A battery module and automatic assembly method thereof

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery module and an automatic assembly method thereof. The battery module may include a busbar assembly, a plurality of battery cells and a shell assembly, wherein the busbar assembly is connected to the shell assembly and encloses a cavity, each of the battery cells has a tab and is arranged in the cavity, and the busbar bracket of the busbar assembly includes a body and a plurality of guide structures extending downward from the body and spaced apart from each other, wherein the guide structure is inserted from top to bottom into the gap between the tabs of each of the battery cells so that the tabs are automatically grouped, and the busbar assembly is electrically connected to the tabs. The busbar bracket of the present invention has a better guiding effect, so that the battery cell tabs can be better grouped, and it is easier to realize the automatic assembly of the soft package module, improve the grouping efficiency of the module, and reduce the scrap rate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of power batteries, and in particular to a battery module. Background Art

[0002] Compared with other batteries, soft-pack power batteries have the characteristics of high energy density, low cost and long life. However, soft-pack battery modules also have the disadvantages of difficulty in automated assembly, low grouping efficiency, and easy leakage, resulting in low yield rate.

[0003] The main reason why soft-pack battery modules cannot be assembled automatically is that the busbar and its assembly are difficult to assemble. The existing technical solutions in the industry have not completely solved this problem. For example, Chinese invention patent application CN107925028A discloses a battery module with a Figure 2 It can be seen that the busbar assembly (busbar assembly) hits the two ends of the battery cell from the side. Since the pole ears of the battery cell are soft, the existing busbar and its assembly cannot accurately insert the pole ears into the busbar during assembly. This requires manual assisted assembly inspection. The role of manual assembly here is mainly to adjust the position of the pole ears so that the pole ears can be accurately inserted into the busbar.

[0004] In addition, there is a protruding point at the bottom of the soft-pack battery cell. When the protruding point directly contacts the bottom of the shell, it is very easy to cause the battery cell to leak, resulting in a decrease in the module yield.

[0005] Since the shell strength of soft-pack battery cells is very poor, many parts need to be designed on the module to protect the battery cells. This design will greatly reduce the module assembly efficiency. Summary of the invention

[0006] The object of the present invention is to provide a battery module which can effectively solve the problem of soft-pack module assembly automation, while improving the module grouping efficiency and reducing the scrap rate.

[0007] To achieve the above purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0008] According to one aspect of the present invention, a battery module is provided, which may include a bus assembly, a plurality of battery cells and a shell assembly, wherein the bus assembly is connected to the shell assembly and encloses a cavity, each of the battery cells has a pole ear and is arranged in the cavity, and the bus bracket of the bus assembly includes a main body and a plurality of guide structures extending downward from the main body and spaced apart from each other, the guide structures are inserted from top to bottom into the gaps between the pole ears of each of the battery cells so that the pole ears are automatically grouped, and the bus assembly is electrically connected to the pole ears.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the plurality of guide structures form a comb-like structure.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the end of the guide structure is triangular or trapezoidal.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the bus assembly includes an integrated upper cover, a bus bracket and a bus, wherein the bus bracket is connected to both ends of the upper cover, and the bus is fixedly mounted on the bus bracket and electrically connected to the tab.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the bus bracket is connected to both ends of the upper cover by hot melting, welding, gluing or snap connection, and / or the bus bracket is connected to the bus by hot melting, welding, gluing or snap connection.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the housing assembly includes a U-shaped bottom plate, and the U-shaped bottom plate, the upper cover and the busbar bracket form the cavity.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the shell assembly also includes a battery cell support frame, which is installed on both ends of the bottom of the U-shaped bottom plate and is used to support the battery cell to avoid the battery cell protruding points on the bottom of the battery cell contacting the U-shaped bottom plate.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the battery cell support frame is connected to the bottom by hot melting, welding, gluing or snap connection.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, the battery cell support frame includes a flat fixing portion and a supporting portion extending outwardly and upwardly from the outer side of the fixing portion, the fixing portion is fixed on the bottom of the U-shaped bottom plate, and the supporting portion is used to support the battery cell.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, the cell support frame cooperates with the busbar support to position the busbar support.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, a positioning groove is provided on the fixing portion, and the end of the busbar bracket is positioned in the positioning groove.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, the battery module further includes an end plate assembly, and the end plate assembly is connected to the busbar bracket.

[0020] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for automatically assembling the battery module as described above, which may include the following steps:

[0021] S1. Automatically align and stack multiple batteries in sequence;

[0022] S2. Automatically align the guide structures of the two busbar assemblies with the gaps between the tabs at both ends of the stacked multiple battery cells and insert them into the gaps between the tabs from top to bottom, and then weld the tabs to the busbars of the busbar assembly to form an integral body of the battery cell and the busbar assembly;

[0023] S3. Automatically assemble the assembled busbar assembly and battery cells into the shell assembly to form a battery module without an end plate assembly.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment, the automatic assembly method further comprises the step of: S4. automatically assembling the end plate assembly onto the bus bar assembly at both ends of the battery module.

[0025] In a preferred embodiment, when the bus assembly includes an upper cover, a bus bracket and a bus that are integrated together, the method further includes the step of automatically assembling the upper cover, the bus bracket and the bus into the bus assembly in advance.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, when the housing assembly includes a U-shaped bottom plate and a battery cell support frame, the method includes the step of automatically assembling the U-shaped bottom plate and the battery cell support frame into the housing assembly in advance.

[0027] The present invention adopts the above technical solution, which has the beneficial effect that the busbar bracket of the present invention has a better guiding effect, so that the battery cell tabs can be better grouped, it is easier to realize the automatic assembly of the soft package module, improve the grouping efficiency of the module, and reduce the scrap rate. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional diagram of the battery module of the present invention.

[0029] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 An exploded view of the battery module shown;

[0030] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 The busbar support of the battery module shown is inserted into the battery cell tab assembly diagram;

[0031] Figure 4 yes Figure 1 An exploded view of the busbar assembly of the battery module shown;

[0032] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of a battery module is shown, wherein an enlarged portion shows the positional relationship between the battery cell support frame, the battery cell and the base plate;

[0033] Figure 6 yes Figure 1An exploded view of the housing assembly of the battery module shown;

[0034] Figure 7 The automatic assembly process of the battery module of the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings so that the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention can be more clearly understood. It should be understood that the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are only intended to illustrate the essential spirit of the technical solution of the present invention.

[0036] In the following description, certain specific details are set forth for the purpose of illustrating various disclosed embodiments to provide a thorough understanding of the various disclosed embodiments. However, those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that the embodiments may be practiced without one or more of these specific details. In other cases, well-known devices, structures, and techniques associated with the present application may not be shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of the embodiments.

[0037] Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, the word "comprise" and variations such as "include" and "have" should be construed in an open, inclusive sense, ie, should be interpreted as "including, but not limited to."

[0038] References throughout the specification to "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any manner in one or more embodiments.

[0039] As used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. It should be noted that the term "or" is generally employed in its sense including "and / or" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0040] In the following description, in order to clearly show the structure and working mode of the present invention, many directional words will be used for description, but the words "front", "back", "left", "right", "outside", "inside", "outward", "inward", "up", "down", etc. should be understood as convenient terms and should not be understood as restrictive terms.

[0041] See also Figure 1 and 2 ,in, Figure 1 is a three-dimensional diagram of a battery module 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2: is an exploded view of the battery module 1, wherein the end plate assembly is not shown. The embodiment of the present invention provides a battery module 1, which may be a soft-pack battery, for example, and may be applied to the field of electric vehicles or similar industrial fields.

[0042] like Figure 2-4 As shown, the battery module 1 may include a busbar assembly 11, a battery cell 12, a shell assembly 13 and an end plate assembly 14, wherein the busbar assembly 11 is connected to the shell assembly 13 and encloses a cavity, the battery cell 12 is arranged in the cavity, and the battery cell pole ears 121 are provided at both ends. The busbar assembly 11 includes an integrated upper cover 111, two busbar brackets 112 and a plurality of (two at each end are shown) busbars 113. The two busbar brackets 112 are respectively connected to the two ends of the upper cover 111, and the busbar 113 is fixedly mounted on the busbar bracket 112. Since the upper cover 111, the busbar bracket 112 and the busbar 113 are integrated into one component, the space utilization efficiency of the module can be improved. The busbar bracket 112 is a roughly rectangular plate-shaped member. The busbar bracket 112 includes a body 1120 and a plurality of mutually spaced guide structures 1121 extending from the body 1120. A plurality of guide structures 1121 form a comb-like structure. Each guide structure 1121 is in the form of a sheet. As required, the sizes of each guide structure 1121 can be the same or different. Preferably, the ends of the guide structures 1121 are in a triangular or trapezoidal structure for easy guidance. Each guide structure 1121 can be inserted from top to bottom into the gap 122 between the tabs 121 of adjacent battery cells 12, thereby separating the tabs 121 of adjacent battery cells and isolating them into multiple groups for series and parallel connection. Figure 3 The assembly process of inserting the busbar bracket 112 into the pole lug 121 of the battery cell is shown, and the arrow in the figure indicates the insertion direction. The guide structure 1121 enables the pole lugs 121 of the battery cell to be automatically grouped, thereby realizing automated assembly and improving assembly efficiency. Preferably, the guide structure 1121 is inserted close to the root of the pole lug 121, which can ensure that the pole lug 121 is correctly grouped. Because the hardness of the root position of the pole lug 121 is relatively large, the pole lug 121 can be fully separated and will not be stacked together. The busbar 113 is electrically connected to the pole lug 121 to realize voltage collection and charging and discharging of the battery cell 12. The busbar 113 is roughly m-shaped. Specifically, the busbar 113 includes a middle portion 1130 and two side portions 1131, wherein the middle portion 1130 is wider than the two side portions 1131, and the gap 1132 between the middle portion 1130 and the two side portions 1131 is narrower than the two side portions 1131. The end plate assembly 14 is connected to the busbar support 112 (eg, by snap connection, etc.) to encapsulate the busbar 113 and the battery cell 12, thereby achieving the encapsulation of the battery module. In some embodiments, the battery module may not provide the end plate assembly 14.

[0043] like Figure 4As shown, the connection between the upper cover 111 and the bus bracket 112 adopts a snap connection. Specifically, a plurality of countersunk holes 1111 are provided at the left and right ends of the upper cover 111, wherein three countersunk holes 1111 are provided at the left end and four countersunk holes 1111 are provided at the right end (the two in the middle are closer to each other); a snap 1122 corresponding to the countersunk holes 1111 is provided on the top of the bus bracket 112. Similarly, the connection between the bus 113 and the bus bracket 112 also adopts a snap connection. Specifically, a through hole 1133 is provided at the upper and lower ends of the bus 113 (middle part 1130), respectively, and correspondingly, a snap 1123 corresponding to the through hole 1133 is provided on the side of the bus bracket 112.

[0044] It should be understood that the connection between the upper cover 111 and the bus bracket 112 and the connection between the bus bracket 112 and the bus 113 are not limited to the aforementioned snap connection method, and common connection methods such as hot melting, welding or gluing may also be used.

[0045] like Figure 2 , 5 As shown in Figures 6 and 7, in this embodiment, the shell assembly 13 may include a U-shaped bottom plate 131 and a battery cell support frame 132. The U-shaped bottom plate 131, the upper cover 111 and the busbar support 112 form a cavity for accommodating the battery cell 12. The U-shaped bottom plate 131 may be formed by bending a metal plate (for example, an aluminum plate, an aluminum alloy plate, a galvanized plate or a stainless steel plate, etc.). The battery cell support frame 132 is fixed on the inner side of the bottom of the U-shaped bottom plate 31, and is used to support the battery cell 12 to avoid direct contact between the battery cell protrusion 123 on the bottom of the battery cell 12 and the shell (specifically, the U-shaped bottom plate 131), thereby reducing the probability of leakage of the battery cell 12.

[0046] The cell support frame 132 includes a flat fixing portion 1320 and a supporting portion 1321 extending outwardly and upwardly from the outer side of the fixing portion 1320. The fixing portion 1320 can be fixed to the bottom of the U-shaped bottom plate 31 by a connection method such as hot melting, welding, gluing or snap connection. The supporting portion 1321 is used to support the cell 2. The supporting portion 1321 can be narrower than the fixing portion 1320. The inclination angle and height of the supporting portion 1321 can be designed according to the bottom shape of the cell 12, as long as it is ensured that the cell protrusion 123 does not directly contact the shell.

[0047] Continue reading Figure 2 and 5The cell support frame 132 cooperates with the busbar support 112 to position the busbar support 112. Specifically, the cell support frame 132 (specifically, the fixing portion 1320) is provided with a plurality of positioning grooves 1322 along the length direction (front-rear direction), and the shape and number of the positioning grooves 1322 correspond to the ends of the busbar support 112 (specifically, the guide structure 1121), so that the ends of the busbar support 112 can be inserted into the positioning grooves 1322 to achieve positioning.

[0048] The present invention has the following technical effects:

[0049] 1) The guide structure of the busbar bracket 112 is improved. The improved busbar bracket has a better guiding effect, which makes it easier to group the cell tabs 21, thus making it easier to realize the automated assembly of the soft package module.

[0050] 2) The busbar assembly 11 is designed in an integrated manner. Since the improved components have fewer parts, the space utilization rate of the module is higher.

[0051] 3) A cell support frame 132 is added to the housing assembly 13 to better protect the cell, prevent the cell from leaking, and improve the product yield.

[0052] Reference below Figure 7 , the automatic assembly method of the battery module 1 is described in detail, which may include the following steps:

[0053] S1. Automatically align and stack multiple batteries 12 in sequence, such as Figure 7 As shown in a and b;

[0054] S2. Automatically align the guide structures of the two busbar assemblies 11 with the gaps between the tabs 121 at both ends of the stacked multiple battery cells 12 and insert them from top to bottom into the gaps between the tabs 121, and then weld the tabs 121 and the busbar 113 of the busbar assembly 1 together (for example, by a welding robot), so that the battery cell 12 and the busbar assembly 11 are integrated, such as Figure 7 As shown in c and d;

[0055] S3. Automatically assemble the assembled busbar assembly 11 and the battery cell 12 together into the housing assembly 13 to form a battery module without an end plate assembly 14, such as Figure 7 As shown in e and f;

[0056] S4. Automatically assemble the end plate assembly 14 to the busbar assembly 11 at both ends of the battery module to form a final battery module 1, such as Figure 7 As shown in f and g.

[0057] In the case where the busbar assembly 11 includes an upper cover, a busbar support 112 and a busbar 113 integrated together (eg Figure 4 As shown), the automatic assembly method may further include the step of automatically assembling the upper cover 111, the bus bracket 112 and the bus 113 into the bus assembly 11 in advance.

[0058] In the case where the housing assembly 13 includes a U-shaped bottom plate 131 and a cell support frame 132 (such as Figure 5 As shown), the automatic assembly method may further include the step of automatically assembling the U-shaped bottom plate 131 and the battery cell support frame 132 into the shell assembly 13 in advance.

[0059] The entire assembly process is automated and does not require manual intervention, which greatly improves the assembly efficiency of the battery module 1 and reduces labor costs.

[0060] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, but it should be understood that after reading the above teachings of the present invention, those skilled in the art may make various changes or modifications to the present invention. These equivalent forms also fall within the scope defined by the appended claims of this application.

Claims

1. A battery module, characterized in that: The battery module includes a bus assembly, a plurality of battery cells and a shell assembly, wherein the bus assembly is connected to the shell assembly and encloses a cavity, each of the battery cells has a pole ear and is arranged in the cavity, and the bus assembly is pre-assembled into one body by an upper cover, a bus bracket and a bus, wherein the bus bracket is connected to both ends of the upper cover, the bus is fixedly mounted on the bus bracket and electrically connected to the pole ear, and the bus bracket includes a main body and a plurality of guide structures extending downward from the main body and spaced apart from each other, the guide structure is inserted from top to bottom into the gap between the pole ears of each of the battery cells so that the pole ears are automatically grouped.

2. The battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The plurality of guide structures form a comb-like structure.

3. The battery module according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The end of the guide structure is in a triangle or trapezoid shape.

4. The battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The busbar bracket is connected to both ends of the upper cover by hot melting, welding, gluing or snap connection, and / or the busbar bracket is connected to the busbar by hot melting, welding, gluing or snap connection.

5. The battery module according to claim 4, characterized in that: The housing assembly comprises a U-shaped bottom plate, and the U-shaped bottom plate, the upper cover and the busbar support form the cavity.

6. The battery module according to claim 5, characterized in that: The housing assembly also includes a cell support frame, which is installed on both ends of the bottom of the U-shaped bottom plate and is used to support the cell to prevent the cell protruding points on the bottom of the cell from contacting the U-shaped bottom plate.

7. The battery module according to claim 6, characterized in that: The battery cell support frame is connected to the bottom of the U-shaped bottom plate by hot melting, welding, gluing or snap connection.

8. The battery module according to claim 6, characterized in that: The battery cell support frame includes a flat fixing portion and a supporting portion extending outwardly and upwardly from the outer side of the fixing portion, wherein the fixing portion is fixed on the bottom of the U-shaped bottom plate, and the supporting portion is used to support the battery cell.

9. The battery module according to claim 8, characterized in that: The cell support frame cooperates with the busbar support to position the busbar support.

10. The battery module according to claim 9, characterized in that: The fixing portion is provided with a positioning groove, and the end of the busbar bracket is positioned in the positioning groove.

11. The battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The battery module also includes an end plate assembly, which is connected to the busbar bracket.

12. An automatic assembly method for a battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S0. Automatically assemble the upper cover, bus bracket and bus into a bus assembly; S1. Automatically align and stack multiple batteries in sequence; S2. Automatically align the guide structures of the two busbar assemblies with the gaps between the tabs at both ends of the stacked multiple battery cells and insert them into the gaps between the tabs from top to bottom, and then weld the tabs to the busbars of the busbar assembly to form an integral body of the battery cell and the busbar assembly; S3. Automatically assemble the assembled busbar assembly and battery cells into the shell assembly to form a battery module without an end plate assembly.

13. The automatic assembly method according to claim 12, characterized in that: Also includes the steps: S4. Automatically assemble the end plate assembly onto the busbar assembly at both ends of the battery module.

14. The automatic assembly method according to claim 12, characterized in that: In the case where the housing assembly includes a U-shaped bottom plate and a battery cell support frame, the method further includes the step of automatically assembling the U-shaped bottom plate and the battery cell support frame into the housing assembly in advance.

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