Patent Publication Number: US-2023155238-A1

Title: Battery accommodating member, battery module and battery fixing structure

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 110143078, filed on Nov. 18, 2021. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of this specification. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Technical Field 
     The invention relates to a fixing member, a module and a fixing structure having the fixing member, and especially relates to a battery accommodating member, a battery module and a battery fixing structure having the battery accommodating member. 
     Description of Related Art 
     In energy storage systems, cylindrical batteries are usually fixed through an integrated honeycomb fixing structure. This integrated honeycomb fixing structure is designed according to the size, appearance and internal available space of the product. For different products, different molds need to be developed to produce fixing structures with different specifications, such that the development cost is increased. Besides, the integrated honeycomb fixing structure cannot be reused, which is not conducive to energy saving and carbon reduction. 
     In the current market, the number of batteries required for energy storage systems is increasing, since the integrated honeycomb fixing structure is only suitable for a single product, the number and placement of the batteries are limited, which in turn affects the diversity of products. 
     SUMMARY 
     The invention provides a battery accommodating member, a battery module and a battery fixing structure, which can lower the cost and can solve the problems of limited number and placement of batteries. 
     The battery accommodating member of the invention includes a housing, a battery placement portion, an electrical connecting portion, at least one first engaging structure and at least one second engaging structure. The housing has a first surface, a second surface and a plurality of side surfaces. The first surface and the second surface are opposite to each other, and each of the side surfaces are connected between the first surface and the second surface. The battery placement portion is formed in the housing, penetrates from the first surface of the housing to the second surface of the housing, and is adapted for a battery to be partially accommodated therein. The electrical connecting portion is formed in the first surface. At least one conductive sheet is adapted to be disposed at the electrical connecting portion to electrically connect the battery. The at least one first engaging structure is formed on one of the side surfaces. The at least one second engaging structure is formed in another one of the side surfaces. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the at least one first engaging structure protrudes outwards from the one of the side surfaces and includes a first guide curved surface and at least one guide rib, and the at least one second engaging structure extends inwards from the another one of the side surfaces and includes a second guide curved surface and at least one guide groove. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the housing further has at least one guide opening. The guide opening and the second engaging structure are formed in a same side surface and are adjacent to each other, and the guide opening penetrates through the side surface in a first guide direction. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the battery accommodating member further includes at least one first auxiliary connecting portion and at least one second auxiliary connecting portion. The first auxiliary connecting portion is disposed on the one of the side surfaces where the first engaging structure is located, and the second auxiliary connecting portion is disposed on the another one of the side surfaces where the second engaging structure is located. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the first auxiliary connecting portion and the second auxiliary connecting portion are magnets with opposite polarities, respectively. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the housing further has at least one locking hole disposed in the first surface. 
     The battery module of the invention includes two battery accommodating members and a battery. Each of the battery accommodating members includes a housing, a battery placement portion, an electrical connecting portion, at least one first engaging structure and at least one second engaging structure. The housing has a first surface, a second surface and a plurality of side surfaces. The first surface and the second surface are opposite to each other, and each of the side surfaces are connected between the first surface and the second surface. The battery placement portion is formed in the housing and penetrates from the first surface of the housing to the second surface of the housing. The electrical connecting portion is formed in the first surface, and at least one conductive sheet is adapted to be disposed at the electrical connecting portion. The at least one first engaging structure is formed on one of the side surfaces. The at least one second engaging structure is formed in another one of the side surfaces. An end of the battery is accommodated in the battery placement portion of one of the battery accommodating members, and another end of the battery is accommodated in the battery placement portion of the other one of the battery accommodating members. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the at least one first engaging structure protrudes outwards from the one of the side surfaces and includes a first guide curved surface and at least one guide rib, and the at least one second engaging structure extends inwards from the another one of the side surfaces and includes a second guide curved surface and at least one guide groove. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the housing further has at least one guide opening. The guide opening and the second engaging structure are formed in a same side surface and are adjacent to each other, and the guide opening penetrates through the side surface in a first guide direction. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, each of the battery accommodating members further includes at least one first auxiliary connecting portion and at least one second auxiliary connecting portion. The first auxiliary connecting portion is disposed on the one of the side surfaces where the first engaging structure is located, and the second auxiliary connecting portion is disposed on the another one of the side surfaces where the second engaging structure is located. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the first auxiliary connecting portion and the second auxiliary connecting portion are magnets with opposite polarities, respectively. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the housing further has at least one locking hole disposed in the first surface. 
     The battery fixing structure of the invention includes two battery accommodating members. Each of the battery accommodating members includes a housing, a battery placement portion, an electrical connecting portion, at least one first engaging structure and at least one second engaging structure. The housing has a first surface, a second surface and a plurality of side surfaces. The first surface and the second surface are opposite to each other, and each of the side surfaces are connected between the first surface and the second surface. The battery placement portion is formed in the housing, penetrates from the first surface of the housing to the second surface of the housing, and is adapted for a battery to be partially accommodated therein. 
     The electrical connecting portion is formed in the first surface. At least one conductive sheet is adapted to be disposed at the electrical connecting portion to electrically connect the battery. The at least one first engaging structure is formed on one of the side surfaces. The at least one second engaging structure is formed on one of the side surfaces. The first engaging structure of one of the battery accommodating members engages the second engaging structure of the other one of the battery accommodating members. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the at least one first engaging structure protrudes outwards from the one of the side surfaces and includes a first guide curved surface and at least one guide rib. The at least one second engaging structure extends inwards from the another one of the side surfaces and includes a second guide curved surface and at least one guide groove. The first engaging structure of the one of the battery accommodating members and the second engaging structure of the other one of the battery accommodating members are engaged with each other. The first guide curved surface of the one of the battery accommodating members contacts the second guide curved surface of the other one of the battery accommodating members. The guide rib of the one of the battery accommodating members engages with the guide groove of the other one of the battery accommodating members. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the housing further has at least one guide opening. The guide opening and the second engaging structure are formed in a same side surface and are adjacent to each other, and the guide opening penetrates through the side surface in a first guide direction. The first engaging structure of the one of the battery accommodating members is adapted to be moved into the housing of the other one of the battery accommodating members in the first guide direction through the guide opening of the other one of the battery accommodating members, and is moved through guiding of the second engaging structure of the other one of the battery accommodating members to engage with the second engaging structure of the other one of the battery accommodating members. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, each of the battery accommodating members further includes at least one first auxiliary connecting portion and at least one second auxiliary connecting portion. The first auxiliary connecting portion is disposed on the one of the side surfaces where the first engaging structure is located, and the second auxiliary connecting portion is disposed on the another one of the side surfaces where the second engaging structure is located. The first auxiliary connecting portion of the one of the battery accommodating members is connected to the second auxiliary connecting portion of the other one of the battery accommodating members. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the first auxiliary connecting portion and the second auxiliary connecting portion are magnets with opposite polarities, respectively. 
     According to an embodiment of the invention, the housing further has at least one locking hole disposed in the first surface. 
     Based on the above, the battery accommodating member of the invention is provided with the battery placement portion, and a portion of the battery is accommodated inside the battery placement portion. In the battery accommodating member of the invention, the first engaging structure and the second engaging structure are respectively disposed at two different side surfaces of the housing, such that two battery accommodating members is able to be engaged with each other to form a battery fixing structure. That is, the first engaging structure of one of the battery accommodating members can engage with the second engaging structure of another one of the battery accommodating members. In this way, only one battery accommodating member with single specification is needed to infinitely extend different types of products. At the same time, the cost can be reduced, and the number and arrangement of the batteries in the product are not limited. In addition, the battery accommodating member can be reused to facilitate energy saving and carbon reduction. 
     To make the aforementioned more comprehensible, several embodiments accompanied with drawings are described in detail as follows. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. 
         FIG.  1    is a perspective view of showing a battery accommodating member of an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG.  2    is a perspective view taken from another angle, showing the battery accommodating member in  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  3    is a sectional schematic view showing a battery module of an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG.  4    is a top sectional schematic view showing a plurality of assembled battery modules in  FIG.  3    applied to an electronic device. 
         FIG.  5    is a sectional schematic view showing that two battery accommodating members of a battery fixing structure of an embodiment of the invention are aligned. 
         FIG.  6    is a sectional schematic view showing that one of the battery accommodating members in  FIG.  5    is moved to another one of the battery accommodating members. 
         FIG.  7    is a sectional schematic view showing that the two battery accommodating members in  FIG.  5    are engaged with each other. 
         FIG.  8    is a bottom view of the two battery accommodating members in  FIG.  5   . 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       FIG.  1    is a perspective view of showing a battery accommodating member of an embodiment of the invention.  FIG.  2    is a perspective view taken from another angle, showing the battery accommodating member in  FIG.  1   . Please refer to  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   , a battery accommodating member  100  of the embodiment includes a housing  110 , a battery placement portion  120 , an electrical connecting portion  130 , at least one first engaging structure  140  and at least one second engaging structure  150 . 
     In this embodiment, the housing  110  has a first surface  111 , a second surface  112  and a plurality of side surfaces  113   a ,  113   b . To be specific, as shown in  FIG.  1    and  FIG.  2   , the housing  110  is a rectangle. The first surface  111  and the second surface  112  are opposite to each other, the side surface  113   a  is adjacent to the side surface  113   b , and the side surfaces  113   a ,  113   b  are connected between the first surface  111  and the second surface  112 . The battery placement portion  120  is formed in the housing  110 , and the battery placement portion  120  is specifically a through hole, which penetrates from the first surface  111  of the housing  110  to the second surface  112  of the housing  110 . The battery placement portion  120  is configured for a battery  9  (labelled in  FIG.  3   ) to be at least partially accommodated therein. The electrical connecting portion  130  is formed in the first surface  111 , and at least one conductive sheet is disposed in the electrical connecting portion  130  to electrically connect the battery. 
     In this embodiment, the battery accommodating member  100  includes two first engaging structures  140  and two second engaging structures  150 , but the number of the first engaging structures  140  and the number of the second engaging structures  150  are not limited in the invention. In this embodiment, the two first engaging structures  140  are symmetrical to each other and respectively formed on two opposite side surfaces  113   a , and the two second engaging structures  150  symmetrical to each other and are respectively formed on two opposite side surfaces  113   b , but the invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, two first engaging structures may be arranged in asymmetrical manner and respectively formed on two adjacent side surfaces, and two second engaging structures may be arranged in asymmetrical manner and respectively formed on two adjacent side surfaces. 
     Please refer to  FIG.  2   , the first engaging structure  140  protrudes outwards from the side surface  113   a  and includes a first guide curved surface  142  (i.e., a convex surface) and at least one guide rib  144 . The second engaging structure  150  extends inwards from the side surface  113   b  and includes a second guide curved surface  152  (i.e., a concave surface) and at least one guide groove  154 . In this embodiment, there are two guide ribs  144  and two guide grooves  154 , but the invention is not limited thereto. In detail, the first engaging structure  140  and the second engaging structure  150  have corresponding shapes, the two guide ribs  144  are respectively disposed at two sides of the first guide curved surface  142 , and the two guide grooves  154  are respectively disposed at two sides of the second guide curved surface  152 . 
     In this embodiment, the housing  110  further has at least one guide opening  114 . The guide opening  114  and the second engaging structure  150  are formed in the same side surface  113   b  and are adjacent to each other. The guide opening  114  extends in a first guide direction D 1  and penetrates through the housing  110  from the side surface  113   b . The guide grooves  154  of the second engaging structure  150  extend in the housing  110  in a second guide direction D 2  perpendicular to the first guide direction D 1 . The guide grooves  154 , the guide opening  114  and the battery placement portion  120  are in communication with each other. Besides, the housing  110  in this embodiment further has at least one locking hole  115 . The locking hole  115  penetrates through the housing  110  from the first surface  111  to the second surface  112 . 
     The battery accommodating member  100  further includes at least one first auxiliary connecting portion  160  and at least one second auxiliary connecting portion  170  (as shown in  FIG.  5   ). In this embodiment, there are two first auxiliary connecting portions  160  and two second auxiliary connecting portions  170 , but the invention is not limited by the numbers of the first auxiliary connecting portions  160  and the second auxiliary connecting portions  170 . The first auxiliary connecting portions  160  are respectively disposed at the side surfaces  113   a  where the first engaging structures  140  are located. The second auxiliary connecting portions  170  are respectively disposed at the side surfaces  113   b  where the second engaging structures  150  are located. The first auxiliary connecting portion  160  and the second auxiliary connecting portion  170  are respectively magnets with opposite polarities. 
       FIG.  3    is a sectional schematic view showing a battery module of an embodiment of the invention.  FIG.  4    is a top sectional schematic view showing a plurality of assembled battery modules in  FIG.  3    applied to an electronic device. Please refer to  FIG.  3    and  FIG.  4   , in this embodiment, a battery module  120  includes two battery accommodating members  100  and a battery  9 . The two battery accommodating members  100  are respectively disposed at two ends of the battery  9 . An end  91  of the battery  9  is accommodated in one of the battery accommodating members  100 , and another end  92  of the battery  9  is accommodated in the other one of the battery accommodating members  100 . By the abovementioned configuration, a middle portion of the battery  9  is exposed, thus heat-dissipation is facilitated. As shown in  FIG.  3   , the battery  9  is inserted into each battery placement portion  120  from the second surface  112  of each battery accommodating members  100 . The conductive sheet  8  (as labelled in  FIG.  4   ) is disposed at the electrical connecting portion  130  to electrically connect the battery  9 . For example, multiple fixing modules  10  shown in  FIG.  4    may be applied to an electrical device, and these fixing modules  10  are connected to each other through the battery accommodating members  100  and surround a circuit board  7 . Each locking hole  115  is configured to secure the fixing modules  10  on components (i.e., housing or substrate and son on, the invention is not limited thereto) of the electronic device. 
       FIG.  5    is a sectional schematic view showing that two battery accommodating members of a battery fixing structure of an embodiment of the invention are aligned.  FIG.  6    is a sectional schematic view showing that one of the battery accommodating members in  FIG.  5    is moved to another one of the battery accommodating members.  FIG.  7    is a sectional schematic view showing that the two battery accommodating members in  FIG.  5    are engaged with each other.  FIG.  8    is a bottom view of the two battery accommodating members in  FIG.  5   . Please refer to  FIG.  5    to  FIG.  8   , a battery fixing structure of the invention includes two battery accommodating members  100 . The first engaging structure  140  of one of the battery accommodating members  100  engages with the second engaging structure  150  of the other one of the battery accommodating members  100 . In this way, only one battery accommodating member  100  with single specification is needed to connect multiple batteries, this saves the cost of mold opening and is conducive to energy saving and carbon reduction. Also, the battery accommodating member with single specification can be arranged according to internal available space of different products, such that the number of the batteries is not limited, so as to improve the diversity of products. 
     Detailed explanation of assembling of the two battery accommodating members  100  are described in the following. When intending to assemble the two battery accommodating members  100 , first, please refer to  FIG.  5    and  FIG.  6   , the first engaging structure  140  of one of the battery accommodating members  100  is aligned to the guide opening  114  of the other one of the battery accommodating members  100 , such that the first engaging structure  140  enter the housing  110  of the other one of the battery accommodating members  100  through the guide opening  114  of the other one of the battery accommodating members  100  in the first guide direction D 1 . At this time, the first auxiliary connecting portion  160  of the one of the battery accommodating members  100  and the second auxiliary connecting portion  170  of the other one of the battery accommodating members  100  are magnetically attached in partial. Then, a force is exerted in the second guide direction D 2  to press the first surface  111  of the one of the battery accommodating members  100 , such that the first engaging structure  140  is moved in the second guide direction D 2  through guiding of the second engaging structure  150 , and finally the first engaging structure  140  engages with the second engaging structure  150 , as shown in  FIG.  7   . At this time, the first auxiliary connecting portion  160  and the second auxiliary connecting portion  170  are magnetically attached to each other completely, thus the first engaging structure  140  is prevented from being separated from the second engaging structure  150 . Furthermore, in the process of pressing the battery accommodating member  100 , since the contact area between the first auxiliary connecting portion  160  and the second auxiliary connecting portion  170  increases, the magnetic attraction force gradually increases, so that the first engaging structure  140  is facilitated to automatically engage with the second engaging structure  150 . 
     In order to clearly show the engagement relationship between the first engaging structure  140  of one battery accommodating member  100  and the second engaging structure  150  of the other battery accommodating member  100 ,  FIG.  8    schematically shows two aligned battery accommodating members  100  separately. Please simultaneously refer to  FIG.  7    and  FIG.  8   , the first engaging structure  140  and the second structure  150  have complementary shapes and contours. When one battery accommodating member  100  and the other battery accommodating member  100  engage with each other, the first guide curved surface  142  of the one battery accommodating member  100  contact the second guide curved surface  152  of the other battery accommodating member  100 , and the guide ribs  144  of the one battery accommodating member  100  engage with the guide grooves  154  of the other battery accommodating member  100 . 
     When intending to separate the two battery accommodating members  100 , first, a force is exerted to the second surface  112  of one battery accommodating member  100 , that is, the one battery accommodating member  100  is pressed in a direction opposite to the second guide direction D 2 , so as to disengage the first engaging structure  140  of the one battery accommodating member  100  from the second engaging structure  150  of the other battery accommodating member  100 . At this time, the first engaging structure  140  is located at the position shown in  FIG.  6   , a magnetic attraction area between the first auxiliary connecting portion  160  and the second auxiliary connecting portion  170  is reduced such that a user can move the first engaging structure  140  out of the guide opening of the other battery accommodating member  100  in a direction opposite to the first guide direction D 1 . 
     It is worth mentioning that, since the first engaging structure  140  enters the housing  110  in the first guide direction D 1  and then moves in the second guide direction D 2  to engage with the second engaging structure  150 , when the first engaging structure  140  and the second engaging structure  150  are engaged, the first engaging structure  140  needs to move in the direction opposite to the second guide direction D 2  to a position aligned to the guide opening  114 , before the first engaging structure  140  can disengage from the second engaging structure  150  in the direction opposite to the first guide direction D 1 . Therefore, it is able to prevent the first engaging structure  140  and the second engaging structure  150  from being unintendedly separated from each other, thereby achieving a good securing effect. 
     Moreover, please refer to six (three columns and two rows) battery accommodating members  100  combined together surrounded by the dashed line on lower right side in  FIG.  4   . For each battery accommodating member  100  in the area surrounded by the dashed line, at least one first engaging structure  140  and at least one second engaging structure  150  are simultaneously in an engaged state, when intending to separate these battery accommodating members  100  shown in the area surrounded by the dashed line, it is necessary to slide the two rows of the battery accommodating members  100  at the same time to disengage the corresponding first engaging structures and second engaging structures from each other, and afterwards, to perform disengagement one to one. In other words, when the number of battery accommodating members  100  is increased, for example, multiple battery accommodating members  100  are engaged with each other in a matrix shape including multiple columns or rows, the battery accommodating member  100  cannot be easily disassembled, thereby achieving an improved security effect. 
     Based on the above, in the battery accommodating member of the invention, the first engaging structure and the second structure are disposed at different side surfaces of the housing, such that the first engaging structure of one battery accommodating member is able to engage with the second engaging structure of the other battery accommodating member, so as to form the battery fixing structure. In this way, only one battery accommodating member with single specification is needed to infinitely extend different products with different configurations, this saves the cost of mold opening and is conducive to energy saving and carbon reduction. Also, the battery accommodating member with single specification can achieve diverse arrangement according to internal available space of different products, thus the number of the batteries in the products is not limited. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the disclosure covers modifications and variations provided that they fall within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.