Industrial vehicle

• US 9,481,556 B2
• Filed: 09/03/2013
• Issued: 11/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Jidoshokki
• Inventors: Sugimoto, Takahisa, Sakai, Takashi, Morisaku, Naoto, Maeda, Kazuki, Oishi, Hidefumi, Watanabe, Shintaro, Ueda, Hiromi
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Hau
• Assistant Examiner(s): MEYER, JACOB B
• Application Number:
  US14/426,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20150239719A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,155 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 1/04 of the electric storage means for propulsion exchanging batteries for electric propulsion of vehicles B60L53/80; for auxiliary purposes only B60R16/04; supplying batteries to, or removing batteries from, vehicles B60S5/06
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 11/06 with air cooling
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/005 the electric storage means
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 2001/0416 Arrangement in the rear part of the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/60 using power supplied by batteries in combination with fuel cells B60L50/75
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 50/64 Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60Y 2200/15 Fork lift trucks, Industrial trucks
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/07531 Battery compartments
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/07554 Counterweights
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/07572 Propulsion arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B66F 9/07595 Cooling arrangements for device or operator
• 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 10/655 Solid structures for heat exchange or heat conduction
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6551 Surfaces specially adapted for heat dissipation or radiation, e.g. fins or coatings
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6554 Rods or plates
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6563 with forced flow, e.g. by blowers
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• 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: Y02E 60/10 : Energy storage using batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 : Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries

Abstract

An industrial vehicle includes a vehicle body and a battery pack, which is placed in the vehicle body. The battery pack includes a counterweight and at least one battery cell, which partially contacts the counterweight. The battery pack is arranged in the vehicle body such that a contact portion of the counterweight that contacts the at least one battery cell exchanges heat with relative wind by a greater amount than a non-contact portion of the at least one battery cell that have no contact with the counterweight.

Claims

1. An industrial vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body; and

a battery pack, which is placed in the vehicle body, wherein

the battery pack has a counterweight and a plurality of battery cells, each of the plurality of battery cells contact the counterweight at a contact portion of the counterweight,

the contact portion of the counterweight is exposed to an outside environment surrounding the industrial vehicle such that the contact portion exchanges heat with relative wind by a greater amount than non-contact portions of the plurality of battery cells that have no contact with the counterweight,

the contact portion extends along a vertical direction of the industrial vehicle, and

each of the plurality of battery cells are vertically stacked in the vehicle body and contact the counterweight at the contact portion along the vertical direction of the industrial vehicle.

2. The industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the counterweight has a portion opposite to the contact portion contacting the plurality of battery cells, and

the battery pack is arranged such that at least a part of the opposite portion faces forward in the vehicle body.

3. The industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the counterweight has a portion opposite to the contact portion contacting the plurality of battery cells, and

the battery pack is arranged such that at least a part of the opposite portion directly exchanges heat with the relative wind.

4. The industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein

the contact portion is a weight body that contacts the plurality of battery cells and extends in the vertical direction and the counterweight includes a weight portion that is arranged in the weight body, and

the weight portion extends in a different direction from the vertical direction in which the weight body extends.

5. The industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the counterweight has a radiation surface that is arranged in a front portion of the vehicle body and is exposed to the outside of the vehicle body to directly exchange heat with the relative wind.

6. The industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the battery pack includes a heat exchanging plate that is arranged between two adjacent battery cells of the plurality of battery cells.

7. The industrial vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the heat exchanging plate is a rectangular plate.

8. The industrial vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the weight portion stands on a basal edge of the weight body in a thickness direction of the weight body.

9. The industrial vehicle according to claim 4, wherein the weight portion is located vertically lower than the plurality of battery cells.

10. The industrial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the industrial vehicle is a forklift.

11. The industrial vehicle according to claim 6, wherein

a width dimension of the heat exchange plate is greater than a corresponding width dimension of adjacent battery cells of the plurality of battery cells, and

the heat exchanging plate protrudes from a surface of each adjacent battery cell that is located opposite to the contact portion.

12. An industrial vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body; and

a battery pack, which is placed in the vehicle body, wherein

the battery pack has a counterweight and a plurality of battery cells, the plurality of battery cells partially contact the counterweight at a contact portion of the counterweight,

the contact portion of the counterweight is exposed to an outside environment surrounding the industrial vehicle such that the contact portion exchanges heat with relative wind by a greater amount than a non-contact portion of the plurality of battery cells that has no contact with the counterweight,

a heat exchanging plate is arranged between two adjacent battery cells of the plurality of battery cells, and

the heat exchanging plate is thermally coupled to the plurality of battery cells such that an entire surface in a thickness direction of the heat exchanging plate contacts a surface in a thickness direction of one of the two adjacent battery cells, and a surface in a width direction contacts the counterweight, and heat generated by the two adjacent battery cells is discharged through the heat exchanging plate.

13. An industrial vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body; and

a battery pack, which is placed in the vehicle body, wherein

the battery pack has a counterweight and a plurality of battery cells, each of the plurality of battery cells contact the counterweight at a contact portion of the counterweight,

the battery pack is placed in the vehicle body such that at least a part of the counterweight that is opposite to the contact portion of the counterweight directly exchanges heat with a fluid in the outside environment,

the contact portion extends along a vertical direction of the industrial vehicle, and

each of the plurality of battery cells are vertically stacked in the vehicle body and contact the counterweight at the contact portion along the vertical direction of the industrial vehicle.

14. An industrial vehicle comprising:

a vehicle body; and

a battery pack, which is placed in the vehicle body, wherein

the battery pack has a counterweight and a plurality of battery cells, each of the plurality of battery cells contact the counterweight at a contact portion of the counterweight,

the contact portion of the counterweight is exposed to an outside environment surrounding the industrial vehicle such that the contact portion exchanges heat with a fluid in the outside environment by a greater amount than non-contact portions of the plurality of battery cells that have no contact with the counterweight,

the contact portion extends along a vertical direction of the industrial vehicle, and

each of the plurality of battery cells are vertically stacked in the vehicle body and contact the counterweight at the contact portion along the vertical direction of the industrial vehicle.