DE202017007550U1 - Transport container for car traction batteries - Google Patents

Abstract

Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) with the following features:
a. the transport container has a carrying floor (30) and a cover element (60), and
b. the transport container has a plurality of side walls (40) which connect the carrying floor (30) and the ceiling element (60) to one another, and
c. the side walls (40), the supporting floor (30) and the ceiling element (60) define an accommodation space (12) for accommodating the motor vehicle traction battery (100) of at least 100 cm × 40 cm × 15 cm and at most 250 cm × 150 cm × 60 cm, and characterized by the following additional feature:
i.e. the support base (30), the ceiling element (60) and/or at least one side wall (40) is formed at least in sections by a cardboard element (32, 34, 42, 44, 46, 48, 62) with a cardboard surface delimiting the receiving space.

Description

FIELD OF APPLICATION AND PRIOR ART

The invention relates to a transport container for a motor vehicle traction battery according to the preamble of claim 1 and its use.

Generic transport containers are, for example, from the post DE 102017202106 A1 known. They are used for storage and, above all, for the transport of vehicle traction batteries from the manufacturer to the site of vehicle construction.

For the purposes of this invention, motor vehicle traction batteries are complete battery units for motor vehicles that have at least a capacity of at least 5 kWh and a mass of at least 100 kg. Usual battery units have capacities of 20 kWh or more and a mass of at least 200 kg. Typical dimensions of such battery units are 150 cm x 100 cm x 20 cm or more.

Such motor vehicle traction batteries have special requirements with regard to their transport and storage. Already the dimensions and the mass lead to a quite complex handling.

What is particularly special, however, is the danger of a fire. This risk is comparatively high for brand-new vehicle traction batteries that are not yet in regular use. This leads to particular dangers when transporting and storing such motor vehicle traction batteries in transport containers. Since such fires develop very high temperatures, there is an unacceptably high risk in the case of metallic transport containers that the transport containers will fail in the event of a fire and that other batteries stored or transported together with the fire-triggering battery will also catch fire.

TASK AND SOLUTION

The object of the invention is to provide a transport container for a motor vehicle traction battery that is inexpensive to produce and in which the battery is insulated from the environment in such a way that it takes a comparatively long time for the transport container to fail due to fire.

According to the invention, a transport container for a motor vehicle traction battery according to claim 1 is proposed for this purpose. This transport container has a carrying floor and a ceiling element as well as a plurality of side walls which connect the carrying floor and the ceiling element to one another.

The side walls, the supporting floor and the ceiling element jointly define a receiving space for accommodating the motor vehicle traction battery, the supporting floor offering a support surface for the traction battery and the ceiling element being provided opposite the supporting floor. The side walls limit the area between the supporting floor and the ceiling element to the outside.

This receiving space has at least dimensions of 100 cm x 80 cm x 15 cm, which means that the receiving space can accommodate a cuboid of the stated dimensions when the transport container is closed. The usual maximum size of the recording room is 250 cm x 150 cm x 60 cm.

To remove the traction battery, the receiving space delimited by the said walls in the transport state must be opened, with preferably either the ceiling element being lifted off a base made of the supporting floor and side walls, or the ceiling element together with the side walls being lifted off the supporting floor forming the base.

The support base, the ceiling element and/or at least one side wall is formed at least in sections by a cardboard element with a cardboard surface delimiting the receiving space.

Cardboard in the context of the invention is a material made from wood pulp, cellulose, semi-cellulose or paper by gluing or pressing together. This material has proven to be very advantageous for the application of transport containers for traction batteries. If the wall thicknesses of the cardboard elements made from this are sufficiently large of at least 3 mm and preferably at least 5 or 7 or even 10 mm, the fire resistance is better than that of metal, presumably because the material only melts at significantly higher temperatures and because there is insufficient oxygen supply to burn it only to a small extent and slowly.

At the same time, cardboard and cardboard elements made from it, which delimit the receiving space, can offer high mechanical stability, which is sufficient in particular to be able to stack several transport containers of the same construction.

Furthermore, the use of cardboard as a material for the walls is therefore also a priority part, because the traction batteries of different electric vehicles have different dimensions and cardboard allows a quick and cost-effective adaptation to new requirements. This applies in particular if the walls of the transport container are composed of individual cardboard elements in the manner explained below.

Even with a transport container according to the invention, the period for which the walls can withstand a high-temperature fire is limited. It is therefore preferably provided that the transport container has a temperature sensor for determining the temperature in the receiving space. Alternatively or additionally, it can also have an electrical connection means for connection to a temperature sensor of the motor vehicle traction battery.

The walls, ie the ceiling element, the support base and the side walls, do not have to consist exclusively of cardboard in the areas with which they delimit the receiving space. In principle, there are also other surface designs that can withstand high temperatures for long periods of time. However, since cardboard is a comparatively inexpensive material with very good fire protection properties and since cardboard can also withstand high loads if the walls are skillfully constructed and is therefore suitable for stacking, it is considered advantageous if the surfaces of the transport container pointing towards the receiving space dominate Part (>50%), in particular preferably completely or almost completely (>90%) is formed by cardboard surfaces of cardboard elements. This applies separately to the surfaces of the ceiling element, the support base and the side walls facing the receiving space, but in particular to all of the surfaces facing the receiving space.

In the simplest case, the side walls can be formed by comparatively thick cardboard panels. Although this is a very simple way in terms of manufacturing technology, it has been found that such a simple solution is not ideal in terms of stability, particularly in the event of a fire and above all when a plurality of transport containers are stored or transported stacked.

It is advantageous if, in order to form the cardboard surface, the top element, the supporting base and/or the side walls have a plurality of separate cardboard elements which extend longitudinally in parallel and which abut one another and/or overlap one another. In the case of the side walls, an orientation should ideally be selected in which a plurality of separate, parallel, longitudinally extended cardboard elements extend in the vertical direction.

Such a construction of walls, in particular the side walls, from individual cardboard elements leads to a significantly higher carrying capacity of the transport container with a suitable shape. A transport container according to the invention preferably has side walls which each consist of a large number of cardboard elements of the same type, in particular of at least 10 separate cardboard elements each. The use of individual cardboard elements, which together form a wall, in particular a side wall, is also advantageous because, based on the same cardboard elements and in a simple manner, transport containers can be easily modified, for example to create a transport container with a receiving space of a different size.

It is of particular advantage if the parallel, longitudinally extended cardboard elements are longitudinally extended and preferably open-ended hollow bodies, preferably designed as closed tubes with a circular-cylindrical external cross-section.

Such hollow-cylindrical cardboard elements have proven to be particularly stable. In addition, a large number of manufacturing processes for such cardboard elements have already been established for other purposes, so that these manufacturing processes can be used. Furthermore, hollow-cylindrical cardboard elements in side walls that are open at the end are advantageous because they can be easily fixed by being pushed onto plug-in sections whose external dimensions correspond to the clear internal cross-section of the hollow cylinder.

However, other structures, in particular of the side walls, are also possible. It is also advantageous if the parallel longitudinally extending cardboard elements are designed as partially open round tube segments with a spanned angle of at least 150°, preferably with a spanned angle of at least 180°.

Such partially open round tube segments can advantageously be connected to one another or placed against one another in order to produce dense walls, in particular side walls.

If, in a transport container according to the invention, walls, in particular side walls, are assembled from a large number of similar cardboard elements, these can be connected individually to the supporting base or the ceiling element. However, it is also conceivable that for the purpose of easier handling the cardboard elements are previously connected to one another, for example glued together.

To fix the side walls and in particular the cardboard elements partially forming the side walls, it can be provided that the supporting base and/or the cover element have a holding structure which is provided for receiving the side walls or the cardboard elements. This holding structure creates a form-fitting safeguard for the side walls, so that they securely retain their position under load, for example when the traction battery moves in the accommodation space.

However, the support structure is preferably not the sole securing of the sidewalls. In addition, these can be glued to the support base or to the ceiling element, in particular in the area of the indentation that will be explained below.

The holding structure preferably has a recessed area formed on the inside and outside by holding surfaces of the support base or the cover element, into which a plurality of cardboard elements and preferably all cardboard elements of the side walls protrude. This recessed area can be designed as a recessed area surrounding the receiving space. The depression area, which preferably surrounds the receiving space in the manner of a circumferential groove, is provided for the insertion of a large number of cardboard elements, which are jointly secured therein.

Additionally or alternatively, the holding structure can have a plurality of individual structures for individually fixing a plurality of cardboard elements. These individual structures have an outer surface or an inner surface which corresponds to the shape of the inner surface or the outer surface of the cardboard elements to be secured thereby, so that each cardboard element is individually positively secured against horizontal displacement.

There are several options for producing the holding structure on the ceiling element and/or on the supporting base. Provision can thus be made for the ceiling element and/or the supporting base to be constructed from a plurality of panels which are glued to one another and which at least in part have recesses for forming the holding structure. By joining, in particular gluing, the panels together, the panels or their segments are secured in place relative to one another and together form the supporting floor or the ceiling element.

As an alternative to constructing the ceiling element or the supporting floor from panels to form the holding structure, it can also be provided that the ceiling element and/or the supporting floor is manufactured in one piece, the holding structure being introduced by a type of embossing process. This is a type of primary shaping process that is also known as the "fiber forming process".

A transport container according to the invention is preferably designed in such a way that no structurally important metal parts directly adjoin the receiving space, since these would quickly fail in the event of a fire. However, a transport container according to the invention can have metallic components outside the receiving space at different locations and for different purposes. It preferably has metallic structural elements that are attached to the ceiling element or the supporting base, preferably glued.

In particular, a plurality of metallic structural elements can be provided on the support base, which are provided as spacers. These spacer beams are extended parallel to one another to allow forklift forks to enter between them. The spacers ensure that an underside of the tray is sufficiently far from a warehouse floor so that the tines of a forklift truck can enter here.

At least one structural element in the form of a metal cover fitting for lifting the cover element can be provided on the cover element. This metallic cover fitting can be used in particular to attach lifting lugs that allow the cover element to be lifted in a simple manner.

character list

• 1 zeigt ein erstes Ausführungsbeispiel eines erfindungsgemäßen Transportbehälters im geöffneten Zustand in einer Schrägansicht.
• 2 zeigt die Komponenten des Transportbehälters der 1 in einer Explosionsdarstellung.
• 3 und 4 zeigen ein zweites Ausführungsbeispiel eines erfindungsgemäßen Transportbehälters in einer Draufsicht und einer teilgeschnittenen Frontansicht.
• 5 zeigt ein den Transportbehälter der 3 und 4 im geöffneten Zustand in einer Schrägansicht.
• 6 zeigt die Komponenten des Transportbehälters der 3 bis 5 in einer Explosionsdarstellung.
• 7 zeigt ein drittes Ausführungsbeispiel eines erfindungsgemäßen Transportbehälters im geöffneten Zustand in einer Schrägansicht.
• 8 zeigt die Komponenten des Transportbehälters der 1 in einer Explosionsdarstellung.
• 9 bis 11 zeigen Varianten zum Aufbau von Seitenwänden der Transportbehälter gemäß den 3 bis 8.
• 12 und 13 verdeutlichen Möglichkeiten des Aufbaus des Tragbodens eines erfindungsgemäßen Transportbehälters.

Further advantages and aspects of the invention result from the claims and from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention, which are explained below with reference to the figures.

• 1 shows a first embodiment of a transport container according to the invention in the open state in an oblique view.
• 2 shows the components of the transport container 1 in an exploded view.
• 3 and 4 show a second embodiment of a transport container according to the invention in a plan view and a partially sectioned front view.
• 5 shows the transport container 3 and 4 when open in an oblique view.
• 6 shows the components of the transport container 3 until 5 in an exploded view.
• 7 shows a third embodiment of a transport container according to the invention in the open state in an oblique view.
• 8th shows the components of the transport container 1 in an exploded view.
• 9 until 11 show variants for the construction of side walls of the transport container according to 3 until 8th .
• 12 and 13 illustrate possibilities of the structure of the support base of a transport container according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

the 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a transport container according to the invention for traction batteries of a motor vehicle.

Traction batteries 100 of this type are comparatively voluminous and heavy and, moreover, are at risk of fire to a comparatively high degree. In the 1 In the case of small cars with a comparatively low battery capacity of, for example, 10 or 20 kWh, the traction battery 100 shown only very schematically can have dimensions of, for example, 40 cm×80 cm×15 cm. Traction batteries for sedans with a long range and, for example, 80, 100 or 120 kWh are significantly larger and usually have a footprint that exceeds one meter in length and width.

The transport container 10 is provided for transporting such a traction battery 100 . This has a support base 30 and a ceiling element 60, in which by 2 clarified way in the support base 30 and also in the ceiling element 60, a holding structure 35 is provided with a circumferential groove-like depression 36 to accommodate four side walls 40 can.

All the elements mentioned up to here, ie the side walls 40, the support base 30 and the cover element 60 are made of cardboard as cardboard elements 32, 42, 62, preferably with a wall thickness of 10 mm or more. The cardboard elements 42, which form the side walls 40, are pressed into the groove-like depressions 36 and are held at their upper end by a corresponding groove-like depression on the underside of the cover element 60. In addition, they can, but do not have to, be glued to the cardboard elements 32, 62 of the support base 30 or the ceiling element 60.

For the purpose of handling, the transport container 10 also has metallic structural elements 20, 70, namely, on the one hand, metallic spacers 22 on its underside, which are glued to the underside of the support base 30 with the cardboard element 32 and allow forklift prongs to be inserted for the purpose of handling. In addition, fittings 72 are provided on the ceiling element 60 as metallic structural elements, which can be provided with lifting lugs or the like in a manner not shown in detail, in order to be able to easily remove the ceiling element 60 . These are attached to the top of the cardboard element 62 by means of adhesive connections.

The receiving space 12, which is defined by most of the top of the support base 30, most of the underside of the ceiling element 60 and the inside of the side walls 40 is completely formed by cardboard surfaces of the cardboard elements 32, 62, 42.

It has been shown that these cardboard surfaces are able to insulate a fire in the transport container 10 to a significantly greater extent than metal surfaces over longer periods of time in such a way that it does not spread to transport containers stored adjacent. Depending on the type of chemicals in the traction battery 100, the fire develops temperatures well above 1000°C. The metals that are suitable for transport containers have already reached the softening temperature or even the melting point, so that the metal transport container would fail and there is a considerable likelihood that the surrounding transport containers would then be affected, especially if they were stacked on top of the flammable transport container. It has been shown that the cardboard surfaces can withstand the fire over a longer period of time, since their melting point is significantly higher than that of metal and because softening is not to be expected at least to the same extent as metal.

In the 1 and 2 is not shown that a transport container 10 according to the invention preferably has provisions for temperature measurement. These are the second embodiment 3 until 6 explained and could be realized in the same way in the first embodiment and the other embodiments.

In the second embodiment of the 3 until 6 the side walls 40 are designed differently to achieve greater stability. As in particular based on the top view of 3 can be seen, a plurality of cardboard elements 44 in the form of cardboard tubes are inserted in the depression 36, which are presently designed as hollow bodies with a wall thickness of 10 mm to 15 mm, but could also be designed as a solid material. These cardboard elements 44 are arranged in two mutually offset layers. How based on the 4 as can be seen, the tubular cardboard elements 44 are not only fixed by being accommodated in the depressions 36, but also by the fact that individual structures 38, 68 in the form of elevations protrude into the front ends of the cardboard elements 44 at the ends of the supporting base 30 and the cover element 60.

Similar to the flat side walls 40 of the previous exemplary embodiment, the tubular cardboard elements 44 withstand a fire in the receiving space 12 very well, so that adjacent transport containers are not affected for a comparatively long period of time. The construction of the side walls 40 from the cardboard elements 44 or other elements deviating from a flat extension leads to a high degree of stability, in particular with regard to the fact that other identical transport containers can rest on the transport container 10 affected by the fire. It has been shown that even fairly long burning fires that burn long enough to damage the cardboard elements 44 are relatively long incapable of weakening the side walls 40 in such a way that they collapse as a whole and thereby the on the transport container 10 standing other transport container are affected.

Based on 4 It can be seen that the temperature of the receiving space 12 can be monitored via a temperature sensor 14 and alternatively or additionally via a temperature sensor 101 in the traction battery 100 and connecting it to an environment via a connection means 15 in the manner of a line. A fire can thus be detected early, so that, for example, a truck transporting the traction batteries can head for a safe parking space.

Based on the exploded view of the 6 It is readily apparent how the structure of the tray 30 is adapted to accommodate the cardboard tubular members 44 of the side walls 40. FIG. It should be made clear in this regard that the side walls 40, which are in 6 are designed as a closed, encircling ring, either can actually be designed in the form of a ring that is joined together, for example by adhesive connections, which is pushed as a whole into the holding structure 35 of the support base 30 . Alternatively, however, it is also possible to use the cardboard elements 44 designed as circular-cylindrical hollow profiles individually. The individual structures 38 provided on the support base 30 facilitate this.

In the design according to 7 and 8th corresponds to the structure of the side walls and the ceiling element that of 3 until 6 . However, it is provided here that that part of the support base 30 which delimits the receiving space 12 at the bottom is also formed by individual cardboard elements 34 extending in parallel in the form of cardboard tubes. For this purpose, the part of the support base 30 surrounding the receiving space 12 has a kind of ring-shaped structure with a central recess for inserting the tubular cardboard elements 34 . The spacer supports 22 are partially provided on their upper side with a structure which interacts positively with these tubular cardboard elements 34 and thereby fixes them in position.

In variations on this, it can also be provided that the tubular cardboard elements 34 are placed on a closed surface of the support base 30 instead of being placed in a recess. A similar structure as it is made out 8th with regard to the support base 30 can also be provided on the ceiling element 60 .

the 9 until 11 illustrate how the side walls 40 can be constructed from a large number of cardboard elements. The structure corresponds to the 9 with the tubular cardboard elements 44 pushed onto the individual structures 38 of the previous exemplary embodiments. In the variant of 10 are used as cardboard elements 46 in opposite directions made of cardboard instead of the hollow tubes 9 intended. A third variant is shown 11 , in which the cardboard elements 48 are tubular and slotted so that they can be arranged in an overlapping structure.

The construction methods 10 and 11 lead to a somewhat lower carrying capacity of the transport container 10. On the other hand, they have proven to be advantageous in terms of tightness, so that there is less risk of flames blazing out through gaps between the cardboard elements in the event of a fire.

With the supporting floor 30 and the ceiling element 60, as shown in 4 are shown, it can be seen that the respective cardboard elements 32, 62 are formed in one piece by the cardboard material being pressed into a corresponding shape as early as the cardboard manufacture. However, this manufacturing process is not easy too handle, so that other construction methods are also possible depending on boundary parameters.

12 illustrates a possibility in which two plates 80, 82 are used, with the upper plate 82 consisting of a large number of individual elements which only offer a support base with the features of the described support bases by means of an adhesive connection with the lower plate 80.

Since the attachment of the individual structures 38 manually cannot be done economically, it can also make sense to do without this. In that case, a tray 30 as shown in the 13 be formed from only three plate elements, namely a continuous base plate 80 and an annular plate 82A and an inner plate 82B, which are glued to the plate 80 and between which a recess is provided which forms the depression 36 in the glued state.

QUOTES INCLUDED IN DESCRIPTION

This list of documents cited by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent Literature Cited

• DE 102017202106 A1 [0002]

Claims (15)

Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) with the following features: a. the transport container has a carrying floor (30) and a cover element (60), and b. the transport container has a plurality of side walls (40) which connect the carrying floor (30) and the cover element (60) to one another, and c. the side walls (40), the supporting floor (30) and the ceiling element (60) define an accommodation space (12) for accommodating the motor vehicle traction battery (100) of at least 100 cm × 40 cm × 15 cm and at most 250 cm × 150 cm × 60 cm, and characterized by the following additional feature: d. the support base (30), the ceiling element (60) and/or at least one side wall (40) is formed at least in sections by a cardboard element (32, 34, 42, 44, 46, 48, 62) with a cardboard surface delimiting the receiving space. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) with the following additional feature: a. the transport container (10) has a temperature sensor (14) for determining the temperature in the receiving space (12) or electrical connection means (15) for connection to a temperature sensor (101) of the motor vehicle traction battery (100). Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100). claim 1 or 2 with the following additional feature: a. the surfaces of the ceiling element (60), the supporting base (30) and/or the side walls (40) which delimit the receiving space (12) are predominantly formed by cardboard surfaces. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) according to one of the preceding claims with the following additional feature: a. To form the cardboard surface, the top element (60), the supporting base (30) and/or the side walls (40) have a plurality of separate and parallel longitudinally extending cardboard elements (44, 46, 48) which abut one another and/or overlap one another, preferably with the following additional feature: b. at least one of the side walls (40) comprises a plurality of separate and parallel elongate cardboard elements (44, 46, 48) extending in the vertical direction. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100). claim 4 with the following additional feature: a. the cardboard elements (44) stretched lengthwise in parallel are hollow bodies stretched lengthwise and preferably open at the end, in particular with the following additional feature: b. the cardboard elements (44) stretched lengthwise in parallel are designed as closed tubes with a circular-cylindrical external cross-section. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100). claim 4 with the following additional feature: a. the parallel longitudinally extending cardboard elements (46, 48) are designed as partially open round tube segments with a spanned angle of at least 150°, preferably with a spanned angle of at least 180°. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) according to one of the preceding claims with the following additional feature: a. the support base (30) and/or the ceiling element (60) have a holding structure (35, 65) which is designed to accommodate the side walls (40) or cardboard elements (44) partially forming the side walls. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100). claim 7 with the following additional feature: a. the holding structure (35, 65) has a recessed area (36, 66) formed on the inside and outside by holding surfaces of the support base (30) or the cover element (60), into which a plurality of cardboard elements (44, 46, 48) and preferably all cardboard elements (44, 46, 48) of the side walls (40) protrude, in particular with the following additional feature: b. the recess area (36, 66) is designed as a recess area (36, 66) surrounding the receiving space (12). Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100). claim 7 or 8th with the following additional feature: a. the support structure (35, 65) has a plurality of individual structures (38) for individually fixing a plurality of cardboard elements (44). Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) according to one of Claims 7 until 9 with the following additional feature: a. the ceiling element and/or the supporting floor is made up of a plurality of panels which are glued together and which at least in part have recesses for forming the holding structure. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) according to one of Claims 7 until 9 with the following additional feature: a. the ceiling element and/or the support base is manufactured in one piece, with the holding structure being introduced by an embossing process. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) according to one of the preceding claims with the following additional feature: a. at least one cardboard element (42, 44, 46, 48) has a wall thickness in the area of the cardboard surface of at least 3 mm, preferably at least 5 mm, particularly preferably at least 7 mm. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) according to one of the preceding claims with the following additional feature: a. the transport container (10) has metallic structural elements (20, 70) which are attached to the ceiling element (60) or to the support base (30), in particular with at least one of the following additional features: b. a plurality of metallic structural elements (20) in the form of spacer supports (22) are provided on the support floor (30), the spacer supports (22) extending parallel to one another in order to allow the forks of a forklift truck to be driven in between them, and/or c. at least one structural element (70) in the form of a metal cover fitting (72) for lifting the cover element (60) is provided on the cover element (60), and/or i.e. the spacers (22) and/or the cover fitting (72) are provided on the support base (30) or the cover element (60) by means of an adhesive connection. Transport container (10) for a motor vehicle traction battery (100) according to one of the preceding claims with the following additional feature: a. A motor vehicle traction battery (100) is inserted in the receiving space (12) for transport purposes or storage purposes. Use of a transport container (10) according to one of Claims 1 until 14 for the purpose of transporting or storing a motor vehicle traction battery (100), in particular with the following features: a. the transport container (10) is used to transport the motor vehicle traction battery (100) to the installation site, and/or b. the transport container (10) is used to temporarily store the motor vehicle traction battery (100) at the place of manufacture or at the installation site.

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