BATTERY PACK AND METHOD OF PRODUCING THE BATTERY PACK
First Claim
1. A battery pack comprising:
- a battery stack that includes;
a plurality of battery modules that are arranged in parallel in side-by-side relationship;
a plurality of couplers each being mounted on a given portion of the corresponding battery module thereby to constitute a coupler-mounted battery module, the couplers being detachably connected to one another to constitute an aligned unit of the couplers,wherein each of the couplers comprises;
a plurality of projected pawls provided by one side of the coupler; and
a plurality of catching recesses provided by the other side of the coupler, and positioned relative to the projected pawls with respect to the direction of an imaginary surface to which mutually facing surfaces of two adjacent battery modules face when the adjacent battery modules are arranged in parallel, the catching recesses catching and coupling with the projected pawls of an adjacent coupler for constituting part of the aligned unit of the couplers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A battery pack comprises a battery stack. The battery stack includes a plurality of battery modules that are arranged in parallel in side-by-side relationship; a plurality of couplers each being mounted on a given portion of the corresponding battery module thereby to constitute a coupler-mounted battery module. The couplers are detachably connected to one another to constitute an aligned unit of the couplers. Each of the couplers comprises a plurality of projected pawls provided by one side of the coupler and a plurality of catching recesses provided by the other side of the coupler. The catching recesses catch the projected pawls of an adjacent coupler for forming part of the aligned unit of the couplers.
43 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A battery pack comprising:
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a battery stack that includes; a plurality of battery modules that are arranged in parallel in side-by-side relationship; a plurality of couplers each being mounted on a given portion of the corresponding battery module thereby to constitute a coupler-mounted battery module, the couplers being detachably connected to one another to constitute an aligned unit of the couplers, wherein each of the couplers comprises; a plurality of projected pawls provided by one side of the coupler; and a plurality of catching recesses provided by the other side of the coupler, and positioned relative to the projected pawls with respect to the direction of an imaginary surface to which mutually facing surfaces of two adjacent battery modules face when the adjacent battery modules are arranged in parallel, the catching recesses catching and coupling with the projected pawls of an adjacent coupler for constituting part of the aligned unit of the couplers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A battery pack comprising:
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a battery stack that includes; a plurality of battery modules that are arranged in parallel in side-by-side relationship; a first group of couplers each being mounted on a first given portion of the corresponding battery module, the first group of couplers being detachably connected to one another to constitute a first aligned unit of the first group of couplers; and a second group of couplers each being mounted on a second given portion of the corresponding battery module, the second group of couplers being detachably connected to one another to constitute a second aligned unit of the second group of couplers, wherein each of the couplers of the first and second groups comprises; a plurality of projected pawls provided by one side of the coupler; and a plurality of catching recesses provided by the other side of the coupler and positioned relative to the projected pawls with respect to the direction of an imaginary surface to which mutually facing surfaces of two adjacent battery modules face when the adjacent battery modules are arranged in parallel, the catching recesses catching and coupling with the projected pawls of an adjacent coupler for producing part of the first or second aligned unit.
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18. A method of producing a battery pack comprising a battery stack that a includes plurality of battery modules that are arranged in parallel in side-by-side relationship;
- a plurality of couplers each being mounted on a given portion of the corresponding battery module thereby to constitute a coupler-mounted battery module, the couplers being detachably connected to one another to constitute an aligned unit of the couplers, wherein each of the couplers comprises a plurality of projected pawls provided by one side of the coupler; and
a plurality of catching recesses provided by the other side of the coupler and positioned relative to the projected pawls with respect to the direction of an imaginary surface to which mutually facing surfaces of two adjacent battery modules face when the adjacent battery modules are arranged in parallel, the catching recesses catching and coupling with the projected pawls of an adjacent coupler for constituting part of the aligned unit of the couplers,the method comprising in steps; (a) preparing a plurality of coupler-mounted battery modules each including a battery module and a coupler mounted on a given portion of the battery module; (b) putting a first one of the coupler-mounted battery modules at a first given position; (c) putting a second one of the coupler-mounted battery modules at a position beside the first one of the coupler-mounted battery modules; (d) pressing the second one of the coupler-mounted battery modules against the first one of the coupler-mounted battery module to achieve a connection between the projected pawls of the second one of the coupler-mounted battery modules and the catching recesses of the first one of the coupler-mounted battery modules; and (e) repeating the same operation as the steps (b), (c) and (d) one after another on the remaining coupler-mounted battery modules. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
- a plurality of couplers each being mounted on a given portion of the corresponding battery module thereby to constitute a coupler-mounted battery module, the couplers being detachably connected to one another to constitute an aligned unit of the couplers, wherein each of the couplers comprises a plurality of projected pawls provided by one side of the coupler; and
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21. A motor vehicle comprising:
a prime mover that drives road wheels by consuming electric energy; and a battery pack that feeds the prime mover with the electric energy, the battery back comprising a battery stack that includes a plurality of battery modules that are arranged in parallel in side-by-side relationship;
a plurality of couplers each being mounted on a given portion of the corresponding battery module thereby to constitute a coupler-mounted battery module, the couplers being detachably connected to one another to constitute an aligned unit of the couplers, each of the couplers comprising a plurality of projected pawls provided by one side of the coupler; and
a plurality of catching recesses provided by the other side of the coupler and positioned relative to the projected pawls with respect to the direction of an imaginary surface to which mutually facing surfaces of two adjacent battery modules face when the adjacent battery modules are arranged in parallel, the catching recesses catching and coupling with the projected pawls of an adjacent coupler for constituting part of the aligned unit of the couplers.
Specification