battery module, and a housing having a housing part for housing the battery module and a lid part for covering the housing part, wherein flange parts of the housing part and the lid part are fastened to each other via a seal member installed between the flange parts projecting outward at peripheral edges of the housing part and the lid part. The seal member includes a main body portion sandwiched between the flange portions, a connection portion extending from the main body portion to outer ends of the flange portions of the housing portion and the lid portion between the flange portions, and a cover portion branching in a T-shape from a tip of the connection portion and covering the outer ends of the flange portions of the housing portion and the lid portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an electricity storage device. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, a power storage device that can be installed outdoors, such as in a house, is known, as disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the power storage device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a battery module is housed in a housing, and the housing is formed by fastening a housing section that houses the battery module to a lid section that covers the housing section via a sealing member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-096080 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] As in the electricity storage device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the sealing member is provided on a flange portion that protrudes outward from the periphery of the housing portion and the lid portion. Therefore, for example, when assembling the electricity storage device, a cover member that covers the outer end of the flange portion needs to be provided for safety reasons for workers, etc., which poses a problem of being time-consuming.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides an electricity storage device that can more easily cover the outer end of a flange portion of a housing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A power storage device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: A battery module; a housing having a housing portion that houses the battery module and a lid portion that covers the housing portion; a sealing member provided between flange portions that protrude outward from peripheral edges of the storage portion and the lid portion, and fastening the flange portions of the storage portion and the lid portion together; The sealing member is a main body portion sandwiched between the flange portions; a connecting portion extending from the main body portion to outer ends of the flange portions of the housing portion and the lid portion between the flange portions; and a cover portion that branches off in a T-shape from the tip of the connection portion and covers the outer ends of the housing portion and the flange portion of the lid portion.

[0007] In the energy storage device according to the present disclosure, the sealing member installed between the flanges of the housing and the lid includes, in addition to a main body sandwiched between the flanges, a connection portion extending between the flanges to the outer ends of the flanges, and a cover portion branching off in a T-shape from the tip of the connection portion to cover the outer ends of the flanges of the housing and the lid. In other words, when the sealing member is installed on the flanges of the housing, the outer ends of the flanges are also covered at the same time, eliminating the need for a separate cover member. This configuration makes it easier to cover the outer ends of the flanges of the housing.

[0008] The tip of the cover on the housing side may protrude toward the base of the flange of the housing. Also, the tip of the cover on the lid side may protrude toward the base of the flange of the lid. With this configuration, the outer end of the flange of the housing can be more reliably covered. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] The present disclosure makes it possible to provide an electricity storage device that can more easily cover the outer end of the flange portion of the housing. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view showing an electricity storage device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2]FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of region III in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the seal member 30. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing another modified example of the seal member 30. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the following embodiments. In addition, the following description and drawings have been simplified appropriately for clarity of explanation.

[0012] (First embodiment) <Configuration of the power storage device> First, the configuration of the power storage device according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the power storage device according to the first embodiment. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in Fig. 1.

[0013] Naturally, the right-handed XYZ Cartesian coordinate system shown in Figures 1 and 2 is for the convenience of explaining the positional relationship of the components. In Figures 1 and 2, the positive direction of the Z axis is normally the vertically upward direction, and the XY plane is the horizontal plane, which is common between the drawings.

[0014] The power storage device according to this embodiment is a power storage device that can be installed outdoors, for example, in a house. As shown in Fig. 1, the power storage device includes a housing 10, cell stacks CS1 to CS4, and a control unit CU, and as shown in Fig. 2, a lid 20 and a sealing member 30. Here, the cell stacks CS1 to CS4 and the control unit CU constitute a battery module. The housing 10 and the lid 20 constitute a housing that houses the battery module. The power storage device according to this embodiment is, for example, a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery or a nickel-metal hydride battery. In FIG. 1, the lid portion 20 and the seal member 30 are omitted.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the accommodating section 10 accommodates the battery modules (cell stacks CS1 to CS4 and control unit CU). From the viewpoint of durability, the accommodating section 10 is made of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy. Here, the accommodating section 10 includes an accommodating main body section 11 and a flange section 12. The accommodating main body section 11 is a lidless box-shaped member that accommodates the battery modules (cell stacks CS1 to CS4 and control unit CU). The flange section 12 is provided so as to protrude outward from the entire periphery of the accommodating main body section 11.

[0016] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the cell stacks CS1 to CS4 have a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole and are arranged side by side in order in the negative direction of the X-axis. Each of the cell stacks CS1 to CS4 has a configuration in which a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped prismatic cells are stacked (not shown). Although not particularly limited, in the cell stacks CS1 to CS4 shown in Figures 1 and 2, the prismatic cells are stacked in their thickness direction (the Y-axis direction). Naturally, the number of cell stacks accommodated in the accommodating section 10 is not limited to four, but may be determined as appropriate.

[0017] The control unit CU is electrically connected to each of the cell stacks CS1 to CS4 and controls the cell stacks CS1 to CS4. For example, the control unit CU controls the charge and discharge current while monitoring the charge voltage of the cell stacks CS1 to CS4. 1 is disposed adjacent to the cell stack CS1 on the positive side of the X-axis in the accommodation section 10, but there are no particular limitations on where the control unit CU is disposed in the accommodation section 10. The control unit CU may also include a junction box, other electronic devices, etc.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 2, the lid portion 20 covers the storage portion 10, which houses the cell stacks CS1 to CS4 and the control unit CU. From the viewpoint of durability, the lid portion 20 is also made of a metal material, for example, an aluminum alloy. Here, the lid portion 20 includes a lid main body portion 21 and a flange portion 22. The lid main body portion 21 covers the storage main body portion 11, which houses the cell stacks CS1 to CS4 and the control unit CU. The flange portion 22 is provided so as to protrude outward along the entire periphery of the lid main body portion 21. The flange portion 12 of the storage portion 10 and the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20 are disposed opposite each other with a seal member 30 interposed therebetween and are fastened together by a fastening member (not shown).

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the sealing member 30 is sandwiched between the flange 12 of the housing 10 and the flange 22 of the lid 20. This configuration ensures waterproofing of the inside of the housing formed by the housing 10 and the lid 20. The sealing member 30 is an annular member provided along the entire flange 12 of the housing 10 shown in Fig. 1. The sealing member 30 is made of a resin material such as an elastomer containing synthetic rubber. The detailed configuration of the seal member 30 will be described later.

[0020] <Method of manufacturing an electricity storage device> Here, a method for manufacturing (assembling) the electricity storage device according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 1, the battery module (cell stacks CS1 to CS4 and control unit CU) is accommodated in the accommodation portion 10. As shown in FIG.

[0021] Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a seal member 30 is installed on the flange portion 12 of the housing portion 10 that houses the cell stacks CS1 to CS4 and the control unit CU. Finally, as shown in FIG. 2, the housing portion 10 is covered with the lid portion 20, and the flange portion 12 of the housing portion 10 and the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20 are fastened together via the sealing member 30 by a fastening member (not shown).

[0022] When manufacturing the energy storage device according to this embodiment, the positive direction of the Z axis in Figures 1 and 2 corresponds to the vertically upward direction. On the other hand, when installing the energy storage device according to this embodiment outdoors, i.e., when using the energy storage device, the positive direction of the X axis in Figures 1 and 2 corresponds to the vertically upward direction.

[0023] <Detailed configuration of seal member 30> Next, the detailed configuration of the seal member 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of region III in Fig. 2. 3, the seal member 30 includes a seal main body 31, a connection portion 32, and a cover portion 33. The seal member 30 is molded, for example, using a mold, and the seal main body 31, the connection portion 32, and the cover portion 33 are molded integrally.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 3, the seal main body 31 is sandwiched between the flange 12 of the storage unit 10 and the flange 22 of the lid 20. This configuration ensures waterproofing of the interior of the housing formed by the storage unit 10 and the lid 20. The seal main body 31 shown in Fig. 3 has grooves formed on the contact surface with the flange 12 of the storage unit 10 and the contact surface with the flange 22 of the lid 20. This allows the seal main body 31 to adhere to the flanges 12 and 22, making it less likely for the seal main body 31 to shift position in the Y-axis direction in Fig. 3.

[0025] 3, the connection portion 32 is disposed between the flange portion 12 of the housing portion 10 and the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20, and extends from the seal main body 31 to the outer ends of the flange portion 12 of the housing portion 10 and the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20. In other words, the connection portion 32 connects the seal main body 31 and the cover portion 33.

[0026] 3, the cover portion 33 branches in a T-shape from the tip of the connection portion 32 in both the positive and negative directions of the Z axis to cover the outer ends of the flange portion 12 of the storage portion 10 and the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20. Therefore, when the seal member 30 is installed between the flange portion 12 of the storage portion 10 and the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20, the outer ends of the flange portions 12 and 22 can also be covered by the cover portion 33. In other words, there is no need to separately provide a cover member to cover the outer ends of the flange portions 12 and 22, and the outer ends of the flange portions 12 and 22 can be covered more easily.

[0027] The cover portion 33 is provided in a strip shape along the longitudinal direction (the X-axis direction in FIG. 3 ) of the seal member 30. As shown in FIG. 3 , the lower end (the end on the negative Z-axis direction) of the cover portion 33 preferably protrudes downward (toward the negative Z-axis direction) beyond the lower surface (the surface on the negative Z-axis direction) of the flange portion 12 of the accommodating portion 10. Similarly, the upper end (the end on the positive Z-axis direction) of the cover portion 33 preferably protrudes upward (toward the positive Z-axis direction) beyond the upper surface (the surface on the positive Z-axis direction) of the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20.

[0028] As described above, in the energy storage device of this embodiment, the sealing member 30 includes, in addition to the sealing main body portion 31 sandwiched between the flange portions 12 and 22, a connection portion 32 extending to the outer ends of the flange portions 12 and 22 between the flange portions 12 and 22, and a cover portion 33 branching off in a T-shape from the tip of the connection portion 32 and covering the outer ends of the flange portions 12 and 22.

[0029] That is, when the sealing member 30 is installed between the flanges 12, 22 in the housing made up of the storage unit 10 and the lid unit 20, the outer ends of the flanges 12, 22 can also be covered by the cover unit 33 at the same time, eliminating the need to provide a separate cover member. With this configuration, the outer ends of the flanges 12, 22 in the housing made up of the storage unit 10 and the lid unit 20 can be covered more easily.

[0030] <Modifications of the sealing member 30> Next, a modified example of the seal member 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the seal member 30. Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3.

[0031] In the seal member 30 according to the modified example shown in Fig. 4, the cover portion 33 has a turned-up portion 33a. The turned-up portion 33a is provided at the tip of the cover portion 33 on the housing portion 10 side so as to protrude toward the base side of the flange portion 12 of the housing portion 10. Therefore, while the YZ cross section of the cover portion 33 shown in Fig. 3 is I-shaped, the YZ cross section of the cover portion 33 shown in Fig. 4 is L-shaped.

[0032] 3, only the outer end surface of the flange portion 12 of the storage unit 10 is covered by the cover portion 33, and the lower surface of the flange portion 12 is not covered by the cover portion 33. In contrast, in the storage unit shown in FIG. 4, the cover portion 33 has the return portion 33a, and therefore the flange portion 12 of the storage unit 10 is capped from the outer end surface to the lower surface by the cover portion 33. Therefore, in the storage unit shown in FIG. 4, the outer end of the flange portion 12 of the storage unit 10 can be covered more firmly.

[0033] <Other Modifications of the Seal Member 30> Next, another modified example of the seal member 30 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing another modified example of the seal member 30. Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. 3.

[0034] In a seal member 30 according to another modification shown in Fig. 5, the cover portion 33 includes turned-up portions 33a and 33b. Turn-up portion 33a is provided at the tip of the cover portion 33 on the housing portion 10 side so as to protrude toward the base of the flange portion of the housing portion 10. Turn-up portion 33b is provided at the tip of the cover portion 33 on the lid portion 20 side so as to protrude toward the base of the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20. Therefore, while the YZ cross section of the cover portion 33 shown in Fig. 3 is I-shaped, the YZ cross section of the cover portion 33 shown in Fig. 4 is U-shaped.

[0035] 3, only the outer end surfaces of flange portion 12 of housing portion 10 and flange portion 22 of lid portion 20 are covered by cover portion 33, and the lower surface of flange portion 12 and the upper surface of flange portion 22 are not covered by cover portion 33. In contrast, in the electricity storage device shown in FIG. 5, cover portion 33 has return portions 33a and 33b.

[0036] Therefore, the flange portion 12 of the housing portion 10 is capped from its outer end surface to its lower surface by the cover portion 33, and the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20 is capped from its outer end surface to its upper surface by the cover portion 33. As a result, in the electricity storage device shown in Fig. 5, the outer ends of the flange portion 12 of the housing portion 10 and the flange portion 22 of the lid portion 20 can be more firmly covered. In FIG. 5, the cover portion 33 may have only the turned-back portion 33b and not the turned-back portion 33a.

[0037] The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 10 Storage section 11. Storage body 12 Flange 20 Lid 21 Lid main body 22 Flange 30 Sealing material 31 Seal body 32 Connection 33 Cover part 33a, 33b Return part CS1~CS4 Cell Stack CU Control Unit

Claims

1. A battery module; a housing having a housing portion that houses the battery module and a lid portion that covers the housing portion; a sealing member provided between flange portions that protrude outward from peripheral edges of the storage portion and the lid portion, and fastening the flange portions of the storage portion and the lid portion together; The sealing member is a main body portion sandwiched between the flange portions; a connecting portion extending from the main body portion to outer ends of the flange portions of the housing portion and the lid portion between the flange portions; a cover portion that branches off in a T-shape from the tip of the connection portion and covers the outer ends of the housing portion and the flange portion of the lid portion, Energy storage device.

2. A tip end of the cover portion on the housing portion side projects toward a base side of a flange portion of the housing portion. The power storage device according to claim 1 .

3. A tip end of the cover portion on the lid portion side projects toward a base side of a flange portion of the lid portion. The power storage device according to claim 1 or 2.

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