JP6260093B2 - Electricity storage element - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a power storage element that includes a casing and can be charged / discharged, and particularly relates to a power storage element that includes a safety valve for releasing the pressure when the pressure inside the casing increases.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a power storage element provided with a casing is provided with a safety valve for releasing gas generated in the casing when the pressure in the power storage element increases. Since such a safety valve has a weaker mechanical strength than the housing, the safety valve cannot be made too large.

  However, when gas exceeding the gas exhaust speed allowed by the safety valve is generated inside the casing, the casing may expand and an unexpected part may break. Thus, when an unexpected part breaks, an electrode body may be exposed from there, and it cannot be said that it is a desirable state.

  In order to cope with such a phenomenon, for example, in Patent Document 1, a groove-shaped thin portion is provided in a housing on a surface different from the surface on which the safety valve is provided, and the thin wall is formed when the safety valve becomes unacceptable. A technique is described in which a portion breaks and gas is also released therefrom.

WO2011 / 145263A1

  However, it is considered that the intended purpose can be achieved by providing a thin groove in the casing other than the safety valve, but the portion from which gas or the like is released reaches a plurality of locations. When gas is released from a plurality of locations as described above, it is necessary to provide facilities for receiving the released gas or guiding the released gas to another location at a plurality of locations, and the facilities attached to the power storage element are increased in size. Problems such as occur.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can cope with a rise in the pressure in the housing in a plurality of stages, whether the pressure rise rate in the housing is slow or fast. It is an object of the present invention to provide a power storage element that can release gas from the same location.

  In order to achieve the above object, a power storage device according to the present invention includes a housing that houses an electrode body in a sealed state, and a housing that opens the sealed state of the housing by an increase in pressure inside the housing. It is characterized by comprising a safety valve provided and a thin portion extending toward the safety valve and provided in the vicinity of the safety valve.

  According to this, even when an increase in pressure that cannot be handled only by the safety valve occurs in the housing, the housing can be broken at the thin-walled portion with the safety valve as a starting point, thereby causing a hole that is greatly open to the housing to appear. It becomes possible. Therefore, the gas can be released from the same location at a low or high pressure increase rate within the housing, and the released gas can be received or guided to another location. The number of facilities can be reduced.

  Further, a stop thin portion that intersects the thin portion may be provided, the thin portion is linear, and the stop thin portion intersects an end of the thin portion that is far from the safety valve. But you can.

  According to this, it is possible to avoid as much as possible the phenomenon of the casing breaking beyond the thin wall portion. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an unexpected expansion of the opening starting from the safety valve, and to prevent unintentional exposure of the electrode body accommodated inside the housing.

  Moreover, the said housing | casing is provided with a container-shaped main body and the cover body which obstruct | occludes the opening part of the said main body, The said safety valve and the said thin part may be provided in the said cover body.

  According to this, it becomes possible to form a thin part in a housing | casing easily.

  The thin portion includes a first thin portion and a second thin portion, and the first thin portion and the second thin portion are disposed across the safety valve and disposed on the same axis. Good.

  According to this, the opening of the housing can be enlarged centering on the safety valve, and the position where the gas is released can be stabilized.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a power storage element capable of releasing gas from the same location regardless of whether the pressure rise rate in the housing is slow or fast.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a power storage element. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the power storage element from above. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the inside of the electricity storage device with a part of the housing omitted. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a cross section of the lid body virtually cut along line AA in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing a power storage device according to another embodiment from above. FIG. 6 is a plan view schematically showing a power storage device according to another embodiment from above. FIG. 7 is a plan view schematically showing a power storage device according to another embodiment from above. FIG. 8 is a plan view schematically showing a power storage device according to another embodiment from above.

  Next, an embodiment of a power storage device according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, the following embodiment is only what showed an example of the electrical storage element which concerns on this invention. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is defined by the wording of the claims with reference to the following embodiments, and is not limited to the following embodiments. Therefore, among the constituent elements in the following embodiments, constituent elements that are not described in the independent claims indicating the highest concept of the present invention are not necessarily required to achieve the object of the present invention. It will be described as constituting a preferred form.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a power storage element.

  FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the power storage element from above.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing the inside of the electricity storage device with a part of the housing omitted.

  As shown in these drawings, the storage element 100 is a so-called battery that can be charged and discharged, and includes a housing 101, a safety valve 102, and a thin portion 103.

  The housing 101 is a box-shaped member that accommodates the electrode body 104 in a sealed state. In the case of the present embodiment, the housing 101 includes a container-like main body 112 and a lid body 111 that closes an opening of the main body 112.

  In addition, the material which comprises the housing | casing 101 is not specifically limited, For example, stainless steel, aluminum (alloy), etc. which are highly rigid materials can be illustrated. Further, the main body 112 and the lid body 111 are joined in a sealed state by welding or the like, for example, to form the housing 101.

  Further, the lid body 111 mechanically holds the electrode body 104 and is electrically connected to the current collector 105 and is electrically connected to the electrode body 104. The electrode terminal 106 for electrically connecting with the electrode body 104 from the outside is attached. In order to insulate the current collector 105 and the electrode terminal 106 from the lid 111, the current collector 105 and the electrode terminal 106 are attached to the lid 111 via an insulating member 113.

  When the pressure inside the casing 101 exceeds the first threshold value (first operating pressure), the safety valve 102 itself breaks to release the sealed state of the casing 101, and gas or the like is released to the outside of the casing 101. It is a member to be released. In the case of the present embodiment, the safety valve 102 is attached by welding or the like so as to close a through hole provided in the lid 111. The safety valve 102 is thinner than the casing 101 (lid 111) and has a mechanical strength weaker than that of the casing 101 (lid 111).

  FIG. 4 is a side view showing a cross section of the lid body virtually cut along line AA in FIG. 2.

  As shown in these drawings, the thin-walled portion 103 is a portion formed in the housing 101 (lid body 111) by forming a part of the housing 101 (lid body 111) into a thin shape. This is a portion extending toward the safety valve 102. In the case of the present embodiment, the thin-walled portion 103 is linear, and is arranged in such a manner that one end reaches the vicinity of the safety valve 102. The thin-walled portion 103 is a portion that expands an opening through which gas is released when the pressure inside the housing 101 exceeds a second threshold (second operating pressure) that is higher than the first threshold. Here, the vicinity of the safety valve 102 means that the thinned portion 103 that has been broken when the thinned portion 103 is broken and the safety valve 102 that has already been broken, or the through-hole in which the safety valve 102 is provided are the housing 101 (lid body). 111).

  In the case of the present embodiment, the thin portion 103 includes a first thin portion 131 and a second thin portion 132, and the first thin portion 131 and the second thin portion 132 are disposed across the safety valve 102, and Are arranged on the same axis (see FIG. 2). By arranging the first thin portion 131 and the second thin portion 132 in this way, the fracture occurs symmetrically (equally) with the safety valve 102 as the center, and the safety valve 102 exists (exists) at the central portion of the gas release. ) Position.

  The thin portion 103 is provided on the lid 111. Accordingly, when the lid 111 is provided with a through hole for attaching the safety valve 102 and a rivet hole through which a rivet for connecting the current collector 105 and the electrode terminal 106 is provided, the thin portion 103 may be formed at the same time. Therefore, the manufacturing efficiency of the power storage element can be improved.

  In addition, the formation method of the thin part 103 is not specifically limited, For example, a plastic deformation process like a punch press and cutting can be illustrated.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing a power storage device according to another embodiment from above.

  As shown in the figure, the power storage element 100 includes a stop thin portion 133 that intersects with an end portion of the thin portion 103 far from the safety valve 102. The stop thin portion 133 is a thin groove provided in the casing 101 similar to the thin portion 103. In the case of the present embodiment, the stop thin portion 133 is provided on the lid 111 and is disposed so as to be orthogonal to the thin portion 103. Moreover, the thin part 103 is arrange | positioned in the state which faced the intermediate part of the stop thin part 133, and the stop thin part 133 and the thin part 103 form T shape.

  As described above, by providing the stop thin portion 133 that intersects the end portion of the thin portion 103, the thin portion 103 breaks when the pressure in the housing becomes equal to or higher than the second threshold (second operating pressure). It is possible to stop the rupture of the casing 101 (the lid 111) from extending to the opposite side of the safety valve 102 by the stop thin portion 133. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the housing 101 from opening into an unexpected shape (size) and to prevent the electrode body 104 and the like from being exposed from the housing 101.

  Note that the thin portion 103 may be not only in a state of being abutted against the stop thin portion 133 but also in a state of being penetrated (for example, a plus sign shape), and a state in which the thin portion 103 and the stop thin portion 133 are abutted against each other (for example, L-shaped).

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. For example, another embodiment realized by arbitrarily combining the components described in this specification and excluding some of the components may be used as an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the present invention includes modifications obtained by making various modifications conceivable by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention, that is, the meaning described in the claims. It is.

  For example, the shape of the safety valve 102 is not limited to a circle, and an arbitrary shape such as a rectangle can be adopted. The safety valve 102 and the thin wall portion 103 may be provided at any location of the housing 101, and may be provided at the main body 112, for example.

  Further, the number of the thin wall portions 103 is not limited to two, but may be one or three or more as shown in FIG.

  Further, the thin-walled portion 103 is not only independently present, but also the ends of the two thin-walled portions 103 extending in a straight line as shown in FIG. It does not matter even if it is.

  Further, the thin portion 103 may be not only a straight line but also a curved line as shown in FIG. Further, the end portions on the side close to the safety valve 102 of the two thin-walled portions 103 of the curve may be combined to form a U shape.

  The present invention can be applied to a power storage element including a battery such as a lithium ion battery, a capacitor, and the like, and is particularly applicable to a power storage element including a rigid housing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Power storage element 101 Case 102 Safety valve 103 Thin part 104 Electrode body 105 Current collector 106 Electrode terminal 111 Lid body 112 Main body 113 Insulation member 131 First thin part 132 Second thin part 133 Stop thin part

Claims (4)

A housing that houses the electrode body in a sealed state;
A safety valve provided in the casing that opens the sealed state of the casing by an increase in pressure inside the casing;
A thin wall portion extending toward the safety valve and provided in the vicinity of the safety valve;
An electrode terminal,
The housing includes a container-like main body, and a lid having a long side and a short side that close the opening of the main body,
The electrode terminals are arranged at both ends in the long side direction of the lid,
The safety valve is disposed between the electrode terminals;
The thin-film portion is disposed between the safety valve and the electrode terminal, extends in a direction from the electrode terminal toward the safety valve, and is disposed along a long side of the lid. further,
The electric storage element according to claim 1, further comprising a stop thin portion that intersects the thin portion. The thin portion is linear,
The electric storage element according to claim 2, wherein the stop thin portion intersects an end portion of the thin portion that is far from the safety valve. The thin portion includes a first thin portion and a second thin portion,
The power storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first thin portion and the second thin portion are disposed across the safety valve and disposed on the same axis.

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