Battery pack

Abstract

A battery pack according to the present disclosure comprises: a battery pack body that, with respect to a vehicle body provided with a pair of structures that are members extending forward and backward, and that are disposed with intervals open at left and right, is disposed between the structures; a pair of brackets that protrude from each of the side surfaces of the battery pack body, and that are attached to the structure; and a tubular member that is a member extending forward and backward, and that is disposed along the side surface of the battery pack body. The bracket is provided with a first bracket and a second bracket. The tubular member is disposed in a space sandwiched between the first bracket and the second bracket in the vertical direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery pack mounted on a vehicle body.

Background Art

[0002] A battery pack mounted on an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle (including a plug-in hybrid vehicle capable of external charging or external power supply), etc. is attached between structures such as a pair of side sills on the back side of the vehicle body. Usually, devices that become heat sources such as motors and inverters are attached around this type of battery pack on the vehicle body, and there are cases where refrigerant must be circulated from a place where the battery pack is sandwiched between these devices. For this purpose, it has been proposed to arrange a tubular member for circulating refrigerant along the upper surface of the battery pack (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in recent vehicle bodies, many devices and components (hereinafter referred to as "devices, etc.") are mounted around the battery pack, and it is not easy to secure a placement space for the tubular member around the battery pack due to requirements such as securing a placement space for these devices, etc. and preventing interference with them. Since the battery pack is arranged on the back side of the vehicle body, it is conceivable to arrange the tubular member along this back side, but such an arrangement is not always appropriate due to problems such as the tubular member exposed on the back side being easily damaged or impairing the aesthetics.

[0005] For these reasons, vehicle bodies equipped with battery packs require the arrangement of tubular members around the battery pack to suppress malfunctions, but such an arrangement has not yet been realized, which presents a challenge.

[0006] This disclosure was made to solve these problems, and its purpose is to realize an arrangement of tubular members that can suppress malfunctions around the battery pack. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, the battery pack of this disclosure comprises a battery pack body positioned between a pair of structures arranged at a distance apart from left to right on a vehicle body, each of which is a member extending in the front-to-back direction; a pair of brackets protruding from each of the sides of the battery pack body and attached to the structures; and a tubular member that extends in the front-to-back direction and is positioned along the side of the battery pack body, wherein the brackets comprise a first bracket that extends from the side of the battery pack body toward the structure and whose tip is attached to the structure, and a second bracket that extends from a region on the side of the battery pack body at a predetermined distance below the first bracket toward the structure and whose tip is attached to the structure, and the tubular member is positioned in the space sandwiched vertically between the first bracket and the second bracket. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] In the battery pack of this disclosure, the tubular member is positioned on the side of the battery pack body, sandwiched between the first and second brackets from above and below. This effectively suppresses the occurrence of defects that may damage the tubular member or impair its aesthetic appearance. Thus, the battery pack of this disclosure achieves an arrangement of the tubular member that can suppress defects around the battery pack. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1]Front view of a battery pack according to one embodiment of the present disclosure [Figure 2] Front cross-sectional view of a key part of a battery pack according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] A plan cross-sectional view of a key part of a battery pack according to one embodiment of this disclosure (cross-sectional view AA in Figure 1). [Figure 4] Front cross-sectional view of a tubular member according to one embodiment of the present disclosure [Figure 5] Plan view of a battery pack according to one embodiment of the present disclosure [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] Hereinafter, one embodiment of this disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. (1) Overall structure

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, the battery pack 1 comprises a battery pack body 10, a pair of brackets 20 for attaching the battery pack body 10 to the vehicle body, and a tubular member 30 arranged along the side of the battery pack body 10.

[0012] The battery pack body 10 is positioned between a pair of structural elements 100 provided on the vehicle body. Each of these structural elements 100 is a member that extends along the front-rear direction of the vehicle body and is positioned with a gap between them on the left and right sides. In this embodiment, a pair of side sills are used as structural elements 100, positioned with a wider gap between them on the left and right than the battery pack body 10.

[0013] Furthermore, cables 110 and pipes 120 that connect other devices located around the battery pack 1 are arranged around the structure 100.

[0014] As shown in Figure 2, the bracket 20 consists of a first bracket 21 and a second bracket 23 that protrude from each side of the battery pack body 10, and is attached to the structure 100 at its tip.

[0015] Among these, the first bracket 21 is a plate-like member that extends laterally by a predetermined distance from the side surface of the battery pack main body 10 to a position along the lower surface of the structure 100, and the tip side thereof is attached to the structure 100. This first bracket 21 is fixed to the structure 100 by a screw member 40 that penetrates the tip side from below to above.

[0016] Also, the second bracket 23 is a plate-like member that extends obliquely upward by a predetermined distance from a region spaced a predetermined distance t below the first bracket 21 among the side surfaces of the battery pack main body 10 to a position along the lower surface of the structure 100. The tip side of this second bracket 23 is connected to the first bracket 21 and is fixed to the structure 100 via the first bracket 21.

[0017] In this way, the bracket 20 forms an inverted triangular space sandwiched between the first bracket 21 and the second bracket 23 below the lower surface of the structure 100 in a front view.

[0018] The tubular member 30 is a cylindrical member that extends along the front and rear of the vehicle body and is arranged along the side surface of the battery pack main body 10.

[0019] This tubular member 30 is arranged so as to fit into the space sandwiched between the first bracket 21 and the second bracket 23 vertically.

[0020] Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the tubular member 30 is provided with connectors 31 for connecting to another tubular member at each end. A valve for mechanically opening and closing the end of the tubular member 30 is built into this connector 31, and operations such as manually closing or opening the end are possible.

[0021] Further, as shown in Fig. 4(a), the tubular member 30 is surrounded by an elastic member 33 over the axial line extending in the front-rear direction from one end side to the other end side. In the present embodiment, a cylindrical elastic member 33 capable of surrounding the tubular member 30 is adopted. However, as shown in Fig. 4(b), an elastic member 33 further provided with a plurality of elastic protrusions 35 each protruding radially in a cross-sectional view intersecting the axial line may be adopted.

[0022] (2) Modified Example As described above, the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the invention. In particular, a plurality of modifications described in this specification can be arbitrarily combined as needed.

[0023] For example, in the above embodiment, the bracket 20 is exemplified as being configured to be attached along the lower surface of the structure 100. However, the bracket 20 may be configured to be attached to the side surface of the structure 100.

[0024] Further, in the above embodiment, the first bracket 21 extends laterally from the battery pack main body 10, and the second bracket 23 extends obliquely upward from the battery pack main body 10, so that an inverted triangular space sandwiched between the first bracket 21 and the second bracket 23 is formed in a front view.

[0025] However, the space sandwiched between the first bracket 21 and the second bracket 23 may be configured to have a shape other than an inverted triangle. For example, it is conceivable that the first bracket 21 extends obliquely downward from the battery pack main body 10, and the second bracket 23 extends laterally from the battery pack main body 10, so that a triangular space sandwiched between the first bracket 21 and the second bracket 23 is formed in a front view.

[0026] Further, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the connectors 31 are provided at each end of the tubular member 30 is exemplified. However, the connector 31 may be provided only at one end of the tubular member 30.

[0027] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a configuration in which a valve is built into the connector 31 was illustrated. However, the valve may also be provided as a separate component in another region spaced apart along the length of the tubular member 30.

[0028] (3) Effects In the battery pack 1 of the above embodiment, the tubular member 30 is positioned on the side of the battery pack body 10, sandwiched between the first bracket 21 and the second bracket 23 from above and below. This effectively suppresses the occurrence of problems such as damage to the tubular member 30 or deterioration of its appearance. Thus, the battery pack 1 achieves an arrangement of the tubular member 30 that suppresses problems around the battery pack 1.

[0029] Furthermore, the battery pack 1 in the above embodiment is equipped with a connector 31 at each end of the tubular member 30 for connecting to another tubular member. As a result, in the above embodiment, when removing the battery pack 1 from the vehicle body, as shown in Figure 5, it is not necessary to individually remove the tubular member 30 itself from the battery pack 1, but only to disconnect the connection with another tubular member 200 via the connector 31, thus improving work efficiency when replacing the battery pack 1.

[0030] Furthermore, the battery pack 1 in the above embodiment is equipped with valves that open and close each end of the tubular member 30. This allows for the prevention of unintended refrigerant leakage from the tubular member 30 by closing the valves when removing the battery pack from the vehicle body.

[0031] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the battery pack 1 has a tubular member 30 surrounded by an elastic member 33 or an elastic projection 35. This makes it possible to suppress vibration of the tubular member 30 relative to the bracket 20 in the above embodiment. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0032] 1...Battery pack, 10...Battery pack body, 20...Bracket, 21...First bracket, 23...Second bracket, 30...Tubular member, 31...Connector, 33...Elastic member, 35...Elastic projection, 40...Screw member, 100...Structure, 110...Cable, 120...Piping, 200...Tubular member, t...Determined distance.

Claims

1. Each component extends forward and backward, and the vehicle body has a pair of structures arranged with a gap between them on the left and right sides, with the battery pack body positioned between the structures, A pair of brackets protrude from each side of the battery pack body and are attached to the structure, It comprises a member that extends front to back and a tubular member that is arranged along the side of the battery pack body, The aforementioned bracket is A member extending from the side of the battery pack body toward the structure, the tip of which is attached to the structure is a first bracket, The battery pack body comprises a second bracket, the tip of which is attached to the structure, and is a member that extends toward the structure from a region on the side of the battery pack body that is spaced a predetermined distance below the first bracket, The tubular member is, The space between the first bracket and the second bracket is located above and below. Battery pack.

2. The tubular member is provided with a connector at each end for connecting to another tubular member. The battery pack according to claim 1.

3. The tubular member is equipped with a valve that opens and closes at least one end. The battery pack according to claim 2.

4. The tubular member is surrounded by an elastic member around its axis extending in the front-to-back direction, from one end to the other. The battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. The tubular member is surrounded by an elastic member around its axis extending in the front-to-back direction, from one end to the other, and the elastic member is provided with a plurality of elastic protrusions that project radially in a cross-sectional view intersecting the axis extending in the front-to-back direction. The battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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