Battery pack

Abstract

This battery device comprises a battery module and a charging module. A housing of the battery module includes a base on which a battery is placed. The base includes: an inflow hole (34) through which cooling air flows in; an outflow hole (35) through which the cooling air flows out; a valve body configured to open and close the inflow hole (34); and a biasing member that urges the valve body so that the inflow hole (34) is closed. A casing of the charging module has a protruding part that can be inserted into the inflow hole (34). The protruding part is configured to communicate between the inside and the outside of the casing. In an attached state in which the battery module is attached to the charging module, the valve body is configured to open the inflow hole (34) by being pressed, by the protruding part inserted into the inflow hole (34), so as to resist the biasing force of the biasing member.

Description

Battery device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery device.

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a storage battery device including a storage battery unit with a built-in storage battery and a charger that charges the storage battery. The charger includes a charger main body to which the storage battery unit is attached. The storage battery is charged when the storage battery unit is attached to the charger main body.

[0003] The battery section has a plurality of openings through which cooling air flows in, a cooling opening through which the cooling air is discharged, and an interlocking door that opens and closes the cooling opening. The interlocking door is biased by a spring to close the cooling opening.

[0004] The charger body includes a cooling fan that sends cooling air to the battery unit, an intake opening that takes in air, and a guide boss. When the battery unit is not attached to the charger body, the cooling opening is closed by an interlocking door. When the battery unit is attached to the charger body, the guide boss pushes the interlocking door open against the biasing force of the spring, thereby opening the cooling opening. Cooling air sent from the cooling fan flows into the battery unit through the opening and is discharged through the cooling opening.

[0005] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 63-120534

[0006] In the battery device described in Patent Document 1, the cooling opening is opened and closed by an interlocking door, while the opening through which the cooling air flows is always open. Therefore, when the battery unit is not attached to the charger body, there is a risk that foreign matter such as water may enter the battery unit through the opening.

[0007] A battery device according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a battery module having a battery and a housing for accommodating the battery; a charging module including a charger, a cooling device configured to supply cooling air, and a casing for accommodating the charger and the cooling device. The battery is configured so that the charger charges the battery when the battery module is attached to the charging module. The housing includes a base on which the battery is placed and a cover having an opening to which the base is attached and covering the battery. The base includes an inlet hole for allowing cooling air supplied from the cooling device to flow into the interior of the housing, an outlet hole for allowing the cooling air that has flowed into the interior of the housing to flow out to the outside of the housing, a valve body configured to open and close the inlet hole, and a biasing member for biasing the valve body to close the inlet hole. The casing has a protrusion that can be inserted into the inlet hole. The protrusion is configured to provide communication between the inside and outside of the casing. In the attached state, the valve body is configured to open the inlet hole by being pressed by the protrusion inserted into the inlet hole against the biasing force of the biasing member.

[0008] FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of an unattached battery device according to one embodiment, taken along the inlet and outlet ports, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of an attached battery device taken along the inlet and outlet ports. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of an unattached battery device shown in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an attached battery device shown in FIG. 1B. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a charging module of the battery device taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2A, and FIG. 3B is a plan view of the charging module of the battery device shown in FIG. 1A. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the battery module shown in FIG. 1A. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of a base of the battery module shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is a perspective view of a battery placed on the base of the battery module shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a cover of the battery module shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 6A. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the upstream flow path and its periphery of the battery module shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the downstream flow path and its periphery of the battery module shown in FIG. 4.

[0009] One embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 1A to 8. As shown in Figures 2A to 4, a battery device 100 includes a battery module 20 and a charging module 10. The battery module 20 has a battery 21 and a housing 23 that houses the battery 21. The charging module 10 has a charger 19, a cooling device 18, and a casing 11 that houses the charger 19 and the cooling device 18. The battery device 100 is configured so that the battery 21 is charged by the charger 19 when the battery module 20 is attached to the charging module 10.

[0010] First, the charging module 10 will be described in detail. <Charging module 10> As shown in Figures 2A, 3A, and 3B, the casing 11 includes a rectangular plate-shaped bottom wall 12, a peripheral wall 13 extending upward from the outer periphery of the bottom wall 12, and a rectangular plate-shaped top wall 15. The top wall 15 is located between the upper end of the peripheral wall 13 and the bottom wall 12, and faces the bottom wall 12.

[0011] The upper wall 15 is provided parallel to the bottom wall 12 at a position closer to the bottom wall 12 than the upper end of the peripheral wall 13. In the following description, the long side direction and short side direction of the bottom wall 12 are defined as the length direction X and width direction Y, respectively, and the direction perpendicular to the length direction X and width direction Y is defined as the up-down direction Z. For convenience, the directions expressed by terms such as "up" and "down" are defined based on the battery device 100 in a state in which the bottom wall 12 is placed on a horizontal plane.

[0012] An opening 14 is formed by the upper end of the peripheral wall 13. The upper wall 15 is provided with a first protrusion 16 and a second protrusion 17 that protrude upward. The first protrusion 16 and the second protrusion 17 are both cylindrical. The first protrusion 16 and the second protrusion 17 communicate with each other between the space above and the space below the upper wall 15 within the casing 11.

[0013] 3B , the first protrusion 16 and the second protrusion 17 are arranged on the upper wall 15 at an interval in the longitudinal direction X. The first protrusion 16 and the second protrusion 17 are located on a first side (the lower side in FIG. 3B ) of the upper wall 15 in the width direction Y.

[0014] As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B , the cooling device 18 and the charger 19 are provided between the bottom wall 12 and the top wall 15. In this embodiment, the cooling device 18 includes a fan that generates cooling air and a motor that rotates and drives the fan. The fan of the cooling device 18 is disposed to face the first protrusion 16 in the vertical direction Z. Specifically, the fan of the cooling device 18 is disposed directly below the first protrusion 16. The charger 19 is disposed on the second side in the width direction Y (the upper side in FIG. 3B ) within the casing 11. The charger 19 has a well-known configuration and includes an AC / DC converter that converts AC voltage from a power source (not shown) into a high-voltage DC voltage, a DC / DC converter that converts the high-voltage DC voltage into a charging voltage, and a charging controller that controls charging of the battery 21.

[0015] Next, a detailed description will be given of the battery module 20. <Battery module 20> As shown in Fig. 4, the housing 23 of the battery module 20 includes a base 30 on which the battery 21 is placed, a cover 40 to which the base 30 is attached and which covers the battery 21, and a battery case 50 to which the base 30 is attached and which covers the cover 40.

[0016] (Battery 21) As shown in Fig. 4, the battery module 20 includes a plurality of plate-shaped batteries 21. The plurality of batteries 21 are laminated cells having the same shape and size and connected in series. The battery 21 has a rectangular plate shape. An edge along one side of the battery 21 is a base end portion 22.

[0017] (Base 30) As shown in Fig. 5A, the base 30 is a plate-like member that is rectangular in plan view. The base 30 includes a base main body 31 and a first base flow path section 32a and a second base flow path section 32b located on the outer periphery of the base main body 31. A plurality of base-side mounting holes 30a, 30b are provided on the outer periphery of the base 30. The base-side mounting holes 30a, 30b penetrate the base 30 in the up-down direction Z. The base-side mounting holes 30a are provided at the four corners of the base 30. The base-side mounting holes 30b are provided at the middle of each side that constitutes the outer periphery of the base 30.

[0018] A plurality of storage grooves 33 that open upward are formed on the upper surface of the base body 31. Each storage groove 33 has a long rectangular shape extending in the length direction X. The multiple storage grooves 33 are aligned at intervals in the width direction Y. The width of each storage groove 33 is approximately equal to the thickness of the battery 21. In this embodiment, the width direction Y coincides with the width direction of the storage grooves 33.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 5B, the base ends 22 of the multiple batteries 21 are housed in the housing grooves 33. This provides a gap S between adjacent batteries 21. As shown in Fig. 5A, the first base flow path portion 32a and the second base flow path portion 32b are groove-shaped and open upward and extend along the outer periphery of the base 30.

[0020] The first base flow path portion 32a and the second base flow path portion 32b are provided on a first side in the width direction Y (the lower right side in FIG. 5A ) of the outer periphery of the base 30. The first base flow path portion 32a has a portion 321 extending along the length direction X and a portion 322 extending along the width direction Y, and is L-shaped in a plan view.

[0021] The second base flow path portion 32b has a portion 323 extending along the length direction X and a portion 324 extending along the width direction Y, and is L-shaped in a plan view. A partition portion 32c is provided between the first base flow path portion 32a and the second base flow path portion 32b. The partition portion 32c separates the first base flow path portion 32a and the second base flow path portion 32b from each other.

[0022] The first base flow path portion 32a is provided with an inlet hole 34 that allows cooling air to flow into the inside of the housing 23, a first valve body 36 that opens and closes the inlet hole 34, and a first biasing member 37 that biases the first valve body 36 so that the inlet hole 34 is closed.

[0023] 1A and 5A, the inlet hole 34 is provided in the portion 321 of the first base flow path portion 32a. The inlet hole 34 is provided at a position corresponding to the first protrusion 16 of the charging module 10. The inlet hole 34 penetrates the base 30 in the vertical direction Z. The inner diameter of the inlet hole 34 is larger than the outer diameter of the first protrusion 16.

[0024] The first valve body 36 is located on the bottom surface of the first base flow path portion 32a. The first valve body 36 is rotatable about an axis C1 extending in the width direction Y. The axis C1 is located in a portion 321 of the first base flow path portion 32a closer to the partition portion 32c than the inlet hole 34. The first valve body 36 opens and closes the inlet hole 34 by rotating about the axis C1.

[0025] 5A , the second base flow path portion 32 b is provided with an outlet hole 35 for allowing the cooling air to flow out of the housing 23, a second valve body 38 for opening and closing the outlet hole 35, and a second biasing member 39 for biasing the second valve body 38 so as to close the outlet hole 35.

[0026] 1A and 5A, the outlet hole 35 is provided in the portion 323 of the second base flow path portion 32b. The outlet hole 35 is provided at a position corresponding to the second protrusion 17 of the charging module 10. The outlet hole 35 penetrates the base 30 in the vertical direction Z. The inner diameter of the outlet hole 35 is larger than the outer diameter of the second protrusion 17.

[0027] The second valve body 38 is located on the bottom surface of the second base flow path portion 32b. The second valve body 38 is rotatable about an axis C2 extending in the width direction Y. The axis C2 is located in a portion 323 of the second base flow path portion 32b, farther from the partition portion 32c than the outflow hole 35. The second valve body 38 opens and closes the outflow hole 35 by rotating about the axis C2.

[0028] The second biasing member 39 is, for example, a torsion spring. (Cover 40) As shown in FIG.

[0029] The cover body 41 includes a rectangular plate-shaped top wall 41a and a peripheral wall 41b extending downward from the outer periphery of the top wall 41a. An opening 46 is formed at the lower end of the peripheral wall 41b. The peripheral wall 41b includes a first side wall 42 and a second side wall 43 that face each other in the longitudinal direction X, and a third side wall 44 and a fourth side wall 45 that face each other in the width direction Y. When the base 30 is attached to the cover 40, the first side wall 42 is located on the side where the first base channel portion 32a is provided (left side in FIG. 6A ) in the longitudinal direction X. When the base 30 is attached to the cover 40, the second side wall 43 is located on the side where the second base channel portion 32b is provided (right side in FIG. 6A ). The third side wall 44 is located on the first side in the width direction Y (lower right side in FIG. 6A ). The fourth side wall 45 is located on the second side in the width direction Y (upper left side in FIG. 6A ). The first side wall 42, the second side wall 43, the third side wall 44, and the fourth side wall 45 are all rectangular plate-shaped.

[0030] A plurality of first through holes 42a are provided in the lower portion of the first side wall 42, penetrating the inside and outside of the first side wall 42. Each of the first through holes 42a has an elongated rectangular shape extending in the up-down direction Z. The plurality of first through holes 42a are arranged at intervals from one another in the width direction Y. The first side wall 42 also has a first outer wall 42b that protrudes from the outer surface of the first side wall 42. The first outer wall 42b covers the portion of the outer surface of the first side wall 42 where the first through holes 42a are provided. The first outer wall 42b extends in the up-down direction Z from a position above the first through holes 42a to the same position as the lower end of the first side wall 42.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 6B , a space S1 is formed between the first side wall 42 and the first outer wall 42b. As shown in FIG. 6A , a plurality of second through holes 43a are provided in the upper portion of the second side wall 43, penetrating the interior and exterior of the second side wall 43. Each second through hole 43a has an elongated rectangular shape extending in the up-down direction Z. The plurality of second through holes 43a are arranged at intervals in the width direction Y. The second side wall 43 also has a second outer wall 43b that protrudes from the outer surface of the second side wall 43. The second outer wall 43b covers the portion of the outer surface of the second side wall 43 where the second through holes 43a are provided. The second outer wall 43b extends in the up-down direction Z from a position above the second through holes 43a to the same position as the lower end of the second side wall 43.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 6B , a space S2 is formed between the second side wall 43 and the second outer wall 43b. As shown in FIG. 6A , the cover flow path portion 47 is provided to protrude from the outer surface of the peripheral wall 41b. The cover flow path portion 47 is provided at the lower end of the peripheral wall 41b. The cover flow path portion 47 is flat. The cover flow path portion 47 has a portion 47a protruding from the outer surface of the third side wall 44 and extending along the length direction X, a portion 47b protruding from the outer surface of the first side wall 42 and extending along the width direction Y, and a portion 47c protruding from the outer surface of the second side wall 43 and extending along the width direction Y. The portions 47b and 47c extend from both longitudinal ends of the portion 47a in a direction perpendicular to the portion 47a. Cover-side mounting holes 40a and 40b are provided in the cover flow path portion 47 at positions corresponding to the base-side mounting holes 30a and 30b. The cover-side mounting holes 40a and 40b penetrate the cover flow path portion 47 in the vertical direction Z.

[0033] As shown in Figures 5A, 6A, 7, and 8, the base 30 is attached to the opening 46 of the cover 40 by threading screws 70 from above into the base-side mounting holes 30b and the cover-side mounting holes 40b.

[0034] The base body 31 faces the opening 46 of the cover 40. The cover flow path portion 47 covers the first base flow path portion 32a and the second base flow path portion 32b from above. As shown in Figures 6B and 7, the first base flow path portion 32a and the cover flow path portion 47 form an upstream flow path 60 through which cooling air flows. In addition, the space S1 between the first side wall 42 and the first outer wall 42b also forms part of the upstream flow path 60. The upstream flow path 60 is connected to the first through-hole 42a.

[0035] 6B and 8, a downstream flow path 61 through which cooling air flows is formed by the second base flow path portion 32b and the cover flow path portion 47. In addition, a space S2 between the second side wall 43 and the second outer wall 43b also forms part of the downstream flow path 61. The downstream flow path 61 is connected to the second through-hole 43a.

[0036] (Battery Case 50) As shown in Fig. 4, the battery case 50 covers the top wall 41a and peripheral wall 41b of the cover 40 from the outside. The battery case 50 includes a rectangular plate-shaped top wall 51 and a peripheral wall 52 extending downward from the outer periphery of the top wall 51. The top wall 51 covers the top wall 41a, and the peripheral wall 52 covers the peripheral wall 41b. An arch-shaped grip portion 53 is provided on the upper surface of the top wall 51.

[0037] The cover 40 is housed in the battery case 50 through the bottom opening of the battery case 50. In this state, screws (not shown) are inserted from below into the base-side mounting holes 30a and cover-side mounting holes 40a into which the screws 70 have not been inserted, and then screwed into the female threads (not shown) of the battery case 50, thereby attaching the cover 40 and the base 30 to the battery case 50.

[0038] The first base flow path portion 32a in this embodiment corresponds to the base flow path portion described in the "Summary of the Invention." The opening 46 in this embodiment corresponds to the opening described in the "Summary of the Invention." Furthermore, the first through hole 42a in this embodiment corresponds to the through hole described in the "Summary of the Invention."

[0039] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, as shown in Figure 4, the battery 21 is placed on the base 30 by accommodating the base end 22 of the battery 21 in the accommodating groove 33 of the base 30, and then the cover 40 and the battery case 50 are attached to the base 30 to assemble the battery module 20.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 1A, in the non-attached state where the battery module 20 is not attached to the charging module 10, the first valve body 36 and the second valve body 38 are biased by the first biasing member 37 and the second biasing member 39, respectively, thereby closing the inlet hole 34 and the outlet hole 35.

[0041] 2A and 2B, the battery module 20 is inserted into the opening 14 of the casing 11 to attach the battery module 20 to the charging module 10, thereby establishing an attached state. This electrically connects the terminals of the battery 21 and the terminals of the charger 19 (both not shown), thereby charging the battery 21.

[0042] 1B , the first protrusion 16 and the second protrusion 17 are inserted into the inlet hole 34 and the outlet hole 35, respectively. The first protrusion 16 inserted into the inlet hole 34 presses the first valve body 36 against the biasing force of the first biasing member 37, thereby opening the inlet hole 34. The second protrusion 17 inserted into the outlet hole 35 presses the second valve body 38 against the biasing force of the second biasing member 39, thereby opening the outlet hole 35.

[0043] 1B and 7, the cooling air supplied from the cooling device 18 flows into the upstream flow path 60 through the first protrusion 16 inserted into the inlet hole 34. As shown by arrow B in Fig. 7, the cooling air that has flowed into the upstream flow path 60 flows into the inside of the cover 40 through the first through-hole 42a of the first side wall 42. The cooling air flows inside the cover 40 toward the second through-hole 43a of the second side wall 43. At this time, the battery 21 is cooled by the cooling air.

[0044] As shown by arrow C in Fig. 8 , the cooling air flows into the downstream flow passage 61 through the second through-hole 43 a of the second side wall 43. As shown by arrow D in Fig. 1B and Fig. 8 , the cooling air that has flowed into the downstream flow passage 61 flows out into the inside of the casing 11 through the second protrusion 17 inserted into the outlet hole 35.

[0045] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. (1) In the attached state, the inlet hole 34 is open, and in the detached state, the inlet hole 34 is closed by the first valve body 36 .

[0046] According to this configuration, in the non-attached state, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering the upstream flow path 60 through the inlet hole 34. (2) In the attached state, the outlet hole 35 is open, and in the non-attached state, the outlet hole 35 is closed by the second valve body 38.

[0047] This configuration prevents foreign matter from entering the downstream flow path 61 through the outlet hole 35 when the battery is not attached. (3) The batteries 21 are plate-shaped laminate cells. The batteries 21 are arranged in the housing grooves 33 of the base 30 with a gap S between adjacent batteries 21.

[0048] According to this configuration, cooling air enters the gaps S between adjacent batteries 21, thereby efficiently cooling the batteries 21. (4) An upstream flow path 60 is formed by the first base flow path portion 32a and the cover flow path portion 47, and a downstream flow path 61 is formed by the second base flow path portion 32b and the cover flow path portion 47. The first side wall 42 is provided with a first through hole 42a that communicates between the inside and outside of the first side wall 42, and the second side wall 43 is provided with a second through hole 43a that communicates between the inside and outside of the second side wall 43. The upstream flow path 60 is connected to the first through hole 42a, and the downstream flow path 61 is connected to the second through hole 43a.

[0049] According to this configuration, the cooling air that flows into the upstream flow passage 60 through the inlet hole 34 provided in the base 30 flows into the inside of the cover 40 through the first through hole 42 a. Therefore, even if foreign matter such as water enters the upstream flow passage 60 through the inlet hole 34, the foreign matter can be prevented from entering the inside of the cover 40 through the first through hole 42 a. Similarly, even if foreign matter such as water enters the downstream flow passage 61 through the outlet hole 35, the foreign matter can be prevented from entering the inside of the cover 40 through the second through hole 43 a.

[0050] Furthermore, with the above configuration, the upstream flow path 60 is formed by the first base flow path portion 32a provided in the base 30 and the cover flow path portion 47 provided in the cover 40. The downstream flow path 61 is formed by the second base flow path portion 32b provided in the base 30 and the cover flow path portion 47 provided in the cover 40. Therefore, there is no need to provide separate piping to form the upstream flow path 60 and the downstream flow path 61. This makes it possible to reduce the number of parts.

[0051] (5) The first outer wall 42b covers a portion of the outer surface of the first side wall 42 where the first through hole 42a is provided, and the second outer wall 43b covers a portion of the outer surface of the second side wall 43 where the second through hole 43a is provided. A space S1 that constitutes a portion of the upstream flow path 60 is formed between the first side wall 42 and the first outer wall 42b, and a space S2 that constitutes a portion of the downstream flow path 61 is formed between the second side wall 43 and the second outer wall 43b.

[0052] This configuration simplifies the configuration of the base 30. <Modifications> This embodiment can be modified as follows: This embodiment and the following modifications can be combined and implemented within the scope of technical compatibility.

[0053] The cover 40 does not need to have the first outer wall 42b. For example, an eave portion may be provided on the outer surface of the first side wall 42, protruding in the longitudinal direction X from a portion above the first through-hole 42a. The base 30 may then be provided with an outer wall that extends upward to the position of the eave portion, thereby covering the portion of the outer surface of the first side wall 42 where the first through-hole 42a is provided. Furthermore, the cover 40 does not need to have the second outer wall 43b. In this case, the eave portion and the outer wall may be provided in the same manner as described above.

[0054] The first outer wall 42b may be omitted. In this case, a communicating portion may be provided in a portion of the cover flow path portion 47 that constitutes the upstream flow path 60, and a separate pipe may be provided to connect the communicating portion and the first through hole 42a. The second outer wall 43b may be omitted. In this case, similar to the above, a communicating portion may be provided in a portion of the cover flow path portion 47 that constitutes the downstream flow path 61, and a separate pipe may be provided to connect the communicating portion and the second through hole 43a.

[0055] The upstream flow path 60, the downstream flow path 61, the first through hole 42a, and the second through hole 43a may be omitted, and the inlet hole 34 and the outlet hole 35 may be provided in the base body 31. The battery 21 is not limited to a plate-shaped laminate cell. For example, the battery 21 may be cylindrical, and the shape of the portion that houses the battery 21 may be changed appropriately to match the shape of the battery 21.

[0056] The second valve body 38, the second biasing member 39, and the second protrusion 17 may be omitted. The number of first through holes 42a and second through holes 43a may be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, the first through holes 42a and second through holes 43a are not limited to shapes extending in the up-down direction Z, and may also be shapes extending in the width direction Y.

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