EP-4503291-B1 - BATTERY PACK

EP4503291B1EP 4503291 B1EP4503291 B1EP 4503291B1EP-4503291-B1

Inventors

TABUCHI Yuya
ITO KEIICHI
FUKUDA TAKEO

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20230328

Claims (7)

A battery pack (10) comprising: a battery core pack (14) that includes a plurality of battery cells; a case (12) that accommodates the battery core pack; a connecting terminal (44, 46) that is arranged at one end of the case and is configured to be connected to an external device; a support member (18) that is held by the case and supports the connecting terminal; and an intermediate connecting member (54, 56) that is held by the support member and electrically connects the connecting terminal and a harness (30a, 30b) electrically connected to the battery core pack, wherein the intermediate connecting member is formed of a metal plate and includes a main body (84) that extends in a first direction, which is an extending direction of an end portion (31) of the harness, a harness connecting portion (86) that is formed at one end in an extending direction of the main body and to which the end portion of the harness is connected, and a terminal connecting portion (88) that is formed at another end in the extending direction of the main body, is arranged to be shifted with respect to the end portion in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and is connected to the connecting terminal, the main body has a flat shape along the second direction and includes a first extending end portion (90) that extends along the first direction from the harness connecting portion toward the terminal connecting portion, a second extending end portion (92) that extends in the first direction from the terminal connecting portion toward the harness connecting portion and is arranged to be shifted in the second direction with respect to the first extending end portion, and a shifting portion (94) that connects the first extending end portion and the second extending end portion with each other, characterized in that : the terminal connecting portion is secured in the first direction with respect to a pedestal (34, 36) of the support member with a fastening member (70), and wherein the pedestal includes: a fastening portion (58) including a fastening surface (58a) on which the terminal connecting portion abuts and is fastened in the first direction, and a holding portion (60) that is orthogonal to the fastening surface of the fastening portion, extends along the first direction, and faces the main body.
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the pedestal includes a space portion (62) that is disposed in a direction of the harness connecting portion with respect to the fastening portion and opens in a third direction orthogonal to the second direction and along an axial direction of the case, and when viewed from the third direction, part of the shifting portion is arranged to be shifted in the second direction with respect to the space portion and is placed on the holding portion.
The battery pack according to claim 2, wherein the harness connecting portion is formed parallel to the first direction when the intermediate connecting member is viewed from the third direction.
The battery pack according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the terminal connecting portion is formed to be bent in the third direction with respect to the main body, between the terminal connecting portion and the main body, a corner portion (98) curving when viewed from the second direction is formed, and a plate thickness of the corner portion is thinner than plate thicknesses of the terminal connecting portion and the main body.
The battery pack according to claim 4, wherein the main body has the plate thickness in the third direction, and the terminal connecting portion is bent in the third direction with respect to the main body.
The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein the pedestal of the support member includes an outer surface (80) facing the corner portion, and the outer surface includes a notch portion (82, 82a) cut in a direction away from the corner portion.
The battery pack according to claim 6, wherein in the first direction, the fastening surface of the fastening portion where the terminal connecting portion is fastened and a contact surface (48a) of the connecting terminal arranged at the fastening portion are arranged to be flush with each other.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a battery pack with a connecting terminal. BACKGROUND ART The present applicant has proposed in WO 2021/010433 A1 a battery pack having a connector that can be connected to a male connecting terminal of an electric vehicle. A female connecting terminal of the connector is connected to the male connecting terminal of the electric vehicle, whereby electric power and information is exchanged between the battery pack and the electric vehicle via a battery management unit. JP 2017 091676 discloses a wiring module comprising a power transmission member connected to an electrode terminal of a power storage element, and an insulation protector separating the power transmission member from a detection line connected to power storage elements. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A fastening site where the connector is fastened to a case of the battery pack requires fastening strength. A sealing member for waterproof is arranged around the above fastening portion. Therefore, when the aforementioned fastening strength and the arrangement of the sealing member are considered, an intermediate connecting member (intermediate terminal) that electrically connects a harness and a connecting terminal of the connector often has a small degree of freedom in layout. Therefore, a structure capable of avoiding interference with peripheral components is required for the intermediate connecting member. For example, in a case that the intermediate connecting member is partially notched to avoid interference with peripheral components, the notch reduces an area of a passage cross-section of the electric current flowing between the connector and the harness, resulting in that the conduction resistance increases. Therefore, regarding the battery pack, an intermediate connecting member for connecting the connecting terminal of the connector and the harness with each other is desired to have a structure capable of suppressing an increase in current resistance while connecting the connecting terminal and the harness while avoiding interference with peripheral components. A battery pack comprising a battery core pack that includes a plurality of battery cells, a case that accommodates the battery core pack, a connecting terminal that is arranged at one end of the case and is configured to be connected to an external device, a support member that is held by the case and supports the connecting terminal, and an intermediate connecting member that is held by the support member and electrically connects the connecting terminal and a harness electrically connected to the battery core pack, wherein the intermediate connection member is formed of a metal plate and includes a main body that extends in a first direction, which is an extending direction of an end portion of the harness, a harness connecting portion that is formed at one end in an extending portion of the main body and to which the end portion of the harness is connected, and a terminal connecting portion that is formed at another end in the extending direction of the main body, is arranged to be shifted with respect to the end portion in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and is connected to the connecting terminal, and the main body has a flat shape along the second direction, and includes a first extending end portion that extends along the first direction from the harness connecting portion toward the terminal connecting portion, a second extending end portion that extends in the first direction from the terminal connecting portion toward the harness connecting portion and is arranged to be shifted in the second direction with respect to the first extending end portion, and a shifting portion that connects the first extending end portion and the second extending end portion with each other characterized in that: the terminal connecting portion is secured in the first direction with respect to a pedestal of the support member with a fastening member, and characterized in that the pedestal includes a fastening portion including a fastening surface on which the terminal connecting portion abuts and is fastened in the first direction, and a holding portion that is orthogonal to the fastening surface of the fastening portion, extends along the first direction, and faces the main body. According to the present invention, by providing the shifting portion at the intermediate connecting member to which the end portion of the harness is connected, it is possible to electrically connect the intermediate connecting member via the terminal connecting portion to the connecting terminal that is shifted in the second direction with respect to the end portion. By forming the main body flat in the second direction to have a cross-sectional area for a sufficient amount of electric current to pass through, it is possible to make the electric power reliably flow from the battery core pack to the connecting terminal via the intermediate connecti