CN116325311A

CN116325311A - Battery module, battery, consumer, method and device for producing a battery

Info

Publication number: CN116325311A
Application number: CN202280006533.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 侯羽佳; 陈兴地; 龙超; 王鹏
Original assignee: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2022-01-13
Filing date: 2022-01-13
Publication date: 2023-06-23
Also published as: CN219658948U; WO2023133748A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the application provide a battery module (100), a battery (10), powered devices, a method (300) of preparing a battery, and a device (400). The battery (10) comprises: a battery module (100) and a case (11), the battery module (100) being housed in the case (11); the battery module (100) comprises: n rows of battery cells (20), each row of battery cells (20) in the N rows of battery cells (20) being arranged along a first direction, the N rows of battery cells (20) being arranged along a second direction, N being an integer greater than 1; and an insulating strip (103), the insulating strip (103) extending along a first direction and being disposed between the first walls of the battery cells (20), wherein the insulating strip (103) has a dimension in a third direction that is smaller than the dimension of the first walls, the insulating strip (103) connecting a portion of the area that includes the welded area of the first walls. According to the technical scheme, the expansion space of the welding area of the battery monomer can be restrained, and the safety performance of the battery is improved.

Description

Battery module, battery, consumer, method and device for producing a battery

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of battery technologies, and in particular, to a battery module, a battery, an electric device, and a method and an apparatus for preparing a battery.

Background

With the increasing increase of environmental pollution, the new energy industry is receiving more and more attention. In the new energy industry, battery technology is an important factor in its development.

In the development of battery technology, safety issues are also a non-negligible issue. How to improve the safety performance of the battery is a technical problem to be solved in the battery technology.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the application provides a battery module, a battery, electric equipment, a method and equipment for preparing the battery, which can limit the expansion space of a welding area when a battery monomer expands, avoid the failure of the welding area, and further improve the safety performance of the battery.

In a first aspect, there is provided a battery module comprising: each of the N rows of battery cells comprises a plurality of battery cells arranged along a first direction, the N rows of battery cells are arranged along a second direction, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and N is an integer greater than 1; the insulating strip extends along the first direction, the insulating strip is used for being connected with a first wall of the battery cell, the first wall is the wall with the largest surface area in the battery cell, the size of the insulating strip is smaller than that of the first wall in the third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and a connecting area of the insulating strip and the first wall comprises a welding area of the first wall.

In this embodiment, the insulating strip is connected to the first wall with the largest surface area of the battery cell, and the connection area between the insulating strip and the first wall includes a welded area of the first wall of the battery cell. Like this, when battery monomer expands in the course of the work, connect the insulating strip on first wall and can act as the atress spare of the welded area of first wall, limit the expansion space of welded area, make welded area can not take place great deformation, avoid welded area inefficacy to can promote the security performance of battery.

In one possible embodiment, the dimension of the insulating strip in the third direction may be within 10 mm. The insulating strip with the size can serve as a stress piece, can reduce the occupied space in the battery module, and ensures the expansion space of a non-welding area.

In one possible implementation, the battery cells in the battery module include a housing having an opening; an end cap for closing the opening to accommodate a battery assembly; the first wall is the wall with the largest surface area of the shell, and the end cover is welded and fixed with the shell at the opening to form the welding area.

The end cover covers the shell to form a closed space for accommodating the battery assembly, and the welding area of the first wall of the battery unit is the area where the end cover is welded with the shell at the opening. When the battery monomer works, the wall expansion force with the largest surface area in the shell is maximum, and the insulating strips are arranged in the welding area on the wall, so that the welding area of the end cover and the shell can be effectively protected from larger deformation.

In some possible implementations, an insulating strip covers the weld of the first wall and the end cap.

The insulating strip covers the welding seam between the first wall and the end cover, namely, the insulating strip covers the welding seam between the shell of the battery unit and the opening of the end cover, so that the protection of the insulating strip on the welding seam can be further enhanced, and the welding seam is prevented from being invalid due to expansion of the battery unit.

In some possible implementations, the insulating strip protrudes from the end cap in the third direction.

The protrusion of the insulating strip from the end cap in the third direction, i.e. the protrusion of the insulating strip from the welded area of the end cap and the housing, allows a better restriction of the expansion of the welded area.

In some possible implementations, the insulating strip includes a first connecting portion for connecting with the first wall and a second connecting portion connected to an end of the first connecting portion remote from the battery cell and extending in the second direction, the second connecting portion for covering at least a portion of the end cap.

The first connecting portion is connected with the first wall of the battery cell, the second connecting portion covers at least part of the end cover, and the first connecting portion is connected with the second connecting portion, so that the insulating strip can completely cover the welding area of the first wall and the end cover. For example, the insulating strips can be L-shaped or T-shaped, and can meet different assembly requirements in production according to process grouping and design space requirements.

In some possible ways, the second connection portion is attached to the end cap.

The second connecting portion is connected with the end cover in a fitting mode, and therefore the protection effect of the insulating strip on the welding area can be further enhanced.

In some possible embodiments, the insulating strip is connected to the first wall of the battery cell located at the outermost side of the second direction.

In the working process, the accumulated expansion phenomenon of the battery monomer positioned at the outermost side of the second direction is the most serious, and the insulating strips are arranged on the first wall of the battery monomer, so that the expansion of a welding area at the position can be well restrained, the welding area is prevented from being deformed greatly, and the safety performance of the battery is further improved.

In some possible embodiments, the battery module further includes N-1 separators extending in the first direction and disposed between two adjacent rows of battery cells, the separators being fixedly connected to each of the two adjacent rows of battery cells; wherein, the baffle is provided with fixed knot in the tip of first direction constructs, the baffle passes through fixed knot constructs to be fixed in the box that is used for holding battery module.

And a baffle is arranged between two adjacent rows of battery monomers of the battery module, the baffle is fixedly connected with each battery monomer in the two rows of battery monomers, a fixing structure is arranged at the end part of the baffle, and the baffle is fixed in the box body through the fixing structure. In this way, each battery unit in the battery is fixed on the box body by the partition plate and the fixing structure, and because each battery unit can transmit the load of the battery unit to the box body, the structural strength of the battery is ensured; in this case, the side plates may not be provided outside the battery module, and the structure such as the beam may not be provided in the case, so that the space utilization rate of the inside of the battery may be improved to a greater extent, thereby improving the energy density of the battery.

In some possible embodiments, the fixing structure includes a fixing plate fixedly connected with the end portion of the separator and fixedly connected with the battery cell located at the end portion of the separator.

In the scheme, the fixing plate is fixedly connected with the battery monomer positioned at the end part of the partition plate while being connected with the box body and the partition plate, so that the fixing effect on the battery monomer can be enhanced.

In a second aspect, there is provided a battery comprising: the battery module of the first aspect and the case for accommodating the battery module.

In some possible embodiments, the battery modules are arranged in a plurality, the plurality of battery modules are arranged along the second direction, a gap is formed between two adjacent battery modules, and at least part of the insulating strips are arranged in the gap.

When a plurality of battery modules exist, corresponding expansion gaps are formed among the battery modules, and insulating strips are arranged in the module gaps, so that welding areas of battery monomers at two sides of the gaps can be protected, and the safety of the battery is ensured.

In some possible embodiments, the insulating strip includes two first connection parts and a third connection part, the two first connection parts being disposed opposite to each other along the second direction, the two first connection parts being respectively used to connect the first walls of the battery cells of two adjacent battery modules; the third connecting part is positioned between the two first connecting parts and is used for connecting the first connecting parts.

The insulating strip is constituteed to two relative first connecting portions that set up and second connecting portion, and wherein, two first connecting portions set up along the second direction, and the third connecting portion is between two first connecting portions and connect two first connecting portions, can be under the great circumstances in module clearance, need not set up thicker insulating strip. For example, the insulating strips can be U-shaped or H-shaped, and can meet different assembly requirements in production according to process grouping and design space requirements.

In some possible embodiments, the third connection is located within the gap.

The two first connecting parts are respectively connected to the first walls of the battery cells of the two adjacent battery modules, and the third connecting part is positioned in the gap between the two first connecting parts, so that the battery cells of the two adjacent battery modules can be connected together, the insulating strip can simultaneously inhibit the expansion of the welding areas of the first walls of the two battery cells, and the overall safety performance of the battery is improved.

In a third aspect, there is provided a powered device comprising a battery in any possible implementation of the first and second aspects, the battery being configured to provide electrical energy.

In a fourth aspect, there is provided a method of preparing a battery, comprising: providing a battery module, wherein the battery module comprises N rows of battery cells, each row of battery cells in the N rows of battery cells comprises a plurality of battery cells arranged along a first direction, the N rows of battery cells are arranged along a second direction, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and N is an integer greater than 1; the insulating strip extends along the first direction, the insulating strip is used for connecting a first wall of the battery cell, the first wall is the wall with the largest surface area in the battery cell, the size of the insulating strip is smaller than that of the first wall in a third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and a connecting area of the insulating strip and the first wall comprises a welding area of the first wall; providing a box body; the battery module is accommodated in the case.

In a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus for preparing a battery, comprising: the battery module comprises N rows of battery cells, each row of battery cells in the N rows of battery cells comprises a plurality of battery cells arranged along a first direction, the N rows of battery cells are arranged along a second direction, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and N is an integer greater than 1; the insulating strip extends along the first direction, the insulating strip is used for connecting a first wall of the battery cell, the first wall is the wall with the largest surface area in the battery cell, the size of the insulating strip is smaller than that of the first wall in a third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and a connecting area of the insulating strip and the first wall comprises a welding area of the first wall; and the mounting module is used for accommodating the battery module in the box body.

According to the technical scheme, the insulating strip is connected with the first wall with the largest surface area of the battery cell, and the connecting area of the insulating strip and the first wall comprises a welding area of the first wall of the battery cell. In this way, the insulating strips attached to the first wall may act as a force-receiving member for the welded area of the first wall, limiting the expansion space of the welded area when the battery cell expands during operation. Therefore, the technical scheme of the embodiment of the application ensures that the welding area cannot be greatly deformed, and avoids the failure of the welding area, thereby improving the safety performance of the battery.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are needed in the embodiments of the present application will be briefly described below, and it is obvious that the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application, and that other drawings may be obtained according to the drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a battery according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a battery cell according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 4 is a schematic view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a battery according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the direction A-A in FIG. 5;

fig. 7 is a schematic view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is a schematic flow chart of a method of making a battery according to an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 9 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus for preparing a battery according to an embodiment of the present application.

In the drawings, the drawings are not drawn to scale.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present application are described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. The following detailed description of the embodiments and the accompanying drawings are provided to illustrate the principles of the present application and are not intended to limit the scope of the application, i.e., the application is not limited to the embodiments described.

In the description of the present application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise indicated, all technical and scientific terms used have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs; the terminology used is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application; the terms "comprising" and "having" and any variations thereof in the description and claims of the present application and in the description of the drawings described above are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion; the meaning of "plurality of" is two or more; the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "inner," "outer," and the like indicate an orientation or positional relationship merely for convenience of description and to simplify the description, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements being referred to must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and thus are not to be construed as limiting the present application. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," "third," and the like are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. The "vertical" is not strictly vertical but is within the allowable error range. "parallel" is not strictly parallel but is within the tolerance of the error.

Reference in the specification to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of such phrases in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of other embodiments. Those of skill in the art will explicitly and implicitly understand that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

The directional terms appearing in the following description are all directions shown in the drawings and do not limit the specific structure of the present application. In the description of the present application, it should also be noted that, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be either fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected, for example; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communication between two elements. The specific meaning of the terms in this application will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art as the case may be.

The term "and/or" in this application is merely an association relation describing an associated object, and indicates that three relations may exist, for example, a and/or B may indicate: a exists alone, A and B exist together, and B exists alone. In this application, the character "/" generally indicates that the associated object is an or relationship.

In the present application, the battery cell may include a lithium ion secondary battery, a lithium ion primary battery, a lithium sulfur battery, a sodium lithium ion battery, a sodium ion battery, a magnesium ion battery, or the like, which is not limited by the embodiment of the present application. The battery cells may be cylindrical, flat, rectangular, or otherwise shaped, as well as the embodiments herein are not limited in this regard. The battery cells are generally classified into three types according to the packaging method: the cylindrical battery cell, the square battery cell and the soft package battery cell are not limited thereto.

Reference to a battery in embodiments of the present application refers to a single physical module that includes one or more battery cells to provide higher voltage and capacity. For example, the battery referred to in the present application may include a battery pack or the like. The battery generally includes a case for enclosing one or more battery cells. The case body can prevent liquid or other foreign matters from affecting the charge or discharge of the battery cells.

The battery unit comprises a battery component and electrolyte, wherein the battery component consists of a positive plate, a negative plate and a separation film. The battery cell mainly relies on metal ions to move between the positive and negative electrode plates to operate. The positive plate comprises a positive electrode current collector and a positive electrode active material layer, wherein the positive electrode active material layer is coated on the surface of the positive electrode current collector, the current collector without the positive electrode active material layer protrudes out of the current collector coated with the positive electrode active material layer, and the current collector without the positive electrode active material layer is used as a positive electrode lug. Taking a lithium ion battery as an example, the material of the positive electrode current collector may be aluminum, and the positive electrode active material may be lithium cobaltate, lithium iron phosphate, ternary lithium, lithium manganate or the like. The negative electrode sheet comprises a negative electrode current collector and a negative electrode active material layer, wherein the negative electrode active material layer is coated on the surface of the negative electrode current collector, the current collector without the negative electrode active material layer protrudes out of the current collector with the coated negative electrode active material layer, and the current collector without the negative electrode active material layer is used as a negative electrode tab. The material of the negative electrode current collector may be copper, and the negative electrode active material may be carbon, silicon, or the like. In order to ensure that the high current is passed without fusing, the number of positive electrode lugs is multiple and stacked together, and the number of negative electrode lugs is multiple and stacked together. The material of the isolation film can be polypropylene (PP) or Polyethylene (PE). In addition, the battery assembly may be a winding type structure or a lamination type structure, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

To meet different power demands, a battery may include a plurality of battery cells, where the plurality of battery cells may be connected in series or parallel or a series-parallel connection, which refers to a mixture of series and parallel. Optionally, the plurality of battery cells may be connected in series or parallel or in series-parallel to form a battery module, and then the plurality of battery modules are connected in series or parallel or in series-parallel to form a battery. That is, a plurality of battery cells may be directly assembled into a battery, or may be assembled into a battery module first, and the battery module may be assembled into a battery. The battery is further arranged in the electric equipment to provide electric energy for the electric equipment.

With the development of battery technology, the consideration of battery safety performance is not neglected while pursuing high energy density and discharge capacity and long cycle life and charge-discharge rate. When the battery monomer expands in the working process, the welding area of the battery monomer may be greatly deformed, so that the welding area is invalid, and a great potential safety hazard is brought to the battery.

In view of this, the embodiment of the application provides a technical solution, wherein the insulating strip is connected with the first wall with the largest surface area of the battery cell, and the connection area of the insulating strip and the first wall comprises the welding area of the first wall of the battery cell. Like this, when battery monomer expands in the course of the work, connect the insulating strip on first wall and can act as the atress spare of the welded area of first wall, limit the expansion space of welded area, make welded area can not take place great deformation, avoid welded area inefficacy to can promote the security performance of battery.

The technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present application are applicable to various devices using batteries, for example, mobile phones, portable devices, notebook computers, battery cars, electric toys, electric tools, electric vehicles, ships, spacecraft, and the like, and for example, spacecraft include airplanes, rockets, space shuttles, spacecraft, and the like.

It should be understood that the technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present application are not limited to the above-described devices, but may be applied to all devices using batteries, but for simplicity of description, the following embodiments are described by taking an electric vehicle as an example.

For example, as shown in fig. 1, a schematic structural diagram of a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present application, the vehicle 1 may be a fuel-oil vehicle, a gas-fired vehicle or a new energy vehicle, and the new energy vehicle may be a pure electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle or an extended range vehicle. The vehicle 1 may be provided with a motor 40, a controller 30 and a battery 10, the controller 30 being arranged to control the battery 10 to supply power to the motor 40. For example, the battery 10 may be provided at the bottom or the head or the tail of the vehicle 1. The battery 10 may be used for power supply of the vehicle 1, e.g. the battery 10 may be used as an operating power source for the vehicle 1, for electrical circuitry of the vehicle 1, e.g. for start-up, navigation and operational power requirements of the vehicle 1. In another embodiment of the present application, the battery 10 may not only serve as an operating power source for the vehicle 1, but also as a driving power source for the vehicle 1, instead of or in part instead of fuel oil or natural gas, to provide driving power for the vehicle 1.

To meet different power usage requirements, the battery 10 may include a plurality of battery cells. For example, as shown in fig. 2, a schematic structure of a battery 10 according to an embodiment of the present application, the battery 10 may include a plurality of battery cells 20. The battery 10 may further include a case 11, in which the case 11 has a hollow structure, and the plurality of battery cells 20 are accommodated in the case 11. For example, a plurality of battery cells 20 are connected in parallel or in series-parallel combination with each other and then placed in the case 11.

Alternatively, the battery 10 may further include other structures, which are not described in detail herein. For example, the battery 10 may further include a bus member for making electrical connection between the plurality of battery cells 20, such as parallel or series-parallel connection. Specifically, the bus member may realize electrical connection between the battery cells 20 by connecting electrode terminals of the battery cells 20. Further, the bus member may be fixed to the electrode terminals of the battery cells 20 by welding. The electrical energy of the plurality of battery cells 20 may be further drawn through the housing by a conductive mechanism. Alternatively, the conductive means may also belong to the bus bar member.

The number of battery cells 20 may be set to any number according to different power requirements. The plurality of battery cells 20 may be connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel to achieve a larger capacity or power. Since the number of battery cells 20 included in each battery 10 may be large, the battery cells 20 may be arranged in groups for easy installation, and each group of battery cells 20 constitutes a battery module. The number of battery cells 20 included in the battery module is not limited, and may be set according to requirements. The battery may include a plurality of battery modules, which may be connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel.

As shown in fig. 3, a schematic structural diagram of a battery cell 20 according to one embodiment of the present application, the battery cell 20 includes one or more battery assemblies 22, a housing 211, and an end cap 212. The housing 211 and the end cap 212 form a shell or battery compartment 21. The walls of the housing 211 and the end caps 212 are referred to as the walls of the battery cells 20, wherein for a rectangular parallelepiped type battery cell 20, the walls of the housing 211 include a bottom wall and four side walls. The housing 211 is dependent on the shape of the assembled one or more battery packs 22, for example, the housing 211 may be a hollow rectangular parallelepiped or square or cylindrical body, and one of the faces of the housing 211 has an opening so that one or more battery packs 22 may be placed in the housing 211. For example, when the housing 211 is a hollow rectangular parallelepiped or square, one of the planes of the housing 211 is an opening surface, i.e., the plane has no wall body so that the inside and outside of the housing 211 communicate. When the housing 211 may be a hollow cylinder, the end surface of the housing 211 is an open surface, i.e., the end surface has no wall body so that the inside and outside of the housing 211 communicate. End cap 212 covers the opening and is connected to housing 211 to form a closed cavity in which battery assembly 22 is placed. The housing 211 is filled with an electrolyte, such as an electrolyte solution.

The battery cell 20 may further include two electrode terminals 214, and the two electrode terminals 214 may be disposed on the end cap 212. The end cap 212 is generally in the shape of a flat plate, and two electrode terminals 214 are fixed to the flat plate surface of the end cap 212, the two electrode terminals 214 being a positive electrode terminal 214a and a negative electrode terminal 214b, respectively. One connection member 23, or alternatively referred to as a current collecting member 23, is provided for each electrode terminal 214, which is located between the end cap 212 and the battery assembly 22, for electrically connecting the battery assembly 22 and the electrode terminal 214.

As shown in fig. 3, each battery assembly 22 has a first tab 221a and a second tab 222a. The polarities of the first tab 221a and the second tab 222a are opposite. For example, when the first tab 221a is a positive tab, the second tab 222a is a negative tab. The first tab 221a of one or more battery packs 22 is connected to one electrode terminal through one connection member 23, and the second tab 222a of one or more battery packs 22 is connected to the other electrode terminal through the other connection member 23. For example, the positive electrode terminal 214a is connected to the positive electrode tab through one connection member 23, and the negative electrode terminal 214b is connected to the negative electrode tab through the other connection member 23.

In the battery cell 20, the battery modules 22 may be provided in a single unit or in a plurality of units according to actual use requirements, and as shown in fig. 3, 4 independent battery modules 22 are provided in the battery cell 20.

A pressure release mechanism 213 may also be provided on the battery cell 20. The pressure release mechanism 213 is used to actuate to release the internal pressure or temperature of the battery cell 20 when the internal pressure or temperature reaches a threshold.

The pressure relief mechanism 213 may be any of a variety of possible pressure relief structures, and embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard. For example, the pressure release mechanism 213 may be a temperature-sensitive pressure release mechanism configured to be able to melt when the internal temperature of the battery cell 20 provided with the pressure release mechanism 213 reaches a threshold value; and/or the pressure relief mechanism 213 may be a pressure sensitive pressure relief mechanism configured to rupture when the internal air pressure of the battery cell 20 provided with the pressure relief mechanism 213 reaches a threshold value.

Fig. 4 shows a schematic structural view of the battery module 100 according to one embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 4, the battery module 100 includes N columns of battery cells 20 and insulating strips 103, N being an integer greater than 1. Each of the N rows of battery cells 20 includes a plurality of battery cells 20 arranged along a first direction, and the N rows of battery cells 20 are arranged along a second direction, the first direction being perpendicular to the second direction.

In the drawings, N is taken as an example for 2, that is, the battery module 100 includes two rows of battery cells 20 and the insulating strips 103, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto, and for example, the battery module 100 may include 3 or more rows of battery cells 20.

Each of the N columns of battery cells 20 includes a plurality of battery cells 20 arranged in a first direction, for example, an x-direction in fig. 4. The N columns of battery cells 20 are arranged in a second direction, for example, the y-direction in fig. 4, and the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. In other words, the first direction is a direction in which the battery cells 20 are arranged in each row of the battery cells 20, and the second direction is a direction in which the N rows of the battery cells 20 are arranged.

The insulating strip 103 extends along a first direction, the insulating strip 103 is used for connecting a first wall of the battery cell 20, the first wall is the wall with the largest surface area of the battery cell 20, the size of the insulating strip 103 is smaller than that of the first wall in a third direction, and the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction. The insulating strip 103 comprises a welded area of the first wall at the connection area of the first wall.

For example, the third direction is the z-direction in fig. 4, in which z-direction in fig. 4 the dimension of the insulating strip 103 is smaller than the dimension of the first wall, i.e. the connection area of the insulating strip 103 to the first wall is not the whole area of the first wall, but a partial area comprising the welded area of the first wall.

The connection between the insulating strip 103 and the first wall of the cell 20, which has the largest surface area, is made by connecting the insulating strip 103 to the first wall, which comprises the welded area of the first wall of the cell 20. Like this, when battery monomer 20 expands in the course of the work, the insulating strip 103 that connects on first wall can act as the atress spare of first wall welding area, restricts the expansion space of welding area, makes the welding area can not take place great deformation, avoids the welding area inefficacy to can promote the security performance of battery 10.

Alternatively, adjacent battery cells 20 in the N rows of battery cells 20 may be adhered, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto. The fixing effect of the battery cells 20 may be enhanced by the fixation between the adjacent battery cells 20.

Alternatively, the dimension of the insulating strip 103 in the third direction may be within 10mm, for example, in one embodiment of the present application, the dimension of the insulating strip 103 in the third direction may be 2-8mm. The insulating strip 103 with the size can serve as a stress member of a welding area, reduce the space occupied in the battery module 100, and ensure the expansion space of a non-welding area.

In some embodiments of the present application, the battery cells 20 in the battery module 100 further include a housing 211 having an opening and an end cap 212, the end cap 212 closing the opening of the housing 211 to form a space to accommodate the battery assembly 22. Here, the wall with the largest surface area in the housing 211 is defined as a first wall, and the welding position of the end cap 212 with the housing 211 at the opening is defined as a welding area.

The housing 211 and the end cap 212 form a space to accommodate the battery assembly 22, so that the wall of the housing 211 having the largest surface area, that is, the wall of the battery cell 20 having the largest surface area, and the insulating strip 103 is fixed to the wall of the housing 211 having the largest surface area, that is, to the wall of the battery cell 20 having the largest surface area. In the use process of the battery cell 20, the side wall with the largest surface area is often the part with the most serious expansion phenomenon and the greatest expansion force compared with other walls, and the protection of the welding area by arranging the insulating strip 103 on the welding area of the wall can be enhanced by arranging the insulating strip 103 on the welding area.

By providing the insulating strip 103 on the wall of the housing 211 where the surface area is the largest, the welded area of the end cap 212 and the housing 211 can be effectively protected from large deformation.

Alternatively, the battery cell 20 may be a rectangular parallelepiped type battery cell 20. The rectangular battery cell 20 includes two opposite first side walls and two opposite second side walls, the first side walls having an area larger than that of the second side walls, i.e., the first side walls are wide side walls, and the second side walls are narrow side walls. In the present embodiment, the first side wall having a larger area is used as the first wall, that is, the insulating strip 103 is provided on the first side wall having a larger surface area.

In some embodiments of the present application, the insulating strip 103 covers the weld of the first wall to the end cap 212.

The insulating strip 103 covers the welding seam between the first wall and the end cover 212, that is, the welding seam between the shell 211 of the battery cell 20 and the opening of the end cover 212 is covered by the insulating strip 103, so that the protection of the welding seam by the insulating strip 103 can be further enhanced, and the welding seam is prevented from being failed due to the expansion of the battery cell 20.

Alternatively, the insulating strips 103 may be fixedly connected to the battery cells 20 by adhesion. The embodiments of the present application are not limited in this regard.

Alternatively, the insulating strip 103 may be any insulating material, such as rubber or polycarbonate, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In some embodiments of the present application, the insulating strip 103 protrudes beyond the end cap 212 in a third direction.

The insulating strip 103 protrudes from the end cap 212 in the third direction, i.e. the insulating strip 103 protrudes from the welded area of the end cap 212 and the housing 211. By protruding the insulating strip 103 in the third direction from the end cap 212, it is possible to better function as a force receiving member and to better limit the expansion of the welded area.

In some embodiments of the present application, the insulating strip 103 includes a first connection portion 1031 and a second connection portion 1032, the first connection portion 1031 being for connection with the first wall, the second connection portion 1032 being connected to an end of the first connection portion 1031 remote from the battery cell 20 and extending in the second direction, the second connection portion 1032 being for covering at least a portion of the end cap 212.

Alternatively, the first connection portion 1031 and the second connection portion 1032 form a T-shaped insulating bar 103.

Alternatively, as shown in fig. 4, the first connection portion 1031 and the second connection portion 1032 form an L-shaped insulating bar 103.

The insulating strip 103 may be formed in various parts so long as it can function as a force-receiving member, and may meet different assembly requirements under different process grouping requirements and design space requirements, for example, when the insulating strip 103 is L-shaped, it may be installed after the battery module 100 is assembled, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

The first connection portion 1031 is connected to the first wall of the battery cell 20, the second connection portion 1032 covers at least a portion of the end cap 212, and the first connection portion 1031 and the second connection portion 1032 are connected such that the insulating strip 103 entirely covers the welding area of the first wall and the end cap 212.

In some embodiments of the present application, the second connection 1032 in the insulating strip 103 is snugly connected with the end cap 212 of the battery cell 20.

As shown in fig. 4, the first connection portion 1031 of the insulating strip 103 is connected to the first wall of the battery cell 20, and the second connection portion 1032 is attached to the end cap 212 of the battery cell 20, so that the second connection portion 1032 can serve as a force-receiving member in the welding area between the housing 211 and the end cap 212 in the battery cell 20.

By connecting the first connection portion 1031 of the insulating strip 103 to the first wall of the battery cell 20 and connecting the second connection portion 1032 to the end cap 212, the protective effect of the insulating strip 103 on the welded area can be further enhanced.

In some embodiments of the present application, the insulating strip 103 is connected to the first wall of the battery cell 20 located at the outermost side in the second direction.

In the battery module 100, the expansion forces to which the battery cells 20 are subjected are different from each other, and the accumulated expansion of the battery cells 20 at the outermost side in the second direction is the most serious. By connecting the insulating strips 103 to the first wall of the battery cell 20 at the outermost side in the second direction, expansion of the welding area at this point can be better suppressed, and larger deformation of the welding area at this point can be prevented, thereby improving the safety performance of the battery 10.

In some embodiments of the present application, the battery module 100 further includes N-1 columns of separators 101, with N-1 separators disposed between N columns of battery cells 20. That is, the separator 101 is disposed inside the battery module 100, and the separator 101 is not disposed outside the battery module 100. For example, one separator 101 is provided between two rows of the battery cells 20, two separators 101 are provided between three rows of the battery cells 20, and so on. With this arrangement, each of the battery cells 20 in the battery module 100 can be fixedly connected by the separator 101 using fewer separators.

The end portion of the partition 101 in the first direction is provided with a fixing structure 102, and the partition is fixed to the case 11 by the fixing structure 102. With continued reference to fig. 4, the fixing structures 102 are disposed at both ends of the partition 101 in the x-direction. The separator 101 is fixed to the case 11 by a fixing structure 102, thereby fixing the battery module 100 to the case 11. As described above, each battery cell 20 in the battery module 100 is fixedly connected by the separator 101, and then the fixed connection of each battery cell 20 with the case 11 can be achieved by the fixing structure 102.

In the above-described embodiment, the separator 101 is disposed between two adjacent rows of the battery cells 20 of the battery module 100, the separator 101 is fixedly connected to each of the two rows of the battery cells 20, the fixing structure 102 is disposed at the end of the separator 101, and the separator 101 is fixed to the case 11 by the fixing structure 102. In this way, each battery cell 20 in the battery module 100 is fixed to the case 11 by the partition plate 101 and the fixing structure 102, so that each battery cell 20 can transmit its load to the case 11, guaranteeing the structural strength of the battery 10; in this case, the side plates may not be provided at the outer side of the battery module 100, and the structures such as the beams may not be provided at the middle of the case 11, so that the space utilization in the battery module 100 may be greatly increased, thereby increasing the energy density of the battery module 100. Therefore, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present application can ensure the safety performance of the battery module 100 while improving the energy density of the battery module 100, thereby improving the performance of the battery.

Alternatively, the separator 101 may be fixedly connected to each of the adjacent two rows of the battery cells 20 by means of adhesion. For example, in one embodiment of the present application, as shown in fig. 6, the separator 101 may be bonded to each of the adjacent two rows of the battery cells 20 by the structural adhesive 110, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Alternatively, the separator 101 may be a metal plate, for example, may be a steel plate or an aluminum plate, or may be a plastic plate, and the material of the separator 101 may also be a composite material, for example, a surface of the metal plate is coated with other materials, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application.

In some embodiments of the present application, the fixation structure 102 may include a fixation plate 104. The fixing plate 104 is fixedly connected to the end of the separator 101 and fixedly connected to the battery cell 20 located at the end of the separator 101. For example, for the rectangular battery cell 20, the fixing plate 104 may be vertically connected to the separator 101 and respectively connected to two adjacent side walls of the rectangular battery cell 20 with the separator 101, thereby further enhancing the fixing effect on the battery cell 20.

Alternatively, the fixing plate 104 may be made of the same material as the partition 101, for example, metal, plastic, or a composite material. The thickness of the fixing plate 104 may be the same as that of the partition 101. The material or thickness of the fixing plate 104 may also be different from that of the partition 101, for example, the fixing plate 104 may be provided with higher strength or thickness, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Alternatively, the connection manner between the partition 101 and the fixing plate 104 may be a connection manner such as resistance welding, resistance riveting, locking bolt or clamping connection; the fixing plate 104 may be fixed to the case by a connection method such as resistance welding, resistance riveting, locking bolts or clamping, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Alternatively, the fixing plate 104 and the battery cell 20 may be fixedly connected by an adhesive, for example, by a structural adhesive, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a battery 10 according to one embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 5, the battery 10 includes a battery module 100 and a case 11. The case 11 is for accommodating the battery module 100.

In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, a plurality of battery modules 100 are arranged in the battery 10 in the second direction with a gap between two adjacent battery modules 100, and an insulating bar 103 is at least partially disposed in the gap between the two battery modules 100.

The battery 10 includes a plurality of battery modules 100, and each battery module 100 has a corresponding expansion area, so that the weld between the housing 211 and the end cap 212 in each battery cell 20 may be deformed due to the expansion of the battery cell 20. By disposing the insulating strips 103 in the gaps of the different battery modules 100, the welding regions of the battery cells 20 in the plurality of battery modules 100 can be protected, further improving the overall safety performance of the battery.

In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in fig. 7, the insulating strip 103 includes two first connection parts 1031, where the two first connection parts 1031 are disposed on the first wall of the battery cells 20 in the battery module 100 in the second direction, and one third connection part 1033, where the third connection part 1033 is located between the two first connection parts 1031 and connects the two first connection parts 1031.

The insulating strip 103 composed of two first connection parts 1031 and one third connection part 1033 may be H-shaped or U-shaped, or may be other shapes, so long as the insulating strip 103 can play a role of a stress member, and the welding seam between the end cover 212 and the housing 211 of the battery cell 20 is protected from being excessively deformed, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present application. In this way, in case of a large module gap, a thicker insulating strip 103 need not be provided.

The assembly requirements of different batteries 10 can be achieved through various part forms under different process grouping requirements and design requirements.

In some embodiments of the present application, the third connection portion 1033 is provided in the gap of the two battery modules 100.

The two first connection parts 1031 are respectively connected to the first walls of the battery cells 20 of the two adjacent battery modules 100, and the third connection parts 1033 are positioned in the gaps of the two first connection parts 1031, so that the battery cells 20 of the two adjacent battery modules 100 can be connected together, the insulating strips 103 can simultaneously inhibit the expansion of the welding areas of the first walls of the two battery cells 20, and the overall safety performance of the battery 10 is improved.

It should be understood that, in the embodiments of the present application, relevant portions may be referred to each other, and will not be described in detail for brevity.

Embodiments of the present application also provide a powered device that may include the battery 10 of the previous embodiments. Alternatively, the electric device may be the vehicle 1, the ship, the spacecraft, or the like, but the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

Having described the battery 10 and the powered device of the embodiments of the present application, the method and the apparatus for preparing a battery of the embodiments of the present application will be described below, wherein the foregoing embodiments may be referred to for a portion that is not described in detail.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic flow chart of a method 300 of preparing a battery according to one embodiment of the present application.

As shown in fig. 8, the method 300 may include:

310, a plurality of battery modules 100 are provided, the battery modules 100 including: n rows of battery cells 20, each of the N rows of battery cells 20 including a plurality of battery cells arranged along a first direction, the N rows of battery cells arranged along a second direction, the first direction being perpendicular to the second direction, N being an integer greater than 1; the insulating strip 103, the insulating strip 103 extends along a first direction, the insulating strip 103 is used for connecting the wall with the largest surface area of the battery cell 20, the dimension of the insulating strip 103 is smaller than that of the first wall in a third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and the connecting area of the insulating strip 103 and the first wall comprises a welding area of the first wall.

320, providing a box 11;

330, the battery module 100 is accommodated in the case 11, wherein the separator 101 is fixed to the case 11 by the fixing structure 102.

Fig. 9 shows a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 400 for preparing a battery according to one embodiment of the present application. As shown in fig. 9, an apparatus 400 for preparing a battery may include: a module 410 and a mounting module 420 are provided.

The providing module 410 is configured to provide the battery module 100 and the case 11, and the battery module 100 includes: n rows of battery cells 20, each row of battery cells 20 in the N rows of battery cells 20 being arranged in a first direction, the N rows of battery cells 20 being arranged in a second direction, the first direction being perpendicular to the second direction, N being an integer greater than 1; the insulating strip 103, the insulating strip 103 extends along the first direction, the insulating strip 103 is used for connecting the first wall of the battery cell 20, the first wall is the wall with the largest surface area of the battery cell 20, in the third direction, the size of the insulating strip 103 is smaller than that of the first wall, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, and the connecting area of the insulating strip 103 and the first wall comprises a welding area of the first wall;

the mounting module 420 is used to house the battery module 100 in the case 11.

While the present application has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, various modifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the present application. In particular, the technical features mentioned in the respective embodiments may be combined in any manner as long as there is no structural conflict. The present application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but encompasses all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A battery module (100), characterized by comprising:

each row of battery cells (20) in the N rows of battery cells (20) comprises a plurality of battery cells (20) arranged along a first direction, the N rows of battery cells (20) are arranged along a second direction, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, and N is an integer greater than 1;

the insulating strip (103), the insulating strip (103) is followed the first direction extends, the insulating strip (103) is used for connecting the first wall of battery cell (20), first wall is the biggest wall of surface area in battery cell (20), in the third direction, the size of insulating strip (103) is less than the size of first wall, the third direction perpendicular to first direction with the second direction, the insulating strip (103) with the junction area of first wall includes the welded area of first wall.

2. The battery module (100) of claim 1, wherein the battery cell (20) comprises:

a housing (211) having an opening;

an end cap (212) for closing the opening to accommodate a battery assembly (22);

the first wall is the wall with the largest surface area of the shell (211), and the end cover (212) is welded and fixed with the shell (211) at the opening to form the welding area.

3. The battery module (100) of claim 2, wherein the insulating strip (103) covers a weld of the first wall and the end cap (212).

4. The battery module (100) of claim 2 or 3, wherein the insulating strip (103) protrudes from the end cap (212) in the third direction.

5. The battery module (100) of any of claims 2 to 4, wherein the insulating strip (103) comprises a first connection portion (1031) and a second connection portion (1032), the first connection portion (1031) being for connection with the first wall, the second connection portion (1032) being connected to an end of the first connection portion (1031) remote from the battery cell (20) and extending in the second direction, the second connection portion being for covering at least part of the end cap (212).

6. The battery module (100) of claim 5, wherein the second connection portion (1031) is in a conforming connection with the end cap (212).

7. The battery module (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the insulating strip (103) is connected with the first wall of the battery cell (20) located outermost in the second direction.

8. The battery module (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the battery module (100) further comprises:

The separator (101) extends along the first direction and is arranged between two adjacent rows of battery cells (20), and the separator (101) is fixedly connected with each battery cell (20) in the two adjacent rows of battery cells (20);

wherein, the end of the separator (101) in the first direction is provided with a fixing structure (102), and the separator (101) is fixed to a case (11) for accommodating the battery module (100) by the fixing structure (102).

9. The battery module (100) of claim 8, wherein the securing structure (102) comprises a securing plate (104), the securing plate (104) being fixedly connected to the end of the separator (101) and fixedly connected to a battery cell (20) located at the end of the separator (101).

10. A battery (10), characterized by comprising:

the battery module (100) of any of claims 1 to 9;

and a case (11) for accommodating the battery module (100).

11. The battery (10) according to claim 10, wherein a plurality of the battery modules (100) are provided, the plurality of the battery modules (100) being arranged in the second direction with a gap between adjacent two of the battery modules (100), at least a portion of the insulating strips (103) being provided in the gap.

12. The battery (10) according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the insulating strip (103) comprises:

two first connection parts (1031) disposed opposite to each other in the second direction, the two first connection parts (1031) being respectively used to connect the first walls of the battery cells (20) of two adjacent battery modules (100);

and a third connection portion (1033) located between the two first connection portions (1031) and for connecting the two first connection portions (1031).

13. The battery (10) of claim 12, wherein the third connection (1033) is located within the gap.

14. A powered device, characterized by comprising a battery (10) according to any of claims 1 to 13, said battery (10) being adapted to provide electrical energy.

15. A method (300) of making a battery, comprising:

providing a battery module (100), the battery module (100) comprising N columns of battery cells (20), each column of battery cells (20) of the N columns of battery cells (20) comprising a plurality of battery cells (20) arranged along a first direction, the N columns of battery cells (20) arranged along a second direction, the first direction being perpendicular to the second direction, N being an integer greater than 1; -an insulating strip (103), the insulating strip (103) extending along the first direction, the insulating strip (103) being for connecting a first wall of the battery cell (20), the first wall being the wall of the battery cell (20) having the largest surface area, the insulating strip (103) having a smaller dimension than the first wall in a third direction, the third direction being perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, a connection area of the insulating strip (103) and the first wall comprising a welding area of the first wall;

Providing a box body (11);

the battery module (100) is accommodated in the case (11).

16. An apparatus (400) for preparing a battery, characterized by comprising:

a providing module for providing a battery module (100) and a case (11), the battery module (100) comprising N columns of battery cells (20), each column of battery cells (20) of the N columns of battery cells (20) comprising a plurality of battery cells (20) arranged along a first direction, the N columns of battery cells (20) being arranged along a second direction, the first direction being perpendicular to the second direction, N being an integer greater than 1; -an insulating strip (103), the insulating strip (103) extending along the first direction, the insulating strip (103) being for connecting a first wall of the battery cell (20), the first wall being the wall of the battery cell (20) having the largest surface area, the insulating strip (103) having a smaller dimension than the first wall in a third direction, the third direction being perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, a connection area of the insulating strip (103) and the first wall comprising a welding area of the first wall;

and the mounting module is used for accommodating the battery module (100) in the box body (11).