JP7461792B2 - Energy Storage Device Module - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an energy storage device module having multiple energy storage device cells.

Electricity storage devices such as capacitors, condensers, and storage batteries are used by connecting multiple electricity storage device cells as needed to form a module. Patent Document 1 discloses a capacitor module that includes multiple capacitors fixed to a heat sink.

In the above-mentioned capacitor module, in order to improve vibration resistance, the capacitors are fixed one by one to the heat sink with fixing screws. In addition, in the above-mentioned capacitor module, in order to improve heat dissipation, a cooling passage is provided inside the heat sink to circulate cooling water.

International Publication No. WO 2007/126082

In the capacitor module described above, multiple capacitors are fixed one by one with fixing screws, making assembly difficult. In addition, the incorporation of a liquid cooling element into the module also makes assembly difficult. In addition, the incorporation of a liquid cooling element into the module requires quality and manufacturing management and performance verification for watertight sealing, which increases the difficulty of the design.

The object of the present invention is to provide an electricity storage device module that has high vibration resistance and heat dissipation properties without compromising ease of assembly and while minimizing design difficulty.

The energy storage device module of the present invention has a columnar shape and includes a plurality of energy storage device cells each having a pair of terminals at one end in the axial direction, a substrate to which the pair of terminals of each energy storage device cell is attached and on which the plurality of energy storage device cells are mounted in an arrayed state along an array direction perpendicular to the axial direction, a frame provided with a flat first covering portion covering the side surfaces of the plurality of energy storage device cells mounted on the substrate on one side in an orthogonal direction perpendicular to both the axial direction and the array direction, and a frame provided with a flat first covering portion covering the side surfaces of the plurality of energy storage device cells mounted on the substrate on the other side opposite to the one side in the orthogonal direction. The frame includes a second covering portion that covers the side surfaces of the plurality of electric storage device cells mounted on the frame, a cover provided with fixing portions that extend from both ends of the second covering portion in the arrangement direction toward the first covering portion, and a thermally conductive elastomer that is disposed between the plurality of electric storage device cells and the first covering portion and between the plurality of electric storage device cells and the second covering portion, and is attached to the object by fixing the fixing portions of the cover to the object with the first covering portion of the frame in contact with the object.

According to this configuration, the thermally conductive elastomers disposed between the multiple power storage device cells and the first covering portion and between the multiple power storage device cells and the second covering portion can improve vibration resistance and heat dissipation. Furthermore, the multiple power storage device cells can be fixed together by sandwiching the multiple power storage device cells between the first covering portion provided on the frame and the second covering portion provided on the cover, and fixing the fixing portion provided on the cover to the object to which the device is to be attached. Therefore, high vibration resistance and heat dissipation can be obtained without reducing the ease of assembly. In addition, since the flat first covering portion can be attached to the object to which the device is to be attached in a state of contacting the flat surface of the object to which the device is to be attached, the device can be attached to a general-purpose cooling component. Therefore, the structure does not need to be complicated in order to improve heat dissipation, and the difficulty of design can be reduced.

In addition, in the above-mentioned energy storage device module, the frame extends from one end of the first covering part in the axial direction, a third covering part is provided to cover the substrate, and the thermally conductive elastomer is also disposed between the substrate and the third covering part.

With this configuration, the thermally conductive elastomer placed between the substrate and the third coating portion can further improve vibration resistance and heat dissipation.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned energy storage device module, the frame is provided with an inclined portion that extends from the end of the third covering portion on the opposite side to the first covering portion in the axial direction toward the energy storage device cell and is inclined with respect to a plane parallel to both the axial direction and the arrangement direction so as to move away from the first covering portion in the perpendicular direction, and the inclined portion is pressed toward the first covering portion by the second covering portion of the cover.

With this configuration, the inclined portion functions as a leaf spring, and the biasing force of the inclined portion can press the frame against the object to which it is attached. This further improves vibration resistance.

In addition, the above-mentioned energy storage device module includes two of the substrates and two of the frames on which the multiple energy storage devices are mounted, the two substrates are arranged such that the axial direction and the arrangement direction of the multiple energy storage devices mounted on each substrate are parallel, and the surfaces opposite the mounting surfaces face each other across the third covering portion of the two frames, and the cover is integrally formed with two of the second covering portions that respectively cover the side surfaces of the multiple energy storage device cells mounted on the two substrates, and is provided with a clamping portion having a slit formed therein for clamping the two substrates.

With this configuration, the two substrates that sandwich the third covering parts of the two frames are clamped by the slits in the clamping part provided in the cover, so that the two substrates and the two frames can be easily fixed together. This makes it easy to assemble.

The present invention makes it possible to obtain an electricity storage device module that has high vibration resistance and heat dissipation properties without compromising ease of assembly and while minimizing design difficulty.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a power storage system module according to an embodiment of the present invention; 5A and 5B are perspective views showing a substrate and a frame corresponding to one of the cell groups, in which FIG. 5A shows a state in which the capacitor cells are mounted on the substrate, and FIG. 5B shows a state in which the capacitor cells are mounted on the frame. 11A and 11B are perspective views showing a substrate and a frame corresponding to the other cell group, in which FIG. 11A shows a state in which the capacitor cells are mounted on the substrate, and FIG. 11B shows a state in which the capacitor cells are mounted on the frame. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state before a cover is attached. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the device is fixed to an object to which the device is attached. FIG. 6 is a view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 5 . 13 is a flowchart showing an example of an assembly procedure.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The capacitor module 1 in this embodiment is intended to mount a plurality of capacitor cells 2 to an object 10 (see FIG. 5). In this embodiment, the capacitor module 1 is mounted on a horizontal surface facing upward.

As shown in FIG. 1, the capacitor cell 2 has a generally cylindrical shape, and a pair of terminals 21 consisting of a positive terminal and a negative terminal is provided at one end in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, in the capacitor module 1, the multiple capacitor cells 2 are fixed in an arrayed state along an array direction perpendicular to the axial direction. In the capacitor module 1, the multiple capacitor cells 2 each consist of six capacitor cells 2 arranged along the array direction, forming two cell groups 2a, 2b arranged in the axial direction. In the following description, the direction perpendicular to both the axial direction and the array direction of the capacitor cells 2 is referred to as the "up-down direction".

As shown in FIG. 1, the capacitor module 1 mainly comprises a plurality of capacitor cells 2, a substrate 3, a frame 4, a cover 5, and a thermally conductive elastomer 6. Two substrates 3 and two frames 4 are provided, one for each of the two cell groups 2a and 2b. In the following description, the substrate 3 corresponding to the cell group 2a will be referred to as "substrate 3a," and the substrate 3 corresponding to the cell group 2b will be referred to as "substrate 3b," as necessary. In addition, the frame 4 corresponding to the cell group 2a will be referred to as "frame 4a," and the frame 4 corresponding to the cell group 2b will be referred to as "frame 4b," as necessary. A total of six thermally conductive elastomers 6 are provided, three for each of the cell groups 2a and 2b.

The substrate 3 is a printed wiring board, and has a rectangular shape that is elongated in the arrangement direction, as shown in Figs. 2(a) and 3(a). As shown in Fig. 1, the substrate 3 has a plurality of holes 31 through which the pair of terminals 21 of each capacitor cell 2 is inserted. The substrate 3a corresponding to the cell group 2a has two holes 31 aligned vertically through which the pair of terminals 21 of the capacitor cell 2 are inserted. On the other hand, the substrate 3b corresponding to the cell group 2b has two holes 31 aligned in the longitudinal direction (arrangement direction) through which the pair of terminals 21 of the capacitor cell 2 are inserted.

As shown in Figures 2(a) and 3(a), a pair of terminals 21 of each capacitor cell 2 is attached to the substrate 3 with the terminals 21 inserted through the holes 31 with solder 9. As a result, six capacitor cells 2 are mounted on each substrate 3 in an arrayed state in the array direction. The capacitor cells 2 mounted on the substrate 3 form a series or parallel circuit by connecting the pair of terminals 21 to a pattern (not shown) of the substrate 3 via the solder 9.

The two substrates 3a and 3b are arranged so that the rear surfaces 32 opposite to the mounting surfaces on which the capacitor cells 2 are mounted face each other across the substrate covering portion 43 of the two frames 4a and 4b, which will be described later. At this time, the axial direction and arrangement direction of the multiple capacitor cells 2 mounted on each substrate 3a and 3b are parallel. That is, the axial direction of the capacitor cells 2 belonging to the cell group 2a is parallel to the axial direction of the capacitor cells 2 belonging to the cell group 2b. More specifically, the twelve capacitor cells 2 are arranged so that six straight lines extending in the axial direction and passing through the centers of the six capacitor cells 2 belonging to the cell group 2a pass through the centers of the six capacitor cells 2 belonging to the cell group 2b. In addition, the arrangement direction of the multiple capacitor cells 2 belonging to the cell group 2a is parallel to the arrangement direction of the multiple capacitor cells 2 belonging to the cell group 2b.

The two frames 4a, 4b, which correspond to the two cell groups 2a, 2b, respectively, have the same shape. The frame 4 is formed by bending a flat metal plate such as an aluminum alloy or copper. The frame 4 mainly has a cell covering portion (first covering portion) 41, a substrate covering portion (third covering portion) 43, and an inclined portion 47.

The cell covering portion 41 is flat and covers the side surfaces of the six capacitor cells 2 mounted on the substrate 3 from below, as shown in Figs. 2(b) and 3(b). The cell covering portion 41 spans the six capacitor cells 2 in the arrangement direction. The cell covering portion 41 extends in the axial direction from near the end of the capacitor cell 2 where the terminal 21 is not provided to near the substrate 3 on which the capacitor cell 2 is mounted.

As shown in Figs. 2(b) and 3(b), the substrate covering portion 43 extends upward from the end of the cell covering portion 41 on the substrate 3 side in the axial direction. The substrate covering portion 43 covers the back surface 32 on the substrate 3 opposite the mounting surface on which the capacitor cells 2 are mounted.

The substrate covering portion 43 has a first portion 43a, a second portion 43b, and a third portion 43c. As shown in FIG. 2(b) and FIG. 3(b), the first portion 43a, the second portion 43b, and the third portion 43c respectively cover the portions of the substrate 3 where the three capacitor cells 2 are attached: the leftmost capacitor cell 2, the third capacitor cell 2 from the left, and the fifth capacitor cell 2 from the left, as viewed from the rear surface 32 side.

Four holes 45 are formed in each of the first portion 43a, the second portion 43b, and the third portion 43c to allow the rise of the thermally conductive elastomer 6 (described below) caused by the fillet of the solder 9 to escape. The four holes 45 are arranged at the top and bottom, and on one side and the other side of the arrangement direction, and are arranged in a cross shape (at the tips of the cross).

When the two substrates 3a, 3b are arranged to face each other with the substrate covering portions 43 of the two frames 4a, 4b in between, the two holes 45 arranged at the top and bottom allow the rise of the thermally conductive elastomer 6 caused by the fillet of the solder 9 of the substrate 3a corresponding to the cell group 2a to escape. In addition, the two holes 45 arranged at one side and the other side of the arrangement direction allow the rise of the thermally conductive elastomer 6 caused by the fillet of the solder 9 of the substrate 3a corresponding to the cell group 2b to escape.

The substrate covering portion 43 has an opening 44a formed between the first portion 43a and the second portion 43b, and an opening 44b formed between the second portion 43b and the third portion 43c. The substrate covering portion 43 has a notch 44c formed on the side opposite to the side where the opening 44b of the third portion 43c is formed.

As described above, the two substrates 3a, 3b are arranged so that their rear surfaces 32 face each other across the substrate covering portion 43 of the two frames 4a, 4b. At this time, the first portion 43a of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4a corresponding to the cell group 2a is located within the notch 44c of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4b corresponding to the cell group 2b. The second portion 43b of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4a is located within the opening 44b of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4b. Furthermore, the third portion 43c of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4a is located within the opening 44a of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4b.

Similarly, the first portion 43a of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4b is located within the notch 44c of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4a. The second portion 43b of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4b is located within the opening 44b of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4a. Furthermore, the third portion 43c of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4b is located within the opening 44a of the substrate covering portion 43 in the frame 4a.

As shown in Figures 2(b) and 3(b), the inclined portion 47 extends from the upper end of the substrate covering portion 43, i.e., the end of the substrate covering portion 43 opposite the cell covering portion 41, toward the capacitor cell 2 along the axial direction. The cell covering portion 41 connected to the lower end of the substrate covering portion 43 and the inclined portion 47 connected to the upper end face each other vertically. The inclined portion 47 spans six capacitor cells 2 in the arrangement direction. The inclined portion 47 covers the side of the end where the terminal 21 of the capacitor cell 2 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 6, the inclined portion 47 is inclined with respect to a plane parallel to both the axial direction and the arrangement direction. More specifically, the inclined portion 47 is inclined so that the end opposite the substrate covering portion 43 is farther away from the cell covering portion 41 in the vertical direction than the end on the substrate covering portion 43 side.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cover 5 is provided commonly to the cell groups 2a and 2b. The cover 5 is formed by bending a flat plate made of metal such as aluminum alloy or copper. As shown in FIG. 4, the cover 5 mainly has a cell covering portion (second covering portion) 51, a fixing portion 53, and a clamping portion 55.

As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the cell covering portion 51 covers from above the side surfaces of a total of 12 capacitor cells 2 mounted on each of the substrates 3a and 3b. That is, the cover 5 is integrally formed with the cell covering portion 51 that covers the side surfaces of each of the capacitor cells 2 mounted on each of the two substrates 3a and 3b. The cell covering portion 51 spans six capacitor cells 2 in the arrangement direction. The cell covering portion 51 extends in the axial direction from near the end of the capacitor cell 2 mounted on the substrate 3a where the terminal 21 is not provided to near the end of the capacitor cell 2 mounted on the substrate 3b where the terminal 21 is not provided.

The cell covering portion 51 has two stepped portions 51a formed in the center in the axial direction. The two stepped portions 51a both extend in the arrangement direction and are arranged side by side in the axial direction. The portion of the cell covering portion 51 between the two stepped portions 51a forms a bulge portion 52 that rises higher than the outer portions of the two stepped portions 51a. As shown in FIG. 6, when the cover 5 is attached to the frame 4, the bulge portion 52 presses the inclined portion 47 of the frame 4 downward (towards the cell covering portion 41).

The fixing parts 53 extend downward (towards the cell covering part 41) from both ends in the arrangement direction of the cell covering part 51. The fixing parts 53 are provided at both ends in the arrangement direction of the part of the cell covering part 51 that covers the capacitor cells 2 mounted on the substrate 3a, and at both ends in the arrangement direction of the part that covers the capacitor cells 2 mounted on the substrate 3b. In other words, a total of four fixing parts 53 are provided. The lower end of the fixing part 53 is bent outward along the arrangement direction, and a screw hole 53a is formed in this bent part.

The clamping portions 55 each extend downward from both ends of the bulge 52 of the cell covering portion 51 in the arrangement direction. A slit 55a extending in the vertical direction is formed in each of the two clamping portions 55. The slits 55a are for clamping the two substrates 3a, 3b from both sides in the axial direction. The slits 55a formed in the two clamping portions 55 have the same shape and are aligned in a straight line along the arrangement direction.

The thermally conductive elastomer 6 is, for example, a silicone-based or fluorine-based rubber-like elastic body. The thermally conductive elastomer 6 has a thermal conductivity at least higher than that of air, and the thermal conductivity is preferably 0.1 to 2.5 W/m·K. The thermally conductive elastomer 6 tends to have a higher hardness as the thermal conductivity increases, and the thermal conductivity is more preferably 1.5 to 2.0 W/m·K to improve the adhesion between the thermally conductive elastomer 6 and the capacitor cell 2, frame 4, and cover 5, and to facilitate heat conduction. A total of six thermally conductive elastomers 6 are provided, three for each of the cell groups 2a and 2b.

As shown in FIG. 2(b) and FIG. 4, the three thermally conductive elastomers 6 provided for the cell group 2a are arranged between the six capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell group 2a and the cell covering portion 41 of the frame 4a, between the six capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell group 2a and the cell covering portion 51 of the cover 5, and between the back surface 32 of the substrate 3a and the substrate covering portion 43 of the frame 4a. All three of these thermally conductive elastomers 6 span the six capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell group 2a.

As shown in Figures 3(b) and 4, the three thermally conductive elastomers 6 provided for the cell group 2b are arranged between the six capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell group 2b and the cell covering portion 41 of the frame 4b, between the six capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell group 2b and the cell covering portion 51 of the cover 5, and between the back surface 32 of the substrate 3b and the substrate covering portion 43 of the frame 4b. All three of these thermally conductive elastomers 6 span the six capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell group 2b.

The thermally conductive elastomer 6 also functions as an insulator. The thermally conductive elastomer 6 arranged between the capacitor cell 2 and the cell covering portion 41 of the frame 4b can provide insulation between the capacitor cell 2 and the frame 4. The thermally conductive elastomer 6 arranged between the capacitor cell 2 and the cell covering portion 51 of the cover 5 can provide insulation between the capacitor cell 2 and the cover 5. The thermally conductive elastomer 6 arranged between the back surface 32 on which the solder 9 is provided in the substrate 3 and the substrate covering portion 43 of the frame 4 can provide insulation between the capacitor cell 2 and the frame 4.

Next, an example of an assembly procedure for the capacitor module 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 2(a) and FIG. 3(a), the terminals 21 of the capacitor cells 2 are attached to the substrates 3a and 3b with solder 9, thereby mounting six capacitor cells 2 each (step S1). Furthermore, a thermally conductive elastomer 6 is attached to the upper surfaces of the cell covering parts 41 of the frames 4a and 4b, respectively (step S2).

Next, as shown in Figures 2(b) and 3(b), the capacitor cells 2 mounted on the substrates 3a and 3b are mounted on the upper surfaces of the cell covering parts 41 of the frames 4a and 4b to which the thermally conductive elastomer 6 has been attached (step S3). At this time, the capacitor cells 2 are mounted on the frames 4a and 4b with the thermally conductive elastomer 6 sandwiched between the substrate 3a and the substrate covering part 43 of the frame 4a, and between the substrate 3b and the substrate covering part 43 of the frame 4b.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the rear surfaces 32 of the substrates 3a and 3b are arranged to face each other with the substrate covering portion 43 of the frames 4a and 4b in between. At this time, the flat cell covering portion 41 of the frame 4 is in contact with the flat surface of the mounting object 10. Then, a thermally conductive elastomer 6 is attached to the upper surfaces of the six capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell group 2a and the upper surfaces of the six capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell group 2b (step S4).

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the cover 5 is attached to the frames 4a, 4b on which the capacitor cells 2 are mounted (step S5). By attaching the cover 5 to the frames 4a, 4b, the two substrates 3a, 3b are sandwiched from both axial sides by the slits 55a formed in the clamping portion 55 of the cover 5. At this time, the thermally conductive elastomer 6 arranged between the rear surface 32 of the substrate 3 and the substrate covering portion 43 of the frame 4 is raised by a fillet at the portion in contact with the solder 9. The raised portion of the thermally conductive elastomer 6 due to the fillet escapes into the hole 45 formed in the substrate covering portion 43.

Finally, as shown in FIG. 5, the four screws 8 are attached to the screw holes 53a formed in the four fixing parts 53 provided on the cover 5, thereby fixing the fixing parts 53 to the attachment object 10 (step S6). At this time, the bulging part 52 of the cover 5 presses the inclined part 47 of the frame 4 downward. Since the inclined part 47 functions as a leaf spring, the biasing force of the inclined part 47 presses the frame 4 against the attachment object 10.

As described above, the capacitor module 1 of this embodiment has a substantially cylindrical shape and includes a plurality of capacitor cells 2 each having a pair of terminals 21 at one end in the axial direction, a substrate 3 to which the pair of terminals 21 of each capacitor cell 2 is attached and the plurality of capacitor cells 2 are mounted in an arrayed state along an array direction perpendicular to the axial direction, a frame 4 provided with a flat cell covering portion 41 that covers the side surfaces of the plurality of capacitor cells 2 mounted on the substrate 3 from below, a cell covering portion 51 that covers the side surfaces of the plurality of capacitor cells 2 mounted on the substrate 3 from above, and a cover 5 provided with fixing portions 53 that extend downward from both ends of the cell covering portion 51 in the array direction, and a thermally conductive elastomer 6 disposed between the plurality of capacitor cells 2 and the cell covering portion 41 and between the plurality of capacitor cells 2 and the cell covering portion 51. The cell covering portion 41 of the frame 4 is in contact with the object to be attached, and the fixing portion 53 of the cover 5 is fixed to the object to be attached 10.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, the thermally conductive elastomer 6 arranged between the capacitor cells 2 and the cell covering portion 41 and between the capacitor cells 2 and the cell covering portion 51 can improve vibration resistance and heat dissipation. Furthermore, the capacitor cells 2 can be sandwiched between the cell covering portion 41 provided on the frame 4 and the cell covering portion 51 provided on the cover 5, and the fixing portion 53 provided on the cover 5 is fixed to the mounting object 10, so that the capacitor cells 2 can be fixed together. Therefore, high vibration resistance and heat dissipation can be obtained without reducing the ease of assembly. In addition, since the flat cell covering portion 41 can be attached to the mounting object 10 in a state of contacting the flat surface of the mounting object 10, it can be attached to general-purpose cooling parts such as water-cooled plates, sheet-type heat pipes, and Peltier modules. Therefore, the structure does not need to be complicated to improve heat dissipation, so the difficulty of design can be reduced.

In the capacitor module 1 of this embodiment, the frame 4 extends upward from the axial end of the cell covering portion 41 on the substrate 3 side, and a substrate covering portion 43 is provided to cover the rear surface 32 of the substrate 3. The thermally conductive elastomer 6 is also disposed between the substrate 3 and the substrate covering portion 43. Therefore, the thermally conductive elastomer 6 disposed between the substrate 3 and the substrate covering portion 43 can further improve vibration resistance and heat dissipation.

In the capacitor module 1 of this embodiment, the frame 4 is provided with an inclined portion 47 that extends from the upper end of the substrate covering portion 43 toward the capacitor cell 2 in the axial direction. The inclined portion 47 is inclined with respect to a plane parallel to both the axial direction and the arrangement direction so that the end opposite the substrate covering portion 43 is farther away from the cell covering portion 41 in the vertical direction than the end on the substrate covering portion 43 side. The inclined portion 47 is pressed downward by a bulge portion 52 provided on the cell covering portion 51 of the cover 5. Therefore, the inclined portion 47 functions as a leaf spring, and the frame 4 can be pressed against the mounting object 10 by the biasing force of the inclined portion 47. This further improves vibration resistance.

The capacitor module 1 of this embodiment includes two substrates 3 and two frames 4 on which a plurality of capacitor cells 2 are mounted. The two substrates 3a and 3b are arranged so that the axial direction and arrangement direction of the plurality of capacitor cells 2 mounted on each substrate 3a and 3b are parallel, and the back surface 32 opposite to the mounting surface faces each other across the substrate covering portion 43 of the two frames 4a and 4b. The cover 5 is integrally formed with a cell covering portion 51 that covers the side surfaces of the plurality of capacitor cells 2 mounted on the two substrates 3a and 3b, and is provided with a clamping portion 55 having a slit 55a that clamps the two substrates 3a and 3b. Therefore, the two substrates 3a and 3b and the two frames 4a and 4b can be easily fixed to each other by clamping the two substrates 3a and 3b that sandwich the substrate covering portion 43 of the two frames 4a and 4b with the slit 55a of the clamping portion 55 provided on the cover 5. This makes it easy to assemble.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration should not be considered to be limited to these embodiments. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the description of the above embodiments, and further includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

In the above embodiment, the thermally conductive elastomer 6 is disposed between the substrate 3 and the substrate covering portion 43 in addition to between the capacitor cells 2 and the cell covering portion 41 and between the capacitor cells 2 and the cell covering portion 51, but this is not limited thereto. The thermally conductive elastomer 6 may be disposed at least between the capacitor cells 2 and the cell covering portion 41, and between the capacitor cells 2 and the cell covering portion 51.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the frame 4 is provided with an inclined portion 47 that functions as a leaf spring that applies a biasing force to the frame 4 in a direction pressing the frame 4 against the attachment object 10, but this is not limited to the above. A biasing member that applies a biasing force to the frame 4 in a direction pressing the frame 4 against the attachment object 10 may be provided outside the frame 4. Also, such a biasing member may not be required.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which there are two substrates 3 and two frames 4 on which a plurality of capacitor cells 2 are mounted, but there may be only one substrate 3 and one frame 4.

In the above embodiment, the case where the cell covering portion 51 covering each of the side surfaces of the multiple capacitor cells 2 mounted on the two substrates 3a and 3b is integrally formed has been described, but this is not limited to this. In other words, the cover 5 on which the cell covering portion 51 covering the side surface of the capacitor cell 2 mounted on the substrate 3a is formed and the cover 5 on which the cell covering portion 51 covering the side surface of the capacitor cell 2 mounted on the substrate 3b is formed may be separate members.

In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which the clamping portion 55 having the slit 55a for clamping the two substrates 3a, 3b is provided on the cover 5, but this is not limited thereto. In other words, the slit 55a for clamping the two substrates 3a, 3b may be formed in a member separate from the cover 5. Also, the slit 55a itself may not be formed.

In the above embodiment, the two frames 4a, 4b have the same shape, but the shapes of the two frames 4a, 4b do not have to be the same. However, if the shapes of the two frames 4a, 4b are the same, there is no need to distinguish between the two frames 4a, 4b when performing the assembly work, and therefore the assembly work is easy. Therefore, from the viewpoint of ease of assembly, it is preferable that the shapes of the two frames 4a, 4b are the same.

In the above embodiment, the cell groups 2a and 2b are each composed of six capacitor cells 2, but the number of capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell groups 2a and 2b is not limited to this. However, if the number of capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell groups 2a and 2b is an odd number, the substrate covering portions 43 in the two frames 4a and 4b will have different shapes. Therefore, from the viewpoint of making the shapes of the two frames 4a and 4b the same, it is preferable that the number of capacitor cells 2 constituting the cell groups 2a and 2b is an even number.

In the above embodiment, the capacitor module 1 is attached to a horizontal surface facing upward of the attachment object 10, but this is not limited to the above. That is, for example, the capacitor module 1 may be attached to a horizontal surface or a vertical surface facing downward.

In the above embodiment, the fixing part 53 is fixed to the attachment object by attaching the screw 8 to the screw hole 53a formed in the fixing part 53, but the method of fixing the fixing part 53 is not limited to this. That is, for example, the fixing part 53 may be fixed to the attachment object by inserting a fixing pin formed in the attachment object 10 into a hole formed in the fixing part 53.

In the above embodiment, the terminals 21 of the capacitor cells 2 are inserted into holes 31 formed in the substrate 3 and attached with solder 9, so-called through-hole mounting, but the method of mounting the capacitor cells 2 to the substrate 3 is not limited to this. In other words, surface mounting, in which the terminals 21 of the capacitor cells 2 are attached to the mounting surface of the substrate 3, may also be used.

In the above embodiment, a capacitor module 1 for mounting a plurality of capacitor cells 2 having a substantially cylindrical shape to an object 10 to be mounted has been described, but the present invention can be applied to general energy storage devices including capacitors and storage batteries. The shape of the energy storage device is not limited to a cylindrical shape, and may be a columnar shape having a polygonal cross-sectional shape, such as a rectangular columnar shape.

1. Capacitor module (electricity storage device module)
2. Capacitor cell (electricity storage device cell)
3 Substrate 4 Frame 5 Cover 6 Thermally conductive elastomer 21 Terminal 41 Cell covering portion (first covering portion)
43 Substrate covering part (third covering part)
47 Inclined portion 51 Cell covering portion (second covering portion)
53 Fixed portion 55 Clamping portion 55a Slit

Claims (4)

A plurality of power storage device cells each having a columnar shape and each having a pair of terminals at one end in an axial direction of the cell;
a substrate on which the pair of terminals of each power storage device cell is attached and on which the plurality of power storage device cells are mounted in a state of being arranged along an arrangement direction perpendicular to the axial direction;
a frame provided with a flat first cover portion that covers side surfaces of the plurality of power storage device cells mounted on the substrate on one side in an orthogonal direction that is orthogonal to both the axial direction and the arrangement direction;
a cover including a second covering portion covering side surfaces of the plurality of power storage device cells mounted on the substrate on the other side opposite to the one side in the orthogonal direction, and fixing portions extending from both ends of the second covering portion in the arrangement direction toward the first covering portion;
a thermally conductive elastomer disposed between the plurality of power storage device cells and the first covering portion and between the plurality of power storage device cells and the second covering portion,
An energy storage device module characterized in that it can be attached to an object by fixing the fixing portion of the cover to the object with the first covering portion of the frame in contact with the object. the frame is provided with a third covering portion extending from the one end of the first covering portion in the axial direction and covering the substrate;
The power storage device module according to claim 1 , wherein the thermally conductive elastomer is also disposed between the substrate and the third covering portion. the frame is provided with an inclined portion that extends from an end of the third covered portion on an opposite side to the first covered portion in the axial direction toward the power storage device cell and is inclined with respect to a plane parallel to both the axial direction and the arrangement direction so as to be away from the first covered portion in the orthogonal direction,
The power storage device module according to claim 2 , wherein the inclined portion is pressed against the first covering portion by the second covering portion of the cover. The power storage device includes two of the substrates and two of the frames on which the power storage devices are mounted,
the two substrates are arranged such that the axial directions and the arrangement directions of the plurality of power storage devices mounted on each substrate are parallel to each other, and that surfaces opposite to the mounting surfaces face each other across the third covering portion of the two frames;
The energy storage device module according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the cover is integrally formed with two second covering portions that cover the side surfaces of the multiple energy storage device cells mounted on the two substrates, respectively, and is provided with a clamping portion having a slit for clamping the two substrates.

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