JP2006196222A - Battery cell assembly, assembled battery structure and assembly method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery cell assembly that realizes an assembled battery having excellent productivity and a cooling air passage, an assembled battery structure using the battery cell assembly, and an assembling method thereof.
A battery cell assembly 20 includes a spacer 23 positioned between adjacent battery cells 30m and 30n, a positive terminal 35 of the battery cell 30m, and a negative terminal 36 of the battery cell 30n. The inter-terminal conductor 26, which is fixed from both sides separated in the stacking direction, and electrically connects these terminals, the negative terminal 36 of the battery cell 30m, and the positive terminal 35 of the battery cell 30n are connected to each other. An inter-terminal insulator 21 that is fixed from both sides separated in the stacking direction and electrically insulates these terminals is provided. The inter-terminal conductor 26 and the inter-terminal insulator 21 are provided integrally with the spacer 23.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention generally relates to a battery cell assembly, an assembled battery structure, and an assembling method thereof, and more specifically, a battery cell assembly that bonds a plurality of stacked battery cells, and the battery cell assembly. The present invention relates to an assembled battery structure using and a method for assembling the same.

  Regarding a conventional assembled battery structure, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-95402 discloses an assembled battery intended to prevent battery swelling without deteriorating sealing properties (Patent Document 1). . In the assembled battery disclosed in Patent Document 1, long lead terminals are inserted into the conductive through holes of the stacked laminated batteries to connect the laminated batteries to each other. Adjacent laminate batteries are fixed with an adhesive, for example.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-71173 discloses a stacked battery intended to firmly connect adjacent unit cells and increase the current value that can be supplied (Patent Document 2). The stacked battery disclosed in Patent Document 2 includes a connecting unit that connects a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal. As the connection means, a non-conductive ring-shaped connection member having an internal thread formed on the inner peripheral surface, and a conductive connection member having a round bar shape and having male screw portions formed at both ends thereof. And are used in combination.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-126585 discloses an assembled battery for the purpose of suppressing a decrease in weight energy of the battery and improving cooling efficiency (Patent Document 3). In the assembled battery disclosed in Patent Document 3, a plurality of prismatic lithium secondary batteries arranged in a row are fixed by L-shaped insulating parts.
JP 2004-95402 A JP 2004-71173 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-126585

  In the assembled battery disclosed in Patent Literature 1, when assembling the assembled battery, first, the stacked laminated batteries are fixed using an adhesive. Thereafter, a lead terminal is inserted into the conductive through hole, and the laminated batteries are electrically connected. However, it takes time to bond the laminated batteries together, and there is a possibility that the lead terminal cannot be inserted if a positional shift occurs during the bonding. For this reason, the workability | operativity at the time of an assembly falls. Further, even in the stacked battery disclosed in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to provide a connecting member for each adjacent electrode terminal, which is inferior in productivity. Moreover, in these patent documents, the path | route of the cooling air sent between batteries is not considered.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a battery cell assembly that realizes an assembled battery with excellent productivity and a cooling air passage, and an assembled battery using the battery cell assembly. It is to provide a structure and its assembly method.

  The battery cell assembly according to the present invention is a battery cell assembly that has a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal, and connects a plurality of battery cells stacked in a predetermined direction. In the battery cell assembly, a spacer positioned between the first and second battery cells adjacent to each other, a positive terminal of the first battery cell, and a negative terminal of the second battery cell are in a predetermined direction. The inter-terminal conductors, which are fixed from both sides separated from each other, and electrically connect these terminals, the negative terminal of the first battery cell, and the positive terminal of the second battery cell are separated in a predetermined direction. And an inter-terminal insulator that is fixed from both sides and electrically insulates these terminals. The inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator are provided integrally with the spacer.

  “Integrated with spacer” means that the inter-terminal conductor or inter-terminal insulator is formed by integral molding with the spacer, and the inter-terminal conductor, inter-terminal insulator and spacer are separately molded. Then, the case where these are fixed to each other and integrated is included.

  According to the battery cell assembly configured as described above, the inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator are provided integrally with the spacer. For this reason, when battery cells are stacked, the battery cell assembly is arranged between the cells, and by simply fixing the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal to the inter-terminal conductor and inter-terminal insulator, Electrical connection can be made simultaneously. Thereby, when a battery cell is laminated | stacked and an assembled battery is assembled, the workability | operativity can be improved.

  Preferably, a cooling air passage is formed in the spacer. According to the battery cell assembly configured as described above, the cooling air passages can be simultaneously formed between the battery cells when the battery cells are stacked. For this reason, it is possible to secure the cooling air passage without deteriorating the assembly workability of the assembled battery.

  The assembled battery structure according to the present invention includes any one of the battery cell assemblies described above and stacked in a predetermined direction via the battery cell assembly, and the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal alternate along the predetermined direction. And a plurality of battery cells arranged to line up. The battery cell assembly is arranged so that the inter-terminal conductors and the inter-terminal insulators are alternately arranged along a predetermined direction. Adjacent inter-terminal conductors and inter-terminal insulators are fixed to each other with either one of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal sandwiched therebetween.

  According to the assembled battery structure configured as described above, by using the battery cell assembly according to the present invention, excellent workability can be obtained when the assembled battery is assembled. In addition, by stacking a plurality of battery cells via the battery cell assembly, the battery cell is provided so as to be sandwiched between the spacers of the battery cell assembly disposed on both sides of the battery cell. For this reason, a battery cell can fully be protected with respect to the force and impact from the outside, and the reliability of an assembled battery can be improved.

  Preferably, a hole penetrating in a predetermined direction is formed in the inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator. The inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator are fixed to each other by a bolt inserted through the hole. According to the assembled battery structure configured as described above, a plurality of battery cells stacked in multiple layers can be fixed together by bolts. Thereby, the assembly workability | operativity of an assembled battery can be improved further.

  The method for assembling the assembled battery structure according to the present invention is the above-described assembled structure of the assembled battery structure. A method for assembling an assembled battery structure includes a step of providing an inter-terminal conductor and an inter-terminal insulator integrally with a spacer to form a battery cell assembly, and a step of stacking a plurality of battery cells via the battery cell assembly. And a step of fixing the inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator to each other after the step of stacking the plurality of battery cells. According to the assembling method of the assembled battery structure configured as described above, the operation of arranging the battery cell assemblies between the cells at the time of stacking the plurality of battery cells by forming the battery cell assemblies in advance. Can be easily performed. Thereby, the assembly workability | operativity of an assembled battery can be improved and the reduction of assembly cost and assembly time can be aimed at.

  As described above, according to the present invention, a battery cell assembly that realizes an assembled battery that is excellent in productivity and has a cooling air passage, an assembled battery structure that uses the battery cell assembly, and an assembly method thereof Can be provided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an assembled battery according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the assembled battery in FIG. The figure shows an assembled battery that is mounted on a hybrid vehicle and serves as a power source for the hybrid vehicle together with an internal combustion engine such as a gasoline engine or a diesel engine. With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the assembled battery 10 is configured by stacking a plurality of battery cells 30 in a direction indicated by an arrow 101. Between the battery cells 30 adjacent to each other, the battery cell combination 20 is arranged.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the inside of the battery cell in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 3, the battery cell 30 includes a positive electrode 34 and a negative electrode 33 that are laminated in a multilayer state in a state immersed in an electrolytic solution, and a separator 32 that is disposed between the positive electrode 34 and the negative electrode 33. ing. The battery cell 30 is a laminate-type lithium battery, and is covered with an exterior body 31 made of, for example, an aluminum foil. The battery cell 30 has a positive electrode terminal 35 and a negative electrode terminal 36 connected to the positive electrode 34 and the negative electrode 33, respectively. The positive electrode terminal 35 and the negative electrode terminal 36 protrude in opposite directions from both ends of the exterior body 31, respectively.

  4 is a cross-sectional view of the battery cell assembly taken along line IV-IV in FIG. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, battery cell assembly 20 has a substantially rectangular surface 23a, and spacer 23 is formed in a flat plate shape, and spacers 23 are positioned on opposite sides of surface 23a. The inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26 are provided. The inter-terminal insulator 21 is made of, for example, a resin, and the inter-terminal conductor 26 is made of, for example, a metal such as copper. The spacer 23 may be formed from either resin or metal. When the spacer 23 is formed from resin, the moldability of the spacer 23 can be improved. Moreover, when the spacer 23 is formed from a metal, the heat dissipation of the assembled battery 10 can be improved.

  The inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26 are provided integrally with the spacer 23. When the spacer 23 is formed from resin, the spacer 23 and the inter-terminal insulator 21 may be integrally formed using the same resin material. The spacer 23 and the inter-terminal insulator 21 may be formed of different resin materials. The spacer 23, the inter-terminal insulator 21, and the inter-terminal conductor 26 may be integrated by an adhesive, fitting, welding, or the like in consideration of the material forming each.

  The spacer 23 is formed with a cooling air passage 24 extending in parallel with the surface 23a. The cooling air passage 24 extends in a direction orthogonal to the direction connecting the inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26, and is formed between opposite sides of the surface 23a separated in the orthogonal direction. A plurality of cooling air passages 24 are formed at predetermined intervals in the direction connecting the inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26. The spacer 23 is formed in a harmonica tube structure by such a cooling air passage 24. The inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26 are formed with through holes 22 and 27 penetrating in the direction indicated by the arrow 101 in FIG.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the plurality of battery cells 30 are arranged such that positive electrode terminals 35 and negative electrode terminals 36 are alternately arranged along the stacking direction. For example, in the battery cells 30m and 30n positioned adjacent to each other via the battery cell combination 20m, the positive electrode terminal 35 of the battery cell 30m and the negative electrode terminal 36 of the battery cell 30n are the same from the exterior body 31. The negative electrode terminal 36 of the battery cell 30m and the positive electrode terminal 35 of the battery cell 30n are arranged so as to protrude in the same direction opposite to the previous direction.

  The battery cell assembly 20 is arranged so that the inter-terminal conductors 26 and the inter-terminal insulators 21 are alternately arranged along the stacking direction of the battery cells 30. For example, the battery cell assemblies 20m and 20n arranged on both sides of the battery cell 30n include an inter-terminal insulator 21 of the battery cell assembly 20m and an inter-terminal conductor 26 of the battery cell assembly 20n with respect to the spacer 23. The inter-terminal conductor 26 of the battery cell assembly 20m and the inter-terminal insulator 21 of the battery cell assembly 20n are on the same side opposite to the previous side with respect to the spacer 23. It is arranged to be located. The positive electrode terminal 35 and the negative electrode terminal 36 of the battery cell 30 are sandwiched between the inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26 that are arranged next to each other. The battery cell assembly 20 is arranged so that the through holes 22 and 27 communicate with each other along the stacking direction of the battery cells 30.

  The exterior body 31 of the battery cell 30 is positioned in a space formed between the spacers 23 of the adjacent battery cell assemblies 20. The exterior body 31 is completely accommodated in the space between the spacers 23 and is provided at a position overlapping the spacers 23 when viewed in the stacking direction of the battery cells 30. The exterior body 31 is provided in contact with the spacer 23. The exterior body 31 is sandwiched between the spacers 23 of adjacent battery cell assemblies 20.

  With such a configuration of the assembled battery 10, the positive electrode terminal 35 and the negative electrode terminal 36 arranged in the stacking direction of the battery cells 30 alternately connect and insulate along the stacking direction on one side with respect to the spacer 23. Are connected to each other so as to repeat. Further, on the other side of the spacer 23, a positive electrode terminal 35 and a negative electrode terminal 36 arranged in the stacking direction of the battery cells 30 so as to be insulated and connected in layers connected and insulated on one side, respectively. However, they are electrically connected to each other so that connection and insulation are alternately repeated along the stacking direction. Thereby, the stacked battery cells 30 are connected in series.

  Moreover, the exterior body 31 of the battery cell 30n is surrounded by a frame structure constituted by the inter-terminal conductors 26, the spacers 23, and the inter-terminal insulators 21 of the battery cell assemblies 20m and 20n. By surrounding the battery cell 30 with the frame structure in this way, the battery cell 30 can be appropriately protected when a force is applied to the assembled battery 10 from the outside.

  FIG. 5 is a side view showing a structure of a bolt used in the assembled battery in FIG. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, bolts 41 are inserted into through holes 22 and 27 that communicate in the stacking direction of battery cells 30. The bolt 41 fixes the inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26 adjacent to each other along the stacking direction of the battery cells 30, and integrates the plurality of stacked battery cells 30. Bus bars 42 and 43 serving as current paths are respectively connected to the inter-terminal conductors 26 of the battery cells 30 located at both ends in the stacking direction.

  The bolt 41 is inserted into the through holes 22 and 27 in a state where the screw portion 41p is covered with the pipe-like insulator 46. The insulator 46 prevents conduction between the battery cells 30 via the bolts 41. Thereby, it is not necessary to perform bolting between adjacent battery cells 30, and all the stacked battery cells 30 can be fixed together.

  When the assembled battery 10 in FIG. 1 is assembled, a plurality of battery cell assemblies 20 in which the spacer 23, the inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26 are integrally provided are prepared in advance. The shape of the battery cell assembly 20 may be all the same shape, and it is not necessary to change the shape depending on the position to be arranged. Next, the battery cells 30 are stacked while the battery cell assembly 20 is sandwiched therebetween. Finally, the bolt 41 is inserted into the through holes 22 and 27 with the insulator 46 interposed, and the battery cell assemblies 20 are fixed together. The assembled battery 10 shown in FIG. 1 is completed by the above process.

  The battery cell assembly 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a positive electrode terminal 35 and a negative electrode terminal 36, and is a battery cell assembly that connects a plurality of battery cells 30 stacked in a predetermined direction. The battery cell assembly 20 includes a spacer 23 positioned between battery cells 30m and 30n as first and second battery cells adjacent to each other, a positive electrode terminal 35 of the battery cell 30m, and a negative electrode terminal of the battery cell 30n. 36 are fixed from both sides separated in a predetermined direction, and the inter-terminal conductor 26 that electrically connects these terminals, the negative terminal 36 of the battery cell 30m, and the positive terminal 35 of the battery cell 30n. And an inter-terminal insulator 21 which is fixed from both sides separated in a predetermined direction and electrically insulates between these terminals. The interterminal conductor 26 and the interterminal insulator 21 are provided integrally with the spacer 23.

  The assembled battery 10 as the assembled battery structure is stacked in a predetermined direction via the battery cell assembly 20 and the battery cell assembly 20, and the positive terminal 35 and the negative terminal 36 are alternately arranged along the predetermined direction. A plurality of battery cells 30 arranged side by side. The battery cell assembly 20 is disposed so that the inter-terminal conductors 26 and the inter-terminal insulators 21 are alternately arranged along a predetermined direction. Adjacent inter-terminal conductors 26 and inter-terminal insulators 21 are fixed to each other with either positive electrode terminal 35 or negative electrode terminal 36 sandwiched therebetween.

  The battery cell 30 further includes an exterior body 31 as a main body portion from which the positive electrode terminal 35 and the negative electrode terminal 36 protrude from different positions. The exterior body 31 is surrounded by the spacer 23, the inter-terminal conductor 26, and the inter-terminal insulator 21 of the battery cell assembly 20 disposed on both sides of the battery cell 30.

  According to the battery cell assembly 20, the assembled battery 10, and the assembling method thereof according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above, the battery cell assembly 20 is used without bonding the battery cells 30. The battery cells 30 can be fixed to each other. At the same time, electrical connection between the battery cells 30 can be performed. At this time, since the battery cell assembly 20 in which the inter-terminal conductor 26 and inter-terminal insulator 21 and the spacer 23 are integrated can be handled as one component, it takes time to arrange the battery cell 30 between them. There is nothing. Further, by forming through holes 22 and 27 penetrating in the stacking direction of the battery cells 30 in the inter-terminal conductor 26 and the inter-terminal insulator 21, the battery cells 30 stacked in multiple layers can be fixed together. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the workability at the time of assembling the assembled battery 10 can be dramatically improved. Further, since the cooling air passage 24 is formed in the spacer 23, a passage for flowing cooling air between the battery cells 30 can be provided at the same time.

  In the present embodiment, the inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26 are provided on the opposite sides of the surface 23a, respectively, but the inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26 are provided at the positions. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In accordance with the positions of the positive electrode terminal 35 and the negative electrode terminal 36 of the battery cell 30, for example, the inter-terminal insulator 21 and the inter-terminal conductor 26 may be provided at different positions on one side of the surface 23a. 23a may be provided on adjacent sides.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

It is a perspective view which shows the assembled battery in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the assembled battery in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the inside of the battery cell in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the battery cell assembly along the line IV-IV in FIG. 1. It is a side view which shows the structure of the volt | bolt used for the assembled battery in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  10 battery packs, 20 battery cell assemblies, 21 inter-terminal insulators, 22, 27 through holes, 23 spacers, 24 cooling air passages, 26 inter-terminal conductors, 30, 30m, 30n battery cells, 35 positive terminals, 36 negative terminals 41 volts.

Claims (5)

A battery cell assembly that has a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal, and bonds a plurality of battery cells stacked in a predetermined direction,
A spacer positioned between the first and second battery cells adjacent to each other;
A positive terminal of the first battery cell and a negative terminal of the second battery cell are fixed from both sides separated in the predetermined direction, and an inter-terminal conductor for electrically connecting these terminals; ,
An inter-terminal insulator in which a negative electrode terminal of the first battery cell and a positive electrode terminal of the second battery cell are respectively fixed from both sides separated in the predetermined direction and electrically insulate between the terminals. And
The inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator are battery cell assemblies provided integrally with the spacer.   The battery cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein a cooling air passage is formed in the spacer. The battery cell assembly according to claim 1 or 2,
A plurality of battery cells that are stacked in a predetermined direction via the battery cell assembly, and arranged so that positive and negative terminals are alternately arranged along the predetermined direction;
The battery cell assembly is arranged such that the inter-terminal conductors and the inter-terminal insulators are alternately arranged along the predetermined direction, and the adjacent inter-terminal conductors and the inter-terminal insulators Is an assembled battery structure in which either one of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal is sandwiched and fixed to each other.   A hole penetrating in the predetermined direction is formed in the inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator, and the inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator are mutually connected by a bolt inserted through the hole. The assembled battery structure according to claim 3, which is fixed. A method for assembling an assembled battery structure according to claim 3 or 4,
Providing the inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator integrally with the spacer, and forming the battery cell assembly;
Laminating the plurality of battery cells via the battery cell assembly;
After assembling the plurality of battery cells, a method for assembling the assembled battery structure, comprising: fixing the inter-terminal conductor and the inter-terminal insulator to each other.

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