CN216389648U - Battery cell connecting mechanism and cell module - Google Patents

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of batteries, in particular to a battery cell connecting mechanism and a battery cell module, wherein the battery cell connecting mechanism comprises: the electric connecting piece and the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier; the electric connecting piece is a metal plate with conductivity; the upper end face of the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier is provided with a strip-shaped groove of which the appearance is matched with that of the electric connecting piece; the groove bottom surface of the strip-shaped groove is provided with a continuous-row groove opening for sleeving the electrode binding post. The cell connecting mechanism is adopted when the electrodes of the cell module are connected. The utility model is used for improving the technical problems of unreasonable arrangement of the structural space and poor integral rigidity performance of the battery pack in the structural design aspect of the existing battery module.

Description

Battery cell connecting mechanism and cell module

Technical Field

The utility model relates to the technical field of batteries, in particular to a battery cell connecting mechanism and a battery cell module.

Background

The battery pack is used as a core component of the electric automobile and provides a power source for the electric automobile. The battery pack system is a complex system integrating chemical, electrical and mechanical properties, and needs to satisfy all the properties in system design. The three core technologies of the battery pack are respectively a power battery technology, a BMS technology and a grouping technology. The electrical connection technology and the structural design technology are two critical parts of the grouping technology. The electrical connection mode determines the electrical performance of the battery pack, and the structural reliability, safety, energy density and the like of the battery pack are determined by the quality of the structural design.

As shown in fig. 1-2, the conventional CTP technology uses a square battery, two terminals on two sides of the top end are a positive terminal a and a negative terminal B of the battery, respectively, and when designing electrical connection, an electrical connector (copper bar or aluminum bar, generally 2-3mm thick) is welded on the positive and negative terminals of the battery, which brings the following two disadvantages:

1. as shown in fig. 2, in the height direction of the battery (hereinafter, referred to as Z direction), the thicknesses of the positive and negative poles a/B and the aluminum row L used as the electrical connection member occupy a certain space, and meanwhile, an insulating layer J needs to be arranged above the aluminum row L, resulting in insufficient space utilization;

2. because the battery pack is directly formed by the monomers, the tops of the battery cores are only electrically connected without structural connection, the overall rigidity performance of the battery pack is poor, and a structural reinforcing component needs to be additionally added.

Therefore, it is necessary to design a cell connecting mechanism and a cell module for solving at least one of the above technical problems, considering both the electrical connection and the structural design during the battery grouping process.

SUMMERY OF THE UTILITY MODEL

The utility model aims to provide a battery cell connecting mechanism and a battery cell module, which are used for improving the technical problems of unreasonable arrangement of structural space and poor integral rigidity performance of a battery pack in the aspect of structural design of the conventional battery module.

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by the following technical solutions:

in one aspect, the present invention provides a cell connecting mechanism, including: the electric connecting piece and the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier; the electric connecting piece is a metal plate with conductivity; the upper end face of the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier is provided with a strip-shaped groove of which the appearance is matched with that of the electric connecting piece; the groove bottom surface of the strip-shaped groove is provided with a continuous-row groove opening for sleeving the electrode binding post.

Preferably, the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier is provided with a positioning hole corresponding to the positioning column arranged on the battery core.

Preferably, the cross section of the electric connecting piece perpendicular to the length direction of the connecting line between the electric connecting electrode post parts is L-shaped or U-shaped.

Preferably, the electric connector is provided with a notch for sleeving the electrode binding post; the distance between two adjacent notches is arranged to be matched with the distance between two electrode wiring posts to be electrically connected between two adjacent battery cells.

Preferably, the method further comprises the following steps: and the lower end surface of the connecting row on the insulating carrier is provided with a groove cavity matched with the appearance of the upper end surface of the electric connecting piece.

Preferably, the upper connecting row of the insulating carrier is fixedly connected with the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier in an up-down buckling manner; or the upper connecting row of the insulating carrier is fixedly connected with the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier through a fastener; or after the upper connecting row of the insulating carrier and the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier are fixedly connected in an up-down buckling mode, the upper connecting row of the insulating carrier and the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier are fixedly connected through a fastener.

Preferably, the lower terminal surface of last run-on of insulating carrier is provided with the bar arch, the bar arch be used for with electric connector's upper surface position lock.

On the other hand, the utility model also provides a battery cell module, and the battery cell connecting mechanism is adopted when the electrode connection is implemented between the battery cells of the battery cell module.

Preferably, the battery cell is in a shape like a Chinese character 'tu', shoulder planes lower than the central part of the upper end face are arranged on two sides of the upper end face of the battery cell, the battery cell connecting mechanism is arranged on the shoulder planes, the upper surface of the battery cell connecting mechanism is lower than the central part of the upper end face of the battery cell, or the upper surface of the battery cell connecting mechanism is flush with the central part of the upper end face of the battery cell.

Preferably, the electrode terminals in the cell module are arranged on the shoulder planes on both sides of the upper end surface of the cell, and the top of the electrode terminal is lower than the center of the upper end surface of the cell by H, wherein H is greater than 0mm and less than or equal to 25 mm.

Preferably, the electric connection mode among the battery cells in the battery cell module is series connection.

The utility model has the characteristics and advantages that: the battery cell connecting mechanism formed by assembling the lower connecting row of the electric connecting piece and the insulating carrier has structural characteristics, has an electric connecting effect and simultaneously has a structural connecting function. In addition, the requirement of the product on the material strength of the electric connecting piece is greatly reduced, and the electric connecting piece can be selected as a copper bar or an aluminum bar, so that the selectivity is wider. Furthermore, after the structure is adopted, the electric connection and the structural connection are integrally designed, and an additional structural reinforcing component is not needed, so that the structure is simplified, and the integral rigidity of the battery pack can be improved; the high-strength structure of the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier can improve the connection strength between the electric connecting piece and the battery cell electrode binding post, so that the electric connection effect is more stable and reliable. On the other hand, the battery cell module is formed by connecting the battery cell in a shape like a Chinese character 'tu' with the battery cell connecting mechanism, and the battery cell connecting mechanism of the battery cell module is flush with the highest point of the upper end surface of the battery cell, so that the product is in a cuboid shape, the edge part is more regular, and the battery cell module is more suitable for more power supply application environments; in addition, the arrangement of the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier can further improve the insulativity between adjacent electrode binding posts, so that the insulating property of the battery is improved conveniently; by adopting the structure scheme, the use of structural materials can be reduced, the higher lightweight level is convenient to achieve, the manufacturing cost of the battery product is saved, and the battery preparation process flow is further simplified.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious for those skilled in the art to obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the external structure of a square battery in the prior art.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the connection structure of the electrode site of the square battery in fig. 1 after the CTP technology is adopted.

Fig. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a cell connection mechanism in embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of another appearance arrangement of the cell connection mechanism in embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a schematic structural view of an electrical connector with an "L" shaped cross section according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural view of an electrical connector with a "U" shaped cross section according to embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of a connection row on an insulating carrier in a use state in embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic structural diagram of a "convex" cell in embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is an exploded view of an assembly structure of a cell connection mechanism in embodiment 1 of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a view of fig. 9 from another perspective.

Fig. 11 is an exploded view of an assembled structure of a lower connection row of an insulating carrier.

Fig. 12 is a flow chart of the assembly of the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier.

Fig. 13 is a flow chart of the assembly of the connector row on the insulating carrier.

Fig. 14 is a structural view of fig. 13 from another perspective.

Fig. 15 is a schematic structural view of a battery cell module shaped like a Chinese character 'tu' in embodiment 2 of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar function throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are illustrative only for the purpose of explaining the present invention, and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention.

In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that the terms "central," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "clockwise," "counterclockwise," "axial," "radial," "circumferential," and the like are used in the orientations and positional relationships indicated in the drawings for convenience in describing the utility model and to simplify the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the referenced devices or elements must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and are therefore not to be considered limiting of the utility model. Furthermore, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present invention, "a plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, e.g., as meaning either a fixed connection, a removable connection, or an integral connection; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in specific cases to those skilled in the art.

Example 1:

as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the present invention provides a cell connecting mechanism, including: an electrical connector 100 and an insulating carrier lower connection row 200; the electrical connector 100 is a metal plate having electrical conductivity; the upper end surface of the lower connecting row 200 of the insulating carrier is provided with a strip-shaped groove 210 the appearance of which is matched with that of the electric connector 100; the bottom surface of the strip-shaped groove 210 is provided with a continuous notch 220 for sleeving the electrode binding post.

Preferably, in one preferred technical solution of this embodiment, for the battery cell with a non-metal casing, the thickness of the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier satisfies that the bending strength is higher than the structural strength of any part on the casing of the connected battery cell.

It should be noted that, on the upper end surface of the lower connecting row 200 of the insulating carrier, the number and the arrangement position of the strip-shaped grooves 210 are not limited, and the arrangement structure of the transverse or longitudinal strip-shaped grooves and the arrangement structure of any number of strip-shaped grooves, which are adopted to satisfy the electrical connection between the adjacent electrode connecting posts, are all claimed in the present application.

This embodiment combines together the row of being connected under electric connector and the insulating carrier, and make full use of insulating material's high structural strength still further realizes the structural connection between the adjacent electric core when realizing the firm electricity of battery and connect, mutual fixed and the position constraint between the electric core in can the fully ensured group battery.

Preferably, in one preferable technical solution of the present embodiment, a copper bar or an aluminum bar is used as the electrical connection member.

Preferably, in one preferred technical solution of this embodiment, the lower connection row 200 of the insulating carrier is provided with positioning holes corresponding to the positioning columns arranged on the upper end surface of the shoulder plane of the battery cell. The lower connecting row of the insulating carrier is provided with the positioning holes, so that the lower connecting row can be quickly and accurately assembled on the upper end surface of the shoulder plane of the battery cell, and the electric connection between the electric connector and the electrode wiring column can be conveniently, quickly and accurately completed.

Further, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a cross section of the electrical connector 100 perpendicular to a length direction of a connection line between the electrically connected electrode post portions is "L" shaped or "U" shaped. Compared with a common square battery cell, the L-shaped section electric connecting piece has enough space at the top of the convex battery electrode terminal post to accommodate the L-shaped section electric connecting piece, and the structural strength of the electric connecting piece can be effectively improved. The U-shaped section electric connecting piece is similar to the L-shaped section principle, and the structural strength of the electric connecting piece can be further improved compared with the electric connecting piece with the L-shaped section when the U-shaped section electric connecting piece with the same cross section area is adopted.

In addition to making the electrical connector with a high strength cross section, the above-described structure of the present embodiment integrates the electrical connector 100 on an insulating and sufficiently strong carrier by using the lower connection row 200 of the insulating carrier. When electric core establishes ties, only need with the electrode terminal welding that electric connector 100 and battery correspond, and the lower link 200 of insulating carrier that has insulating high strength carrier performance can be as an organic whole with being located same electric connector 100 of connecting the range orientation even, can effectively play the effect that the top is fixed and is tied to the battery, makes the fixed effect of battery more firm, can further improve the bulk rigidity of battery package.

Further, in one preferred technical solution of the present embodiment, the electrical connector 100 is provided with a notch for receiving an electrode terminal; the distance between two adjacent notches, between two adjacent notches and a conductive contact, or between two conductive contacts is set, and is matched with the distance between two electrode wiring posts to be electrically connected between two adjacent battery electric cores.

Further, in one preferred technical solution of the present embodiment, the lower end surface of the lower connecting row 200 of the insulating carrier is provided with a rib plate for improving the structural strength.

Further, as shown in fig. 7, in one preferred technical solution of this embodiment, the method further includes: the upper connecting row 300 of the insulating carrier, the lower end face of the upper connecting row 300 of the insulating carrier is provided with a groove cavity (not shown in the figure due to shielding) matched with the shape of the upper end face of the electric connector 100; the upper connecting row 300 of the insulating carrier is fixedly connected with the lower connecting row 200 of the insulating carrier in an up-down buckling manner; after the upper connecting row 300 of the insulating carrier is fixedly connected with the lower connecting row 200 of the insulating carrier, the electrical connector 100 is tightly pressed and is in good electrical connection with the connected electrode terminals respectively. In another embodiment, the upper insulating carrier connecting row 300 is fixedly connected to the lower insulating carrier connecting row 200 by fasteners 310. In another embodiment, after the upper connecting row 300 of the insulating carrier and the lower connecting row 200 of the insulating carrier are fixedly connected in an up-down buckling manner, they are fixedly connected by the fastening member 310, so as to further enhance the fixing effect.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 7, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, the fastening member 310 is a rivet, a bolt or a screw, and is used for fixedly connecting the upper connection row 300 of the insulation carrier and the lower connection row 200 of the insulation carrier at the H position.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 7, in one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a low voltage wiring harness hole 320 for wiring a wire is provided in the connection row 300 on the insulating carrier.

Preferably, as shown in fig. 3, in one preferred technical solution of the present embodiment, a connection hole 230 for connecting the connection bar 300 on the insulating carrier and/or the upper end surface of the battery cell module is provided on the lower connection bar 200 on the insulating carrier. The above-mentioned structure arrangement can preferably adopt fasteners such as bolts, screws or rivets to fixedly connect the lower connecting row 200 of the insulating carrier and the upper connecting row 300 of the insulating carrier during the preparation.

Further, in one preferred technical solution of this embodiment, a strip-shaped protrusion is disposed on a lower end surface of the connection row 300 on the insulating carrier; the strip-shaped protrusion is used for being buckled with the upper surface part of the electric connecting piece with the U-shaped section or the L-shaped section. Preferably, the strip-shaped protrusions on the lower end surface of the connection row 300 on the insulating carrier are snap-fitted with the upper surface of the electrical connector in an interference fit manner. The strip-shaped protrusion arranged on the lower end face of the connecting row 300 on the insulating carrier can form more effective insulation protection for the electric connecting piece, and meanwhile, the strip-shaped protrusion is designed as a structure reinforcement, so that the structural strength of the electric core connecting mechanism is further improved.

The technical advantages of the cell connection mechanism in practical application of the present invention will be further explained by using the "convex" cell shown in fig. 8 and using the "U" section electrical connector as an application scenario. The structural characteristics of the convex-shaped battery cell are as follows: the cross section of the battery cell is in a convex shape and is provided with a positive electrode terminal A and a negative electrode terminal B, the positive electrode terminal A and the negative electrode terminal B are arranged on a lower shoulder plane C on two sides of the upper end face of the battery cell, the tops of the positive electrode terminal A and the negative electrode terminal B are lower than the central part of the upper end face of the battery cell by H, and H is larger than 0mm and smaller than or equal to 25 mm.

The detailed structure sets up the overall design scheme as follows:

referring to the overall assembly hierarchy shown in fig. 9 and 10, from bottom to top: the structure comprises a convex-shaped battery core A1, an insulating carrier lower connecting row 200, an electric connector 100 with a U-shaped section, an insulating carrier upper connecting row 300 and a fastener 310.

Referring to fig. 11, 12, 13 and 14, the outline and assembly flow of the above components are as follows:

1. the electric connecting piece 100 with the U-shaped section is directly embedded into the strip-shaped groove 210 of the lower connecting row 200 of the insulating carrier and is electrically connected with the electrode binding post Z passing through the notch of the connecting row;

2. sleeving the lower insulating carrier connecting row 200 embedded with the electric connecting piece 100 into shoulder planes C at two sides of the upper end face of the convex-shaped battery cell shown in the figure 11 through a connecting row notch, and welding a battery cell positive/negative electrode terminal Z with the electric connecting piece, so that the lower insulating carrier connecting row 200 is pressed on the shoulder planes C of the battery cell;

3. as shown in fig. 13 and 14, the upper connection row 300 of the insulating carrier is embedded into the groove M formed by the electrical connector with the U-shaped cross section through the strip-shaped protrusion T, and is connected with the lower connection row 200 of the insulating carrier at the position H through the fastener 310, and after the installation, the top surface of the upper connection row of the insulating carrier is flush with the upper end surface of the top of the battery cell, so that the structure is tidy and beautiful, and has a very excellent insulating effect. In addition, a low voltage wiring harness hole 320 (including but not limited to a circle or a square) is arranged right above the electrical connector of the connection row 300 on the insulating carrier, so that the voltage collection is convenient.

Further, in one preferable technical solution of the present embodiment, the thickness of the metal plate is not less than 1 mm. More preferably, the thickness of the metal plate is not less than 2mm, which can sufficiently ensure that the electric connecting piece has enough structural strength, not only can obtain the technical effect of stable electric connection when the electric connecting piece is fixed on the electrode terminal of the battery cell, but also can additionally provide an auxiliary function of increasing the structural strength for the battery pack. Under the user state, can only be connected the electric connector and the firm electricity of the electrode terminal that the battery corresponds when electric core establishes ties, can play the fixed and effect of constraint in top to the battery, make the battery fixed more firm, improve battery package global rigidity. Preferably, the thickness of the metal plate is set to be 2-3mm, so that the requirement on structural strength can be met, the material consumption can be saved, the occupation on the structural space can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of a battery product can be reduced.

Example 2:

as shown in fig. 15, this embodiment further provides a cell module based on embodiment 1, where the cell connection mechanism in any one of the embodiments of embodiment 1 is adopted when performing electrode connection between cells of the cell module. Preferably, the battery cell is in a shape like a Chinese character 'tu', shoulder planes lower than the central part of the upper end face are arranged on two sides of the upper end face of the battery cell, the battery cell connecting mechanism is arranged on the shoulder planes, the upper surface of the battery cell connecting mechanism is lower than the central part of the upper end face of the battery cell, or the upper surface of the battery cell connecting mechanism is flush with the central part of the upper end face of the battery cell. Preferably, the electric connection mode among the cells in the cell module is series connection. After the electric connection of each convex-shaped battery cell is completed through the battery cell connecting mechanism; a total positive terminal Z1 and a total negative terminal F1 are provided on the cell module shown in fig. 15 for establishing electrical connection with electrical equipment.

Further, in one preferred technical solution of this embodiment, in the cell module, the electrode terminals are disposed on shoulder planes on two sides of the upper end surface of the "convex" cell, and the top of the electrode terminal is lower than the center of the upper end surface of the cell by H, where H is greater than 0mm and less than or equal to 25 mm.

The technical effects which can be achieved after the structure is arranged by adopting the embodiment are as follows: the electric connection and the structural connection are integrated, so that the structure of the battery pack is simplified, and the integral rigidity of the battery pack can be improved; the electric connecting piece with the L-shaped or U-shaped section is adopted to improve the strength of the electric connecting piece; after the battery cell module is installed, the top surface of the battery cell module is smoother than that of the existing battery pack, and the battery cell module is tidy and attractive and has excellent insulating property; the use of structural materials can be effectively reduced, a higher lightweight level is achieved, and the processing and manufacturing cost of a battery product is saved; the manufacturing process flow of the battery is simplified.

In the description herein, references to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like mean that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the utility model. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the utility model have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the utility model, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (10)

1. A cell connecting mechanism, comprising: the electric connecting piece and the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier; the electric connecting piece is a metal plate with conductivity; the upper end face of the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier is provided with a strip-shaped groove of which the appearance is matched with that of the electric connecting piece; the groove bottom surface of the strip-shaped groove is provided with a continuous-row groove opening for sleeving the electrode binding post.

2. The electrical core connection mechanism of claim 1, wherein the lower connection row of the insulating carrier is provided with positioning holes corresponding to the positioning posts provided on the electrical core.

3. The cell connecting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the cross section of the electrical connecting member perpendicular to the length direction of the connecting line between the electric connecting electrode terminal parts is "L" shaped or "U" shaped.

4. The cell connecting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connector is provided with a notch for sleeving the electrode terminal; the distance between two adjacent notches is arranged to be matched with the distance between two electrode wiring posts to be electrically connected between two adjacent battery cells.

5. The cell connecting mechanism of claim 1, further comprising: and the lower end surface of the connecting row on the insulating carrier is provided with a groove cavity matched with the appearance of the upper end surface of the electric connecting piece.

6. The cell connection mechanism of claim 5, wherein: the upper connecting row of the insulating carrier is fixedly connected with the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier in an up-and-down buckling manner; or the upper connecting row of the insulating carrier is fixedly connected with the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier through a fastener; or after the upper connecting row of the insulating carrier and the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier are fixedly connected in an up-down buckling mode, the upper connecting row of the insulating carrier and the lower connecting row of the insulating carrier are fixedly connected through a fastener.

7. The cell connecting mechanism according to claim 5, wherein a strip-shaped protrusion is disposed on a lower end surface of the upper connecting row of the insulating carrier, and the strip-shaped protrusion is used for being buckled with an upper surface portion of the electrical connector.

8. A battery cell module, characterized in that the battery cell connection mechanism of any one of claims 1 to 7 is used for performing electrode connection between battery cells of the battery cell module.

9. The cell module of claim 8, wherein the cell has a shape like a Chinese character 'tu', two sides of an upper end surface of the cell have shoulder planes lower than a central portion of the upper end surface, the cell connecting mechanism is disposed on the shoulder planes, and an upper surface of the cell connecting mechanism is lower than the central portion of the upper end surface of the cell, or the upper surface of the cell connecting mechanism is flush with the central portion of the upper end surface of the cell.

10. The cell module of claim 9, wherein the electrode terminals in the cell module are disposed on the shoulder planes at two sides of the upper end surface of the cell, and the top of the electrode terminal is lower than the center of the upper end surface of the cell by H, wherein H is greater than 0mm and less than or equal to 25 mm.

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