Disclosure of Invention
In view of this, it is necessary to provide battery modules with good mutual fixation and high space utilization efficiency, aiming at the problems of poor mutual fixation and low space utilization efficiency of the existing battery modules.
A battery module, comprising:
the battery pack is formed by arranging a plurality of cylindrical single batteries in parallel;
and an outer fixing body fixed outside the battery pack;
the outer fixing body comprises a first side surface and a second side surface opposite to the first side surface;
a first concave-convex structure is arranged on the first side surface; and a second concave-convex structure which can be embedded with the first concave-convex structure of the adjacent battery module is arranged on the second side surface.
Compared with the prior art, the battery module has the advantages that the concave-convex structures are arranged on the first side surface and the second side surface, and the adjacent battery modules can be embedded in the concave-convex structures, so that all the battery modules in the battery assembly form a whole. When the battery module is shaken or vibrated, the battery modules are not easy to displace and are firmly fixed. In addition, due to the concave-convex structure, the dead angle position of the cylindrical single battery can be fully utilized, the space in the battery module is fully utilized, and the effective space utilization rate is improved.
In one embodiment, the first concave-convex structure comprises at least two ribs which are arranged in parallel and spaced; the second concave-convex structure comprises at least two grooves which are arranged at intervals and in parallel; the extending directions of the convex ribs and the grooves are parallel to the extending direction of the single batteries.
In one embodiment, the unit cells are arranged in a row in a direction from the first side to the second side; two adjacent rows of single batteries are staggered.
In one embodiment, the external fixation body further comprises a third side and a fourth side between the first side and the second side; an inner groove is formed on the third side surface and/or the fourth side surface; the inner grooves extend along the directions of both ends of the outer fixing body.
In one embodiment, the battery module comprises an external connection piece for leading out the current of the battery pack to the outside of the external fixing body; the outer connecting piece is positioned in the inner groove.
In one embodiment, the external fixing body comprises a first frame seat used for fixing one end of the battery pack and a second frame seat used for fixing the other end of the battery pack; the first frame seat and the second frame seat are spaced.
In one embodiment, the battery module further includes a bracket located between the first frame seat and the second frame seat, and the bracket is provided with a through hole for the single battery to pass through.
In one embodiment, the outer fixture is a closed enclosure.
In one embodiment, the battery module further comprises a heat conducting glue filled between the single battery and the shell.
The invention also provides a battery pack.
A battery assembly is formed by mutually connecting a plurality of battery modules; the battery module is the battery module provided by the invention.
The battery component is formed by adopting the battery modules provided by the invention, and the adjacent battery modules are embedded, so that the interior of the battery component is firmer, and the volume of the battery component is reduced.
Detailed Description
In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the present invention is described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or intervening elements may also be present. The terms "vertical," "horizontal," "left," "right," and the like as used herein are for illustrative purposes only and do not represent the only embodiments.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terminology used herein in the description of the invention is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Referring to fig. 1 to 4, a battery module 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a battery pack 600 and an external fixture.
The battery pack 600 is a core component of the battery module 1000 and provides electric energy to the entire battery module. Referring to fig. 1 and 3, the battery pack 600 is formed by arranging a plurality of cylindrical unit cells 610 in parallel. That is, the unit cell 610 is a cylindrical battery. Such that the positive terminal of the unit cell 610 is positioned at one end of the cylinder (which is defined as the positive terminal of the unit cell 610) and the negative terminal is positioned at the other end of the cylinder (which is defined as the negative terminal of the unit cell 610). In the battery pack 600, since all the unit cells 610 are arranged in parallel, the positive electrodes of all the unit cells 610 are located at one end of the battery pack 600 (which is defined as the positive electrode end of the battery pack 600), and the negative electrodes of all the unit cells 610 are located at the other end of the battery pack 600 (which is defined as the negative electrode end of the battery pack 600).
The main function of the external fixing body is to at least partially accommodate the battery pack 600 and fix the battery pack 600 in the external fixing body. That is, the external fixture is fixed to the outside of the battery pack 600.
Referring to fig. 2 and 3 in combination, specifically, the external fixation body includes a first side surface (a right side surface in fig. 3), a second side surface (a left side surface in fig. 3) disposed opposite to the first side surface, and a third side surface (an upper side surface in fig. 3) and a fourth side surface (a lower side surface in fig. 3) between the first side surface and the second side surface.
A first concave-convex structure is arranged on the first side surface; and a second concave-convex structure is arranged on the second side surface. The first concave-convex structure in one battery module 1000 can be mutually embedded with the second concave-convex structure of an adjacent battery module 1000; similarly, the second concave-convex structure of one battery module 1000 can be fitted to the first concave-convex structure of another adjacent battery module 1000. In this way, the adjacent battery modules 1000 may be fitted through the concavo-convex structure, so that all the battery modules 1000 in the battery assembly are formed as a single body. When the battery assembly is shaken or vibrated, the battery modules 1000 are not easily displaced from each other, and the battery modules 1000 are firmly fixed. In addition, due to the concave-convex structure, dead angle positions between the edge cylindrical single batteries and the straight surface of the side wall of the external fixing body can be fully utilized, so that the space in the battery module is fully utilized, and the effective utilization rate of the space is improved.
In this embodiment, the first concave-convex structure includes two ribs 402 disposed in parallel and spaced apart; the rib 402 protrudes out of the plane of the remainder of the first side; in contrast, a concave portion is formed between the two projected ridges 402. The second concave-convex structure comprises two grooves 401 which are arranged at intervals and in parallel; the groove 401 is recessed into the plane of the rest of the second side; in contrast, a projection is formed at a portion between the two grooves 401. Specifically, the extending direction of the ribs 402 and the grooves 401 is parallel to the extending direction of the unit cells 610. That is, the rib 402 and the groove 401 extend in the up-down direction in fig. 2.
Referring to fig. 3, in the present embodiment, the unit cells 610 in the battery pack 600 are arranged in rows in a first side to second side direction (i.e., left and right direction in fig. 3); that is, the battery pack 600 is composed of a plurality of battery rows, and the unit cells 610 in each battery row are arranged in the left-right direction in fig. 3. More specifically, the unit cells in the battery pack 600 are arranged in staggered rows, that is, adjacent two battery rows are staggered from each other. So that the centers of the unit cells 610 of the battery row and the centers of two adjacent unit cells 610 of the adjacent battery row form a regular triangle. Thus, the gaps between the single batteries are smaller, the single batteries 610 are arranged more tightly, and the space occupied by the battery pack 600 can be further saved.
In the present embodiment, the battery pack 600 is composed of 5 battery rows, each of which is composed of 8 unit batteries 610. The inner parts of the two ribs 402 just accommodate the protruding parts of the unit cells 610 in staggered rows, that is, the two ribs 402 just accommodate the half unit cells 610 protruding from the right sides of the second row and the fourth row respectively; at the same time, the groove 401 occupies just the recessed portion of the cell 610 at the other end of the battery row. Namely, the two grooves 401 are just recessed into the space from which the half cells 610 on the left side of the second and fourth rows flow out respectively; this allows the external fixture to be substantially disposed along the outer contour of the staggered battery pack 600, thereby further effectively utilizing the space of the battery module 1000 and disposing more unit cells 610 in the effective space.
Of course, it is understood that the number of ribs 402 is not limited to two, and may be greater than two, such as three, four, etc. Likewise, the number of the grooves 401 is not limited to two, and may be more than two, for example, three, four, etc. The rib 402 may be disposed opposite to the groove 401 such that the first side surface can be engaged with the second side surface of the adjacent battery module.
Referring to fig. 2 and 3 in combination, in the present embodiment, inner grooves 405 are formed on the third side and the fourth side; the inner grooves 405 extend in both end directions of the outer fixing body, that is, in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface in fig. 3.
In this embodiment, the battery module 1000 further includes an external connection piece 210 for drawing out the current of the battery pack 600 outside the external fixture; the interconnector plates 210 are positioned within the inner recess 405. When the battery modules 1000 are coupled to each other to form a battery assembly, since the external connection tabs 210 are located in the inner grooves 405, the conductive coupling bars are also located in the inner grooves 405. Therefore, the inner grooves form a protection space for the conductive connecting strips, and the conductive connecting strips can be prevented from colliding with other objects, or the conductive connecting strips are prevented from being conductive to other objects, so that electric leakage or other potential safety hazards are caused.
It will of course be appreciated that only one inner recess may be provided, either on the third side or on the fourth side.
Referring to fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the conductive unit is composed of a first conductive sheet 200a, a first soldering sheet 300a, a second soldering sheet 300b, and a second conductive sheet 200 b.
The first welding tab 300a is electrically connected to the positive terminal of the unit cell 610, and more particularly, the welding teeth of the first welding tab 300a are welded to the positive terminal of the unit cell 610. The first conductive sheet 200a is electrically connected to the first soldering terminal 300a, so that the positive electrode current collected by the first soldering terminal 300a is conducted to the first conductive sheet 200a, and then led out of the external fixing body through the external connection sheet 210.
Likewise, the second welding tab 300b is electrically connected to the negative terminal of the unit cell 610, and more particularly, the welding teeth on the second welding tab 300b are welded to the negative terminal of the unit cell 610. The second conductive sheet 200b is electrically connected to the second tab 300b, so that the negative electrode current collected at the second tab 300b is conducted to the second conductive sheet 200b and then led out of the external fixture through the external connection tab 210.
Of course, it is understood that the current drawing of each unit cell 610 in the battery pack 600 is not limited to the above-described structure, and other structures known to those skilled in the art may be used.
Referring to fig. 1 and 2 in combination, in the present embodiment, the external fixing body is a closed type housing.
In the present embodiment, the housing is composed of a first cover plate 100a, a first case 400a, a second case 400b, and a second cover plate 100 a. The first frame 400a and the second frame 400b are both in the shape of a ring with two open ends. In the present embodiment, the first frame case 400a and the second frame case 400b have a substantially square ring shape.
The first frame case 400a is sleeved outside the positive terminal of the battery pack 600; the second frame case 400b is sleeved outside the negative electrode end of the battery pack 600; the first cover plate 100a is covered on the first casing 400a, so that one end of the first casing 400a far away from the second casing 400b is closed; the second cover plate 100b is covered on the second casing 400b, so that the end of the second casing 400b far away from the first casing 400a is closed; the other end of the first frame case 400a and the other end of the second frame case 400b are in contact to be closed with each other; so that the first cover plate 100a, the first casing 400a, the second casing 400b, and the second cover plate 100a form a closed cavity. The battery pack 600 is located within the cavity.
Referring to fig. 4 in combination with fig. 1, in order to further fix the battery pack 600, a first bracket 410 for fixing a positive terminal of the battery pack 600 is provided in the first frame case 400 a; the first bracket 410 is provided with a plurality of first fixing holes, and each first fixing hole fixes the positive terminal of one unit battery 610. In this way, the positive terminals of all the unit batteries 610 are fixed to the first fixing frame 410 and further to the first frame case 400a, thereby preventing the unit batteries 610 from shaking inside the casing. Similarly, a second holder 420 for fixing the negative terminal of the battery pack 600 is provided in the second frame case 400 b; the second bracket 420 is provided with a plurality of second fixing holes, and each second fixing hole fixes the negative end of one unit battery 610. In this way, the negative terminals of all the unit batteries 610 are fixed on the second fixing frame 410 and further on the second frame shell 400a, so that the unit batteries 610 are prevented from shaking in the housing.
Referring to fig. 3, the battery module 1000 further includes a thermally conductive paste (not shown). The heat conductive paste fills the gap between the unit battery 610 and the case. That is, the heat-conducting glue exhausts the air between the single battery and the housing, and the heat-conducting glue occupies the original air position. Thus, the heat conducting glue wraps the single battery 610, and the heat generated by the single battery 610 is transferred to the housing through the heat conducting glue, so that the heat of the single battery 610 is dissipated. Because the air is hot bad conductor, and the coefficient of heat conduction of heat-conducting glue is higher, so can transmit the heat of single cell 610 to the shell very fast, the rethread shell distributes away to can effectively reduce the operating temperature of group battery 600 during operation, effectively promote the performance of group battery 600, improve its security performance.
In addition, since the thermally conductive adhesive has viscosity, the unit cell 610 may be further fixed in the case, thereby securing the battery pack 600 more firmly.
In this embodiment, the heat conductive adhesive is a heat conductive silicone. Of course, it is understood that the heat conductive adhesive of the present invention is not limited to the heat conductive silicone rubber, and other heat conductive adhesives may be selected.
Referring to fig. 2, in the present embodiment, a glue filling opening 409 is formed on a side wall of the housing. When the heat-conducting glue needs to be poured, the glue solution is input into the shell through the glue pouring port 409. The number of the glue filling openings is not limited to one, and can be a plurality of glue filling openings. Similarly, the position of the glue filling opening 409 is not limited to the side wall of the housing, but may be the top wall of the housing, or other suitable position.
In order to fill the glue more smoothly, an air outlet 408 is further formed on the side wall of the housing. Like this when the encapsulating, the atmospheric pressure resistance when reducing the encapsulating that overflows of the air of being convenient for avoids the production of encapsulating in-process bubble simultaneously to finally avoid the bubble structure in the heat conduction glue, thereby make the heat conduction glue inseparabler with battery cell 610 and shell combination ground, improve the heat conduction efficiency of heat conduction glue.
Further, the glue filling opening 409 and the air exhaust opening 408 are respectively located on two opposite side walls of the housing. This may further facilitate air spillage.
In this embodiment, two glue filling openings 409 are respectively located on the front side wall of the first frame 400a and the front side wall of the second frame 400 b. The exhaust ports 408 are also two and are respectively formed on the rear sidewall of the first frame case 400 and the rear sidewall of the second frame case 400 b.
Fig. 5 to 6 are schematic structural views of a battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention. The first cover plate 100a, the first conductive sheet 200a, the first welding tab 300a, the second cover plate 100b, the second conductive sheet 200b, the second welding tab 300b, the rib 402, the groove 401, and the inner groove 405 of this embodiment are the same as those of the previous embodiment, and are not described again here.
The difference between this embodiment and the previous embodiment is that the outer fixing body is non-enclosed. The first casing 400a and the second casing 400b are not in contact with each other, but have a certain interval therebetween. The first casing 400a and the second casing 400b are substantially the same as those of the previous embodiment, and it can be understood with reference thereto.
In this embodiment, the battery module 2000 does not include a thermal conductive adhesive.
In order to enhance the fixing effect of the external fixing body, the battery module 2000 in this embodiment further includes a bracket 500, and the bracket 500 is located between the first frame 400a and the second frame 400 b. The bracket 500 is provided with a through hole 501 for the single battery 610 to pass through. That is, the middle of the unit cell 610 is fixed at the through hole 501. This makes it possible to integrate the battery module 2000 and to fix the battery pack 600 more firmly.
The invention also provides a battery pack.
A battery assembly is formed by mutually connecting a plurality of battery modules. The battery module is the battery module provided by the invention.
Other components of the battery assembly may be used as known to those skilled in the art and will not be described herein.
The battery component is formed by adopting the battery modules provided by the invention, and the adjacent battery modules are embedded, so that the interior of the battery component is firmer, and the volume of the battery component is reduced.
The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.
The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present invention, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the scope of the invention. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the inventive concept, which falls within the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.