Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging – Battery or cell charging – Gas controlled
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-06
2001-08-21
Tso, Edward H. (Department: 2838)
Electricity: battery or capacitor charging or discharging
Battery or cell charging
Gas controlled
Reexamination Certificate
active
06278259
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a battery pack, in which a plurality of battery modules provided with safety vents for expelling gas when the internal pressure exceeds a prescribed value are arranged in parallel, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a gas discharging device for discharging the gas expelled from the safety vents to the exterior of the battery pack.
For a driving power supply mounted in an electric vehicle, a battery pack, in which a plurality of battery modules consisting of sealed prismatic cells and provided with safety vents are arranged in parallel, is suitably used. In a battery pack of this kind, when the internal pressure of a battery module rises to a prescribed level or above due to hydrogen gas generated during charging or discharging, the safety vent operates, thereby discharging the hydrogen gas. In order to expel this hydrogen gas into the external atmosphere as a fire-prevention safety measure, a gas discharging device is normally provided in the battery pack.
A prior art gas discharging device for a battery pack is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No.(Hei)7-245089. Referring to FIG.
14
and
FIG. 15
, this battery pack
41
comprises a plurality of battery modules
43
(in this example, 24 modules) arranged in parallel in two rows (12 modules in each row, in this example). Discharge outlets
44
of the respective battery modules
43
are disposed in an alternating zig-zag fashion within the battery module groups
42
a
,
42
b
in the respective rows, these discharge outlets
44
being connected alternately to discharge gas lines
45
a,
45
b,
45
c,
45
d
of the respective rows. One end of each discharge gas line is connected respectively to an air discharge section
46
.
A T-shaped joint
47
is provided at the gas discharge outlet
44
of each battery module
43
. Hose joints
48
are provided projecting from either end of the T-shaped joint
47
, and the respective discharge gas lines
45
a
-
45
d
are constituted by connecting these hose joints
48
in a sequential fashion, by means of discharge gas tubes
49
.
In the example illustrated in
FIG. 14
, the discharge gas lines
45
a
and
45
d,
and
45
b
and
45
c,
belonging to one battery module group
42
a
and the other battery module group
42
b,
are respectively connected at the other ends thereof, by means of connecting lines
50
a,
50
b,
so that, even if a blockage occurs in any one of the discharge gas lines
45
a
-
45
d,
the gas can still be discharged from the other discharge gas line connected to same.
However, in the conventional composition of a gas discharging device as illustrated in FIG.
14
and
FIG. 15
, when the battery modules
43
consisting of sealed prismatic cells swell as their internal pressure rises, the interval between the gas discharge outlets
44
,
44
increases, as a result of which it may happen that a discharge gas tube
49
, that is sequentially connected between hose joints
48
on either end of T-shaped joints
47
, is pulled away from the hose joint
48
, causing the seal to become incomplete, or in some instances, the discharge gas line
45
a
-
45
d
may break, and hence there is a risk of leakage of hydrogen gas.
Moreover, since the respective end sections of the discharge gas tubes
49
must be connected in a sealed state to a plurality of hose joints
48
, a large amount of labour is required during assembly, and the cost becomes high.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention was devised with the foregoing in view, an object thereof being to provide a battery pack comprising a gas discharging device in which sealing properties can be ensured, even in cases where battery modules have swollen due to a rise in the internal pressure thereof, whilst also reducing the amount of labour required for assembly and reducing the cost of the battery pack.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a battery pack comprising:
a plurality of battery modules arranged in parallel and coupled together in such a manner as to provide a necessary power output, each of said plurality of battery modules being provided with safety vents having discharge outlets for releasing gas therethrough from the battery modules when internal pressure of a battery module has reached a predetermined value; and
one or a plurality of discharge gas tube(s) connected to said discharge outlets of the safety vents and arranged along a direction in which the battery modules are aligned, wherein said one or a plurality of discharge gas tube(s) is/are capable of accommodating variations in the intervals between said discharge outlets of the safety vents caused by expansion of the battery modules, by means of extension or expansion of itself/themselves.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent more fully from the following description.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3005943 (1961-10-01), Jaffe
patent: 3031517 (1962-04-01), Peters
patent: 4782279 (1988-11-01), Selanger
patent: 6033795 (2000-03-01), Broussely et al.
patent: 7-245089 (1995-09-01), None
Eto Toyohiko
Kimoto Shinya
Watanabe Ko
Jordan and Hamburg LLP
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Tso Edward H.
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