Battery container for several electrochemical accumulators arranged therein

• US 5,593,793 A
• Filed: 02/13/1996
• Issued: 01/14/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hoppecke Batterie Systeme GmbH (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Mercedes-Benz AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Inventors: German, Johann
• Primary Examiner(s): Skapars, Anthony
• Application Number:
  US08/600,614
• Time in Patent Office: 336 Days
• Field of Search: 429/176, 429/163, 429/159, 429/120, 429/62, 429/72, 429/96-100, 429/148, 429/149, 180/68.5
• US Class Current: 429/62
• 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 50/242 adapted for protecting batteries against vibrations, collision impact or swelling
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/271 Lids or covers for the racks or secondary casings
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/289 characterised by spacing elements or positioning means within frames, racks or packs spacing elements inside cells other than separators, membranes or diaphragms H01M50/471
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

This invention relates to a battery container which can be fastened in a sealing and detachable manner directly in the supporting floor structure of a body of a vehicle. The battery container is formed of a material, particularly sheet metal, which is ductile also at low freezing temperatures, and is dimensioned such in its wall thickness that, in the case of a crash, although it rips in a defined manner, it does not tear so far that individual cells can fall out of the battery container. In the battery container, the flat sides of inserted cells are spaced with respect to one another by spacers, whereby this clearance becomes available as a bypass duct, strips being arranged in the bypass ducts which project away from the spacer.

Claims

1. Battery container for several electrochemical accumulator cells arranged therein, having a wall of the battery container which, on a housing side, is electrically insulated with respect to metallic cell housings of the cells which are electrically connected with one another on a terminal side, and having bypass ducts which are arranged between the flat sides of cell housings of adjacent cells and are bounded at least on one side by the flat sides of these cell housings, the cells being spaced away from one another on the flat side by means of spacers of an electrically insulating material arranged in the area of the cell housing, having an inflow duct which is arranged in an interior of the battery container and is fluidly connected with the bypass ducts and whose clear cross-section is reduced in the flow direction of a fluid flowing through, having an outflow duct which, on the flow side, is arranged to be opposite the inflow duct and is fluidly connected with the inflow duct via the bypass ducts, the clear cross-section of the outflow duct widening in the flow direction, characterized in

that the battery container which is fastenable directly into the supporting floor structure of a body of a vehicle in a sealing and detachable manner, is formed of sheet metal, which is ductile at low freezing temperatures, and is dimensioned such in its wall thickness such that it rips open in the case of a crash in a defined manner and does not tear open so far that individual cells can fall out of the battery container,

that the spacer spacing the flat sides of the cell housings of the cells has several strips arranged at a distance next to one another whose longitudinal course measured in the flow direction of the fluid corresponds to at least half of the cell measurement measured in the flow direction and which are made of an electrically insulating material,

that the cell housings are supported in an electrically insulating manner against the wall of the battery container, and

the height of the strips measured transversely to the flat side of a cell housing is equal to the height of a bypass duct, this height corresponding to the desired distance between two adjacent flat sides of cell housings.

2. Battery container according to claim 1, characterized in

that, inside the battery container, the cell housings are arranged with respect to the terminal post side of the opposite cell bottom of the cell housing which follows next in the direction of the terminal post side behind one another in an aligned manner in the form of a cell row, and in

that at least two cell housings adjoining in the flow direction rest against one another on their common narrow sides in an electrically insulated manner.

3. Battery container according to claim 1, characterized in that the battery container is self-supporting.

4. Battery container according to claim 1, characterized in that the battery container is made of sheet metal.

5. A battery container assembly for holding a plurality of substantially rectangularly shaped battery cells having terminal connectors at respective ends thereof, comprising:

a container bottom and container walls defining a battery cell accommodating space,

a plurality of spacers having a first portion extending in a vertical direction by an amount corresponding to a vertical thickness of respective ones of said battery cells and a plurality of thin spacing strips extending perpendicular to said first portion and serving to abuttingly engage and space respective flat sides of battery cells stacked on top of one another in the container, said spacing strips defining coolant flow channels along facing flat sides of the battery cells adjacent ones of said spacing strips when in an installed position in said container.

6. A battery container assembly according to claim 5, wherein said spacers are formed of electrically insulating material.

7. A battery container assembly according to claim 6, wherein separate ones of said spacers are provided for each row of battery cells to be positioned in said container.

8. A battery container assembly according to claim 7, wherein said spacers include a plurality of spacing strips for each battery cell to be stacked in said container.

9. A battery container according to claim 5, comprising edge separators insertable between rows of battery cells to separate terminal connectors of the battery cells from adjacent battery cells.

10. A battery container according to claim 8, comprising edge separators insertable between rows of battery cells to separate terminal connectors of the battery cells from adjacent battery cells.

11. A battery container according to claim 10, wherein said edge separators form portions of coolant flow channels communicating with the coolant flow channels formed by said spacers.

12. A battery container according to claim 11, further comprising coolant fluid inlet channels communicating with said coolant flow channels.

13. A battery container according to claim 5, wherein said spacing strips are configured such that in use the coolant flow channels extend over a majority of the surface area of flat surfaces of battery cells stacked on top of one another in the container.