JP6532220B2 - Protective cover - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a protective cover, and more particularly to a protective cover that covers a conductor case of a bus bar module that connects a positive electrode and a negative electrode of adjacent batteries.

  In an electric car, a hybrid car and the like, a battery assembly in which a plurality of batteries are connected in series and bundled is mounted as a drive source of an electric motor. In this battery assembly, positive electrodes and negative electrodes of a plurality of batteries are arranged adjacent to each other and alternately arranged, and positive electrodes and negative electrodes of adjacent batteries are connected in series with conductors called bus bars. Each conductor is accommodated in a resin conductor case. Each conductor case is formed in connection with the arrangement direction of the batteries, and is attached to the side surface of the battery assembly with the electrodes of the battery assembly protruding. The conductor case is formed with an opening accessible to the conductor, and the opening is covered with an insulating cover from the outside (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2012-164598 A

  However, the insulating cover covering the opening of the conductor case may be damaged when it receives an impact by an external force.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to form a strength member in contact with the side of the battery at the bottom of the insulating cover, and to release the external force acting on the insulation cover to the battery side via the strength member.

  On the other hand, in the conductor case, moisture in the air may condense as air temperature fluctuates, and this condensed water is usually discharged downward from a water draining portion or the like formed in the opening or peripheral wall of the conductor case. Ru. However, if the strength member is disposed at the lower part of the conductor case, dew condensation water accumulated between the strength member and the conductor case may spread along the side of the battery, which may cause problems in adjacent conductors.

  An object of the present invention is to make it possible to drain condensation water.

The protective cover according to the present invention for solving the above problems comprises: an insulating cover for covering an opening of a conductor case for accommodating a conductor connecting between a positive electrode and a negative electrode arranged on the side surfaces of a pair of adjacent batteries; A dispersion block is formed below the side surface to disperse the external force applied to the insulating cover, and the dispersion block is a flat substrate connected to the lower portion of the insulating cover , and the dispersion block protruding from the substrate to the battery side wherein abutting wall portion in the battery, it is formed and a drain path extending from the upper end to the lower end, the upper end opening of the water drain path, to become is positioned on the upper end surface of the wall portion I assume.

  According to this structure, dew condensation water generated in the conductor case flows down from the opening of the conductor case and the like and flows down the drainage path of the dispersion block. Therefore, even if the dispersion block is disposed below the conductor case, drainage Becomes possible.

  When the draining portion is formed in the lower portion of the conductor case, it is preferable that the positions of the draining path and the upper end opening of the draining path be offset from each other in the direction in which the batteries are arranged. According to this, for example, foreign matter such as a rod-like conductor can be prevented from intruding into the conductor case through the water drain path, so that foreign matter can be prevented from coming into contact with a high voltage conductor or the like. Security can be ensured.

  Specifically, it is possible that the dispersion block adopts a configuration in which the upper end opening of the water draining path is positioned below the connecting portion connecting the plurality of conductor cases corresponding to the plurality of adjacent batteries to each other. it can.

  Moreover, the structure which is formed in maze shape can be employ | adopted for a drainage path. According to this structure, since the water draining path can be formed in a non-linear manner, it is possible to prevent the rod-like foreign material and the like from entering the conductor case.

  Further, the dispersion blocks can be respectively provided for the insulating covers corresponding to at least a pair of batteries, and the gaps formed between the adjacent dispersion blocks can be used as the water drainage path. According to this structure, the structure of the dispersion block can be simplified because it is not necessary to form a drainage path inside the dispersion block. Also, the dispersion block can release the external force to the vicinity of the boundary between the relatively strong batteries of the battery assembly.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to drain condensation water generated in the conductor case.

It is an appearance perspective view showing one embodiment of a protective cover of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which looked at FIG. 1 from the side. It is sectional drawing which looked at FIG. 1 from the front. It is the perspective view which saw the protective cover of this invention from the inside. It is an appearance perspective view showing one embodiment of a protective cover of the present invention. It is the external appearance perspective view which looked at the protective cover of FIG. 5 from the downward direction. It is sectional drawing which looked at FIG. 5 from the side. It is sectional drawing which looked at FIG. 5 from the front. It is a figure which shows other embodiment of a drainage path. It is a top view of the conductor case which accommodates the conductor connected to the total electrode. It is the external appearance perspective view which saw the conductor case from the downward direction. It is a figure explaining the procedure of fixing a cable to a conductor case.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a protective cover to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the protective cover 11 of the present embodiment is used by being attached to a DC power supply for driving a motor such as an electric car or a hybrid car. The direct current power source is formed as a battery assembly 15 by arranging a plurality of rectangular battery cells 13 such as lithium batteries formed thin.

  The battery assembly 15 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape by overlapping the batteries 13. In each battery, the positive electrode is disposed on one of the side surfaces corresponding to each other, and the negative electrode is disposed on the other side. In FIG. 1, the electrodes are respectively disposed on the side surface on the near side and the side surface on the far side. The plurality of batteries 13 are disposed such that the positive electrode and the negative electrode are alternately adjacent to each other, and the positive electrode and the negative electrode of a pair of adjacent batteries are connected in series by a conductor 17 called a bus bar. In the batteries 13 positioned at both ends of the battery assembly 15, a total positive electrode and a total negative electrode are respectively disposed.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plurality of conductors 17 are respectively mounted in a resin conductive case 19 which is an insulating member to constitute the bus bar module 21. The conductor case 19 is formed by raising the rectangular peripheral wall 25 from the bottom plate 23. The plurality of conductor cases 19 are connected to the adjacent conductor cases 19 via the connection portions 27 and arranged in the direction in which the batteries 13 are arranged.

  The positive electrode or the negative electrode of each battery is connected to a cylindrical positive electrode terminal or a negative electrode terminal projecting from the battery side surface, and a screw is formed on the outer peripheral surface on the tip side of these electrode terminals 29. The step 31 is formed. The bottom wall 23 of the conductor case 19 is provided with a pair of holes 33 in alignment with the positions of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal of the adjacent batteries 13, and the step 31 of each electrode terminal 29 abuts on the periphery of the hole 33 It is supposed to be. Each conductor 17 is provided with a pair of holes 35 in alignment with the positions of the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal of the adjacent batteries 13. Each electrode terminal 29 is inserted into this hole 35 and a nut 37 is inserted into the screw of each electrode terminal 29. By screwing together, the electrode terminals 29 are fastened and fixed. Although not shown, a voltage detection terminal for detecting the voltage of each battery 13 is superimposed on each conductor 17, and a wire connected to the voltage detection terminal is drawn out from the conductor case 19. It has become.

  Next, the configuration of the protective cover 11, which is a feature of the present embodiment, will be described. The protective cover 11 is formed of a resin material having an insulating property, and is attached to each of the conductor cases 19 to constitute the bus bar module 21. The protective cover 11 of the present embodiment includes an insulating cover 41 that covers the opening 39 of the conductor case 19 and a dispersion block 43 formed in a block shape.

  The insulating cover 41 is formed so as to cover the openings 39 of the conductor cases 19 by raising the side wall 47 from the flat substrate 45 to the battery 13 side, and extends in the arrangement direction of the batteries 13. A plurality of locking projections 49 are formed on the side wall 47, and the locking projections 49 are respectively locked to the plurality of lock pieces 51 formed on the peripheral wall 25 of the conductor case 19 and attached to the conductor case 19.

  The dispersion block 43 is formed in line with the lower part of the insulating cover 41. The dispersion block 43 is formed by a frame-shaped side wall 55 projecting toward the battery 13 from a flat plate-like substrate 53 connected to the lower part of the substrate 45 of the insulating cover 41. The substrate 53 is formed in a stepped shape so as to be located outside of the substrate 45 of the insulating cover 41. The dispersion blocks 43 of the present embodiment are respectively provided below the insulating covers 41 corresponding to the pair of batteries 13, and are arranged in the arrangement direction of the batteries 13 along the substrate 45.

  The side wall 55 of the dispersion block 43 has a rectangular cross section and protrudes toward the battery 13 with respect to the side wall 47 of the insulating cover 41, and disperses the external force applied to the insulating cover 41 by coming into contact with the battery 13. There is. The inner side of the insulating cover 41 and the inner side of the dispersion block 43 are separated by the side wall 55 of the dispersion block 43. Inside the side wall 55 of the dispersion block 43, a plurality of ribs 57 rising from the substrate 53 are provided. Each rib 57 is continuous with the side wall 55 to reinforce the side wall 55 and to be in contact with the side surface of the battery 13.

  The dispersion block 43 is formed with drain paths 59 extending from the upper end to the lower end, respectively. In the present embodiment, the gap between the adjacent dispersion blocks 43, that is, the gap between the opposing side walls 55 of the adjacent dispersion blocks 43 serves as the drainage path 59. The drainage path 59 is formed in a groove shape by communicating the upper end opening 61 located at the upper end of the dispersion block 43 and the lower end opening 63 located at the lower end. The upper end opening 61 of the present embodiment is located below the connecting portion 27 connecting the adjacent conductor cases 19 and is located inside the insulating cover 41. The inner side of the insulating cover 41 means the side of the battery 13 with respect to the inner surface of the substrate 45 forming the insulating cover 41.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, dew condensation water generated in the conductor case 19 travels along the tip of the peripheral wall 25 of the conductor case 19 and becomes the upper end surface of the dispersion block 43. It flows down on the side wall 55. However, when the condensed water accumulates to some extent on the side wall 55 of the dispersion block, it drains from the upper end opening 61 by flowing down the drainage path 59 in the direction of the arrow. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the condensation water from spreading along the side surfaces of the battery 13 and the like, and it is possible to avoid the trouble between the conductors 17.

  The upper end opening 61 is positioned upward with respect to the side wall 55 serving as the upper end face of the dispersion block 43 in the drainage path 59 of the present embodiment, but the upper end opening 61 serves as the upper end face It can also be set to the same height as 55. Alternatively, the side wall 55 can be formed to be inclined toward the upper end opening 61.

  According to the present embodiment, since the dispersion block 43 can be disposed below the insulating cover 41 where there is a space for the installation space, the design freedom of the dispersion block 43 is improved. Therefore, for example, when an external force acts on the insulating cover 41, the external force can be dispersed in the dispersion block 43 and escaped to the battery 13 side, so the deformation of the insulating cover 41 is suppressed and the conductor case 19 is It is possible to prevent problems from occurring.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the dispersion block 43 is formed on the lower portion of the insulating cover 41 corresponding to the pair of batteries, the dispersion block 43 pressed to the battery 13 side by the external force is relatively strong. The external force can be released near the boundary between the high batteries 13.

  By the way, when the water draining path 59 is provided in the dispersion block 43 as in the present embodiment, it is necessary to prevent foreign matter from invading the conductor case 19 through the water draining path 59. For example, IP standard (International Protection) is known as a safety standard of this kind of electric equipment. In order to satisfy the requirements of the IP standard, for example, it is required that a rod of a predetermined thickness inserted in a target gap not come in contact with an active part (for example, the conductor 17 or the electrode terminal 29).

  In this respect, in the present embodiment, since the upper end opening 61 of the water drainage path 59 extending in the vertical direction is located below the connecting portion 27 of the conductor case 19, the rod inserted into the water drainage path 59 The material abuts on the connecting portion 27 but does not intrude into the conductor case 19. Therefore, foreign matter can be reliably prevented from entering the conductor case 19 through the water drain path 59.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the condensed water generated in the conductor case 19 flows down along the tip of the peripheral wall 25 of the conductor case 19, but instead of this example, the peripheral wall 25 of the conductor case 19 penetrates It is also possible to form a drainage portion such as a hole or a notch. Moreover, the notch part for withdrawing the electric wire connected to the terminal for voltage detection can also be utilized as a drain part. As described above, if a draining portion is formed in the peripheral wall 25 of the conductor case 19, dew condensation water can be efficiently drained from the inside of the conductor case 19, and corrosion or the like of the conductor 17 can be prevented.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the gap between the adjacent dispersion blocks 43 is the water drain path 59, the structure in the dispersion blocks 43 can be simplified. On the other hand, the drainage path 59 may be formed, for example, by providing a gap between the pair of opposed ribs 57 inside the dispersion block 43 and vertically crossing it. In this case, in order to satisfy the IP standard, the upper end opening 61 of the drainage path 59 needs to be provided, for example, at a position shifted from the notch of the conductor case 19 in the arrangement direction of the batteries 13.

  Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which the dispersion block 43 is formed in the lower part of the insulating cover 41 corresponding to the pair of electrodes 13 has been described, but the dispersion block is respectively distributed in the lower part of the insulating cover 41 corresponding to the plurality of pairs of electrodes 13 43 can also be formed. In this case, a gap between adjacent dispersion blocks 43 may be used as a water draining path, or a water draining path may be formed inside each dispersion block.

  Next, another embodiment of a protective cover to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. The protective cover 71 of the present embodiment is different from the protective cover 11 of the above embodiment in the structure of the dispersed block, but the functions of the insulating cover 73 and the dispersed block 75 are basically the same as those of the above embodiment. In addition, in this embodiment, about the structure similar to said embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the protective cover 71 of the present embodiment, the insulating cover 73 and the dispersing block 75 are connected by a flat substrate 77, and the side wall 79 of the insulating cover 73 is engaged with the conductor case 19. The dispersion block 75 of the present embodiment is formed in a block shape by a frame-shaped side wall 81 protruding from the substrate 77 to the battery 13 side, and is provided below the insulating cover 73 corresponding to the pair of batteries 13. The side wall 81 of the dispersion block 75 is reinforced with a rib, and protrudes toward the battery 13 more than the side wall 79 of the insulating cover 73 so as to be in contact with the side surface of the battery.

  As shown in FIG. 8, in the dispersion block 75 of the present embodiment, a maze-like drainage path 83 is formed between the adjacent dispersion blocks 75. In this water drain path 83, a rib 85 having a T-shaped cross section is raised between the side walls 81 of the adjacent dispersion blocks 75, and between the one side wall 81a and the rib 85 and the other side wall 81b and the rib 85 Divided into two paths. In each drainage path 83, a first protrusion 87 protruding from each side wall 81 toward the rib 85 and a second protrusion 89 protruding from the rib 85 toward the side wall 81 are alternately protruded to form a maze Is formed. The upper end openings 91 of the drainage path 83 are formed on both sides of the rib 85 and are located below the connecting portions 27 of the adjacent conductor cases 19. The lower end openings 93 of the drainage path 83 are formed on both sides of the second protrusion 89.

  According to the present embodiment, since the drainage path 83 is a non-linear path, it is possible to satisfy the IP standard and prevent foreign matter from entering the conductor case 19. Further, the condensed water generated in the conductor case 19 flows down on the side wall 81 which is the upper end surface of the dispersion block 75, and flows down the two paths as shown by the arrows in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the drainage path 83 can be formed as various maze-like drainage paths, instead of the configuration of the present embodiment. The path of FIG. 9 (a) is a water draining path 95 for turning downward in a zigzag direction, and the path of FIG. 9 (b) is a water draining path for merging two paths from the middle. The path shown in FIG. 9 (c) is a water draining path 99 for separating one path into two paths along the way and flowing out in opposite directions.

  Next, another embodiment of the protective cover applied to each of the above-described embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the batteries 13 located at both ends of the battery assembly 15, a total positive electrode and a total negative electrode are respectively disposed. The conductor connected to the electrode terminal 29 of the total electrode is accommodated in a dedicated conductor case, and the opening of the conductor case is covered with the insulating cover 41. In addition, in this embodiment, about the structure similar to said embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 10, an L-shaped conductor 103 (such as an LA terminal) connected to the electrode terminal 101 of the total positive electrode or the total negative electrode is connected to the end of the cable 105 and accommodated in the conductor case 107. The cable 105 is pulled out from the through hole 109 formed in the case 107. However, in such a configuration, when the cable 105 drawn to the outside from the conductor case 107 is largely bent, the conductor case 107 is pressed by the cable 105 and deformed, as a result, the through hole 109 and the cable 105 There is a possibility that a foreign substance may intrude due to a gap between the two.

  On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12, the first press-fit groove 115 of arc-shaped cross section having a radius of curvature capable of press-fitting the cable 105 into the peripheral wall 113 rising from the bottom plate 111 of the conductor case 107. In the side wall 79 of the insulating cover 41 attached to the conductor case 107, the arc-shaped second press-in groove 117 having a curvature radius to which the cable 105 can be press-in is formed. The first press-fit groove 115 and the second press-fit groove 117 are arranged so as to overlap in the axial direction of the cable when the insulating cover 41 is placed on the conductor case 107. Further, in the conductor case 107 of the present embodiment, the lock piece 51 is provided on the peripheral wall 113 in the vicinity of the first press-fit groove 115, and the locking projection 49 of the insulating cover 41 is locked.

  Next, a method of fixing the cable 105 to the conductor case 107 will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 12A, the cable 105 is press-fit into the first press-fit groove 115 of the conductor case 107. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12B, the insulating cover 41 is placed on the conductor case 107 so that the side wall 79 of the insulating cover 41 faces the outside of the peripheral wall 113 of the conductor case 107, and the second insulating cover 41 is formed. The cable 105 is press-fit into the press-fit groove 117. In this state, the locking projection 49 of the insulating cover 41 is locked to the lock piece 51.

  Thus, the cable 105 is fixed so as to be sandwiched between the first press-fit groove 115 and the second press-fit groove 117 from the vertical direction, so even if the cable 105 pulled out of the conductor case 107 is bent, A clearance does not occur between the cable 105 and the first press-fit groove 115 and the second press-fit groove 117, so that foreign matter can be prevented from entering the conductor case 107, and the IP standard can be satisfied.

  Further, the conductor case 107 of the present embodiment is provided with a rib 119 projecting toward the battery side surface on the back surface near the first press-in groove 115, that is, the surface facing the battery side surface. The rib 119 is configured to abut against the side surface of the battery at least when the cable 105 is press-fit into the first press-fit groove 115 and the second press-fit groove 117, respectively. According to this, when the cable 105 is press-fit into the first press-fit groove 115 and the second press-fit groove 117, bending of the bottom plate 111 can be suppressed, so that the assembling workability of the cable 105 can be enhanced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Protective cover 13 Battery 15 Battery assembly 17 Conductor 19 Conductor case 25 Peripheral wall 27 Connection part 29 Electrode terminal 39 Opening 41 Insulating cover 43 Dispersion block 47 Side wall 53 Substrate 55 Side wall 57 Rib 59, 83 Drain path 61 Upper end opening

Claims (4)

An insulating cover for covering an opening of a conductor case for accommodating a conductor connecting a positive electrode and a negative electrode arranged on the side surfaces of a pair of adjacent batteries, and the insulating cover arranged under the side surface of the battery is formed and a dispersion block to disperse the external force applied,
The dispersion block closed a flat substrate connected to a lower portion of the insulation cover, abutting wall portion to said battery so as to protrude from the substrate to the battery side, and a drain path extending from the top to the bottom It was formed, the upper end opening of the water vent path protection cover made is positioned on the upper end face of the wall portion.   The protective cover according to claim 1, wherein the positions of the water draining portion formed in the lower portion of the conductor case and the upper end opening of the water draining path are provided to be shifted in the arrangement direction of the batteries. The dispersion block claim formed by providing by positioning the upper end opening of the draining path below the connecting portion for connecting a plurality of said conductive case corresponding to said pair of batteries having a plurality of mutually adjacent first or Protective cover described in 2. The dispersion block is provided for each of the insulating covers corresponding to at least the pair of batteries,
The protective cover according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the drain path is a gap formed between the adjacent dispersion blocks.

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