The present application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. CN201811294488.8, filed on Nov. 1, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present disclosure relates to the field of battery technology, and particularly relates to a battery box and a vehicle.
In the conventional battery box, the upper box body 1′ has a first side wall 11′ and a first eave portion 12′, the lower box body 2′ has a second side wall 21′, a second eave portion 22′ and a third side wall 23′ spaced apart from the second eave portion 22′ in an up-down direction Z′. The second eave portion 22′ of the lower box body 2′ is fixedly connected with the first eave portion 12′ of the upper box body 1′ to achieve the fixed connection between the lower box body 2′ and the upper box body 1′, and the third side wall 23′ of the lower box body 2′ is used for mounting the battery box to an external equipment.
Because a connection portion (i.e., the second eave portion 22′) of the lower box body 2′ with the upper box body 1′ of the battery box and a mounting portion (i.e., the third side wall 23′) of the battery box are separated from each other, it results that a height of the second side wall 21′ of the lower box body 2′ is large and larger than a height of the first side wall 11′ of the upper box body 1′, therefore it increases the weight of the lower box body 2′, thereby reducing the assembling efficiency of the battery box.
In view of the problem existing in the background, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a battery box and a vehicle, which reduces the overall weight of the battery box, and greatly improves the assembling efficiency and energy density of the battery box.
In order to achieve the above object, in a first aspect, the present disclosure provides a battery box, which comprises an upper box body, a lower box body, a connecting member and a fixing member. The upper box body comprises a first side wall and a first eave portion radially protruding from the first side wall, the lower box body comprises a second side wall and a second eave portion radially protruding from the second side wall. The first eave portion and the second eave portion face each other in an up-down direction, the first eave portion is provided with a first connecting hole, the second eave portion is provided with a second connecting hole and a mounting hole, and the mounting hole and the second connecting hole is spaced apart from each other. The connecting member passes through the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole to fixedly connect the upper box body and the lower box body. The fixing member passes through the mounting hole to make the lower box body mounted to an external equipment.
A material density of the lower box body is greater than a material density of the upper box body. A height of the first side wall is greater than a height of the second side wall in the up-down direction.
The height of the first side wall of the upper box body in the up-down direction is H1, the height of the second side wall of the lower box body in the up-down direction is H2, and H2≤0.5H1.
The second connecting hole and the mounting hole are spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the second eave portion.
A central axis of the second connecting hole is close to the second side wall relative to a central axis of the mounting hole.
The first eave portion is further provided with an opening, and the opening penetrates the first eave portion and makes the mounting hole exposed on the first eave portion.
The battery box further comprises a sealing member provided between the first eave portion and the second eave portion and connecting the first eave portion and the second eave portion in sealing. The connecting member comprises an inserting portion passing through the first connecting hole and the second connecting hole, and an extending portion radially protruding from the inserting portion. At least one portion of the sealing member is located at an inner side of the extending portion in a radial direction, and a width of the at least one portion in the radial direction is an effective sealing width of the sealing member, the effective sealing width is W, and 6 cm≤W≤25 cm.
All portions of the sealing member are located at the inner side of the extending portion in the radial direction. Or, the sealing member comprises an effective sealing portion and a reinforce sealing portion formed on one side of the effective sealing portion close to the connecting member in the radial direction. The effective sealing portion is located at the inner side of the extending portion in the radial direction, and at least a portion of the reinforce sealing portion is pressed between the first eave portion and the second eave portion by the extending portion.
A maximum diameter of the fixing member is A1, a distance between a central axis of the fixing member and the sealing member is A2, and A2≤1.5A1.
The lower box body further comprises a first limiting boss protruding from an upper surface of the second eave portion in the up-down direction. The second connecting hole is penetratingly provided on the second eave portion and the first limiting boss. An initial thickness of the sealing member in the up-down direction is greater than a height of the first limiting boss.
The mounting hole is a smooth hole. The lower box body further comprise a second limiting boss protruding from an upper surface of the second eave portion in the up-down direction. The mounting hole penetrates the second eave portion and the second limiting boss. A portion of the second limiting boss protrudes from an upper surface of the first eave portion via the opening.
A distance between the upper surface of the first eave portion and the upper surface of the second eave portion is h, a height of the second limiting boss is h5, and h5>h. Moreover, the first eave portion comprises a first flat-plate portion, a second flat-plate portion and a reinforce connecting portion connecting the first flat-plate portion and the second flat-plate portion, and a lower surface of the first flat-plate portion is higher than a lower surface of the second flat-plate portion. The first connecting hole is penetratingly provided on the first flat-plate portion, and the sealing member is provided between the lower surface of the first flat-plate portion and the second eave portion.
In a second aspect, the present disclosure further provides a vehicle, which comprises a body and the battery box described above.
The present disclosure has the following beneficial effects: in the battery box of the present disclosure, because the lower box body is connected to the upper box body through the second connecting hole of the second eave portion, and connected to the external equipment through the mounting hole of the second eave portion, compared with the conventional battery box involved in the background art, the lower box body is equivalent to the arrangement of eliminating the third eave portion, it simplifies the structure of the lower box body and reduces the weight of the lower box body, thereby improving the assembling efficiency and energy density of the battery box.
Reference numerals are represented as follows:
To make the object, technical solutions, and advantages of the present disclosure more apparent, hereinafter the present disclosure will be further described in detail in combination with the accompanying figures and the embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely used to explain the present disclosure but are not intended to limit the present disclosure.
In the description of the present disclosure, unless otherwise specifically defined and limited, the terms “first”, “second” and the like are only used for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as expressing or implying a relative importance. The term “plurality” is two or more. Unless otherwise defined or described, the terms “connect”, “fix” should be broadly interpreted, for example, the term “connect” can be “fixedly connect”, “detachably connect”, “integrally connect”, “electrically connect” or “signal connect”. The term “connect” also can be “directly connect” or “indirectly connect via a medium”. For the persons skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the abovementioned terms in the present disclosure can be understood according to the specific situation.
In the description of the present disclosure, it should be understood that spatially relative terms, such as “up”, “down” and the like, are described based on orientations illustrated in the figures, but are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present disclosure.
Referring to
Referring to
The first eave portion 12 of the upper box body 1 and the second eave portion 22 of the lower box body 2 face each other in an up-down direction Z, referring to
Referring to
In the battery box of the present disclosure, because the lower box body 2 is connected to the upper box body 1 through the second connecting hole 221 of the second eave portion 22, and connected to the external equipment S through the mounting hole 222 of the second eave portion 22, compared with the conventional battery box involved in the background art, the lower box body 2 is equivalent to the arrangement of eliminating the third eave portion, it simplifies the structure of the lower box body 2 and reduces the weight of the lower box body 2, thereby improving the assembling efficiency and energy density of the battery box.
In order to avoid the first eave portion 12 of the upper box body 1 interfering with the process of mounting the lower box body 2 to the external equipment S through the mounting hole 222, the mounting hole 222 needs to be exposed on the first eave portion 12. In an embodiment, a width of the second eave portion 22 of the lower box body 2 is greater than a width of the first eave portion 12, the mounting hole 222 is positioned at an edge portion of the second eave portion 22 and makes the mounting hole 222 exposed on the first eave portion 12. In another embodiment, referring to
A material density of the lower box body 2 is greater than a material density of the upper box body 1. Referring to
Because the upper box body 1 is a non-load bearing member, it has a small thickness and can be made of a material having a low density (such as plastic, SMC composite material, glass fiber reinforced resin, and carbon fiber reinforced resin). The lower box body 2 is a load bearing member, it has a large thickness and can be made of a material having a high density (such as a metal material), so reducing the height of the second side wall 21 of the lower box body 2 can significantly reduce the overall weight of the battery box, thereby greatly improving the assembling efficiency of the battery box.
The height of the first side wall 11 of the upper box body 1 in the up-down direction Z is H1, the height of the second side wall 21 of the lower box body 2 in the up-down direction Z is H2, and H2≤0.5H1, that is the height of the lower box body 2 is smaller than or equal to ⅓ of the overall height of the battery box, and the lower box body 2 is lower than the center of gravity of the battery box (about at ½ of the overall height of the battery box). In the case where the overall height and weight of the battery box are constant, if H2>0.5H1, the distance between the second eave portion 22 and the bottom of the lower box body 2 will be increased (i.e., the distance between the mounting hole 222 and the bottom of the lower box body 2 is increased), after the battery box is connected with the external equipment through the mounting hole 222, a gap is easily generated between the battery box and the external equipment, and when the battery box is subjected to vibration or impact during use, the tearing damage of the mounting hole 222 is easily caused, thereby resulting in that the mounting of the battery box is not stable.
In order not to increase the width of the second eave portion 22, the second connecting hole 221 and the mounting hole 222 are spaced apart from each other in a circumferential direction of the second eave portion 22, as shown in
Further referring to
Referring to
In order to avoid the failure of the sealing member 3 and increase the service life of the sealing member 3, referring to
When the connecting member 4 connects and fixes the upper box body 1 and the lower box body 2 through the second connecting hole 221, because the initial thickness of the sealing member 3 is greater than the height of the first limiting boss 23, the first eave portion 12 of the upper box body 1 compresses the sealing member 3, and the compressed sealing member 3 can ensure a reliable sealing between the upper box body 1 and the lower box body 2. Meanwhile, when the first eave portion 12 of the upper box body 1 is pressed down and contacts the first limiting boss 23 of the lower box body 2, the first limiting boss 23 can limit the further pressing of the first eave portion 12 of the upper box body 1, therefore it avoids the damage of the sealing member 3 due to the too large contact pressure between the upper box body 1 and the sealing member 3, thereby preventing the failure of the sealing member 3. In addition, the magnitude of the contact pressure between upper box body 1 and the sealing member 3 can be conveniently controlled by adjusting the initial thickness of the sealing member 3 before the sealing member 3 is compressed and the height of the first limiting boss 23.
Referring to
It should be noted that, the inner side of the extending portion 42 refers to the side of extending portion 42 close to the upper box body 1. The effective sealing width refers to the minimum width of the sealing member 3 which is not interfered by other components, and the effective sealing width of the sealing member 3 ensures the sealing reliability between the upper box body 1 and the lower box body 2.
In an embodiment, referring to
In another embodiment, referring to
Specifically, when the width of the reinforce sealing portion 32 of the sealing member 3 in the radial direction is small, the entirely reinforce sealing portion 32 can be located between the extending portion 42 and the inserting portion 41 in the radial direction, as shown in
In the design process of the battery box, in order to avoid that the connecting force of the connecting member 4 does not act on the sealing member 3 or only a part of the connecting force act on the sealing member 3 due to the too large distance between the second connecting hole 221 and the second side wall 21 so that the sealing member 3 cannot serve as an effective sealing effect, and the position of the second connecting hole 221 needs to be determined according to the effective sealing portion 31 of the sealing member 3, that is, the second connecting hole 221 needs to be provided close to the effective sealing portion 31.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
When the fixing member 5 is mounted to the external equipment S through the mounting hole 222, especially when the mounting hole 222 is the smooth hole, because the locking force of the fixing member 5 is large, the portion of the sealing member 3 contacting the fixing member 5 may generate a certain deformation, and the sealing member 3 is sensitive to the deformation, and the too large deformation can cause the failure of the sealing member 3. Therefore, in order to further avoid the failure of the sealing member 3 and improve the service life of the sealing member 3, referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
201811294488.8 | Nov 2018 | CN | national |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1359446 | Stephens | Nov 1920 | A |
4664281 | Falk | May 1987 | A |
11139527 | Zeng | Oct 2021 | B2 |
20030064281 | Andersen | Apr 2003 | A1 |
20090145676 | Takasaki | Jun 2009 | A1 |
20090226806 | Kiya | Sep 2009 | A1 |
20120321934 | Hopkins et al. | Dec 2012 | A1 |
20130192914 | Nakamori | Aug 2013 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
101395022 | Mar 2009 | CN |
101997094 | Mar 2011 | CN |
103223845 | Jul 2013 | CN |
104118304 | Oct 2014 | CN |
107305934 | Oct 2017 | CN |
206878069 | Jan 2018 | CN |
207719295 | Aug 2018 | CN |
209104205 | Jul 2019 | CN |
2008-277058 | Nov 2008 | JP |
WO-2013061847 | May 2013 | WO |
Entry |
---|
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, Extended European Search Report, EP19205017.7, dated Mar. 24, 2020, 8 pgs. |
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, Office Action, CN202110443118.1, dated Oct. 20, 2021, 19 pgs. |
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, Notice of Grant, CN202110443118.1, dated Mar. 15, 2022, 4 pgs. |
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, Notice of Reasons for Refusal, JP2019-106857, dated Jul. 6, 2020, 4 pgs. |
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, Decision to Grant a Patent, JP2019-106857, dated Jan. 7, 2021, 5 pgs. |
Zeng, Office Action, U.S. Appl. No. 17/129,559, dated Feb. 17, 2021, 10 pgs. |
Zeng, Final Office Action, U.S. Appl. No. 17/129,559, dated Apr. 15, 2021, 12 pgs. |
Zeng, Notice of Allowance, U.S. Appl. No. 17/129,559, dated Jun. 25, 2021, 8 pgs. |
Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, International Search Report and Written Opinion, PCT/CN2019/113965, dated Jan. 22, 2020, 9 pgs.—No Translation Available. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20200144566 A1 | May 2020 | US |