Improved protective cover for electrical terminals of a battery

Abstract

The invention relates to a protective cover (C) intended to cover the electrical terminals (B) of a battery module, the cover having a parallelepipedal cross-section and comprising an upper wall (5) and four sidewalls (1, 2, 3, 4), at least one (4) of which is solid and intended to face the battery, and at least one other of which is perforated for passing therethrough a bundle (F) of cables intended to be connected to the terminals, which protective cover is characterised in that it comprises at least two perforated sidewalls, each being formed of a series of bars (11) forming a shutter, the upper ends (11a) of which bars are connected to the upper wall (5) of the cover by an elastically deformable articulation region (12) and which bars define therebetween recesses (10) facilitating the pivoting thereof to allow the cables to pass through.

Description

DESCRIPTION TITLE: IMPROVED PROTECTIVE COVER FOR ELECTRICAL BATTERY TERMINALS

[0001] The present invention claims priority from French application No. 2401704 filed on 21.02.2024, the content of which (text, drawings and claims) is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The invention relates, in general, to the field of electrical energy storage batteries and is more particularly concerned with an improved cover intended to cover the electrical terminals of these batteries.

[0003] The electrical terminals or poles of battery modules and packs (also called "busbars") are connected to bundles of conductive cables that supply power to various equipment. This connection is made through the wall of covers made of insulating material that cover these terminals. Such covers must meet IPXX standards and, in particular, the IP2X standard, which requires them to be equipped with means of protection against "intrusions of solid bodies greater than 12 mm", and which targets, in particular, the fingers of an operator likely to come into contact with these terminals.

[0004] However, to allow the cables to be connected to the terminals, current covers only offer a single side entry, right or left, which limits the connection possibilities. In addition, this entry is generally too narrow to allow the passage of large bundles.

[0005] Furthermore, these covers do not allow the internal connections of the terminals to be viewed from the outside, which is problematic when checking their condition during maintenance operations.

[0006] In this context, the invention sought a simple and ergonomic technical solution intended to resolve the problems raised by known covers by allowing, in particular, greater flexibility of use and an increase in connection capacities while respecting the standards in force.

[0007] This object is achieved, according to the invention, by means of a protective cover intended to cover the electrical terminals of a battery, said cover having a parallelepiped section and comprising an upper wall and four side walls, at least one of which is solid and intended to face the battery and at least one other of which is perforated for the passage of a bundle of cables intended to be connected to said terminals, characterized in that it comprises at least two perforated side walls, each being formed of a series of strips forming a flap, the upper ends of which are connected to the upper wall of the cover by an elastically deformable articulation zone and which delimit between them recesses facilitating their pivoting for the passage of the cables.

[0008] According to a characteristic of the cover of the invention, the bars are parallel to each other.

[0009] According to another characteristic of the cover of the invention, the bars extend perpendicular to the upper wall.

[0010] According to yet another characteristic of the cover of the invention, the lower ends of the bars are free to allow them to pivot.

[0011] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the hood comprises three adjacent perforated side walls.

[0012] According to a specific embodiment of the invention, the cover comprises a base through which an orifice is provided for the battery terminals.

[0013] Preferably, the cover is made of an electrically insulating elastomeric material with plastic deformation.

[0014] In order to meet IPXX standards, the flap formed by the bars and recesses is sized to prevent the intrusion into the cover of a solid body whose dimensions are greater than or equal to 12mm.

[0015] Another object of the invention is a battery module for storing electrical energy, the terminals of which are provided with a cover as defined above.

[0016] Yet another object of the invention is a motor vehicle equipped with batteries whose electrical terminals are protected by a hood having the characteristics defined above.

[0017] In its most general aspect, the invention proposes an improved cover allowing the connection of multiple cable bundles ("bus bars") to the terminals, in several directions and orientations, while ensuring effective and standardized protection of users and maintenance operators.

[0018] Additionally, thanks to the recesses between the hood bars, users have optimal visibility and safety while eliminating the constraints resulting from previous hoods.

[0019] Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will emerge from reading the description which follows, with reference to the appended figures, for which:

[0020] [Fig. 1] is a schematic side view of the same cover according to the invention used in two distinct modes of connection of a cable harness (busbar).

[0021] [Fig. 2] is a perspective view from the front of a preferred embodiment of the cover of the invention receiving a wire harness connected to a battery terminal (not shown).

[0022] [Fig. 3] is a side view of the hood of Figure 2.

[0023] [Fig. 4] is a perspective view of the rear of the hood of Figure 2.

[0024] Naturally, the embodiment of the cover of the invention described below is given only as a non-limiting example. It is explicitly provided within the scope of the invention that different embodiments can be proposed and combined to propose others.

[0025] The invention relates to the general field of electrical energy storage devices such as battery modules and applies, more particularly, to the protection of electrical terminals intended for the connection of cable harnesses (of the “busbar” type) to users.

[0026] Traditionally, known protection means consist of covers intended to cover the electrical terminals of the module. There already exist covers C having a parallelepiped section and comprising, in particular, as illustrated by the figures, an upper wall 5 and four side walls 1, 2, 3, 4 of which at least one (here wall 4) is solid and intended to be positioned opposite the battery. At least one other side wall is generally perforated to allow the passage of a bundle of cables (referenced F in figure 1) intended to be connected to the terminals B of the module M.

[0027] However, these covers only offer one side entry, right or left, which limits the possibilities for connecting to the terminals. In addition, it turns out that this entry is generally too narrow to allow the passage of large cable bundles.

[0028] In this problematic context, the invention proposes an improved hood comprising at least two perforated side walls and, preferably, three perforated side walls 1, 2 3, as in the embodiment shown in Figures 2 to 4.

[0029] More precisely, each of these walls is formed and delimited by a series of bars 11 whose upper ends 11a are connected to the upper wall 5 of the cover by an elastically deformable articulation zone 12. These bars 11 have a flap function and delimit between them recesses 10 facilitating their pivoting for the passage of the bundle F of cables.

[0030] The IPXX index corresponds to the level of protection of an enclosure containing an electrical device. This index is recorded in an international standard issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission relating to waterproofing (and taking into account the standards IEC 520, DIN 40050, BS 5490). The first number X represents the level of protection against the penetration of solid bodies (from 0 to 6), while the second X corresponds to that of protection against penetration water (from 0 to 9). Within the framework of the invention and to satisfy the IP2X protection index, the flap formed by the bars 11 and the recesses 10 must be able to prevent the intrusion inside the cover C of a solid body whose dimensions are greater than or equal to 12mm.

[0031] These bars 11 are parallel to each other and preferably extend perpendicularly to the upper wall 5. The lower ends 11b of the bars 11 are free to allow them to pivot upwards. Preferably, the cover C is made of an electrically insulating elastomer material with plastic deformation.

[0032] Consequently, due to the elasticity of the material constituting the cover C and, in particular, of the articulation zone 12, if the harnesses F are disconnected from the terminals B and extracted from the cover C, the bars fold back to return to their vertical rest position and secure the users by hindering access to the terminals B.

[0033] Where appropriate, the cover C comprises a base 6 through which an orifice is provided for the terminals B of the battery module. The cover C of the invention allows the connection of multiple cable harnesses ("bus bars"] to the terminals B, in several directions and orientations, while ensuring effective and standardized protection of users and maintenance operators in compliance with the 1P2X standard.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. Protective cover (C) intended to cover the electrical terminals (B) of a battery module, said cover having a parallelepiped section and comprising an upper wall (5) and four side walls (1, 2, 3, 4), at least one of which (4) is full and intended to be opposite the battery and at least one other of which is perforated for the passage of a bundle (F) of cables intended to be connected to said terminals, characterized in that it comprises at least two perforated side walls, each being formed of a series of bars (11) forming a flap whose upper ends (11a) are connected to the upper wall (5) of the cover by an elastically deformable articulation zone (12) which delimit between them recesses (10) facilitating their pivoting for the passage of cables.

2. Hood according to claim 1, characterized in that the bars (11) are parallel to each other.

3. Hood according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the bars (11) extend perpendicular to the upper wall (5).

4. Hood according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower ends (11b) of the bars (11) are free to allow them to pivot.

5. Hood according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises three adjacent perforated side walls (1, 2, 3).

6. Cover according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a base (6) through which an orifice is provided for the terminals (B) of the battery.

7. Hood according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is made with an electrically insulating elastomer material with plastic deformation.

8. Cover according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the flap formed of the bars (11) and the recesses (10) has dimensions conforming to the normative index 1P2X, where X corresponds to the level of protection against the penetration of water being between 0 and 9, so as to prevent the intrusion into the cover of a solid body whose dimensions are greater than or equal to 12 mm.

9. Module (M) of batteries for storing electrical energy, the terminals (B) of which are provided with a cover (C) according to one of the preceding claims.

10. Motor vehicle equipped with batteries whose electrical terminals are protected by a cover (C) according to one of claims 1 to 8.

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