Conducting strip, battery module with replaced battery cell and method for replacing battery cell

Abstract

The invention discloses a conducting strip, a battery module with replaced battery cells and a method for replacing the battery cells, the conducting strip comprises an electrode connecting part, a secondary connecting part and a detachable connecting part, the electrode connecting part is used for connecting a plurality of battery cells of the battery module, and when a certain battery cell in the battery module breaks down, the secondary connecting part is connected with the detachable connecting part. After the plurality of dismounting connecting parts around the abnormal battery cell are dismounted to form a residual conducting strip, a new battery cell is replaced to the position of the removed abnormal battery cell, is covered by a new conducting strip and is electrically connected to the residual conducting strip through a secondary connecting part, and the new conducting strip is electrically connected with the new battery cell. And the whole battery module does not need to be scrapped, so that the maintenance effect is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a battery module that is convenient for repairing and replacing abnormal cells. Background Art

[0002] Lithium battery modules are now widely used in many industries such as power vehicles, industrial machinery and energy storage. As the demand for electricity increases, the number of cells in the battery module is relatively increasing. However, when a single cell in a battery module fails or is abnormal, the entire battery module often needs to be replaced, and it is impossible to repair a single cell, which is quite uneconomical.

[0003] Moreover, with the continuous advancement of technology, environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) indicators and the rise of environmental awareness, how to reduce the scrap rate of single batteries and achieve the effect of energy conservation and carbon reduction has become an urgent problem that needs to be solved. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the problems mentioned in the background art, the purpose of the present application is to provide a conductive sheet, a battery module with replaced cells, and a method for replacing cells, so that when a cell in the battery module fails, a single cell or multiple cells can be replaced without scrapping the entire battery module. The repair effect can be achieved by replacing a new conductive sheet.

[0005] According to the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides a conductive sheet, comprising a plurality of electrode connecting parts, a plurality of secondary connecting parts and a plurality of disassembly connecting parts, each of the electrode connecting parts is used to connect one of the plurality of battery cells of the battery module, the plurality of secondary connecting parts are respectively connected to the periphery of one of the plurality of electrode connecting parts, and the plurality of disassembly connecting parts are connected between any two adjacent ones of the plurality of electrode connecting parts.

[0006] According to the above purpose, the present application also provides a battery module with replaced cells, comprising a bracket, a plurality of cells and two conductive sheets. The two conductive sheets respectively include a residual conductive sheet and a new conductive sheet that are overlapped and electrically connected, at least one of the plurality of cells is a replacement cell, and each of the remaining cells is an original cell, the residual conductive sheet is electrically connected to the original cell, and the new conductive sheet is electrically connected to the replacement cell.

[0007] According to the above-mentioned purpose, the present application also provides a method for replacing battery cells in a battery module, which is applied to a battery module electrically connected to the conductive sheet, and the battery module has multiple battery cells, wherein the following steps are included: removing the multiple disassembly connection parts corresponding to the abnormal battery cells among the multiple battery cells, and the conductive sheet becomes a residual conductive sheet, removing the abnormal battery cell from the battery module, replacing a new battery cell to the position of the removed abnormal battery cell, covering a new conductive sheet on the residual conductive sheet, and electrically connecting the new battery cell, the residual conductive sheet and the new conductive sheet.

[0008] To summarize, in the present application, after a single or multiple cells of the battery module become abnormal, the abnormal cells can be replaced by simply removing the disassembly connection parts around the abnormal cells. At this time, the conductive sheet becomes a residual conductive sheet, but the purpose of replacement and maintenance can be achieved by simply installing a new conductive sheet on the residual conductive sheet. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 This is an embodiment of the conductive sheet of the present application.

[0010] Figure 2 This is another embodiment of the conductive sheet of the present application.

[0011] Figure 3 It is a schematic perspective exploded view of the first embodiment of the present application.

[0012] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the first embodiment of the present application before replacement.

[0013] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the appearance of the second embodiment of the present application before replacement.

[0014] Figure 6 It is a schematic perspective exploded view of the second embodiment of the present application.

[0015] Figure 7A to Figure 7F This is a schematic diagram of the replacement process of the first embodiment of the present application.

[0016] Figure 8A to Figure 8C This is a schematic diagram of the replacement process of the second embodiment of the present application.

[0017] Fig. 9 A flow chart of a method for replacing battery cells in a battery module of the present application.

[0018] Fig. 10A Another schematic diagram of the process of replacing battery cells in a battery module of the present application.

[0019] Fig. 10B This is another flow chart of the method for replacing battery cells in the battery module of the present application.

[0020] Fig. 10C This is another flowchart of the method for replacing battery cells in the battery module of the present application.

[0021] Explanation of the figure markings: 1-conductive sheet; 2-battery cell; 10-electrode connection part; 12, 12A, 12B-secondary connection part; 14-disassembly connection part; 16-residual conductive sheet; 160-residual electrode connection part; 162, 162A, 162B-residual secondary connection part; 164-residual disassembly connection part; 3-bracket; 30-receiving groove; 32-base; 34-first cover; 36-second cover; 340-first opening; 360-second opening; 38-slot; 39-baffle; 392-protrusion; 4-replacement battery cell; 5-new conductive sheet; 50-new electrode connection part; 52-new secondary connection part; 54-new disassembly connection part; 6-original battery cell; 7-abnormal battery cell. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The embodiments of the present application will be further explained below in conjunction with the relevant drawings. As much as possible, the same reference numerals represent the same or similar components in the drawings and the specification. In the drawings, components that are not specifically shown in the drawings or described in the specification may be known to those of ordinary skill in the art based on simplification and convenience. Those of ordinary skill in the art may make various changes and modifications based on the contents of the present application.

[0023] like Figures 1 to 6 As shown, in one embodiment, the conductive sheet 1 is connected to the electrodes of the multiple cells 2 of the battery module 2 to achieve the electrical connection of the multiple cells 2 in series, in parallel, or in series and in parallel. The conductive sheet 1 includes a plurality of electrode connecting portions 10, a plurality of secondary connecting portions 12, and a plurality of detachable connecting portions 14. Each of the electrode connecting portions 10 is used to connect one of the multiple cells 2 of the battery module 2. The plurality of secondary connecting portions 12 are respectively connected to the periphery of one of the plurality of electrode connecting portions 10. The plurality of detachable connecting portions 14 connect the plurality of electrode connecting portions 10 between any two adjacent ones. The plurality of detachable connecting portions 12 are higher than the plurality of electrode connecting portions 10.

[0024] In some embodiments, Figure 2 As shown, the electrode connection part 10 and the multiple secondary connection parts 12 connected thereto are in different planes, and the multiple secondary connection parts 12 are higher than the multiple electrode connection parts 10; in other embodiments, the electrode connection part 10 and the multiple secondary connection parts 12 connected thereto are in the same plane, more specifically, as Figure 1As shown, the multiple secondary connection parts 12 can also be divided into the multiple secondary connection parts 12A in the same plane as the electrode connection part 10, and the secondary connection parts 12B that can be bent to form a different plane from the electrode connection part 10. The purpose of the multiple detachable connection parts 14 or the multiple secondary connection parts 12 being higher than the multiple electrode connection parts 10 is to facilitate the removal or cutting of the detachable connection parts 12 when repairing and replacing the abnormal battery cell 7.

[0025] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments of the present application, the multiple cells 2 of the battery module 2 are installed in the bracket 3, and then the conductive sheet 1 is used to make the cells 2 achieve the desired series, parallel or series-parallel electrical connection. The bracket 3 is provided with a plurality of accommodating grooves 30, and the plurality of accommodating grooves 30 respectively have a first opening 340 and a second opening 360 opposite to each other. The plurality of cells 2 are respectively placed in the plurality of accommodating grooves 30.

[0026] The bracket 3 includes a base 32, a first cover 34 and a second cover 36. One end of the first cover 34 is disposed at one end of the base 32. One end of the second cover 36 is disposed at the other end of the base 32. The first cover 34 has the plurality of first openings 340. The second cover 36 has the plurality of second openings 360. Figure 3 As shown, when the first cover 34 and the second cover 36 are respectively covered on both sides of the base 32, the electrodes at both ends of the battery cell 2 are exposed at the positions of the plurality of first openings 340 and the plurality of second openings 360. In some embodiments, the bracket 3 can omit the base 32, or the first cover 34 and the second cover 36 can be extended and connected together to simplify the assembly process.

[0027] To prevent the battery cell from falling out of the receiving groove, the first opening 340 and the second opening 360 are smaller than the battery cell 2. For common forms, please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 5 , Figure 3 An annular baffle 39 is formed by extending inward from the outer edge of the hollow window. Figure 5 The baffle 39 is a baffle plate 39 having a plurality of protruding blocks 392 .

[0028] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 And with Figure 1 As shown, in one embodiment, as Figure 3As shown, the first opening 340 and the second opening 360 each have a slot 38, and the slot 38 is connected to the corresponding first opening 340 or the first opening 340. The conductive sheet 1 is respectively disposed on the top surface of the first cover 34 and the second cover 36, and the electrode connecting portion 10 is electrically connected to the battery cell 2 through the first opening 340 or the second opening 360. In this embodiment, the conductive sheet 1 extends from the electrode connecting portion 10 in the slot and then bends to the side of the first cover 34 or the second cover 36 to form the secondary connecting portion 12. In addition, the number of stacked layers of the battery cells 2 can be expanded to a battery pack of greater than or equal to 2. Figure 4 As shown, the disassembly connection portion 14 is connected between two electrode connection portions 10, and there is a gap between the top surfaces of the first cover 34 and the second cover 36. Each of the multiple electrode connection portions 10 of the conductive sheet 1 is connected to one end of the corresponding multiple battery cells 2. However, the present application is not limited to this in actual implementation, and multiple conductive sheets 1 can be set at one end and the other end of the bracket 3.

[0029] Please refer to the following for further details 7A to 7F As shown, when an abnormality occurs in one of the battery cells 2 (the abnormal battery cell is defined as the abnormal battery cell 7, and the battery cell without abnormality is defined as the original battery cell 6), since each electrode connecting portion 10 on the conductive sheet 1 is fixedly connected to the corresponding electrode of the battery cell 2, the first cover 34 and the second cover 36 are restricted by the conductive sheet 1, and the abnormal battery cell 7 cannot be easily replaced by a replacement battery cell 4 (i.e., a normal new battery cell) in the base 32.

[0030] Therefore, during maintenance and renovation, the detachable connecting portion 14 must be removed first, for example, by cutting the connection between the detachable connecting portion 14 and the electrode connecting portion 10 from the gap with a pair of scissors, so that the first cover 34 and the second cover 36 can be easily disconnected from the base 32. Figure 7B As shown, the conductive sheet from which the disassembly connection portion 14 is removed is defined as a residual conductive sheet 16 ; the connection portion between the residual conductive sheet 16 and the original battery cell 6 is defined as a residual electrode connection portion 160 .

[0031] However, when the first cover 34 and the second cover 36 are put back on the base, the replaced battery cell 4 is now in an isolated state without any electrical connection. Fig. 7E and Figure 7FThe new conductive sheet 5 is overlapped with the remaining conductive sheet 16. The new conductive sheet 5 is essentially the same as the conductive sheet 1 before refurbishment in structure. The electrode connection part of the new conductive sheet 5 is electrically connected to the replacement battery cell 4. The secondary connection part of the new conductive sheet 5 is connected to the secondary connection part of the remaining conductive sheet 16. The battery module with the replaced battery cell has completed the repair and refurbishment operation. For the convenience of description, the electrode connection part of the new conductive sheet 5 is defined as the new electrode connection part 50, the secondary connection part is the new secondary connection part 52, the disassembly connection part is the new disassembly connection part 54, and the part of the remaining conductive sheet 16 electrically connected to the new secondary connection part 52 is called the remaining secondary connection part 162.

[0032] It is worth noting that the new secondary connection part 52 can be divided into a new secondary connection part 52A in the same plane as the new electrode connection part 50, and 52B in a different plane, just like the secondary connection part 14. In the case of insufficient space, the secondary connection part 12, the new secondary connection part 52 and the remaining secondary connection part 162 can choose only the secondary connection part 12A, the new secondary connection part 52A and the remaining secondary connection part 162A; however, since the side space is relatively large and the position of the battery cell electrode is avoided, the secondary connection method can be more diverse, and the secondary connection part 12B is set on the side of the first cover body 34 and the second cover body 36, so that the residual secondary connection part 162A and the residual secondary connection part 162B are formed after the disassembly connection part 14 is removed. At this time, the new secondary connection part 52A is attached to the residual secondary connection part 162B, and the new secondary connection part 52B is laser welded to the residual secondary connection part 162B, so as to improve the stability of the combination of the new conductive sheet 5 and the residual conductive sheet 1.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 The bracket 3 of this embodiment is the same as the aforementioned Figure 3 and Figure 4 The embodiments of the present invention are similar, and the repeated parts are not repeated here, and only the differences are described in detail. In this embodiment, the secondary connection part 12 of the conductive sheet 1 is in a stepped shape with the electrode connection part 10. The secondary connection part 12 is higher than the electrode connection part 10, and its height can be less than or equal to the height of the detachable connection part 14 compared to the electrode connection part 10.

[0034] Please refer to the following for further reference FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C As shown in the above-mentioned similar scenario, when one of the cells in the battery cell 2 is abnormal, it can also be 7A to 7F The same process is used as described above, after removing all the disassembled connecting parts 14 and replacing the abnormal battery cell 7, a new conductive sheet 5 is stacked on the remaining conductive sheet 16. However, when the number of stacked layers of battery cells 2 increases, it means that the number of battery cells 2 increases, and the refurbishment procedure becomes complicated.

[0035] Therefore, if Fig. 8A As shown, it is only necessary to remove the disassembly connection portion 14 connected to the abnormal cell 7 and the baffle plate used to stop the abnormal cell 7 from falling off, so that the abnormal cell 7 can be replaced with the new cell 4, without removing the connection between the first cover 34, the second cover 36 and the base 32. The next step is to overlap the new conductive sheet 5 on the remaining conductive sheet 16 (as shown in FIG. Figure 8B ), and then the new secondary connection portion 52 is laser welded to the residual secondary connection portion 162 (as shown in Figure 8C shown).

[0036] It is worth noting that the detection of a specific single abnormal battery cell 7 can be carried out through current or other advanced methods, but the current technical means for detecting common battery cell abnormalities are mostly through voltage detection. Since the potentials of the same parallel battery cells are equal, it is impossible to know exactly which battery cell in the same parallel connection is the abnormal battery cell. However, this does not affect the application of the present application. The corresponding disassembly connection parts of the same parallel battery cells can be removed, and the effect of repair and refurbishment can be achieved.

[0037] Based on the description of the above embodiments, Fig. 9 As shown, a method for replacing a battery cell in a battery module, wherein the conductive sheet 1 is electrically connected to a battery module 2, wherein the battery module 2 has a plurality of battery cells 2, comprises the following steps:

[0038] (S101) removing the plurality of disassembly connection portions 14 corresponding to the periphery of the abnormal battery cell 7 among the plurality of battery cells 2, the conductive sheet 1 becomes a residual conductive sheet 16, and the remaining disassembly connection portions 14 become residual disassembly connection portions 164;

[0039] (S102) removing the abnormal battery cell 7 from the battery module 2 so that the corresponding receiving groove 30 forms an empty receiving groove 30, the electrode connecting portion 10 is the residual electrode connecting portion 160, the residual disassembly connecting portion 164, the residual secondary connecting portion 162 and the residual electrode connecting portion 160 become the residual conductive sheet 16, and the battery cell 2 is still connected to the residual electrode connecting portion 160, which is called the original battery cell 6;

[0040] (S103) replacing the replacement battery cell 4 to the position of the removed abnormal battery cell 7, that is, placing the replacement battery cell 4 into the vacant receiving slot 30; and

[0041] (S104) Covering a new conductive sheet 5 on the residual conductive sheet 16, the new conductive sheet 5 having at least one new electrode connecting portion 50 and at least one new secondary connecting portion 52, each of the at least one new electrode connecting portion 50 is respectively connected to one of the at least one new secondary connecting portion 52, and the new electrode connecting portion 50 is electrically connected to the new battery cell 4, and the new secondary connecting portion 52 overlaps with and is electrically connected to the secondary connecting portion 162 around the new battery cell.

[0042] Please refer to Fig. 10A As shown, the method for replacing a battery cell in a battery module further includes, after step S101:

[0043] (S105) Remove the first cover or the second cover.

[0044] Please refer to Fig. 10B As shown, when the conductive sheet restricts the first cover and the second cover so that the abnormal battery cell cannot be removed from the battery module, removing all the remaining disassembly connection portions 164 is performed ( S106 ) before step S105 .

[0045] However, if Fig. 10C As shown, due to the diverse electrical structures of various battery modules on the conductive sheet, if removing all the remaining disassembly connecting parts 164 still cannot remove the first cover or the second cover, or the number of battery cells is too large or the size is too large, executing steps S105 and S106 is too cumbersome and complicated. The method of the present application may also include, after step S101, (S108) removing the baffle 39 corresponding to the position of the abnormal battery cell 7.

[0046] To summarize, in the present application, after a single or multiple battery cells 2 of the battery module become abnormal, the abnormal battery cell 7 can be replaced by simply removing the disassembly connection portion 14 related to the abnormal battery cell 7. At this time, the conductive sheet 1 becomes the residual conductive sheet 16. As long as the new conductive sheet 5 is covered on the residual conductive sheet 16, the replacement battery cell 4 and the original battery cell 6 will be electrically connected to each other in the same state as the two conductive sheets 1, thereby completing the purpose of replacement and maintenance.

[0047] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of implementation of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent changes and modifications based on the shape, structure, characteristics and spirit described in the claims of the present application should be included in the scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A conductive sheet, It is characterized in that include: A plurality of electrode connecting parts, each of which is used to connect to one of the plurality of battery cells of the battery module; a plurality of secondary connection portions, each connected to a periphery of one of the plurality of electrode connection portions; and A plurality of detachable connecting parts are connected between any two adjacent ones of the plurality of electrode connecting parts.

2. The conductive sheet according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The plurality of detachment connection portions are higher than the plurality of electrode connection portions.

3. The conductive sheet according to claim 2, It is characterized in that The secondary connecting portion is higher than the electrode connecting portion.

4. The conductive sheet according to claim 3, It is characterized in that The height of the secondary connection portion relative to the electrode connection portion is less than or equal to that of the detachment connection portion.

5. The conductive sheet according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The secondary connection portion and the electrode connection portion are in the same plane.

6. The conductive sheet according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The secondary connecting portion and the electrode connecting portion are in different planes.

7. The conductive sheet according to claim 1, It is characterized in that The battery module comprises: a first cover; and a second cover; The first cover body and the second cover body are arranged opposite to each other to form a plurality of receiving grooves for receiving the battery cells, and the first cover body and the second cover body have a baffle corresponding to each of the receiving grooves; The conductive sheet is placed on the top surface of the first cover or the second cover.

8. A battery module with a replaced battery cell, the battery module comprising a bracket, a plurality of battery cells and two conductive sheets, It is characterized in that The two conductive sheets respectively include a residual conductive sheet and a new conductive sheet that are overlapped and electrically connected. At least one of the multiple battery cells is a replacement battery cell, and each of the remaining battery cells is an original battery cell. The residual conductive sheet is electrically connected to the original battery cell, and the new conductive sheet is electrically connected to the replacement battery cell.

9. The battery module with replaced cells according to claim 8, It is characterized in that The residual conductive sheet comprises: a plurality of residual electrode connecting portions, each of the residual electrode connecting portions being connected to one of the plurality of original battery cells; and A plurality of remaining secondary connecting portions, one end of each of which is connected to the periphery of one of the plurality of remaining electrode connecting portions.

10. The battery module with replaced cells according to claim 9, It is characterized in that The new conductive sheet comprises: A plurality of new electrode connection parts, each of the plurality of replacement cells being connected to one of the new electrode connection parts; a plurality of new secondary connection portions, one end of each of which is connected to the periphery of one of each of the plurality of new electrode connection portions, and each of which overlaps and is electrically connected to the corresponding plurality of residual secondary connection portions; and A plurality of newly detached connection parts, wherein any two adjacent ones of the plurality of new electrode connection parts are connected to one of the plurality of newly detached connection parts.

11. The battery module with replaced cells according to claim 9, It is characterized in that Any two adjacent ones of the plurality of residual electrode connecting portions are respectively connected to a residual disassembly connecting portion.

12. A method for replacing a battery cell, applied to a battery module electrically connected by the conductive sheet of claim 1, It is characterized in that The following steps are involved: Removing the plurality of disassembly connection portions corresponding to the periphery of the abnormal battery cells among the plurality of battery cells, so that the conductive sheet becomes a residual conductive sheet; removing the abnormal battery cell from the battery module; Replacing a new battery cell with the position of the removed abnormal battery cell; A new conductive sheet is covered on the remaining conductive sheet, so that the new battery cell, the remaining conductive sheet and the new conductive sheet are electrically connected.

13. The method for replacing a battery cell according to claim 12, It is characterized in that The battery module has a first cover and a second cover, the first cover and the second cover are arranged opposite to each other to form a plurality of accommodating grooves for accommodating the battery cells, the conductive sheet is placed on the top surface of the first cover or the second cover, when the conductive sheet restricts the first cover and the second cover so that the abnormal battery cell cannot be removed from the battery module, further comprising: Remove the first cover or the second cover.

14. The method for replacing a battery cell according to claim 13, It is characterized in that Before the step of removing the first cover or the second cover, the method further includes: The remaining conductive sheet is removed.

15. The method for replacing a battery cell according to claim 13, It is characterized in that Before the step of removing the abnormal battery cell from the battery module, the method further includes: The baffle corresponding to the position of the abnormal battery cell is removed.

Images