Overflow system assembly, shell and battery pack

Abstract

The present invention relates to a liquid discharge system assembly, a case, and a battery pack, the liquid discharge system assembly comprising: a base part which separates an internal space and an external space, which are bounded by a mounting surface, after being mounted; a hollow cavity is formed in the base part, and the hollow cavity is provided with an inner opening communicated with the inner space and an outer opening communicated with the outer space; the cover part is arranged at the outer opening of the base part and seals the outer opening during normal work; the connecting part at least comprises an expansion body arranged in the hollow cavity, and the expansion body expands to jack up the cover part in response to contact with specific liquid, so that the outer opening is opened for liquid discharge. The liquid overflow system assembly in the liquid overflow system assembly expands after making contact with leaked liquid in the shell, so that the liquid overflow system assembly is opened, and the leaked liquid is discharged. After liquid discharging is finished, after waiting for a period of time and the expansion material in the overflow system assembly is dried, the airtight performance of the overflow system assembly is recovered, and therefore the overflow system assembly does not need to be replaced with a new overflow system assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of fluid flow control valves, and particularly relates to an overflow liquid system component, a housing and a battery pack. Background Art

[0002] New energy vehicles use the electric energy stored in the battery to replace the fuel in traditional fuel vehicles to supply energy to operating vehicles. Limited by the existing battery technology, in order to increase the capacity of battery components, generally multiple batteries are connected to form a battery pack. The battery / battery pack is enclosed by a housing to form a battery component, and the housing functions as waterproof, protective, flame-retardant, etc., providing a stable working environment for the battery.

[0003] The stable operation of the battery depends on a good working environment, so environmental management of the battery is required, such as thermal management, etc. There is a possibility of battery water ingress, which can be caused by leakage of the water cooling pipeline or condensation of water vapor in the internal gas. In order to avoid liquid causing a battery short circuit and triggering a serious safety accident, the battery pack must have the ability to quickly respond to the internal water storage and open the drainage system. At the same time, under normal circumstances, it is desired to maintain the closed state inside the battery pack. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to quickly respond to the liquid leakage inside the battery pack, drain it, and maintain the operation of the battery pack in a normal state, the present application provides an overflow liquid system component, a housing and a battery pack.

[0005] The present application provides an overflow liquid system component, including: A base, which divides the internal space and the external space bounded by the installation surface after installation; a hollow cavity is formed in the base, and the hollow cavity has an inner opening communicating with the internal space and an outer opening communicating with the external space; A cover portion, which is arranged at the outer opening of the base and closes the outer opening during normal operation; A connecting portion, which at least includes an expansion body arranged in the hollow cavity, and the expansion body expands in response to contact with a specific liquid and pushes up the cover portion, thereby opening the outer opening for draining liquid.

[0006] Preferably, the connecting portion further includes an elastic member arranged in the hollow cavity, and the elastic member elastically connects the cover portion and the base, so that the cover portion is pressed against the outer opening to close the outer opening.

[0007] Preferably, the elastic member is a helical spring, one end of the helical spring is hooked to the end face of the columnar portion facing the internal space, and the other end is helically wound to the stud connecting portion of the cover portion.

[0008] Preferably, the expansion body is sleeved on the outer periphery of the elastic member; Alternatively, multiple sheets of the expansion body are stacked along the tension direction of the elastic member.

[0009] Preferably, the base has a mounting portion and a columnar portion extending from the mounting portion into the internal space, and a hollow cavity is formed inside the columnar portion.

[0010] Preferably, a thread feature is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar portion, and the base further includes a screwing portion that is screwed and engaged with the columnar portion outside the columnar portion; Alternatively, a retaining leg that opens outward to the outside of the hollow cavity is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar portion.

[0011] Preferably, a plurality of grooves are formed on the inner surface of the cover portion, or, a channel sealing ring is further provided around the cover portion, and the channel sealing ring is installed at the contact interface between the cover portion and the outer opening.

[0012] Preferably, both ends of the expansion body are bonded to the base and the cover portion respectively.

[0013] The present application provides a housing, and at least one of the above-mentioned overflow system components is installed on the housing.

[0014] The present application provides a battery pack, and the energy storage battery in the battery pack is partially or completely wrapped by the housing.

[0015] The present invention provides an overflow system component with an expansion material that expands after contacting a liquid. After contacting the leaked liquid in the housing, the expansion material expands, so that the overflow system component opens and the leaked liquid can be discharged. After the liquid discharge is completed, after waiting for a period of time, when the expansion material in the overflow system component dries, the airtight performance of the overflow system component is restored, and thus there is no need to replace a new overflow system component. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional schematic view of the overflow system component of the present application; Figure 2 is an incomplete exploded sectional schematic view of the overflow system component of the present application; Figure 3 is a schematic structural view of the base 11 of the overflow system component of the present application; Figure 4 is a schematic view of the cover portion 12 of the overflow system component of the present application; Figure 5 is the overflow characteristic curve of the above-mentioned embodiment of the overflow system component of the present application under typical conditions tested in the experiment.

[0016] In the figure: 1: Overflow valve; 11: Base; 111: Hollow cavity; 112: Mounting surface; 113: Outer opening; 114: Inner opening; 115: Auxiliary opening; 116: Mounting sealing ring; 117: Threaded joint; 118: Columnar part; 119: Mounting part; 12: Cover part; 121: Channel sealing ring; 123: Stud connection part; 13: Connection part; 131: Elastic member; 132: Expanding body; 138: Expansion pad; 139: Helical spring; 181: Claw. Detailed implementation mode

[0017] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In this specification, the scale ratio of the drawings does not represent the actual scale ratio. It is only used to reflect the relative positional relationship and connection relationship between various components. Components with the same name or the same reference numeral represent similar or identical structures, and are for illustrative purposes only.

[0018] Figure 1 It is a longitudinal sectional schematic view of the overflow system component of the present application, Figure 2 It is a sectional schematic view of its incomplete decomposition. The overflow valve 1 includes a base 11, a connection part 13, and a cover part 12.

[0019] Regarding the base 11, it has a mounting surface 112. The mounting surface 112 can be defined as the surface that separates the interior and exterior of the housing when the overflow valve 1 is mounted on a specific housing in the usage scenario. It can be regarded as a virtual surface and does not require a specific entity correspondence on the overflow valve 1. Correspondingly, the internal space and external space separated by the mounting surface 112 can be determined as above. An open hollow cavity 111 is formed in the base 11. The openness of the hollow cavity 111 specifically means that on the one hand, it communicates with the external space of the mounting surface 112, and on the other hand, it also communicates with the internal space of the mounting surface 112. In this case, the hollow cavity 111 can be regarded as a section of pipeline connecting the internal and external spaces of the mounting surface 112, so that fluid can flow between the internal and external spaces of the mounting surface 112. For the sake of clear description, the opening of the hollow cavity 111 facing the internal space is defined as the inner opening 114, and the opening of the hollow cavity 111 facing the external space is defined as the outer opening 113.

[0020] The cover part 12 is arranged at the outer opening 113 of the base 11. The base 11 prevents the cover part 12 from sliding into the hollow cavity 111, and the base 11 does not restrict the cover part 12 from detaching from the external space of the mounting surface 112.

[0021] The connecting part 13 includes an elastic member 131 accommodated inside the hollow cavity 111 and an expansion body 132. The elastic member 131 is inside the hollow cavity 111 and elastically connects the cover part 12 and the base part 11. Briefly speaking, the elastic member 131 is in a tensioned state in the assembled state, so that the cover part 12 can be pressed against the outer opening 113 of the base part 11 under the tensioning action of the elastic member 131. Usually in this case, the cover part 12 and the base part 11 can be considered sealed at the outer opening 113 under the relevant standards in the art. This state is the normal working state of the overflow valve 1. At this time, since the cover part 12 and the base part 11 can be considered sealed within the industry standards, it plays a role in isolating the internal space and the external space of the mounting surface 112, so it is set to ensure the stable operation of the battery pack.

[0022] The characteristic of the expansion body 132 lies in its expansibility. It is prepared from a specific functional material, mainly having a volume expansion when encountering at least a selected variety of liquids. In a preferred case, its expansibility can be anisotropic. The expansion body 132 can expand along the tensioning direction of the elastic member 131 to increase its dimension in this direction at least when encountering the corresponding liquid. After the expansion body 132 expands, it contacts the base part 11 and the cover part 12, and overcomes the elastic force of the elastic member 131 to push the cover part 12 out of the outer opening 113 towards the external space of the mounting surface 112. And a new force balance is achieved at the ejected position. At this time, the overflow valve 1 works in the drainage state, and its purpose is to drain the liquid from the internal space of the mounting surface 112 to the external space in response to the presence of the internal liquid in a timely manner. At this time, due to the presence of the overflow valve 1, the stability and safety of the battery pack during operation can be ensured.

[0023] In a specific embodiment, the structure of the base part 11 can be as Figure 3 shown. It has a mounting part 119, and the plane that can fit the mounting part 119 with the corresponding mounting surface can be regarded as the mounting surface 112. Here, the mounting surface is, for example, the surface on the housing that contacts and fits with the mounting part 119. To ensure the sealing between the base part 11 and the mounting surface, it is preferred that a mounting sealing ring 116 is provided around the base part 11. During installation, the mounting sealing ring 116 is compressed between the mounting part 119 and the mounting surface to achieve sealing. Specifically, the mounting sealing ring 116 can be formed in the limiting groove on the hollow cavity 111.

[0024] The base part 11 also has a columnar part 118 extending from the mounting part 119 towards the internal space, and a hollow cavity 111 is formed inside the columnar part 118. The hollow cavity 111 penetrates the mounting part 119 to form an outer opening 113 opening towards the external space, and the hollow cavity 111 has at least one inner opening 114 opening towards the internal space penetrating the columnar part 118. In fact, in the illustrated embodiment, a plurality of inner openings 114 are provided on the circumferential side of 111, and are also formed at the end of the hollow cavity 111 towards the internal space.

[0025] Thread features can be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar portion 118. In this case, the base portion 11 further includes a screwing portion 117 that is screwed and engaged with the columnar portion 118 outside the columnar portion 118, and its purpose is to fix the overflow valve 1 on the housing. In short, when the screwing is in place, the wall surface of the housing will be clamped between the mounting portion 119 and the screwing portion 117, thus realizing the fixation of the overflow valve 1 on the housing. Generally, an auxiliary opening 115 for avoiding the inner opening 114 is provided on the screwing portion 117. Its purpose is to prevent the screwing portion 117 from blocking the inner opening 114 after screwing.

[0026] A new embodiment of the base portion 11. The main difference lies in the columnar portion 118. Since this embodiment is in snap-fit with the housing, there is no need to provide the columnar portion 118. Only snap feet 181 that open outward from the outer peripheral surface of the columnar portion 118 to the outside of the hollow cavity 111 need to be formed. When installed on the wall surface of the housing, the wall surface is clamped between the snap feet 181 and the mounting portion 119, thereby realizing the fixed installation of the overflow valve 1.

[0027] Figure 4 An embodiment of the cover portion 12. First, a plurality of grooves are preferably formed on the inner surface of the cover portion 12, mainly to accelerate the contact between the expansion body 132 and the liquid, so that the expansion body 132 can quickly respond and expand. The cover portion 12 is also surrounded by a channel sealing ring 121. The channel sealing ring 121 is installed at the contact interface of the cover portion 12 with the outer opening 113 and is pressed between the base portion 11 and the cover portion 12 under the tension of the inner opening 114 to achieve the sealing of the outer opening 113 in the normal non-flow state. The cover portion 12 also forms a protruding stud connection portion 123 on the inner surface, and its purpose is to connect the elastic member 131.

[0028] For the embodiment of the connecting portion 13, reference can still be made to Figure 1 、 2 . The elastic member 131 can be a helical spring 139. One end of it is hooked on the end face of the columnar portion 118 facing the internal space, and the other end is helically wound around the stud connection portion 123 of the cover portion 12. In principle, the expansion body 132 only needs to be arranged in the hollow cavity 111, between the columnar portion 118 and the cover portion 12. Usually, the size of the expansion body 132 is reasonably controlled to control the ejection timing of the cover portion 12, realizing the design decision of the drainage timing. In principle, there is no need to limit the specific structure of the expansion body 132. However, in an obviously preferred solution, the expansion body 132 can be sleeved on the elastic member 131 to realize the positioning of the expansion body 132 along the tension direction, so as to ensure the reliability of ejection and the stability of repeated use.

[0029] To accelerate the contact between the swelling body 132 and the liquid, ensure the uniformity of the liquid immersion of the swelling body 132, ensure the stability of the swelling body 132, and trigger repeatedly and reliably. It is preferably formed by stacking a plurality of swelling pads 138, and the liquid can quickly penetrate into the swelling pad 138 in the middle layer from the contact surface between the two swelling pads 138, so as to ensure that each swelling pad 138 is triggered uniformly. Starting from this, the surface of the swelling pad 138 is preferably uneven to accelerate the contact with the liquid. Due to the multi-layer stacking arrangement, the contact area between the swelling body 132 and the liquid is increased, and the response speed of the swelling body 132 to liquid leakage can be improved, that is, the multi-layer swelling pads 138 can reach the same thickness of pushing the cover 12 away faster than the overall swelling body 132 per unit time, compressing the corresponding time of liquid leakage. In the battery pack assembly, this is undoubtedly beneficial. At the same time, the stacking arrangement not only has advantages in the forming process of the swelling pad 138, but also improves the applicability of the swelling body 132, which is reflected in two aspects. One is that the time threshold for the swelling pad 138 to leak and open can be controlled by flexibly setting the amount of the swelling pad 138 during assembly. The other is that in different vehicle models and different series of overflow liquid system components, the amount of the swelling pad 138 can be adjusted to adapt to different design requirements.

[0030] Specifically for the swelling body 132 of the present invention, in order to meet the requirement that it swells when encountering liquid and is insoluble in the working liquid, its material selection usually needs to be determined according to the specific working liquid. Usually, for the coolant used in the battery pack assembly, it contains at least a certain volume content of water component, so materials with water swelling properties can be used. Specifically, such materials include but are not limited to high polymers of acrylic acid, ethylene glycol, sugar, etc., and other functional groups or grafts can also be contained on this basis to enhance other aspects of the performance of the product. In the embodiment of the present invention, the material used for the above-mentioned swelling body 132 is a cellulose-based material, which has certain formability and strength and can act as a structural member after liquid immersion in the overflow valve 1. Specifically, the material of the swelling body 132 in the embodiment of the present invention is a hydroxymethyl cellulose polymer. Figure 5 This is the overflow liquid characteristic curve under typical conditions obtained by testing the above embodiment of the present invention in the experiment.

[0031] In some embodiments, the elastic member 131 may not be used to achieve the effect of repeated use. For example, the two end faces of the swelling body 132 are respectively bonded to the inner end face of the columnar portion 118 and the inner surface of the cover 12. To achieve that the cover 12 moves away from the base 11 as the swelling body 132 absorbs liquid and swells, and returns to its original position after drying.

[0032] Based on the above overflow liquid system component 1, the present invention also claims to protect a housing that uses the above overflow liquid system component 1 to achieve sealing and drain leaked liquid in the event of liquid leakage. A housing is generally used to divide a space into two or more connected or unconnected regions. The overflow liquid system component 1 provided on the housing enables fluid exchange between the two regions separated by it when there is liquid leakage through the overflow liquid system component 1. Such a housing can be used for various purposes. In the present invention, it particularly refers to a housing for a battery pack component, which is used to enclose an energy storage battery. In a specific design, it can be a lithium battery component and a corresponding thermal control unit can be provided. The above overflow liquid system component 1 is installed on the housing to discharge the coolant when it leaks from the thermal control unit, avoiding internal short circuit of the battery and potential safety hazards. In a specific design, multiple overflow liquid system components 1 can be set according to the required outflow rate, and their positions are generally set at the lower position when the battery pack component is installed to avoid accumulation of coolant.

[0033] The above content is only a description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the design spirit of the present invention, various deformations and improvements made by those of ordinary skill in the art to the technical solution of the present invention shall fall within the protection scope determined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A liquid overflow system component, characterized in that: include: A base (11), which, after being installed, separates an inner space and an outer space bounded by an installation surface (112); The base (11) is formed with a hollow cavity (111), and the hollow cavity (111) has an inner opening (114) communicating with an inner space and an outer opening (113) communicating with an outer space; A cover (12), the cover (12) being disposed at an outer opening (113) of the base (11) and closing the outer opening (113) during normal operation; The connecting part (13) at least comprises an expansion body (132) arranged in the hollow cavity (111); the expansion body (132) expands and lifts the cover part (12) in response to contact with a specific liquid, thereby opening the outer opening (113) to discharge the liquid.

2. The overflow system assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting portion (13) further comprises an elastic component (131) arranged in the hollow cavity (111), wherein the elastic component (131) elastically connects the cover portion (12) and the base portion (11), so that the cover portion (12) is pressed against the outer opening (113) to close the outer opening (113).

3. The overflow system assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The elastic component (131) is a coil spring (139), one end of which is hooked on the end surface of the columnar portion (118) facing the internal space, and the other end of which is spirally wound around the stud connection portion (123) of the cover portion (12).

4. The overflow system assembly according to claim 2, characterized in that: The expansion body (132) is sleeved on the outer periphery of the elastic component (131); Alternatively, the expansion body (132) is stacked in multiple pieces along the tensioning direction of the elastic component (131).

5. The overflow system assembly of claim 1, wherein: The base (11) has a mounting portion (119) and a columnar portion (118) extending from the mounting portion (119) toward an internal space, and a hollow cavity (111) is formed inside the columnar portion (118).

6. The overflow system assembly of claim 1, wherein: The outer peripheral surface of the columnar portion (118) is formed with thread features, and the base portion (11) further includes a screw-on portion (117) outside the columnar portion (118) and threadedly engaged with the columnar portion (118); Alternatively, a clamping foot (181) that opens toward the outside of the hollow cavity (111) is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the columnar portion (118).

7. The overflow system assembly of claim 1, wherein: A plurality of grooves are formed on the inner surface of the cover (12), or the cover (12) is further surrounded by a channel sealing ring (121), and the channel sealing ring (121) is installed at the contact interface between the cover (12) and the outer opening (113).

8. The overflow system assembly of claim 1, wherein: Both ends of the expansion body (132) are bonded to the base (11) and the cover (12) respectively.

9. A housing, characterized in that: At least one overflow system component according to any one of claims 1 to 8 is mounted on the housing.

10. A battery pack, characterized in that: The energy storage battery in the battery pack is partially or completely wrapped by the shell as described in claim 9.

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