JP5318673B2 - Case and pack battery - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a case and a battery pack, and more particularly to a structure for attaching a foot member to a case member.

  In various apparatuses including a battery pack, a foot member typified by a rubber foot is attached to the bottom surface of the case (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Moreover, the foot member in the case is not only the bottom surface. Some are attached over the following side surfaces (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The attachment structure of the foot member to the case member according to the prior art will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 (a) and 7 (b), the battery pack has a case member 911 and a case member 912 that are in contact with each other at their opening edges, thereby forming an exterior. Yes. As shown in FIG. 7A, the external connector 913 is exposed from a part of the case member 911, and the latch claws 914 and 915 used for engagement with the mounting device protrude from the other part. ing.

As shown in FIG. 7B, a knob 916 connected to a latch is attached to the recess 912 b of the case member 912 on the back surface of the battery pack. Further, rubber feet 917 and 918 are attached to a lower side portion in the X-axis direction on the outer surface of the bottom wall of the case member 912 in a state of being spaced apart from each other.
As shown in FIG. 7C, the rubber foot 918 includes a wall 918a extending in the X-axis direction, a wall 918b extending in the Z-axis direction, and a rod-shaped portion 918d inserted into a through hole provided in the case member 912. It is integrally formed. The inner surface of the wall 918a is in contact with the outer surface of the bottom wall 912a of the case member 912, and is adhered by a double-sided adhesive tape or the like. Similarly, the inner surface of the wall 918b is in contact with the outer surface of the side wall 912c of the case member 912, and is adhered by a double-sided adhesive tape or the like.

  In the battery pack according to the prior art shown in FIG. 7A to FIG. 7C, the rod-shaped portion 918d of the rubber foot 918 is inserted into the through hole provided in the bottom wall 912a of the case member 912. When the battery is used or the like, even when an external force parallel to the outer surface of the bottom wall 912a of the case member 912 is applied to the foot member 918, the attachment state of the rubber feet 918 and the case member 912 is ensured. Yes.

A core pack 920 including a plurality of unit cells is housed in an internal space formed by the case member 911 and the case member 912. Then, as shown in FIG. 7 (c), a thickness of the sum of the thicknesses of the case members 912 of the walls 918a in the rubber feet 918 _{x 5} (e.g., 1.9 [mm]), rubber feet 918 The height of the rod-shaped portion 918d is x ₆ (for example, 0.5 [mm]). Moreover, x ₇ (for example, 1.7 [mm]) is provided as a damper area between the tip of the rod-shaped portion 918 d of the rubber foot 918 and the outer surface of the unit cell of the core pack 920. Here, the damper area is the tip of the rod-shaped portion 918d even when the case member 912 is depressed by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the wall 918a of the rubber foot 918 (1.2 [mm]) due to the impact force applied from the outside. Is provided as a buffer region for preventing the inner core pack 920 (unit cell) from coming into contact. Specifically, the damper area is provided with a total of 1.7 [mm] by adding a margin to the thickness 1.2 [mm] of the wall 918a of the rubber foot 918.

JP 2007-304171 A JP 2007-241511 A

However, in the case of the foot member mounting structure according to the above-described prior art, the rod-shaped portion 918d of the rubber foot 918 is inserted in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall 912a of the case member 912 (Z-axis direction). It must of clearance x ₇ as a damper areas between the core pack 920, has become one of the obstacles to reducing the overall thickness x ₉ battery pack. That is, various devices such as battery packs are required to eliminate internal waste space as much as possible and to have high volumetric efficiency, but for this purpose, they are accommodated from the outer surface of the wall 918a of the rubber foot 918. functionality section (in the prior art of FIG. 7, the core pack 920 or equivalent) is necessary to narrow as possible a distance x ₈ up.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, and while maintaining a reliable attachment state of the foot member to the case member, a wasteful space of the internal storage space due to the attachment structure of the foot member is provided. An object is to provide a small number of cases and a battery pack including the same.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following configuration.
The case according to the present invention includes a case member constituting at least a part of the exterior and a foot member attached to the outer surface. The case member has a first wall and a second wall that are abutted against each other, and a through-hole that penetrates the inside and outside of the member is formed in the abutting portion between the first wall and the second wall. The foot member corresponds to each of the first wall and the second wall of the case member, and the third wall and the fourth wall that are abutted with each other, and the abutting portion between the third wall and the fourth wall, A rod-shaped portion that is oblique to both sides and protrudes toward the case member is integrally formed.

In the case according to the present invention, the rod-shaped portion of the foot member is inserted into the through hole of the case member, the third wall is in contact with the first wall, and the fourth wall is in contact with the second wall. It is touched.
Moreover, the battery pack according to the present invention includes the case according to the present invention having the above-described configuration.

  As described above, in the case according to the present invention and the battery pack including the case, since the rod-shaped portion of the foot member is inserted into the through hole provided in the case member, the first of the case member with respect to the foot member. Even when an external force (shearing force) is applied along the wall or the second wall, the rod-like portion serves as an anchor to prevent the foot member from coming off the case member. Therefore, in the case and the battery pack according to the present invention, the reliable attachment state of the foot member to the case member is maintained.

  Further, in the case and the battery pack according to the present invention, the rod-shaped portion of the foot member is inserted in the inner space of the case member in an oblique direction with respect to both the first wall and the second wall of the case member. In order to open a damper area between the functional part housed in and the tip of the bar-shaped part of the foot member, it is not necessary to secure a space. That is, in the case and the battery pack according to the present invention, even when the case member is recessed due to external force (such as impact force) applied from the third wall or the fourth wall of the foot member, Since the force is not directly transmitted in the axial direction of the rod-shaped portion inserted from the through-hole and is projected in an oblique direction, the force is distributed. Even if a damper area is not provided between the (core pack) and the tip of the rod-shaped part, the functional part is not damaged.

  Therefore, in the case and the battery pack according to the present invention, it is not necessary to provide a useless space of the internal storage space due to the mounting structure of the foot member while maintaining the reliable mounting state of the foot member to the case member.

It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the battery pack 1 which concerns on embodiment. (A) is a plan view showing the back surface of the battery pack 1, and (b) is a side view showing the side surface of the battery pack 1. 2 is a developed perspective view showing an internal structure of the battery pack 1. FIG. (A) is a perspective view which shows the structure of the rubber foot 18, (b) is an expansion | deployment perspective view which shows the member structure of the rubber foot 18. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a method for attaching rubber feet 18 to a case member 12. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a positional relationship between rubber feet 18 and other components in the battery pack 1. FIG. (A) is a top view which shows the front side of the battery pack which concerns on a prior art, (b) is a top view which shows the back surface of the battery pack which concerns on a prior art, (c) is based on a prior art It is sectional drawing which shows the positional relationship of the rubber leg 918 in a battery pack, and another component.

Below, the form for implementing this invention is shown and an example is demonstrated. The embodiment used in the following description is an example used to explain the configuration, operation, and effect of the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and the present invention is not limited to the following form other than its essential part. It is not something to receive.
[Embodiment]
1. External Configuration An external configuration of the battery pack 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the exterior of the battery pack 1 is configured by joining two case members 11 and 12 with their opening edges butting each other. The battery pack 1 as a whole is flat in the Z-axis direction and has an external shape elongated in the Y-axis direction.
The case member 11 is provided with an opening on the left front side in the X-axis direction, and a part of the external connector 13 is exposed from the opening. In addition, two latch claws 14 and 15 are exposed from the right rear side in the X-axis direction of the case member 11. The latch claws 14 and 15 are used for locking / unlocking with the wearing device.

Further, the case member 11 is formed by injection molding of a resin material, and the main part of the case member 12 is configured by pressing a metal material (for example, an aluminum alloy).
FIG. 2A shows a plan view of the battery pack 1 viewed from the direction A in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2A, an oval recess 12b is formed in the bottom wall 12a of the case member 12 of the battery pack 1 at a substantially central portion in the Y-axis direction. An oval knob 16 having a slightly smaller size is fitted in the recess 12b. The knob 16 is connected to an internal latch mechanism. When the user slides the knob 16, the latch claws 14 and 15 move in and out in a direction perpendicular to the sliding direction of the knob 16.

Further, rubber feet 17 and 18 as foot members are attached to the front surface of the bottom wall 12a of the case member 12 on the lower side in the X-axis direction and at both ends in the Y-axis direction.
FIG. 2B shows a side view of the battery pack 1 as viewed from the direction B in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2B, in the battery pack 1, the rubber feet 18 have an external configuration in which two walls extending on both sides in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction are integrally formed. Both wall abutment surfaces of the bottom wall 12a and the right side wall 12c in the Y-axis direction are in contact with each other.

2. Internal Configuration The internal configuration of the battery pack 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded perspective view showing the main components in an expanded state in order to explain the internal configuration of the battery pack 1.
As shown in FIG. 3, the core pack 20 is accommodated in the internal space formed by the two case members 11 and 12. The core pack 20 includes a plurality of unit cells 21 to 32 each having a flat shape, and a circuit interposed in the power flow path between the unit cells 21 to 32 and the external connector 13 is formed. A circuit board.

In addition, although illustration is abbreviate | omitted in FIG. 3, the circuit board 33 is hold | maintained at the board | substrate holder, and the latch mechanism is attached to the board | substrate holder. As a part of the latch mechanism, the latch claws 14 and 15 protrude to the right rear side in the X-axis direction.
3, the case member 12 has inner wall members 121, 122, 123,... Formed along the four side walls 12g, 12h, 12i,. In the case member 12, a groove is formed between the parallel side walls 12g, 12h, 12i,... And the inner wall members 121, 122, 123, .., and the side wall edge of the case member 11 is inserted into the groove. Is done. Further, the inner bottom surface 12d of the case member 12 has a resin bottom plate attached to the main part made of a metal material by heat welding, and a double-sided adhesive tape for fixing the core pack 20 is provided on the inner surface thereof. It is stuck. This will be described later.

3. Configuration and Mounting of Rubber Feet 17 and 18 The configuration of the rubber feet 17 and 18 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). Since the rubber feet 17 and the rubber feet 18 have the same structure, the rubber feet 18 are shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b).
As shown in FIG. 4A, the rubber foot 18 has a configuration in which a wall 18a extending in the X-axis direction and a wall 18b extending in the Z-axis direction are abutted at a side 18c. A rod-shaped portion 18d is provided so as to protrude from the vicinity of the X-axis and the Z-axis toward the oblique direction. As shown in FIG. 4A, the rod-shaped portion 18d is formed to project at an angle θ with respect to the wall 18a, and the angle θ is, for example, 45 [°].

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the rubber foot 18 is formed by integrally forming two foot members 181 and 182 by so-called two-color molding. In addition, adhesive tapes 183 and 184 are attached to the surface of the member 182 in advance. The foot member 181 is formed of a rubber material such as TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), for example, and the foot member 182 is a resin such as PC / ABS (polycarbonate mixed with a little ABS resin), for example. It is made of material. The reason why the rubber feet 18 are formed in the two-color molding in this way is to secure the hardness of the rod-shaped portion 18d to some extent while ensuring the shock absorption in the walls 18a and 18b.

In addition to the above, the foot member 181 can be formed using a material such as silicone rubber, chloroprene rubber, urethane rubber, or the like.
Next, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case member 12, a through hole is formed in a portion where the rubber feet 17 and 18 are attached, that is, the side 12 e where the bottom wall 12 a and the side wall 12 c are abutted and a part of the vicinity. 12f is perforated (in FIG. 5, only the through hole 12f corresponding to the rubber foot 18 is shown). The through hole 12f is bored in a state of being inserted through the inside and outside of the case member 12 in the thickness direction.

  When attaching the rubber feet 18 to the case member 12, the rod-like portion 18d is inserted into the through hole 12f of the case member 12, and the inner surfaces of the walls 18a and 18b are the bottom wall 12a and the wall 18a of the case member 12, respectively. This is done by contacting each outer surface of the side wall 12c. Here, each of the bottom wall 12a and the side wall 12c of the case member 12 and the wall 18a and the wall 18b of the rubber foot 18 are joined by adhesive tapes 183 and 184 that are attached in advance. And about the rod-shaped part 18d of the rubber feet 17 and 18 inserted into the through-hole 12f of the case member 12, the tip portions thereof are melted by heat, whereby the area of the rubber feet 17 is increased. , 18 is more securely held.

The attachment of the rubber feet 17 to the case member 12 is the same as described above.
Of course, an adhesive may be used for bonding the rubber feet 17 and 18 and the case member 12 instead of using the double-sided adhesive tape.
4). Superiority The superiority of the battery pack 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the portion surrounded by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, in the battery pack 1, the rubber feet 18 are inserted into the through holes 12 f provided at the abutting portions of the bottom wall 12 a and the side walls 12 c in the case member 12. . The direction of insertion is oblique with respect to both the bottom wall 12a and the side wall 12c.
As described above, in the cross section of the battery pack 1, the rod-shaped portion 18 d of the rubber foot 18 is oblique with respect to both the X axis and the Z axis, and its tip is spaced from the core pack 20. It has become. Each unit cell 21-32 (refer FIG. 3) in the core pack 20 has a flat rectangular external appearance, and the end surface is comprised with the curvature. Here, between the inner bottom surface 12 d (see FIG. 3) of the case member 12 and the core pack 20, a resin bottom plate 124 and double-sided adhesive tapes 125 and 126 are interposed. The case member 12 and the bottom plate 124 are attached by thermal welding. The double-sided adhesive tapes 125 and 126 are inserted for fixing the bottom plate 124 and the core pack 20.

  In the battery pack 1, when the core pack 20 is housed in the internal space formed by the case member 11 and the case member 12 due to the appearance of the unit cells 21 to 32 in the core pack 20, the end face of the unit cell A gap is formed in a corner portion of the case member 12 (an inner surface portion where the bottom wall 12a and the side wall 12c are abutted), and the rod-shaped portion 18d of the rubber foot 18 is located in the portion.

The rubber feet 17 are similarly arranged.
In the battery pack 1 having the above-described configuration, it is not necessary to provide x ₇ (for example, 1.7 [mm]) as a damper area unlike the battery pack according to the above-described conventional technology, and the battery pack is equivalent to that amount. it is possible to reduce the thickness x _4. That is, in the battery pack 1 according to the present embodiment, unlike the battery pack according to the above-described conventional technology, the case member 12 is made of the rubber feet 17 and 18 by the impact force applied from the outside without providing a damper area. Even when the wall 18a,... Is recessed corresponding to the thickness, the tip of the rod-shaped portion 18d does not collide with the internal core pack 20 (unit cell) and damage the core pack 20.

For example, the thickness of the bottom wall 12a of the case member 12, the thickness _{x 1} to the sum of the thickness of the wall 18a in the rubber feet 18 is 1.9 [mm], the core pack 20 from the bottom wall 12a inside surface of the case member 12 If the distance _{x 2} in to the lower surface were to be 1.4 [mm], the thickness _{x 3} of the sum becomes 3.3 [mm]. With respect to the thickness x ₈ = 1.9 [mm] +0.5 [mm] +1.7 [mm] of the corresponding portion in the battery pack according to the above-described prior art (see FIG. 7), x ₃ = 3 .3 [mm], and a reduction in thickness of 0.8 [mm] can be achieved. Then, for the total thickness x ₄ of the battery pack 1, the total thickness x ₉ battery pack according to the prior art, it is possible to thin the 0.8 [mm].

In addition, in FIG. 6, the cross section of the battery pack 1 is drawn typically, and size surfaces, such as a dimensional ratio, differ from reality.
As described above, in the battery pack 1 according to the present embodiment, since the rod-shaped portions 18d of the rubber feet 17 and 18 are inserted obliquely with respect to both the bottom wall 12a and the side wall 12c of the case member 12, Even if the damper member is not opened between the core pack 20 housed in the core pack 20 and the ends of the rod-shaped portions 18d of the rubber feet 17 and 18, even when the case member 12 is recessed, the external impact force, etc. However, it is not transmitted to the core pack 20 via the rod-like portions 18d of the rubber feet 17, 18. That is, in the battery pack 1, even when an external force is applied from the wall 18 a or the wall 18 b of the rubber feet 17, 18 during use, the force is not directly transmitted in the axial direction of the rod-shaped portion 18 d, Since it protrudes in an oblique direction, the force can be dispersed. For this reason, in the battery pack 1, damage to the core pack 20 as a functional unit can be prevented without providing a damper area between the tip of the rod-shaped portion 18d of the rubber feet 17 and 18 and the core pack 20. .

  Also in the battery pack 1 according to the present embodiment, since the rod-shaped portions 18d of the rubber feet 17 and 18 are inserted into the through holes 12f provided in the case member 12, the case with respect to the rubber feet 17 and 18 is provided. Even when an external force (shearing force) is applied along the bottom wall 12 a or the side wall 12 c of the member 12, the rubber feet 17 and 18 from the case member 12 are prevented from coming off from the case member 12 as an anchor. . Therefore, in the battery pack 1, the reliable attachment state of the rubber feet 17 and 18 to the case member 12 is maintained.

[Other matters]
In the embodiment described above, the battery pack 1 is described as an example. However, in addition to the battery pack 1, the attachment structure of the rubber feet 17 and 18 with respect to the case member 12 can be employed in various cases. That is, by adopting a configuration in which a through hole is provided in the abutting side portion of the case member and a rod-shaped portion of a rubber foot protruding obliquely is inserted into the through hole, the same effect as described above is achieved. The The applied device can be applied to each case such as a stabilized power supply device, a notebook personal computer, or an audio speaker.

In the battery pack 1 according to the above embodiment, the rubber feet 17 and 18 made of silicone rubber, chloroprene rubber, and urethane rubber are employed as an example of the foot member. However, the material of the foot member is not limited to this. Various things can be used. For example, a resin material or the like can be used.
In addition, the battery pack 1 according to the above embodiment is configured to include a flat rectangular parallelepiped case as shown in FIG. 1, but the shape of the case is not limited thereto. For example, the same effects as described above can be obtained for cases such as a cubic shape and a frustum shape by adopting the configuration according to the present invention.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for realizing a case and a battery pack that can reliably maintain the mounting state of the foot member with respect to the case member and can eliminate an internal useless space.

1. Pack battery 11,12. Case member 13. External connector 14,15. Latch claw 16. Knob 17,18. Rubber feet 20. Core pack 21-32. Unit cell 33. Circuit boards 121, 122, 123. Wall members 181, 182. Foot member

Claims (6)

A case comprising a case member constituting at least a part of the exterior and a foot member attached to the outer surface of the case member,
The case member has a first wall and a second wall that are butted against each other, and a through hole that penetrates the inside and outside of the member is formed in the butted portion of the first wall and the second wall.
The foot member corresponds to each of the first wall and the second wall in the case member, and the third wall and the fourth wall that are abutted with each other, and the third wall and the fourth wall. A rod-shaped portion that protrudes toward the side of the case member in an oblique direction with respect to both walls from the butted portion is formed integrally.
The foot member is inserted into the through hole with respect to the case member, and the third wall with respect to the first wall, and the fourth wall with respect to the second wall, Cases that are in contact with each other. The case according to claim 1, wherein the bar-shaped portion of the foot member has a circular cross section. The third wall and the fourth wall of the foot member are joined to each of the first wall and the second wall of the case member by an adhesive or an adhesive tape. The case according to 1 or 2. The case according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the foot member includes silicone rubber, chloroprene rubber, or urethane rubber. A battery pack comprising the case according to claim 1 and one or a plurality of unit cells housed in the case. The one or more unit cells are configured such that an end surface of the exterior body has a curvature,
The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein a gap is provided between the end surface and the tip of the rod-shaped portion of the foot member.

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