Protective shell of nickel-metal hydride battery module

Abstract

The utility model discloses a protective shell of a nickel-metal hydride battery module, which structurally comprises a first shell and a second shell which are buckled with each other, and an accommodating cavity of a battery pack is formed after the first shell and the second shell are buckled with each other; a gap expansion area is arranged on the outer surface of the protective shell and penetrates through the protective shell in the length direction, the height of the gap expansion area is not smaller than two times of the capillary rising height, and the capillary rising height is the maximum capillary rising height generated by the gap expansion area. And the gap expansion area is arranged at the bottom area of the shell surface of the protective shell. According to the utility model, the gap expansion area which penetrates along the length and is far greater than the capillary climbing height is arranged between the closely attached protective shells, so that the insulation fault of the battery module caused by capillary phenomenon formed by liquid gathered at the bottoms of the protective shells due to too small gaps of the protective shells is effectively avoided, and the protective shell has the characteristics of simple protective structure and higher safety.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of insulation protection of nickel-metal hydride battery modules, and particularly relates to a protective shell for a nickel-metal hydride battery module that can reduce the insulation failure rate. Background Art

[0002] During the process of forming nickel-metal hydride batteries into groups, the batteries are first welded into groups, and then the welded battery groups are wrapped with a protective shell. This form of battery module is conducive to early consistency screening during the battery forming process, is also conducive to maintaining the consistency of the module size, controlling the volume of the battery system formed, and better adapting to the frame space. The nickel-metal hydride batteries in the nickel-metal hydride battery module adopt metal shells. During use, moisture in the air is easily adsorbed and condensed on the surface of the metal shell. When the battery is charged and discharged, the exhaust hole will produce a liquid spraying phenomenon to maintain the internal pressure balance. The protective shell can effectively divert the condensed water and the liquid sprayed from the exhaust hole and collect them at the bottom of the protective shell. However, the surface of the existing protective shell is usually a smooth plane. When integrating the battery system, the battery modules need to be further pressed together by long screws to increase the volume density of the system. This results in the protective shells of adjacent battery modules being closely attached to each other after forming the system, forming a very small contact gap. The liquid collected at the bottom of the protective shell is extremely easy to climb along the contact gap due to capillary action and cover the entire surface of the protective shell, and even climb to the output terminal posts of the battery module, causing the positive and negative electrodes of the battery module to form a circuit through the liquid, often resulting in insulation failure of the battery system. Summary of the Utility Model

[0003] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a protective shell for a nickel-metal hydride battery module to solve the problem of easy insulation failure of the existing nickel-metal hydride battery module with a protective shell.

[0004] The utility model is realized through the following technical solutions:

[0005] The utility model provides a protective shell for a nickel-metal hydride battery module, the structure of which includes a first shell and a second shell that are buckled with each other. After the first shell and the second shell are buckled, a receiving cavity for the battery group is formed; a gap expansion area is provided on the outer surface of the protective shell, the gap expansion area runs through the protective shell along the length direction, and the height of the gap expansion area is not less than 2 times the capillary rise height, and the capillary rise height is the maximum capillary climb height that the gap expansion area can generate;

[0006] Based on the above technical solutions, by setting a gap expansion area that runs through along the length and is much larger than the capillary climb height between the closely attached protective shells, it effectively avoids the insulation failure of the battery module caused by capillary action due to the too small gap between the protective shells where the liquid collected at the bottom of the protective shell is located.

[0007] Further, after the adjacent protective casings are fitted together, a cavity is formed at the fitting surface in the gap expansion area. The thickness of the cavity is not less than 0.4 mm, and the height of the cavity is not less than 15 mm. This design can ensure that the protective casing has sufficient structural strength and effectively prevent the occurrence of capillary phenomenon.

[0008] Further, the outer surface of the first casing or the second casing is thinned inward to form the gap expansion area. This design can simplify the manufacturing process of the protective casing and facilitate anti-fooling during the assembly process of the nickel-metal hydride battery module.

[0009] Further, the outer surfaces of the first casing and the second casing are both thinned inward at the relative positions to form the gap expansion area. The thinning thickness of the first casing or the second casing is the same. This design can reduce the required thinning thickness of the first casing and the second casing, and is conducive to maintaining the consistency of the structural strength of the first casing and the second casing, and is more conducive to protecting the battery module.

[0010] Preferably, the gap expansion area is provided at the bottom of the shell surface of the protective casing and thins from the bottom surface of the protective casing. This design is conducive to preventing the occurrence of capillary phenomenon from the bottom end;

[0011] Further, the shell surface of the first casing or the second casing is thinned as a whole and discontinuous strip-shaped protrusions are arranged on the shell surface. The gap expansion area is formed between the strip-shaped protrusions. On the basis of ensuring the structural strength of the protective casing, the area of the gap expansion area can be increased, which is conducive to further preventing the occurrence of capillary phenomenon, and a certain gas flow-through area can also be formed between the strip-shaped protrusions, which is conducive to the heat dissipation between the modules;

[0012] Further, the shell surfaces of the first casing and the second casing are thinned as a whole and discontinuous strip-shaped protrusions are arranged on the shell surface. The strip-shaped protrusions on the first casing and the second casing are arranged in a staggered manner. The gap expansion area is formed between the strip-shaped protrusions. This design can increase the area of the gap expansion area and avoid abnormal deformations such as warping of the first casing and the second casing due to uneven stress during the process of forming a system by the battery modules.

[0013] Beneficial effects

[0014] By providing a gap expansion area that runs through along the length and is much larger than the capillary rise height between the closely fitted protective casings, the present utility model effectively avoids the insulation failure of the battery module caused by capillary phenomenon due to the too small gap of the protective casing for the liquid gathered at the bottom of the protective casing, and has the characteristics of simple protective structure and higher safety. Description of the drawings

[0015] By reading the following detailed description of the non-restrictive embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, other features, purposes and advantages of the present utility model will become more obvious:

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the first embodiment of the present utility model;

[0017] Figure 2 For the present utility model Figure 1 An enlarged schematic diagram of part A in it;

[0018] Figure 3 It is a schematic structural diagram of the second embodiment of the present utility model;

[0019] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the third embodiment of the present utility model;

[0020] Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of the fourth embodiment of the present utility model;

[0021] In the figure: protective housing 100; first housing 101; second housing 102; gap expansion area 103; strip-shaped boss 104. Specific embodiments

[0022] The present utility model will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments, but the implementation manners of the present utility model are not limited thereto.

[0023] Embodiment 1

[0024] This embodiment provides a protective housing for a nickel-metal hydride battery module, the structure of which includes a first housing 101 and a second housing 102 that are buckled with each other. After the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 are buckled, a receiving cavity for the battery pack is formed; a gap expansion area 103 is provided on the outer surface of the protective housing 100, and the gap expansion area 103 runs through the protective housing 100 along the length direction. The height of the gap expansion area 103 is not less than 2 times the capillary rise height, and the capillary rise height is the maximum capillary climbing height that the gap expansion area 103 can generate. The gap expansion area 103 is formed by thinning the bottom area of the outer surface of the first housing 101 or the second housing 102 inward, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the gap expansion area 103 is provided at the bottom of the outer surface of the first housing 101 and thins upward from the bottom surface of the first housing 101. When the protective housings 100 of adjacent battery modules are attached to each other, a cavity (not shown in the drawings) is formed between the first housing 101 of the previous battery module and the second housing 102 of the next battery module at the gap expansion area. The width of the cavity is 0.4 mm, and the height of the cavity is 15 mm, that is, the thinning thickness at the bottom of the outer surface of the first housing 101 is 0.4 mm, and the height of the thinning area is 15 mm. When battery modules using the protective housing 100 are assembled into a battery system, the surfaces of the protective housings 100 of adjacent battery modules are closely attached, and a gap expansion area 103 with a thickness of 0.4 mm, a height of 15 mm and extending through the entire length direction of the protective housing 100 is formed at the bottom of the protective housing 100. Under this gap, the maximum capillary rise height of the liquid at the attachment surface of the protective housing 100 is 3 mm, which is much lower than the area of the gap expansion area 103, effectively avoiding the liquid from climbing on the surface of the protective housing 100, and thus effectively reducing the probability of insulation failure.

[0025] Embodiment 2

[0026] This embodiment provides a protective housing for a nickel-metal hydride battery module, which is different from Embodiment 1 in that:

[0027] As Figure 3 shown, the gap expansion area 103 is formed by thinning the bottom of the outer surfaces of the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 upward and inward from the bottom surface. The thinning thickness of the first housing 101 or the second housing 102 is the same. In this embodiment, the thinning thickness of both the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 is 0.2 mm, and the thinning height is 15 mm. When battery modules using the protective housing 100 are assembled into a battery system, the thinning areas of the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 of adjacent modules are opposite to each other, and a cavity with a thickness of 0.4 mm, a height of 15 mm and extending through the entire length direction of the protective housing 100 is formed.

[0028] The advantage of this embodiment is that it reduces the required thinning thickness of the first housing 101 and the second housing 102, and is beneficial to maintaining the consistency of the structural strength of the first housing 101 and the second housing 102, which is more conducive to protecting the battery module.

[0029] Embodiment 3

[0030] This embodiment provides a protective housing for a nickel-metal hydride battery module, which is different from Embodiment 1 or 2 in that:

[0031] The shell surface of the first housing 101 or the second housing 102 is thinned as a whole, and discontinuous strip-shaped bosses 104 are arranged on the shell surface. The area between the strip-shaped bosses 104 is the gap expansion area 103. When the protective housings 100 of adjacent battery modules are fitted together, the gap expansion area 103 forms a cavity at the fitting surface. Among them, the strip-shaped bosses 104 can be arranged horizontally or vertically, and the length and width of the strip-shaped bosses 104 are not limited and can be adjusted according to actual needs. For example, Figure 4 As shown, the shell surface of the first housing 101 is thinned as a whole and strip-shaped bosses 104 with a protruding height of 0.4 mm are arranged. Each strip-shaped boss 104 is independent of each other and arranged longitudinally. A cavity with a thickness of 0.4 mm and running through the entire height of the protective housing 100 is formed between the strip-shaped bosses 104.

[0032] The advantages of this embodiment are as follows: On the basis of ensuring the structural strength of the protective housing 100, this design can increase the area of the gap expansion area 103, which is beneficial to further preventing the occurrence of capillary phenomena. Moreover, the cavity between the strip-shaped bosses 104 can also form a certain gas flow-through area, which is beneficial to the heat dissipation between the modules.

[0033] Embodiment 4

[0034] This embodiment provides a protective housing for a nickel-metal hydride battery module, and the difference from Embodiment 3 is that:

[0035] For example, Figure 5 As shown, the strip-shaped bosses 104 are arranged on the shell surfaces of both the first housing 101 and the second housing 102, and the strip-shaped bosses 104 on the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 are arranged in a staggered manner.

[0036] The advantages of this embodiment are as follows: On the basis of the advantages of Embodiment 3, after forming a battery system, this design can make the force uniformity between the first housing 101 and the second housing 102 better, effectively avoiding deformation phenomena such as warping caused by uneven force caused by arranging the strip-shaped bosses 104 on one side only, and the structural stability is better.

[0037] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and it does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. Therefore, any minor modification, equivalent change and modification made to the above embodiments according to the technical essence of the present invention still belong to the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A protective shell of a nickel-metal hydride battery module, comprising a first shell and a second shell that are buckled together, wherein the first shell and the second shell are buckled together to form a housing cavity for the battery pack; characterized in that: The outer surface of the protective shell is provided with a gap expansion zone, and the gap expansion zone is arranged to penetrate the protective shell along the length direction. The height of the gap expansion zone is not less than 2 times the capillary rise height, and the capillary rise height is the maximum capillary climbing height that can be generated by the gap expansion zone.

2. The protective casing of a nickel-metal hydride battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: After adjacent protective shells are bonded together, the gap expansion area forms a cavity at the bonding surface, the thickness of the cavity is not less than 0.4 mm, and the height of the cavity is not less than 15 mm.

3. The protective casing of a nickel-metal hydride battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer surface of the first shell or the second shell is thinned inwardly to form the gap expansion area.

4. The protective casing of a nickel-metal hydride battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer surfaces of the first shell and the second shell are both thinned inwardly at relative positions to form the gap expansion area, and the thinned thickness of the first shell or the second shell is the same.

5. The protective casing of a nickel-metal hydride battery module according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The gap expansion area is arranged at the bottom of the shell surface of the protective shell, and is thinned starting from the bottom surface of the protective shell.

6. The protective casing of a nickel-metal hydride battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell surface of the first shell or the second shell is thinned as a whole and discontinuous strip-shaped bosses are arranged on the shell surface, and the gap expansion area is formed between the strip-shaped bosses.

7. The protective casing of a nickel-metal hydride battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The shell surfaces of the first shell and the second shell are thinned as a whole and discontinuous strip-shaped bosses are arranged on the shell surfaces. The strip-shaped bosses on the first shell and the second shell are staggered, and the gap expansion area is formed between the strip-shaped bosses.

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