Battery Wiring Module

Abstract

To suppress detachment of a terminal of a voltage detection line from a cell without complicating the structure of a space in which the voltage detection line is routed.SOLUTION: A plurality of voltage detection lines are accommodated in a wiring space 15, the voltage detection lines gathered in a bundle-like state. The voltage detection lines gathered in the bundle-like state are also referred to as a "bundle-like assembly portion 16." In the bundle-like assembly portion 16, the plurality of voltage detection lines are stacked such that the shorter the distance from an outlet 15a of the wiring space 15 to a connection terminal is, the higher in the vertical direction the position of the voltage detection line is. In addition, the vertical size of the wiring space 15 at the outlet 15a is designed to be substantially equal to that of the bundle-like assembly portion 16 at the outlet 15a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery wiring module. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2012-256538 discloses a battery wiring module including multiple bus bars electrically connected to the electrodes of multiple unit cells and multiple voltage detection wires for detecting the voltages of the unit cells. Each voltage detection wire in this conventional module has a terminal at one end, and the voltage detection wire is connected to the unit cells via the terminal. Each voltage detection wire is routed through a wire receiving groove. This wire receiving groove is provided along the edge of a protector that holds the multiple bus bars, and the multiple voltage detection wires are bundled together there. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-256538 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When a cell or module vibrates, the vibration is transmitted to the voltage detection wire. When the voltage detection wire vibrates, a load is applied to the connection between the voltage detection wire and the cell, which can cause the connection, i.e., the terminal of the voltage detection wire, to become detached from the cell. In this regard, conventional battery wiring modules have claw-shaped members above the voltage detection terminals to prevent the terminals from becoming detached. However, providing claw-shaped members complicates the wall structure of the wire housing groove, which increases costs.

[0005] One object of the present invention is to provide a technology that can prevent the terminal of a voltage detection line from becoming detached from a single battery without complicating the structure of the space in which the voltage detection line is routed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The first aspect is a battery wiring module, which has the following features. The battery wiring module includes a plurality of bus bars, a plurality of voltage detection wires, and a partition member. Each of the plurality of bus bars electrically connects adjacent cells in a battery pack in which a plurality of cells are stacked. The plurality of voltage detection wires are connected to the plurality of bus bars via connection terminals provided at one end of each detection wire. The partition member forms a space for routing the plurality of voltage detection wires in the stacking direction of the plurality of cells. In the wiring space, the plurality of voltage detection wires are housed in a bundled state. In the bundled assembly, the voltage detection lines are positioned vertically upward such that the shorter the distance from each of the connection terminals to the outlet of the wiring space, the more the voltage detection lines are positioned vertically upward. The vertical size of the routing space at the outlet portion is substantially equal to that of the bundle-shaped assembly portion at the outlet portion.

[0007] The second aspect of the present invention is the same as the first aspect except that: The size of the wiring space in the vertical direction decreases with increasing distance from the position of the outlet portion.

[0008] The third aspect of the present invention is the first or second aspect further characterized by the following. The size of the wiring space in the width direction of the battery pack decreases with increasing distance from the position of the outlet portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the first aspect, the voltage detection wires that are closer in distance from each connection terminal to the outlet of the wiring space are positioned vertically upward, so that voltage detection wires with longer distances can be held down by the weight of voltage detection wires with shorter distances. Also, according to the first aspect, the vertical size of the wiring space at the outlet of the wiring space is approximately equal to that of the bundled assembly at the outlet. Therefore, the voltage detection wires with the shortest distance can be held down by the rigidity of the partition member.

[0010] Therefore, according to the first aspect, it is possible to suppress vibration of the voltage detection wire and suppress input of load to the connection portion between the connection terminal and the bus bar, or to counteract the load acting on this connection portion. Furthermore, the arrangement of the voltage detection wire and the design of the vertical size of the wiring space do not require the installation of a structure to prevent detachment, as in the prior art. Therefore, it is possible to prevent detachment of the connection terminal without complicating the structure of the wiring space.

[0011] According to the second aspect, the size of the wiring space in the vertical direction decreases with increasing distance from the position of the outlet portion, and therefore it is possible to enhance the suppression effect due to the rigidity of the partition member in the vertical direction.

[0012] According to the third aspect, the size of the wiring space in the width direction of the battery pack decreases with increasing distance from the position of the outlet portion, so that it is possible to enhance the holding effect due to the rigidity of the partition member in the width direction. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a plan view of a portion of a battery pack to which a battery wiring module according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] 2 is a diagram showing a cross section of the battery pack cut along line 2-2 shown in FIG. 1, viewed from the outlet side of the wiring space. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an area A shown in FIG. [Figure 4]1 is a schematic diagram of bus bars gathered in a bundle when the wiring space is viewed vertically from above. FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for routing a voltage detection line. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the effects of the embodiment. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams illustrating an example of the shape of a wiring space according to a modified example of the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the effect of a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings referred to below, the same or corresponding components are designated by the same reference numerals.

[0015] 1.Configuration example The battery wiring module according to the embodiment is applied to a battery pack mounted on a mobile body such as an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, etc. Fig. 1 is a plan view of a portion of a battery pack to which the battery wiring module according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[0016] The battery wiring module 1 according to the embodiment has multiple bus bars, three of which, bus bars 11a, 11b, and 11c, are illustrated in FIG. 1. Each of the bus bars 11a, 11b, and 11c electrically connects two adjacent cells among the multiple cells that make up the battery pack. The multiple cells are, for example, secondary batteries such as nickel-metal hydride batteries and lithium-ion batteries. These cells are arranged in a fixed direction. The "stacking direction" shown in FIG. 1 represents the arrangement direction of these cells. The "width direction" shown in FIG. 1 represents the width direction of the cells, which is perpendicular to the stacking direction.

[0017] A voltage detection line is connected to each of the bus bars 11a, 11b, and 11c. These voltage detection lines are provided to detect the state of the cells. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the bus bar 11a is connected to the voltage detection line 12a, and the bus bar 11b is connected to the voltage detection line 12b. The bus bars and the voltage detection lines are connected by solid-state welding (e.g., ultrasonic welding) between the connection terminals (connection terminals 13a, 13b) of each voltage detection line and the surface of each bus bar. The end of each voltage detection line that is not connected to the bus bar is connected to a processing device (e.g., ECU) not shown.

[0018] The battery wiring module 1 also has a partition member 14. The partition member 14 is provided to form a space (wiring space 15) for routing a plurality of voltage detection wires. The partition member 14 is formed, for example, from a part of a protector that holds the bus bars of the battery wiring module 1. The partition member 14 is provided along the stacking direction of the cells. In other words, the wiring space 15 is formed along the stacking direction.

[0019] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack cut along line 2-2 in FIG. 1, viewed from the outlet 15a of the wiring space 15. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of region A shown in FIG. 2. In the example shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the wiring space 15 is formed at the end of the cell 2 in the width direction. A total of 17 voltage detection wires are housed in this wiring space 15 in a bundled state. In the following description, the voltage detection wires in a bundled state will also be referred to as a "bundled assembly 16." The voltage detection wires that make up the bundled assembly 16 are arranged along the stacking direction.

[0020] Because the bundled assembly 16 has width and vertical extensions, the size of the wiring space 15 is designed based on the size of the bundled assembly 16. In this embodiment, the size of the wiring space 15 is designed to be approximately equal to the size (i.e., the maximum size) of the bundled assembly 16 when a total of 17 voltage detection wires 12a to 12q are gathered. Note that each voltage detection wire is drawn out from the bundled assembly 16 at the position of the corresponding bus bar. Therefore, the number of voltage detection wires constituting the bundled assembly 16 decreases with increasing distance from the exit 15a. Therefore, the size of the bundled assembly 16 reaches its maximum at the position of the exit 15a.

[0021] 2 and 3, the voltage detection wires 12b constituting the bundled assembly 16 are drawn to the outside of the wiring space 15 and connected to the bus bar 11b via the connection terminal 13b. Note that the voltage detection wires 12a are not depicted at the cut surface because the voltage detection wires 12a are drawn to the outside of the wiring space 15 at a position closer to the outlet 15a than the cut surface.

[0022] 4 is a schematic diagram of the bundled assembly portion 16 when the wiring space 15 is viewed vertically from above. 12h , 12p, and 12q are depicted. As shown in Fig. 4, voltage detection wire 12a branches off from bundled assembly portion 16 near the lead-out position closest to outlet 15a. On the other hand, voltage detection wire 12q branches off from bundled assembly portion 16 near the lead-out position farthest from outlet 15a. In other words, the multiple voltage detection wires branch off from bundled assembly portion 16 in order of distance from outlet 15a to the connection terminal.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4, the voltage detection lines 12e to 12f are located near the outlet 15a. 12hParts of the voltage detection wires 12p and 12q are hidden by the voltage detection wires 12a to 12d in the vicinity of the outlet 15a. The reason for this is that the voltage detection wires are stacked so that the voltage detection wires that are closer to the outlet 15a and the connection terminals are located vertically higher.

[0024] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for routing voltage detection lines. In this routing method, the voltage detection lines are routed in order, starting with the voltage detection line with the longest distance from the position of outlet 15a to the position of the connection terminal (i.e., voltage detection line 12q). Specifically, first, voltage detection line 12q is arranged along the stacking direction, and connection terminal 13q and the surface of busbar 11q are ultrasonically bonded (upper part of FIG. 5). Next, voltage detection line 12p is arranged along the stacking direction, and connection terminal 13p and the surface of busbar 11p are ultrasonically bonded (upper part of FIG. 5). middle row Here, after ultrasonic bonding, the voltage detection wire 12p is stacked vertically above the voltage detection wire 12q.

[0025] The ultrasonic bonding of the connection terminals and busbars and the stacking of the voltage detection wires are repeated in ascending order of the distance from the position of the outlet 15a to the position of the connection terminals. The lower row in Figure 5 corresponds to the routing of the voltage detection wires 12a. Here, as in the above, the voltage detection wires 12a are arranged along the stacking direction, and the surfaces of the connection terminals 13a and the busbars 11a are ultrasonically bonded. As a result, a bundled assembly 16 is completed in which the voltage detection wires 12a to 12d are positioned vertically upward.

[0026] 2.Effects 6A and 6B are diagrams illustrating the effects of the configuration of the battery wiring module. Fig. 6A is a schematic diagram of the periphery of wiring space 15 when the battery pack is cut at the connection portion between voltage detection wire 12p and bus bar 11p. Fig. 6B is a schematic diagram of the periphery of wiring space 15 when the battery pack is cut at the connection portion between voltage detection wire 12a and bus bar 11a.

[0027] 6(A), the bundled assembly 16 is composed of only the voltage detection wire 12q. However, at a location closer to the outlet 15a than the cut position, other voltage detection wires are present vertically above the voltage detection wire 12q. Therefore, it can be said that the voltage detection wire 12q is accommodated in the wiring space 15 while being held down by the other voltage detection wires (i.e., the voltage detection wires 12a to 12p).

[0028] 6(B), all of the voltage detection wires 12a to 12q form a bundled assembly 16. Because the voltage detection wire 12a is positioned vertically above the other voltage detection wires, it is not pressed down by the other voltage detection wires. However, because the inner wall 14a of the partitioning member 14 is generally in contact with the voltage detection wire 12a at this cut position, it can be said that the voltage detection wire a is accommodated in the wiring space 15 while being pressed down by the partitioning member 14.

[0029] As already explained, the connection portion between the voltage detection wire and the cell has a problem of low resistance to the load caused by the vibration of the voltage detection wire. This problem is also present in the battery wiring module according to the embodiment. When the voltage detection wire vibrates, a load is applied to the joint surface 17 between the connection terminal and the bus bar. In this regard, according to the embodiment, the voltage detection wire that is long from the position of the outlet 15a to the position of the connection terminal is pressed down by the load of the voltage detection wire that is relatively short ( FIG. 6(A) ). Furthermore, the voltage detection wire 12a that is the shortest from the position of the outlet 15a to the position of the connection terminal is pressed down by the rigidity of the partition member 14 ( FIG. 6(B) ). Therefore, it is possible to suppress the vibration of the voltage detection wire and thereby suppress the load from being input to the joint surface 17, or to counteract the load applied to the joint surface 17. This makes it possible to ensure the reliability of the cell through voltage detection.

[0030] Furthermore, according to the embodiment, there is no need to provide a structure for preventing detachment as in the prior art, and therefore, it is possible to prevent the connection terminal from being detached without complicating the structure of the wiring space 15.

[0031] 3. First Modification In the example shown in FIG. 4, it is assumed that the size of the wiring space 15 in the stacking direction is approximately constant. However, the number of voltage detection wires constituting the bundled assembly portion 16 decreases with increasing distance from the position of the outlet portion 15a. Therefore, the size (size in the width direction and vertical direction) of the wiring space 15 may be designed to decrease with increasing distance from the position of the outlet portion 15a. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the shape of a wiring space according to a modified example of the embodiment. The basic function of the wiring space 18 shown in FIG. 7 is the same as that of the wiring space 15 described in FIG. 2 etc. However, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the width direction size of the wiring space 18 decreases with increasing distance from the position of the outlet portion 18a.

[0032] Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the effect of the modified example. Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of the periphery of the wiring space 18 when the battery pack is cut at the connection portion between the voltage detection wire 12p and the bus bar 11p. Fig. 8 illustrates the wiring space 18, which is smaller in size (width and vertical dimensions) than the wiring space 15 shown in Figs. 6(A) and 6(B). The size (width and vertical dimensions) of the wiring space 18 is designed to be approximately equal to the size of the bundle-shaped assembly portion 16 when the voltage detection wires 12p and 12q are assembled.

[0033] 8, in addition to the suppression effect of the other voltage detection lines described in FIG. 6(A), the suppression effect of the partition member 14 described in FIG. 6(B) can be expected. Therefore, a suppression effect greater than that of the embodiment can be expected. Furthermore, according to the modified example, it is possible to reduce the overall size of the wiring space 15, which is expected to contribute to making the battery wiring module 1 more compact.

[0034] 4. Second Modification In the embodiment, the voltage detection wires constituting the bundled assembly 16 are arranged along the stacking direction. The size of the routing space 15 is designed to be approximately equal to the maximum size of the bundled assembly 16. However, if the size of the outlet 15a is larger than the maximum size of the bundled assembly 16, some of the voltage detection wires constituting the bundled assembly 16 (e.g., voltage detection wire 12a) may be folded back at the position of the outlet 15a to adjust the size of the bundled assembly 16 at the position of the outlet 15a. Adjusting the size of the bundled assembly 16 at the position of the outlet 15a is expected to enhance the suppression effect of the partition member 14 at the position of the outlet 15a.

[0035] 1 Battery wiring module 11a~11c, 11p, 11q busbars 12a~ 12h , 12p, 12q voltage detection wire 13a, 13b, 13p, 13q connection terminals 14 Partition members 14a Internal wall 15, 18 Distribution space 15a Exit section 16 Bundled gathering part 17 Joint surface 2 D cells [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1 Battery wiring module 11a~11c, 11p, 11q busbars 12a~12i, 12p, 12q voltage detection wires 13a, 13b, 13p, 13q connection terminals 14 Partition members 14a Internal wall 15, 18 Distribution space 15a Exit section 16 Bundled gathering part 17 Joint surface 2 D cells

Claims

1. a plurality of bus bars electrically connecting adjacent cells to each other in a battery pack in which a plurality of cells are stacked; a plurality of voltage detection lines connected to the plurality of bus bars via connection terminals provided at one ends of the respective detection lines; a partition member that forms a routing space for routing the voltage detection wires in the stacking direction of the plurality of unit cells; Equipped with In the wiring space, the plurality of voltage detection wires are housed in a state where they are stacked vertically and gathered in a bundle, In the bundled assembly, the plurality of voltage detection lines are positioned vertically upward such that the voltage detection lines having shorter distances from the positions of the connection terminals to the positions of the outlets of the wiring space, a vertical size of the wiring space at the outlet portion is substantially equal to a size of the bundle-shaped assembly portion at the outlet portion, The size of the wiring space in the vertical direction decreases with increasing distance from the position of the outlet portion. A battery wiring module characterized by:

2. The battery wiring module according to claim 1, The size of the wiring space in the width direction of the battery pack decreases with increasing distance from the position of the outlet portion. A battery wiring module characterized by:

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