Battery pack and vehicle provided with same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9722230-B2
Application number	US-201314085105-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 20, 2013
Priority date	Nov 30, 2012
Publication date	Aug 1, 2017
Grant date	Aug 1, 2017

Abstract

A battery pack includes a single cell having a cylindrical shape, the single cell having a positive electrode at one end of the single cell and a negative electrode at the other end of the single cell, a plurality of the single cells being arranged in a radial direction of the single cell; a fuse; a first bus bar connected via the fuse to one electrode, from among the positive electrode and the negative electrode; a second bus bar directly connected to the other electrode, from among the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and a retaining member configured to retain the plurality of single cells from the radial direction of the single cell, in a manner such that when the fuse is disconnected, retaining force with which the single cell is retained by the retaining member decreases and the single cell moves in a direction away from the fuse.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A battery pack comprising:
a single cell having a cylindrical shape, the single cell having a positive electrode at one end of the single cell and a negative electrode at the other end of the single cell, and a plurality of the single cells being arranged in a radial direction of the single cell;
a fuse;
a first bus bar connected via the fuse to one electrode, from among the positive electrode and the negative electrode;
a second bus bar directly connected to the other electrode, from among the positive electrode and the negative electrode; and
a retaining member configured to retain the plurality of single cells from the radial direction of the single cell, in a manner such that as a result of the fuse being disconnected, retaining force with which the single cell is retained by the retaining member decreases and the single cell moves in a direction away from the fuse.

2. The battery pack according to claim 1 , wherein the single cell is arranged with the one electrode facing upward and the other electrode facing downward, and when the retaining force decreases, the single cell moves in the direction away from the fuse by falling due to gravitational force.

3. The battery pack according to claim 2 , wherein the retaining member has a retaining surface that retains the single cell, the retaining surface is made of resin, and when the fuse is disconnected, the retaining surface thermally melts or cracks such that the retaining force decreases.

4. The battery pack according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a gas release valve provided on the other electrode-side of the single cell, and the gas release valve being configured to release gas that is inside the single cell.

5. The battery pack according to claim 1 , wherein the second bus bar elastically deforms and applies tension to the single cell such that the tension pulls the single cell in the direction away from the fuse.

6. The battery pack according to claim 5 , further comprising:
a gas release valve provided on the positive electrode-side of the single cell, and the gas release valve being configured to release gas that is inside the single cell, wherein
the one electrode is the negative electrode and the other electrode is the positive electrode.

7. The battery pack according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of single cells are connected together in parallel.

8. A vehicle comprising:
a battery pack including,
a single cell having a cylindrical shape, the single cell having a positive electrode at one end of the single cell and a negative electrode at the other end of the single cell, and a plurality of the single cells being arranged in a radial direction of the single cell,
a fuse,
a first bus bar connected via the fuse to one electrode, from among the positive electrode and the negative electrode,
a second bus bar directly connected to the other electrode, from among the positive electrode and the negative electrode, and
a retaining member configured to retain the plurality of single cells from the radial direction of the single cell, in a manner such that as a result of the fuse being disconnected, retaining force with which the single cell is retained by the retaining member decreases and the single cell moves in a direction away from the fuse; and
a motor configured to travel a vehicle, the motor being driven using electric power stored in the battery pack.

Assignees

• Fujiwara Nobuyoshi
• Kusaba Kosuke
• Sato Katsunori
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Fujiwara Nobuyoshi
• Kusaba Kosuke
• Sato Katsunori

Classifications

• H01M50/325 Primary

  comprising deformable valve members, e.g. elastic or flexible valve members · CPC title

• H01M50/583

  in response to current, e.g. fuses · CPC title

• H01M50/227

  Organic material · CPC title

• B60L50/64

  Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles · CPC title

• H01M50/507

  comprising an arrangement of two or more busbars within a container structure, e.g. busbar modules · CPC title