Monocell, electric pile and flow battery

Abstract

The utility model relates to the technical field of flow batteries, and discloses a single battery, an electric pile and a flow battery, the single battery is characterized in that a plurality of positioning bosses are arranged on the edge of the single battery, and all the positioning bosses are arranged according to a first preset rule; and first guide holes are formed in all the positioning bosses. The utility model also provides an electric pile, which comprises at least one stack body, and each stack body is formed by stacking a plurality of single cells; the single battery, the electric pile and the flow battery provided by the utility model have the following advantages and effects that as the positioning boss extends out of the single battery, the position of the first guide hole can be quickly found out by utilizing the characteristic in the processes of manual installation and mechanical identification, so that the positioning accuracy is greatly improved; and whether the single batteries are aligned or not in the stacking process is judged by utilizing the first guide hole. The identification efficiency is improved, and the computing power resource is saved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of liquid flow batteries, and in particular to a single cell, a battery stack and a liquid flow battery. Background Art

[0002] At present, liquid flow battery is an emerging energy storage technology, which is mainly composed of a battery stack, a liquid storage tank and a control unit for regulating and controlling the electrolyte. The advantage of liquid flow battery is that the power and capacity are decoupled from each other. When the power needs to be increased, the battery stack is increased, and when the capacity needs to be increased, the liquid storage tank is increased.

[0003] The battery stack is a key component for the charge and discharge of flow batteries. The specific reaction is carried out in the single cells that make up the battery stack. Since the single cells are consumable parts, they need to be stacked one by one to form the battery stack during the assembly process. When the single cells are placed by a robot or manually, it is easy to cause the lower layer of single cells to slide when a new single cell is placed, resulting in the misalignment of the single cell position, making it impossible for the sealing structure between the single cells to fully play its effect, and then causing leakage problems in the battery stack during operation. Utility Model Content

[0004] In view of the defects existing in the prior art, the purpose of the present application is to provide a single cell, a battery stack and a flow battery, which can improve the placement accuracy between single cells.

[0005] In order to achieve the above objectives, on the one hand, the technical solutions adopted are:

[0006] The present application provides a single battery, wherein a plurality of positioning bosses are arranged at the edge of the single battery, and all the positioning bosses are arranged according to a first preset rule;

[0007] All the positioning bosses are provided with a first guide hole.

[0008] By adopting the above technical solution, the positioning boss can effectively improve the recognition accuracy and find the first guide hole more effectively. At the same time, the positioning structure is separated from the single battery body, so there is no need to worry too much about damaging the single battery during installation.

[0009] Optionally, each of the positioning bosses includes a first positioning plate disposed at the edge of the electrode plate in the single cell and a second positioning plate disposed at the edge of the liquid flow frame in the single cell;

[0010] The first guide hole is formed through the first positioning plate and the second positioning plate.

[0011] Through the above technical solution, the stress of the positioning boss can be dispersed to multiple plates to reduce damage to the single battery structure.

[0012] Optionally, a positioning groove is provided on the edge of part or all of the second positioning plates;

[0013] The position of the positioning groove is set according to a second preset rule, and / or the opening direction of each positioning groove is different from each other.

[0014] Through the above technical solution, the orientation and front and back of the liquid flow frame can be indicated by the position of the positioning groove or the opening direction, which is convenient for directly identifying the state of the liquid flow frame when assembling a single cell.

[0015] Optionally, one of the first positioning plates is located on the central axis of the electrode plate;

[0016] A mounting plate is arranged beside the first positioning plate located on the central axis of the pole plate.

[0017] Through the above technical solution, the orientation and front and back of the electrode plate can be directly identified, which is convenient for identifying the state of the electrode plate when assembling a single battery.

[0018] Optionally, the mounting plate is provided with mounting holes;

[0019] The single cell further comprises a wiring device, and the wiring device is installed in a mounting hole in the single cell.

[0020] Through the above technical solution, on the one hand, the recognition effect of the mounting plate can be improved, and on the other hand, a wiring device is provided to facilitate the monitoring and maintenance of the single battery.

[0021] The present application also provides a battery stack, comprising:

[0022] At least one stack, each stack being formed by stacking a plurality of the aforementioned single cells;

[0023] Liquid guide plates are arranged on both sides of each stacking body.

[0024] Other options include:

[0025] The liquid guide plate is provided with a plurality of second guide holes, which are arranged according to a first preset rule, and each second guide hole is coaxial with the first guide hole on the corresponding positioning boss.

[0026] By adopting the above technical solution, an indicator light or a guide rod or other structures can be set in the second guide hole, and whether the stacking of the single cells is regular can be judged by observing whether the first guide hole and the second guide hole are aligned.

[0027] Optionally, the liquid guide plate is provided with a direction indicating groove.

[0028] By adopting the above technical solution, the position of the liquid guide plate can be conveniently indicated when installing the battery stack.

[0029] The present application also provides a liquid flow battery, comprising the battery stack as described above.

[0030] The beneficial effects of the technical solution provided by this application include:

[0031] In the single cell, battery stack and flow battery provided by the present application, since the positioning boss is extended out of the single cell, workers can quickly find the position of the first guide hole by using this feature during installation and mechanical identification, and use the first guide hole to determine whether the single cell is aligned during the stacking process. This improves the identification efficiency and saves computing resources. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a single battery in this application.

[0034] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Enlarged view of point A in the middle.

[0035] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the explosion structure of a single battery in this application.

[0036] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the electrode plate in this application.

[0037] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the liquid flow frame in this application.

[0038] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of the liquid guide plate in this application.

[0039] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the battery stack in this application.

[0040] Reference numerals:

[0041] 1. Single cell; 11. Positioning boss; 111. First positioning plate; 1111. Mounting plate; 1112. Mounting hole; 1113. Wiring device; 112. Second positioning plate; 1121. Positioning groove; 12. First guide hole; 13. Polar plate; 14. Liquid flow frame; 2. Liquid guide plate; 21. Second guide hole; 22. Direction groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0043] For ease of understanding, some of the technical elements mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are briefly described below. It should be noted that the technical elements introduced are common implementation methods and are only used to help understand the embodiments of the present application. They do not limit the implementation form of the technical elements. Technical personnel in this field may also choose other implementation forms based on the common knowledge in the field without hindering the specific implementation of the present application.

[0044] In the embodiment of the present application, the flow battery is a battery in which the electrolyte and the point stack are separately arranged. Figure 1 As shown, the battery stack is the part of the flow battery that performs electrochemical reactions, and the device that specifically performs the reaction in the battery stack is a single cell 1. The electrolyte enters the single cell 1 for electrochemical reactions, and a plurality of such single cells 1 are connected in series to form the main electrochemical part of the battery stack. The main structure of the single cell 1 includes three parts. The center is an isolation membrane used to isolate the electrolytes of the two electrodes while ensuring the passage of specific ions. On both sides of the isolation membrane are liquid flow frames 14 that provide positive and negative electrolyte flow channels. Outside the liquid flow frame 14 are pole plates 13 for electrochemical reactions. In addition to some guiding structures and installation and adaptation structures, the entire single cell 1 is generally symmetrically arranged with the isolation membrane as the boundary.

[0045] It should be noted that in the related art, the materials of the electrode plate 13 at the positive electrode and the electrode plate 13 at the negative electrode are usually selected from different materials due to different electrochemical reactions, and there are certain differences between them, but the material of the electrode plate 13 does not affect the technical effect of the present application, and the electrode plates 13 at the two poles are not strictly distinguished in the present application. At the same time, in the related art, the liquid flow frame 14 will also have similar structures such as flow channels and sealing structures, but if the relevant structures are displayed in the drawings, the drawings will become difficult to distinguish, and the detailed structure in the liquid flow frame 14 does not affect the specific implementation of the present application, so the internal detailed structure of the liquid flow frame 14 and the electrode plate 13 is omitted in the drawings, and only their appearance and the structure that facilitates the observation of the relative position relationship are displayed.

[0046] In the related art, the battery stack is usually assembled by placing the single cells 1 one by one in a mold and stacking them up to form a battery stack. However, since the single cell 1 is a consumable part, the mold is not made to completely fit the single cell 1, but there is a certain gap between the single cell 1 being installed. As a result, the single cells 1 are uneven and not completely aligned.

[0047] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present application provides an embodiment of a single cell 1, comprising a plurality of positioning bosses 11, which are distributed at the edge of the single cell 1 and arranged according to a first preset rule. A first positioning hole is provided at the center of each positioning boss 11. In an optional embodiment, the first preset rule is to facilitate identification and balance weight setting, usually requiring that the distance between each other is as far as possible, not affecting installation, and not significantly changing the center of gravity. In this embodiment, see Figure 1 The positioning bosses 11 are arranged on the two long sides of the single cell 1 and divide the long sides into four roughly equal parts. The first preset rule can be set as shown in FIG. Figure 7 ,by Figure 7 In the direction shown, the main consideration of the positioning boss 11 of this embodiment is to avoid the fastening screws of the battery stack, and also to avoid the electrode sheets on the left and right sides and the pipelines for entering and exiting the electrolyte. The positioning boss 11 is set on the front and rear sides, and for balance, the positioning boss 11 is set on both sides. In some optional other embodiments, it can also be set in the short side, with two in each case, in which case the electrode sheets and the electrolyte pipeline need to make way.

[0048] When using this embodiment, when installing a small battery stack, a guide rod can be used to pierce the first guide holes 12 located at the same position on all the single cells 1, thereby tidying up the positions of all the stacked single cells 1, and because the positioning boss 11 is far away from the flow channel, seal and other structures inside the single cell 1, even if there is a certain amount of bumping, it will not affect the use of the single cell 1 at all. When assembling a large battery stack, a robot and visual recognition are generally used, and after the single cells 1 are stacked, the first guide holes 12 form a channel, and mechanical vision can be set at the top to identify whether the mark on the bottom can be seen and whether the single cells 1 are stacked neatly. The positioning boss 11 is an outward convex structure, which is very convenient for mechanical vision recognition, so that the mechanical vision can find the first guide hole 12 very efficiently.

[0049] The single cell 1 is not a single plate-shaped structure. In the related art, the single cell 1 has at least five layers from the inside to the outside, namely, an isolation membrane, two liquid flow frames 14 and two electrode plates 13. Figure 3, since the isolation membrane is relatively small, plate frames are also provided on both sides of the isolation membrane to prevent the electrolyte flowing in the liquid flow frame 14 from contacting in advance, so a total of seven layers of structure are provided. In order to prevent one layer from bearing all the stress from the guide boss and causing damage to it, the guide boss is divided into multiple layers. In this embodiment, the guide boss includes a first positioning plate 111 provided at the edge of the electrode plate 13 and a second positioning plate 112 provided at the edge of the liquid flow frame 14. Because there are two electrode plates 13 and two liquid flow plates in this embodiment, two first positioning plates 111 sandwich two second positioning plates 112 to form a guide boss, and the plate frame and the isolation membrane are partially embedded in the liquid flow frame 14 and are relatively soft, so there is no need to set them on the plate frame and the isolation membrane. The first positioning hole is formed by simultaneously penetrating the two first positioning plates 111 and the two second positioning plates 112.

[0050] See also Figure 2 and Figure 5 A positioning groove 1121 is provided at the edge of a portion of the second positioning plate 112. Figure 5 Taking the direction shown as an example, in this embodiment, it is arranged on the edge of the two second positioning plates 112 on the upper right. In this way, the presence or absence of the positioning groove 1121 can indicate the up and down direction of the liquid flow frame 14, and whether the two second positioning plates 112 with the positioning groove 1121 are on the left or right side can indicate the front and back of the liquid flow frame 14 at this time. By identifying the positioning groove 1121, the state of the liquid flow frame 14 can be conveniently indicated. Although in this embodiment, the positioning groove 1121 is arranged at a corner where the two second positioning plates 112 on the upper right are close to each other, in fact, the opening of the positioning groove 1121 to any direction does not affect the identification. This position that can destroy the rotational symmetry and flipping symmetry of the liquid flow frame 14 is the second preset rule for the position of the positioning groove 1121. In some optional embodiments, with Figure 5 For example, the six second positioning plates 112 are all provided with positioning grooves 1121, wherein the upper three second positioning plates 112 are spaced 30°, 60° and 90° from left to right from the horizontal right direction, respectively, and the lower three second positioning plates 112 are spaced 45°, 90° and 135° from left to right from the horizontal right direction, respectively. It can be seen that as long as the orientations of the positioning grooves 1121 openings are different, it does not matter which of the second positioning plates 112 they are opened on, and the rotational symmetry and flipping symmetry of the liquid flow frame 14 can also be destroyed, thereby effectively identifying the liquid flow frame 14. This embodiment takes both into account at the same time, selects the position for opening the directional grooves to conform to the second preset rule, and the openings are different from each other, thereby improving the recognition efficiency.

[0051] See also Figure 2 and Figure 4 , wherein there is a first positioning plate 111 located in the central axis direction of the plate 13, and Figure 4For example, a mounting plate 1111 is provided on the right side thereof, and the mounting plate 1111 and the corresponding first positioning plate 111 are an integrally formed structure. In the related art, the plate 13 only plays the role of sealing and reacting, so it is basically a smooth flat plate structure with only a small number of liquid flow holes inside, so the recognition success rate is very high if only the mounting plate 1111 is provided.

[0052] Also in some optional embodiments, see Figure 2 , a mounting hole 1112 is also provided on the mounting plate 1111. The purpose of the hole is to improve the success rate of identification on the one hand, and to install a wiring device 1113 on the other hand. The wiring device 1113 is to provide a mounting point for the wire. In this embodiment, the wiring device 1113 includes a conductive rod in the middle, and nuts are provided at both ends of the conductive rod. The conductive rod passes through the mounting hole 1112 and is then fastened to the mounting plate 1111 through the nuts at both ends. When a specific single cell 1 needs to be tested, the wire can be connected to the conductive rod, and the state of the single cell 1 can be tested by testing the current. Because the plates 13 between two adjacent single cells 1 are directly attached and connected to each other, only one wiring device 1113 needs to be provided on each single cell 1. For example, in this embodiment, the wiring devices 1113 are all provided on the positive plate 13, and the negative plate 13 is directly connected to the positive electrode of an adjacent single cell 1, so the wiring device 1113 on the positive electrode of the adjacent single cell 1 can be used for measurement.

[0053] In some optional embodiments, see Figure 2 At the same time, a mounting plate 1111 and a positioning groove 1121 are provided. At this time, the position and height of the positioning groove 1121 can be adjusted so that the nut of the wiring device 1113 can be placed on the inner wall of the positioning groove 1121 to play a certain fixing role. At the same time, it can also play a certain limiting effect when pulling the wire to prevent the first positioning plate 111 from being bent.

[0054] The present application also provides an embodiment of a battery stack, such as Figure 7 As shown, the battery stack is composed of a stacking body and a liquid guide plate 2. The stacking body is formed by stacking multiple single cells 1. The liquid guide plate 2 is a structure clamped on both sides of the stacking body to stabilize the stacking body and transport electrolyte into the single cell 1. Specifically, because pressure needs to be applied to the single cell 1 to prevent the single cell 1 from escaping during the use of the battery stack, the conventional pipeline structure cannot be used to transport the electrolyte. Instead, a channel is dug in the plate to transport the electrolyte to the single cell 1, so the liquid guide plate 2 is used. In this embodiment, end plates are also set at both ends to provide force positions during tensioning.

[0055] In this embodiment, see Figure 6The liquid guide plate 2 is also provided with a second guide hole 21. The arrangement rule of the second guide hole 21 is exactly the same as the arrangement rule of the positioning boss 11 on the installed single battery 1. Each second positioning hole is coaxial with the first positioning hole on the corresponding positioning boss 11. Figure 7 For example, when looking from top to bottom, the bottom can be directly seen through the first positioning hole and the second positioning hole, and then the machine vision can be used to determine whether the installation is regular. In this embodiment, there are six second guide holes 21, three each on the top and bottom, which are just aligned with the six first guide holes 12 on the single battery 1.

[0056] In this embodiment, a white LED with a red cross is set at the bottom during installation. As long as the cross can be seen in the place where the machine vision can identify, it can be considered that the installation is regular. In some other optional embodiments, especially in smaller battery stacks, a guide rod can be inserted into the second positioning hole, and the first positioning hole can be positioned on the guide rod.

[0057] At the same time Figure 6 Taking the direction shown as an example, a direction indicating groove 22 is provided at the lower edge of the liquid guide plate 2 to indicate the direction of the liquid guide plate 2. Specifically, the groove is semicircular and has an opening facing downward. The front and back sides of the liquid guide plate 2 can be determined based on whether there is a pipeline passage, for example Figure 6 This is the side facing the single cell 1.

[0058] The present application also provides an embodiment of a liquid flow battery, the battery stack of which is the above-mentioned battery stack.

[0059] In the description of the present application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. Unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be a connection between the two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0060] It should be noted that, in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0061] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present application, so that those skilled in the art can understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest range consistent with the principles and novel features applied for herein.

Claims

1. A single battery, characterized in that: The single cell (1) is provided with a plurality of positioning bosses (11) on the edge thereof, and all the positioning bosses (11) are arranged according to a first preset rule; All the positioning bosses (11) are provided with a first guide hole (12).

2. A single battery according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each of the positioning bosses (11) comprises a first positioning plate (111) arranged at the edge of the electrode plate (13) in the single cell (1) and a second positioning plate (112) arranged at the edge of the liquid flow frame (14) in the single cell (1); The first guide hole (12) is formed through the first positioning plate (111) and the second positioning plate (112).

3. A single battery according to claim 2, characterized in that: A positioning groove (1121) is formed on the edge of part or all of the second positioning plates (112).

4. A single battery according to claim 2, characterized in that: One of the first positioning plates (111) is located on the central axis of the pole plate (13); A mounting plate (1111) is arranged next to the first positioning plate (111) located on the central axis of the pole plate (13).

5. A single battery according to claim 4, characterized in that: The mounting plate (1111) is provided with a mounting hole (1112); The single cell (1) further comprises a wiring device (1113), wherein the wiring device (1113) is installed in a mounting hole (1112) in the single cell (1).

6. A battery stack, characterized in that: include: At least one stack, each stack being formed by stacking a plurality of single cells (1) as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5; Liquid guide plates (2) are arranged on both sides of each stacking body.

7. A fuel cell stack according to claim 6, characterized in that: Also includes: The liquid guide plate (2) is provided with a plurality of second guide holes (21), the second guide holes (21) are arranged according to a first preset rule, and each second guide hole (21) is coaxial with a first guide hole (12) on a corresponding positioning boss (11).

8. The battery stack according to claim 6, characterized in that: The liquid guide plate (2) is provided with a direction indicating groove (22).

9. A liquid flow battery, characterized in that: Comprising a battery stack as described in any one of claims 6-8.

Images