CN213278327U

CN213278327U - Connection structure and top cap subassembly

Info

Publication number: CN213278327U
Application number: CN202022024382.5U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马亚强; 张彪; 何波; 王健; 李振龙; 杨强
Original assignee: Xiamen Haichen New Energy Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-16
Filing date: 2020-09-16
Publication date: 2021-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 2030-09-16

Abstract

A connecting structure and a top cover assembly belong to the field of batteries. The connecting structure comprises a pole and a connecting sheet. The pole column is provided with a convex part with a cross section of a first polygonal structure. The connecting sheet is provided with a bending part. The bent part comprises a bottom wall and a side wall, and the inner surfaces of the bottom wall and the side wall jointly define a groove body. The bottom wall is provided with a second polygonal structure through hole which can accommodate the protruding part and is communicated with the groove body, and the section of the second polygonal structure through hole is matched with the first polygonal structure. The outer surface contact of utmost point post and diapire and bellying embedding to in the through-hole to restriction utmost point post and connecting plate rotate relatively. The assembly precision of the connecting sheet and the pole can be improved by improving the connecting mode of the pole and the connecting sheet, the offset between the connecting sheet and the cover plate is reduced, and the assembly yield is improved; simultaneously, this connected mode can also prevent the relative utmost point post of connection piece and rotate.

Description

Connection structure and top cap subassembly

Technical Field

The application relates to the field of batteries, in particular to a connecting structure and a top cover assembly.

Background

In the prior art, a battery (e.g., a power battery) generally includes a battery core and a casing accommodating the battery core therein. The shell mainly comprises a top cover assembly, and the top cover assembly guides current out through a connecting sheet and a pole which are electrically connected with a pole lug of the battery cell.

At present, there is the poor stability of connection piece and utmost point post connection among the top cap subassembly, takes place offset easily, leads to the problem such as structural damage.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

To improve upon, and even solve, the above-mentioned problems, the present application proposes a connection structure and a cap assembly.

The application is realized as follows:

in a first aspect, examples of the present application provide a connection structure that includes a pole and a connection tab. Wherein, the pole is provided with a convex part. The connecting sheet is provided with a bending part. The bending part comprises a bottom wall and a side wall, and the inner surfaces of the bottom wall and the side wall jointly define a groove body. Wherein, the diapire has the through-hole that can hold the bellying and communicate with the cell body. The outer surface contact of utmost point post and diapire and bellying embedding to in the through-hole to restriction utmost point post and connecting plate rotate relatively.

In foretell connection structure, connection piece and utmost point post utilize the cooperation of through-hole and bellying to inject both cooperations, thereby can not take place relative rotation each other when making both cooperations, make both connection site's intensity and stability improve greatly, also conveniently carry out welding operation simultaneously. The through hole and the bulge are matched, and the through hole and the bulge can be aligned with each other, so that the quick connection between the through hole and the bulge is facilitated, and the connection efficiency and precision are improved.

In short, the implementation of the connecting structure can prevent the connecting sheet from rotating relative to the pole, so that the assembling precision of the pole and the connecting sheet is improved, the offset between the connecting sheet and the cover plate can be reduced, and the assembling yield is improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a first possible implementation of the first aspect of the present application, the pole is in contact with an outer surface of the bottom wall and forms a first weld.

The welding part is arranged between the bottom walls of the bending parts of the pole and the connecting sheet, so that the pole and the connecting sheet can be stably and firmly connected through the welding structure, and the connecting sheet can also be used as an overflowing structure.

With reference to the first aspect or the first embodiment of the first aspect, in a second possible implementation of the first aspect of the present application, the protrusion is inserted into the through hole and forms a second weld.

And a second welding part is formed between the convex part of the pole and the inner wall of the through hole of the connecting sheet, so that the connection strength and the firmness of the pole and the connecting sheet can be further improved.

With reference to the first aspect, in a third possible implementation manner of the first aspect of the present application, the tank is filled with an insulating material.

The insulating material is filled in the groove body of the connecting sheet, and can play a role in protecting a second welding part formed by the convex part and the inner wall of the through hole in the connecting sheet, namely protecting a welding spot; meanwhile, the insulating material can also play a role in protecting the first welding part.

With reference to the first aspect, in a fourth possible implementation manner of the first aspect of the present application, a surface of the protrusion and a surface of the through hole are engaged with each other through a concave-convex structure to limit relative rotation between the pole and the connecting plate.

Above-mentioned concave-convex structure can increase the relative motion resistance between the boss of utmost point post and the through-hole inner wall of connection piece to further restrict relative rotation between them, and consequently, can improve the intensity of both connection parts (like the solder joint), also can avoid relatively rotating in the welding process and lead to welding inefficacy or rosin joint scheduling problem.

With reference to the fourth embodiment of the first aspect, in a fifth possible implementation of the first aspect of the present application, the surface of the protruding portion has a bump, and the surface of the through hole has a groove matching the bump; alternatively, the surface of the boss has a groove, and the surface of the through-hole has a projection matching the groove.

In a second aspect, examples of the present application provide a cap assembly including a cap plate set and the above-described connecting structure. Wherein, apron group is including the upper cover plate and the lower cover plate of mutually supporting. The upper cover plate is provided with a top hole; the lower cover plate has a bottom aperture opposite the top aperture. The bulge of utmost point post inserts to the top hole, and the portion of bending of connection piece inserts to the bottom hole.

Due to the adoption of the structure design of the connecting sheet and the pole, the obtained top cover assembly has the corresponding structural strength and stability.

With reference to the second aspect, in a first possible embodiment of the second aspect of the present application, the pole has an annular skirt; in the vertical projection of the surface of the connecting piece, the contour of the top hole encloses the contour of the bottom hole inside. And, the upper cover plate is metal material, and lower cover plate is insulating material. The top cover assembly comprises a combination assembly, and the combination assembly comprises a first combination piece, a second combination piece, a third combination piece and a fourth combination piece. Wherein the first combining piece is pressed on the platform part by the upper cover plate; the third combining piece is pressed on the first combining piece by the annular side edge; the second combining piece is positioned at the outer side of the third combining piece and is erected on the first combining piece; the fourth combining piece is respectively combined with the second combining piece and the first combining piece, and the second combining piece is buckled and pressed on the first combining piece.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings that are required to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, it should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope, and for those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained from the drawings without inventive effort.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural view of a connection structure in an example of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connection structure of FIG. 1 taken along the plane B-B;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of a connecting tab in the connecting structure of FIG. 1 from a first perspective;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of a connecting tab of the connecting structure of FIG. 1 from a second perspective;

fig. 5 shows a schematic view of a pole in the connection structure of fig. 1 at a first viewing angle;

fig. 6 shows a schematic structural view of a pole in the connection structure of fig. 1 at a second viewing angle;

FIG. 7 illustrates a schematic structural view of a set of cover plates in a cover assembly according to an example of the present application;

FIG. 8 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the cover plate set of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a schematic view of an exploded structure of the cap assembly in an example of the present application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view of the cap assembly shown in FIG. 9 from a first perspective;

FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the cap assembly shown in FIG. 9 from a second perspective;

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional structural schematic view of the cap assembly shown in the present application;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial view of section A of the cap assembly of FIG. 12;

fig. 14 is an exploded view of the pole assembly of the cap assembly of fig. 9.

Icon: 100-a connecting structure; 101-connecting piece; 1011-bending part; 1011 a-bottom wall; 1011 b-side wall; 1011 c-through hole; 1011 d-tank body; 102-pole; 1022-a boss; 1021-an annular skirt; 200-a cap assembly; 201-upper cover plate; 2011-top orifice; 202-lower cover plate; 203-explosion-proof piece; 2021-bottom hole; 2022-platform section; 301-pole assembly; 401 — a first binding member; 402-a second coupling member; 403-a third bonding element; 404-fourth coupling member.

Detailed Description

In the present application, all the embodiments, implementations, and features of the present application may be combined with each other without contradiction or conflict. In the present application, conventional equipment, devices, components, etc. are either commercially available or self-made in accordance with the present disclosure. In this application, some conventional operations and devices, apparatuses, components are omitted or only briefly described in order to highlight the importance of the present application.

In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "center", "inside", "outside", and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings or orientations or positional relationships that are conventionally placed when products of the application are used, and are only used for convenience in describing the application and simplifying the description, but do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements to be referred must have a specific orientation, be constructed in a specific orientation, and be operated, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the application. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," and the like are used merely to distinguish one description from another, and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

The top cover assembly in the battery is a main component used for connecting the battery cells to lead out current, and therefore, the structural strength and stability of the electrical connection components inside the top cover assembly play an important role in normal use of the battery. The inventor finds out in research that the connection of the pole and the connecting sheet is a key weak link.

Generally, when manufacturing a battery, a tab is welded to one end of a connecting sheet, and then the other end of the connecting sheet is welded to a terminal. However, the inventors found that the connection problem of the post and the connecting piece is: the angle of connection piece can have certain deviation, and then causes utmost point ear to tear, influences the electric core performance.

In addition, in the welding process, because the lugs are welded on the connecting sheets, the fixing and the positioning of the connecting sheets are inconvenient. When the connecting sheet is welded, the connecting sheet may rotate, so that the connecting sheet is deviated during welding, and the mounting and positioning are inaccurate.

Based on the above knowledge, the inventors propose an improved connection structure of the terminal and the connecting piece to improve the above problems.

Thus, in an example, a connection structure and a cap assembly based thereon are provided.

The connection structure 100 and the cap assembly 200 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the connection structure 100 mainly includes a pole 102 and a connection piece 101. In the finished product (battery), the connecting sheet 101 is connected to the tab of the battery cell, the connecting sheet 101 is further connected to the terminal 102, and the terminal 102 can be used as an electrical component contacting with the positive/negative electrode of the electrical equipment.

In general, the electrode post 102, the connecting piece 101, and the tab are generally conductive members, and therefore are often electrically connected by welding. The structure of the connection sheet 101 and the terminal 102 is different according to the construction mode of different batteries/electric cores, but in order to improve the firmness of the connection between the terminal 102 and the connection sheet 101, the connection efficiency and the yield, in the present example, the two are connected through a structure matched with a hole column.

Accordingly, the pole 102 has a convex part 1022, the connecting sheet 101 has a bent part 1011, and the bent part 1011 further has a through hole 1011c, see fig. 3, 4, 5 and 6. Therefore, the protruding portion 1022 and the bending portion 1011 are engaged with each other through the hole. Referring to fig. 3, the bent portion 1011 of the connecting sheet 101 has a bottom wall 1011a and a side wall 1011b, and the inner surface thereof defines a groove 1011d (as shown in fig. 4), and the groove 1011d may be filled with an insulating material to protect the welding point between the protrusion 1022 and the inner surface of the through hole 1011 c.

In response, when the pole 102 and the connecting piece 101 are connected (e.g., welded), the pole 102 can contact the outer surface of the bottom wall 1011a, and the protrusion 1022 is inserted into the through hole 1011c (as shown in fig. 2), and the rotation of the pole 102 and the connecting piece 101 is restricted by the protrusion 1022. Further, a first welding portion (not shown) may be formed at a contact portion of the pole 102 and the outer surface of the bottom wall 1011a by welding. Alternatively, the protrusion 1022 is further inserted into the through hole 1011c, and a second welding portion (not shown) is formed between the surface of the protrusion 1022 and the inner surface of the through hole 1011 c.

In addition, in order to avoid a large amount of relative rotation or shaking between the terminal post 102 and the connecting plate 101 during or after the welding, the structures of the boss 1022 of the terminal post 102 and the through hole 1011c of the bent portion 1011 of the connecting plate 101 are also selected as appropriate. For example, the cross section of the protrusion 1022 is a polygonal structure, and accordingly, the cross section of the through hole 1011c is also a polygonal structure. Accordingly, the projection 1022 can be fitted into the through hole 1011c by moving in the axial direction of the through hole 1011c, and relative rotation of the through hole 1011c about the axis thereof can be avoided.

For example, the convex part 1022 may be selected to be a triangular prism, and accordingly, the through hole 1011c provided in the bent part 1011 may also be a triangular prism hole. Alternatively, the protrusion 1022 may be a quadrangular prism (in the present example), and accordingly, the through hole 1011c of the bent portion 1011 may be a quadrangular prism hole. Alternatively, the convex part 1022 may be selected as a pentagonal prism, a hexagonal prism, or the like, and accordingly, the structure of the through hole 1011c may be modified accordingly. Alternatively, the projection may be a semi-cylinder, an elliptic cylinder, or the like, and accordingly, the through hole is also matched thereto. For example, if the protrusion is a semi-cylinder, the through hole may be a cylindrical hole with a semicircular cross section, and the diameter of the semicircle is the same as the diameter of the semi-cylinder; or the diameter of the semi-cylinder is slightly larger than that of the semi-circle.

The protrusion 1022 of the pole 102 and the through hole 1011c of the connecting plate 101 may be fitted to each other, or they may be joined to each other with a gap fit. For example, taking a square projection 1022 with a cross section of 2cm and a through hole 1011c as an example, the two can be fitted together in a manner of being attached to each other; taking the square protrusion 1022 with a cross section of 2cm and the square through hole 1011c with a cross section of 2.5cm as an example, the two can be combined with each other in a clearance-matching manner. When the protrusion 1022 and the connecting piece 101 are gap-matched, the gap therebetween may be filled with, for example, solder or the like.

Further, the fitting manner of the convex portion 1022 of the pole post 102 and the bent portion 1011 of the connecting sheet 101 may be selectively adjusted as follows. For example, the length of the protrusion 1022 is equal to (or similar to or slightly smaller than) the sum of the height of the side wall 1011b and the thickness of the bottom wall 1011a of the bent portion 1011, and accordingly the length of the protrusion 1022 is also greater than the depth of the through hole 1011 c. Therefore, in such an example, the protrusion 1022 is fitted into the through hole 1011c and deeply inserted into the groove 1011d defined by the bent portion 1011. Alternatively, in other examples, the length of the protrusion 1022 is the same as the depth of the through hole 1011c, that is, the thickness of the protrusion 1022 is the same as the thickness of the bottom wall 1011a of the bent portion 1011 (the solution shown in fig. 2 of the present application).

As an alternative, besides connecting the terminal post 102 and the connecting plate 101 by welding, and making the terminal post 102 and the connecting plate 101 fit through the protrusion 1022 and the through hole 1011c, the connecting firmness of the terminal post 102 and the connecting plate 101 can be improved by increasing the resistance to relative rotation of the two.

For example, the surfaces of the protrusions 1022 and the surfaces of the through holes 1011c are engaged with each other by a concave-convex structure. In one example, the surface of the protrusion 1022 is formed with a bump, and correspondingly, the surface of the through hole 1011c has a groove. Thus, the protrusion is matched with the groove, and when the protrusion 1022 of the terminal 102 is inserted into the through hole 1011c of the connecting sheet 101 located at the bent portion 1011, the rotation can be limited.

In the above example, the protrusion 1022 has a projection, and the inner surface of the through hole 1011c has a groove. As another alternative, the surface of the protrusion 1022 has a groove, and the surface of the through hole 1011c has a protrusion matching the groove.

Based on the above-mentioned connection structure 100, the situation that the terminal 102 and the connecting sheet 101 rotate relatively during the welding process can be effectively avoided, and therefore the welding strength of the terminal 102 and the connecting sheet is not affected, and meanwhile, the overcurrent capacity is achieved.

As an application example of the connection structure 100, a cap assembly 200 applied to a battery is proposed, and the cap assembly 200 includes a cap plate group and the connection structure 100.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural view of the cover plate group, and fig. 8 shows a sectional structure of the cover plate group in fig. 7 along a vertically intersecting imaginary line. Referring to fig. 7 and 8, the cover plate set includes an upper cover plate 201 (on which the explosion-proof plate 203 may be disposed) and a lower cover plate 202 (which may also be referred to as a lower plastic or a stopper in some examples) that are engaged with each other, and the upper cover plate 201 has a top hole 2011, and the lower cover plate 202 has a bottom hole 2021 opposite to the top hole 2011. In the cover plate set, the convex part 1022 of the pole 102 in the connection structure 100 is inserted into the top hole 2011, and the bent part 1011 of the connection sheet 101 in the connection structure 100 is inserted into the bottom hole 2021.

Therefore, the post 102 and the connecting piece 101 are oppositely inserted into the cover plate group from the upper and lower sides thereof, as shown in fig. 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Further, the pole post 102 may also be constructed as an assembly structure based on improving the structural strength of the cap assembly 200 and the connection strength with other components therein. In other words, the pole assembly 301 includes the pole 102 as well as other reinforcing structures, sealing structures, and the like (described below and referred to as a coupling assembly). In addition, the material of the cover plate group may be appropriately selected, for example, the upper cover plate 201 is made of a metal material, and the lower cover plate 202 is made of an insulating material. Accordingly, the top cap assembly 200 includes a coupling assembly engaged with the pole 102, and the coupling assembly includes a first coupling member 401 (also serving as a welding aluminum ring), a second coupling member 402 (also serving as an embedding aluminum ring), a third coupling member 403 (also serving as a sealing member/sealing ring), and a fourth coupling member 404 (also serving as an insulating plastic member/outer encapsulation), see fig. 13 and 14. Wherein, the first connecting element 401 is the upper cover plate 201 pressed on the platform part; the third joint member 403 is crimped to the first joint member 401 by the annular skirt 1021; the second coupling member 402 is positioned outside the third coupling member 403 and stands upright on the first coupling member 401; the fourth bonding member 404 is bonded to the annular skirt 1021 and the first bonding member 401, respectively, and fastens the second bonding member 402 to the first bonding member 401.

In order to improve the stability and firmness of the fit of the pole 102 to the top cover assembly, the pole 102 may be provided with an annular skirt 1021 in a protruding manner at a substantially central position as shown in fig. 14.

Further, the structure of the cover plate set may be adjusted based on the annular side edge 1021 of the post 102 so that the post 102 can be more stably combined with the cover plate set. For example, the cover plate assembly has a platform for receiving the annular skirt 1021.

In an example, the platform provided to the cover plate group is configured in the following manner: in the top cap assembly 200, the top aperture 2011 of the upper cover plate 201 and the bottom aperture 2021 are surrounded by a contour based on the vertical projection direction of the surface of the connecting piece 101, that is, the top aperture 2011 is larger than the bottom aperture 2021. Thus, in the vertical projection direction, the top aperture 2011 and the bottom aperture 2021 are concentric (in the case of a rectangular configuration, the concentricity is the intersection of two diagonal lines). Meanwhile, since the top hole 2011 of the upper cover plate 201 is relatively larger, the lower cover plate 202 has a terrace portion 2022 as shown in fig. 8 between the contour of the top hole 2011 and the contour of the bottom hole 2021, and the terrace portion 2022 serves to accommodate structures supporting the annular side edge of the pole 102, i.e., the second coupling member 402 and the third coupling member 403. The structure of the upper cover plate 201 and the lower cover plate 202, and the structure of the platform portion 2022 are matched with each other, refer to fig. 12 and 13.

The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the present application, and various modifications and changes may be made by those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, improvement and the like made within the spirit and principle of the present application shall be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A connecting structure, characterized by comprising:

a pole having a protrusion;

the connecting piece is provided with a bent part, the bent part comprises a bottom wall and a side wall, the inner surfaces of the bottom wall and the side wall jointly define a groove body, and the bottom wall is provided with a through hole which can accommodate the protruding part and is communicated with the groove body;

the utmost point post with the surface contact of diapire just the bellying imbeds to in the through-hole, in order to restrict utmost point post with the connecting plate rotates relatively.

2. The connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the pole is in contact with an outer surface of the bottom wall and forms a first weld.

3. The connection structure according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the boss is fitted into the through-hole and forms a second weld.

4. The connection structure according to claim 1, wherein the tank is filled with an insulating material.

5. The connecting structure according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the boss and a surface of the through hole are matched through a concave-convex structure to limit relative rotation of the pole and the connecting piece.

6. The connecting structure according to claim 5, wherein a surface of the boss has a projection, and a surface of the through-hole has a groove that matches the projection;

or the surface of the convex part is provided with a groove, and the surface of the through hole is provided with a protrusion matched with the groove.

7. A header assembly, comprising:

a cover plate set comprising an upper cover plate and a lower cover plate which are matched with each other, wherein the upper cover plate is provided with a top hole, and the lower cover plate is provided with a bottom hole opposite to the top hole;

the connecting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 6;

the protruding portion of the pole is inserted into the top hole, and the bent portion of the connecting sheet is inserted into the bottom hole.

8. The header assembly of claim 7, wherein the post has an annular skirt;

the outline of the top hole encloses the outline of the bottom hole inside in the vertical projection direction of the surface of the connecting piece, and the lower cover plate is provided with a platform part between the outline of the top hole and the outline of the bottom hole;

the upper cover plate is made of a metal material, and the lower cover plate is made of an insulating material;

the top cover assembly comprises a combination assembly, and the combination assembly comprises a first combination piece, a second combination piece, a third combination piece and a fourth combination piece;

the first joint piece is pressed on the platform part by the upper cover plate;

the third joint member is crimped to the first joint member by the annular skirt;

the second combining piece is positioned at the outer side of the third combining piece and stands upright on the first combining piece;

the fourth combining piece is respectively combined with the annular side edge and the first combining piece, and the second combining piece is buckled and pressed on the first combining piece.