The present invention relates to a battery unit that includes an accommodating body that accommodates a battery pack.
Battery packs have been known that accommodate battery cells in a sealed case. In a battery pack, the internal pressure of the sealed case must be lowered when the internal pressure is high.
Patent Document 1 discloses a battery module that accommodates rechargeable batteries in a housing. A gas discharging member, which is opened at a preset pressure, is attached to each rechargeable battery. The housing has a gas discharging hole and a valve member, which closes the gas discharging hole. In the battery module, the valve member is opened when the internal pressure of the housing reaches a preset pressure.
Typically, a cable is attached to the battery pack to connect the battery pack to an external device. In the configuration of Patent Document 1, opening the valve member may cause gas to be discharged from the housing toward the cable. This may damage the cable and thus hamper charging/discharging of the battery pack.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2012-104471
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a battery unit that is configured to restrain damage to a cable.
To achieve the foregoing objective and in accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a battery unit including a battery pack and an accommodating body is provided. The accommodating body includes an accommodating portion, which accommodates the battery pack. The battery pack includes a battery module, which is configured by a plurality of battery cells, a sealed case, which accommodates the battery module, and a connector, which is provided in the sealed case and to which a cable for supplying power to the battery module is connected. The accommodating body includes a communication hole, which connects an inside and an outside of the accommodating portion to each other. The sealed case includes a releasing portion, which releases a pressure in the sealed case. The releasing portion is arranged to face a wall of the accommodating body.
With this configuration, when the releasing portion is opened, the gas in the sealed case is discharged toward the wall of the accommodating body. The cable is connected to the connector and extends to the communication hole from the connector. With this configuration, since the releasing portion is not arranged to face the communication hole, the cable is not directly exposed to the gas discharged from the sealed case. This restrains damage to the cable by the gas discharged from the sealed case.
The releasing portion is preferably arranged such that an imaginary line connecting the releasing portion and the wall of the accommodating body does not overlap with the communication hole.
The releasing portion is preferably arranged to face a wall of the accommodating body that is different from the wall that has the communication hole.
The releasing portion is preferably arranged to face a wall of the accommodating body that is on a opposite side from the wall that has the communication hole.
With this configuration, when the releasing portion is opened, the gas in the sealed case is discharged in a direction opposite from the cable. This further effectively restrains damage to the cable.
A battery unit according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to
As shown in
A cab 20 is arranged at the center of the vehicle body 11. An operator seat 21, on which the operator is seated, is provided in the cab 20. A steering wheel 22 is arranged in front of the operator seat 21. A battery pack 30 is mounted in the vehicle body 11 below the cab 20. The forklift 10 is a battery forklift having the vehicle driving motor M1 and the cargo handling motor M2. The vehicle driving motor M1 and the cargo handling motor M2 are driven by the battery pack 30, which serves as a power source. The vehicle body 11 includes a connecting portion 23, via which a charging plug P is connected to the battery pack 30. The battery pack 30 is connected to a charging station S, which is an external device, via a cable C, which has the charging plug P.
As shown in
As shown in
The bolts B extend through through-holes provided in the first end 51 and the second end 52. The bolts B extend through the through-holes formed in a part of the first end 51 and the through-holes formed in a part of the second end 52. The bolts B are not provided in the vicinity of each corner of the lid member 43. That is, no bolt B is provided in a part of the first end 51 that is close to the third end 53, a part of the first end 51 that is close to the fourth end 54, a part of the second end 52 that is close to the third end 53, or a part of the second end 52 that is close to the fourth end 54. In other words, no bolts B are provided in the third end 53 or the fourth end 54. In each of the first and second ends 51, 52, the bolts B are aligned between the third end 53 and the fourth end 54.
A first imaginary line L1 connects one of the bolts B at the first end 51 that is closest to the third end 53 to one of the bolts B at the second end 52 that is closest to the third end 53. Specifically, the first imaginary line L1 connects the part of the bolt B at the first end 51 that is closest to the third end 53 to the part of the bolt B at the second end 52 that is closest to the third end 53. The area between the first imaginary line L1 and the third end 53 is a first releasing portion 55.
A second imaginary line L2 connects one of the bolts B at the first end 51 that is closest to the fourth end 54 to one of the bolts B at the second end 52 that is closest to the fourth end 54. Specifically, the second imaginary line L2 connects the part of the bolt B at the first end 51 that is closest to the fourth end 54 to the part of the bolt B at the second end 52 that is closest to the fourth end 54. The area between the second imaginary line L2 and the fourth end 54 is a second releasing portion 56.
When the internal pressure of the sealed case 41 increases, the first releasing portion 55 and the second releasing portion 56 start being deformed away from the opening edge 44. This creates a clearance between the first releasing portion 55 and the opening edge 44 and a clearance between the second releasing portion 56 and the opening edge 44. The gas in the sealed case 41 is discharged through these clearances. That is, parts of the lid member 43 are designed to function as valves for reducing the pressure in the sealed case 41.
A connector 47 is attached to the exterior of the sealed case 41. The connector 47 is electrically connected to the battery cells 61 accommodated in the sealed case 41. Wires 48 are connected to the connector 47. Each of the wires 48 are connected to one of the battery cells 61 via the connector 47. The wires 48 extend from the connector 47 to the communication hole 35. Specifically, the wires 48 are inserted in the communication hole 35 and connected to the connecting portion 23. With this configuration, when the charging plug P shown in
As shown in
As shown in
Operation of the battery unit U as described above will now be described wither reference to
As shown in
When gas is discharged from the battery cell 61 to the interior of the sealed case 41 as shown in
Accordingly, the above described embodiment provides the following advantages.
The present embodiment may be modified as follows.
As shown in
As shown in
The accommodating portion 31 may have any shape. For example, the accommodating portion 31 may be cylindrical or polygonal.
The accommodating body does not necessarily need to be the vehicle body 11, but may be a case that accommodates the battery pack 30. That is, the battery pack 30 may be mounted in an apparatus other than the forklift 10.
The external device may be a load connected to the battery pack 30. Specifically, the external device may be one of the vehicle driving motor M1 and the cargo handling motor M2, which are driven by the battery pack 30 as the power source. In this case, the accommodating body may have a communication hole 35 in which wires 48 connecting the load to the battery pack 30 are inserted.
The number of releasing portions may be one or greater than two.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2014-018581 | Feb 2014 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/JP2015/051821 | 1/23/2015 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2015/115323 | 8/6/2015 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
5403679 | Stone | Apr 1995 | A |
20110159326 | Oya | Jun 2011 | A1 |
20120114993 | Park | May 2012 | A1 |
20120263982 | Yasui et al. | Oct 2012 | A1 |
20140234062 | Adachi et al. | Aug 2014 | A1 |
20150050530 | Seimiya | Feb 2015 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2 738 834 | Jun 2014 | EP |
2012-104471 | May 2012 | JP |
2012-202066 | Oct 2012 | JP |
2012073438 | Jun 2012 | WO |
2013018283 | Feb 2013 | WO |
2013061869 | May 2013 | WO |
Entry |
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Official Action, along with English-language translation thereof, issued in 2014-018581 dated Jun. 27, 2017. |
International Search Report for PCT/JP2015/051821 dated Mar. 24, 2015. |
Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority for PCT/JP2015/051821 dated Mar. 24, 2015. |
International Preliminary Report on Patentability for PCT/JP2015/051821 dated Aug. 9, 2016. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20160344070 A1 | Nov 2016 | US |