POWER SOURCE APPARATUS HAVING BUS-BARS

• US 20130316200A1
• Filed: 08/01/2013
• Published: 11/28/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sanyo Electric Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: OCHI, Shingo
• Granted Patent: US 9,461,293 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/53
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/30 AC to DC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2210/40 DC to AC converters
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/36 Temperature of vehicle components or parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/421 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/441 Speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2240/545 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 2270/145 Structure borne vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 3/0046 relating to electric energy storage systems, e.g. batteries or capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/62 charged by low-power generators primarily intended to support the batteries, e.g. range extenders
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/64 Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/66 Arrangements of batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/18 of two or more battery modules
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/21 having the same nominal voltage
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 58/26 by cooling
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/052 Li-accumulators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/425 Structural combination with electronic components, e.g. electronic circuits integrated to the outside of the casing printed circuits H05K1/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/482 for several batteries or cells simultaneously or sequentially
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/647 Prismatic or flat cells, e.g. pouch cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6563 : with forced flow, e.g. by blowers
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/209 : adapted for prismatic or rectangular cells H01M50/216 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/224 : Metals
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/249 : specially adapted for aircraft or vehicles, e.g. cars or trains constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles B60L50/64
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/507 : comprising an arrangement of two or more busbars within a container structure, e.g. busbar modules
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/51 : Connection only in series
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/516 : by welding, soldering or brazing
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/522 : Inorganic material
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/55 : on the same side of the cell
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/553 : Terminals adapted for prismatic, pouch or rectangular cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/567 : by fixing means, e.g. screws, rivets or bolts
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 : Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/62 : Hybrid vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/64 : Electric machine technologies in electromobility
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 : Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/72 : Electric energy management in electromobility

Abstract

A power source apparatus including batteries having positive and negative electrode regions, parallel blocks with batteries stacked together and electrically connected in parallel, multiple parallel-series connected blocks with the parallel blocks electrically connected in series, and bus-bars having a plurality of terminal insertion holes. Batteries in a parallel block are stacked together lining-up positive electrode regions on one side and negative electrode regions on the other side. Parallel blocks in a multiple parallel-series connected block are stacked so as to reverse the orientation of each block added to the stack. The bus-bars are integrated pieces that can electrically connect the batteries in a parallel block in parallel as well as electrically connect the parallel blocks in series.

Claims

1. A power source apparatus comprising:

a plurality of batteries, wherein each of the batteries has a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal disposed separately on a same surface of the battery;

a plurality of parallel blocks, each of the parallel blocks having a number of the batteries stacked together and electrically connected in parallel, wherein each of the parallel blocks has a set of the positive electrode terminals lined up at one side and a set of the negative electrode terminals lined up at the other side of a common surface formed by the surfaces of the batteries formed when the batteries are stacked into the parallel block as a single unit,

wherein the parallel blocks are electrically connected in series to form a multiple parallel series connected block, and the parallel blocks are stacked to form the multiple parallel-series connected block having an orientation with respect to a position of the positive electrode terminals and the negative electrode terminals; and

a plurality of bus-bars, each of the bus-bars having a plurality of insertion holes receiving the positive electrode terminals and the negative electrode terminals so that the batteries are electrically connected to each other,

wherein the multiple parallel-series connected block has two parallel lines of the electrodes spaced apart from each other, and each of the lines of the electrodes is arranged alternately by the set of the positive electrode terminals and the set of the negative electrode terminals in the stacking direction of the batteries, and

wherein the bus bars extend in a stacking direction of the batteries along each of the two lines of the electrodes, and at least one of the bus bars successively lies from the set of the positive electrode terminals to the set of the negative electrode terminals which are arranged side by side so that the bus bar electrically connects the batteries in the parallel block in parallel and simultaneously electrically connects the parallel blocks positioned side by side in series.

2. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 1, wherein diameters of the insertion holes in one of the bus-bars increases gradually in the battery stacking direction.

3. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 2, wherein the insertion hole at one end of a bus-bar is the smallest and the diameter of the insertion holes increases gradually towards the other end of the bus-bar.

4. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 2, wherein the insertion hole at a center part of at least one of the bas-bars is the smallest and the diameter of the insertion holes increases gradually towards both ends of the bus-bar.

5. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 2, wherein at least one of the bus-bars has the smallest insertion hole at a center part with the diameter of the insertion holes increasing gradually towards both ends.

6. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 1, wherein a high-current section of at least one of the bus-bars is made thicker than other parts of the bus-bar.

7. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 1, wherein a high-current section of at least one of the bus-bars is made with more surface area than other parts of the bus-bar.

8. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the bus-bars is made entirely of a single material.

9. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the bus-bars is formed as a single integrated piece using clad-material made of dissimilar materials.

10. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 2, wherein the diameters of the insertion holes in the at least one bus-bar increases by 0.1 mm for each successive hole.

11. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 1, wherein the bus bars, which are adjacent in the stacking direction of the batteries, are insulated from each other.

12. The power source apparatus as cited in claim 1, wherein each of the batteries further comprises a gas discharge valve, and the gas discharge valves are disposed between the bus-bars, which are separately arranged on opposite sides of a surface of the multiple parallel-series connected block.