Soft package battery clamping equipment with tab protection function and pressure and temperature monitoring function

Abstract

The utility model discloses a soft package battery clamping device with a tab protection function and a pressure and temperature monitoring function, which comprises a base and a clamping plate assembly, and the clamping plate assembly is used for clamping a soft package battery cell and providing a clamping force for testing; the clamping plate assembly comprises a fixed clamping plate and a sliding clamping plate, clamping screws are arranged at the four corners of the sliding clamping plate and the four corners of the fixed clamping plate, and the clamping force for testing can be adjusted through the clamping screws; two tab grooves are formed in the base, two sets of metal elastic pieces are arranged on the two sides of the tab grooves, and two sets of knob screws are arranged on the two sides of the two sets of metal elastic pieces respectively. And the two groups of knob screw rods are rotated to respectively push the two groups of metal elastic sheets to clamp the two tabs of the soft package battery cell inserted into the tab grooves. According to the utility model, the two groups of independent knob screws can respectively push the two groups of metal elastic sheets to clamp the tabs of the battery cell, so that the tabs are ensured not to be influenced by twisting force, and the tabs are effectively prevented from being broken.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to a battery clamping device, in particular to a soft-pack battery clamping device with a tab protection function and capable of monitoring pressure and temperature. Background Technique

[0002] With the gradual consumption of global fossil energy and the increasingly severe environmental problems, the demand for clean energy by humans has become more urgent. Against this background, secondary batteries, as an efficient energy storage device, have been widely studied and applied due to their charge-discharge characteristics. There are various types of secondary batteries, from lithium-ion batteries to sodium-ion batteries, zinc metal batteries, and then to the latest all-solid-state batteries, which have shown great potential and application prospects in various fields.

[0003] Among them, soft-pack batteries, as a form of secondary batteries, have attracted much attention from researchers and the industrial community due to their advantages such as light weight, high energy density, and strong flexibility. In the process of battery research and development and application, the assembly and performance testing of soft-pack batteries are important links to evaluate their practical application value. Performance testing can not only verify the practicability of materials and battery systems but also provide key data for their commercial application. Therefore, the testing of soft-pack batteries has become an indispensable basic step in the process from material research and development to market application.

[0004] Currently, in the laboratory, the clamping device for soft-pack batteries usually consists of two clamping plates and several fixing screws. This simple design has various problems in actual operation. First, since the tab part of the battery is directly exposed outside the clamping plate, and the alligator clip directly clamps the tab during testing, the tab is prone to asymmetry during the force application process, and is extremely likely to deform, break, or even fall off. The damage to the tab not only affects the performance of the battery but may also cause the battery to malfunction. Second, the existing clamping device cannot simultaneously monitor the pressure between the clamping plates. This design defect results in poor consistency of experimental parameters and makes it difficult to accurately control and reproduce experimental conditions. In addition, during the testing process, gases may be generated inside the battery due to electrochemical reactions, causing the battery to expand. If the pressure change between the clamping plates cannot be observed, the problem of battery bloating cannot be discovered and dealt with in a timely manner, thus increasing the uncertainty and risk of the experiment. In addition, the existing clamping device lacks the ability to monitor the temperature of the battery. The battery generates heat during the charge-discharge process, and the increase in temperature may cause a series of safety problems, and the most serious one is battery thermal runaway. Without real-time monitoring of the battery temperature, it is impossible to predict and prevent dangerous situations such as thermal runaway, which greatly limits the safety and reliability of the clamping device.

[0005] Therefore, in view of the above problems, it is particularly necessary to improve the soft-pack battery clamping device. The new clamping device needs to be able to protect the battery tabs and prevent them from being damaged during the test; at the same time, it also needs to have the function of real-time monitoring of pressure and temperature to ensure the safety of the experimental process and the consistency of data. Through these improvements, the accuracy and reliability of the soft-pack battery test can be improved, providing more powerful support for the research and development and commercial application of battery materials. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention provides a soft-pack battery clamping device with tab protection function and pressure and temperature monitoring, and the specific technical solutions are as follows:

[0007] A soft-pack battery clamping device with tab protection function and pressure and temperature monitoring, including a base and a clamping plate assembly. The clamping plate assembly is used to clamp the soft-pack battery cell and provide a clamping force for testing; the clamping plate assembly includes a fixed clamping plate and a sliding clamping plate; the bottom edge of the fixed clamping plate is fixed on the base, and the sliding clamping plate is provided with clamping screws at the four corners of the fixed clamping plate. The clamping force for testing can be adjusted by the clamping screws.

[0008] The upper edge of the base is provided with a long groove parallel to the clamping plate assembly. The long groove is provided with two tab grooves, and two groups of metal elastic pieces are provided on both sides of the tab grooves. Two groups of knob screws are provided on both sides of the two groups of metal elastic pieces. The two groups of knob screws penetrate through the base. Rotating the two groups of knob screws can respectively push the two groups of metal elastic pieces to clamp the two tabs of the soft-pack battery cell inserted into the tab grooves.

[0009] Preferably, the bottom edge of the sliding clamping plate is provided with two sliding plate feet, and each sliding plate foot is provided with a metal ball; the upper edge of the base is provided with two horizontal sliding grooves, and each sliding groove is provided with a slide rail. The sliding plate feet slide in the slide rails through the metal balls, driving the sliding clamping plate to slide.

[0010] Preferably, a limiter is provided in the slide rail; when the sliding clamping plate slides to a preset position, the limiter restricts the movement of the sliding plate feet.

[0011] Preferably, the clamping plate assembly is provided with a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor.

[0012] Preferably, a display screen is provided on the side of the base, which is used to display the pressure value and temperature value sensed by the pressure sensor and the temperature sensor.

[0013] Preferably, a positive jack and a negative jack are provided on one side of the base. The positive jack and the negative jack are respectively connected to the metal elastic sheet through wires inside the base, and are used to receive the electrical signals output by the two pole ears.

[0014] Preferably, an insulating rubber pad or other insulating elastic layer is laid on the inner layers of the fixed clamping plate and the sliding clamping plate. The insulating rubber pad includes natural rubber, latex, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyimide, glass fiber, etc., and has the property of electrical insulation.

[0015] The clamping plate assembly includes hard materials such as stainless steel, iron, copper, nickel or their alloys or polymer plastics, etc., which are used to fix the soft-pack battery and apply pressure. At the same time, it requires a certain thickness and cavity for placing temperature and pressure sensors.

[0016] The temperature sensor includes a thermistor, a resistance temperature probe, a thermocouple, an infrared temperature sensor, a semiconductor temperature sensor, etc., and can measure temperature.

[0017] The pressure sensor includes piezoresistive, piezoelectric, capacitive, electromagnetic induction type and other pressure sensors, and can measure pressure.

[0018] The knob screw and the metal elastic sheet include copper, nickel, silver, iron and their alloys, etc., which have the ability of certain elastic deformation, and at the same time have good electrical conductivity to reduce the internal resistance.

[0019] The device of the present invention can be used for the test of any soft-pack battery system, including lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, zinc-ion batteries, zinc metal batteries, lithium metal batteries, sodium metal batteries and all-solid-state batteries, etc.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: by setting the fixed clamping plate and the sliding clamping plate to clamp and fix the battery core and applying pressure through the four-corner nuts, two groups of independent knob screws can respectively push two groups of metal elastic sheets to clamp the pole ears of the battery core, press the pole ears in the middle position, ensure the symmetry of the force on the pole ears, eliminate the resultant shear force of the pole ears, and are not affected by the torsional force, effectively avoiding the breakage of the pole ears. At the same time, it can realize the battery clamping device with the functions of real-time monitoring of the applied pressure and the battery temperature to sense the charge and discharge performance of the battery, thereby greatly improving the safety and accuracy of the test and ensuring the reliability of the battery performance test. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The drawings described herein are used to provide a further understanding of the present invention, and constitute a part of the present invention. The schematic embodiments of the present invention and their descriptions are used to explain the present invention, and do not constitute an improper limitation of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 1ASchematic three-dimensional structure diagram of the clamping device of the present utility model;

[0023] Figure 1B Schematic side structure diagram of the clamping device of the present utility model;

[0024] Figure 1C Exploded view of the structure of the clamping device of the present utility model;

[0025] Figure 2A Schematic internal structure diagram of the clamping device of the present utility model;

[0026] Figure 2B Schematic top view structure diagram of the base of the clamping device of the present utility model;

[0027] Figure 2C Schematic internal structure diagram of the base of the clamping device of the present utility model;

[0028] Figure 2D Schematic structure diagram of the sliding clamping plate of the present utility model. Detailed implementation manners

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the overall concept of the present application, the following will be described in detail by way of examples in conjunction with the drawings in the specification.

[0030] As Figure 1A 、 Figure 1B shown, the clamping device 100 is functionally divided into the clamping plate assembly 2 in the upper part and the base 1 in the lower part. The clamping plate assembly 2 in the upper part is used to clamp the soft-pack battery cell and provide the clamping force for testing, and the clamping plate assembly 2 is provided with a pressure sensor 41 and a temperature sensor 42 (not shown in the figure), mainly realizing the functions of pressurization and sensing; while the lower part base 1 is responsible for protecting the ear, connecting the ear and monitoring the temperature and pressure. The bottom edge of the fixed clamping plate 21 is fixed on the base 1 through a screw 86, and the sliding clamping plate 22 and the four corners of the fixed clamping plate 21 are provided with clamping screws 3, and the clamping force for testing can be adjusted through the clamping screws 3.

[0031] As Figure 1C 、 Figure 2DAs shown in the figure, the clamping plate assembly 2 includes a fixed clamping plate 21 and a sliding clamping plate 22; two sliding plate feet 25, 26 are provided at the bottom edge of the sliding clamping plate 22, and a metal ball 27, 28 is provided under each of the sliding plate feet 25, 26; two transverse chutes 31, 32 are provided at the upper edge of the base 1, and a slide rail 33, 34 is provided in each of the chutes 31, 32. The sliding plate feet 25, 26 slide in the slide rails 33, 34 through the metal balls 27, 28, driving the sliding clamping plate 22 to slide. Limiters 37, 38 are provided in the slide rails 33, 34, and the limiters 37, 38 are fixed by screws and nuts 76, 77; when the sliding clamping plate 22 slides to a preset position, the limiters 37, 38 limit the movement of the sliding plate feet 25, 26. The sliding clamping plate 22 can realize the relative movement between the two clamping plates, so as to adapt to soft-pack batteries of different sizes and specifications. In fact, as another embodiment, the fixed clamping plate 21 can also be set to the same or similar sliding structure as the sliding clamping plate 22, so that both clamping plates can slide independently, making it more flexible and accommodating for soft-pack batteries.

[0032] A display screen 88 is provided on the side of the base 1, which is used to display the pressure value and temperature value sensed by the pressure sensor 41 and the temperature sensor 42, so as to observe in time dangerous situations such as the pressure rise caused by battery swelling and the temperature rise caused by thermal runaway.

[0033] A positive electrode jack 53 and a negative electrode jack 54 are provided on one side edge of the base 1. An insulating rubber pad or other insulating elastic layer is laid on the inner layers of the fixed clamping plate 21 and the sliding clamping plate 22, which can avoid the short circuit caused by the short circuit of the positive and negative electrodes of the battery; at the same time, the elastic layer can also relieve the clamping pressure of the clamping plate, making it evenly distributed on the soft-pack battery, and avoiding the abnormal battery performance or damage caused by uneven local stress.

[0034] When inserting the soft-pack battery between the clamping plates, the pressure applied can be controlled by adjusting the clamping screws 3 at the four corners of the clamping plate assembly 2. The real-time pressure value will be displayed on the screen below, which is convenient for the operator to monitor and adjust the experimental conditions at any time to ensure that the experiment is carried out under suitable conditions.

[0035] In addition, to prevent short circuit, the connection parts of the clamping screws 3 and the clamping plate assembly 2 are all provided with insulating plastic substrates to provide additional safety protection.

[0036] Such as Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B 、 Figure 2CAs shown, a long groove 4 parallel to the clamping plate assembly 2 is provided along the upper edge of the base 1. The long groove 4 is provided with two tab slots 51 and 52. On both sides of the tab slots 51 and 52, two groups of metal elastic pieces 61 and 62 are provided. On both sides of the two groups of metal elastic pieces 61 and 62, two groups of knob screws 71 and 72 are provided respectively. The two groups of knob screws 71 and 72 penetrate through the base 1. Rotating the two groups of knob screws 71 and 72 can respectively push the two groups of metal elastic pieces 61 and 62 to clamp the two tabs 81 and 82 of the soft-pack battery cell inserted into the tab slots 51 and 52. The positive electrode jack 53 and the negative electrode jack 54 are respectively connected to the metal elastic pieces 61 and 62 through the wire 99 inside the base 1 for receiving the electrical signals output by the two tabs 81 and 82.

[0037] Another example is Figure 2C As shown, on the two side panels of the base 1, when the knob screws 71 and 72 rotate, they push the metal elastic pieces 61 and 62 to deform towards the middle part, thereby firmly clamping the tabs.

[0038] After the tabs are inserted into the tab slots 51 and 52, rotate the knob screws 71 and 72 on both sides respectively to make the metal elastic pieces 61 and 62 generate the same degree of deformation, so as to press the tabs in the middle position, ensure that the tabs are symmetrically stressed, the resultant shear force is zero, and effectively avoid tab fracture. Through the internal wire 99 connection, the positive and negative electrodes are externally connected to the positive electrode jack 53 and the negative electrode jack 54 on the side of the lower half part to ensure the reliability and stability of the battery connection.

[0039] The clamping plate assembly 2 is equipped with advanced pressure sensors 41 and temperature sensors 42, which can monitor the pressure between the clamping plate assemblies 2 and the temperature change of the battery in real time. The data collected by the sensors will be displayed on the display screen 88 of the lower half part in real time, enabling the operator to understand the test status of the battery at any time. This real-time monitoring function can not only effectively reflect the test status of the battery, but also help to detect and avoid abnormal situations that may cause danger such as gas production and runaway temperature in a timely manner, thereby improving the safety of the test.

[0040] During actual operation, insert the lithium-ion soft-pack battery cell 77 between the clamping plate assemblies 2 of the new clamping device 100 to ensure the correct battery position. Then, adjust the clamping screws 3 at the four corners of the clamping plate, and monitor the pressure value in real time through the display screen 88, and gradually apply appropriate pressure to ensure that the battery is evenly stressed.

[0041] Next, insert the positive and negative tabs of the battery into the tab slots 51 and 52 respectively, rotate the knob screws 71 and 72 on the side panel to push the metal elastic pieces 61 and 62 to deform, firmly clamp the tabs, and ensure that they are symmetrically stressed to avoid deformation and fracture.

[0042] After the installation and connection are completed, the actual test begins.

[0043] First, conduct a temperature change test. Combine the clamping device with the environmental chamber to simulate the working conditions of the battery in different temperature environments, with the temperature range from -20°C to 60°C. Through the sensors on the clamping device, monitor and record the temperature change of the battery in real time to ensure its performance stability at different temperatures.

[0044] Subsequently, conduct a pressure change test. By adjusting the clamping screw 3, apply different pressures, monitor the pressure value in real time, and observe the voltage, current, and capacity changes of the battery under different pressure conditions to ensure its performance stability.

[0045] During the entire test process, the display screen 88 on the clamping device 100 displays the temperature and pressure data in real time. The operator adjusts the experimental conditions based on these data to ensure the accuracy and safety of the test. At the same time, the data monitored by the sensors helps the team promptly discover and avoid abnormal situations that may cause danger, such as gas generation and thermal runaway of the battery.

[0046] Through these tests, detailed performance data of the lithium-ion soft-pack battery under different environments and working conditions are obtained. These data not only verify the reliability of the battery design but also provide important references for further optimizing the battery structure and enhancing its commercial application value.

[0047] This practical application example demonstrates the key role of the novel soft-pack battery clamping device of the present invention in lithium battery testing. By effectively protecting the battery tabs and monitoring the temperature and pressure in real time, this clamping device significantly improves the safety and accuracy of the test, providing a reliable guarantee for the research and development and application of lithium batteries.

[0048] The above examples are only embodiments of the present utility model and are not used to limit the present utility model. For those skilled in the art, various changes and modifications can be made to the present utility model. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present utility model shall be included within the scope of the claims of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A soft-pack battery clamping device (100) with a tab protection function and capable of monitoring pressure and temperature, characterized in that, It includes a base (1) and a clamping plate assembly (2). The clamping plate assembly (2) is used to clamp a soft-pack battery cell and provide a clamping force for testing. The clamping plate assembly (2) includes a fixed clamping plate (21) and a sliding clamping plate (22). The bottom edge of the fixed clamping plate (21) is fixed on the base (1). Clamping screws (3) are provided at the four corners of the sliding clamping plate (22) and the fixed clamping plate (21). The clamping force for testing can be adjusted through the clamping screws (3). A long groove (4) parallel to the clamping plate assembly (2) is provided on the upper edge of the base (1). The long groove (4) is provided with two tab slots (51, 52). Two groups of metal elastic sheets (61, 62) are provided on both sides of the tab slots (51, 52). Two groups of knob screws (71, 72) are provided on both sides of the two groups of metal elastic sheets (61, 62). The two groups of knob screws (71, 72) penetrate through the base (1). Rotating the two groups of knob screws (71, 72) can respectively push the two groups of metal elastic sheets (61, 62) to clamp the two tabs (81, 82) of the soft-pack battery cell inserted into the tab slots (51, 52).

2. The soft-pack battery clamping device (100) according to claim 1, wherein: Two sliding plate feet (25, 26) are provided at the bottom edge of the sliding clamping plate (22), and a metal ball (27, 28) is provided under each of the sliding plate feet (25, 26). Two transverse sliding grooves (31, 32) are provided on the upper edge of the base (1). A slide rail (33, 34) is provided in each of the sliding grooves (31, 32). The sliding plate feet (25, 26) slide in the slide rails (33, 34) through the metal balls (27, 28), driving the sliding clamping plate (22) to slide.

3. The soft-pack battery clamping device (100) according to claim 2, wherein: Limiters (37, 38) are provided in the slide rails (33, 34). When the sliding clamping plate (22) slides to a preset position, the limiters (37, 38) limit the movement of the sliding plate feet (25, 26).

4. The soft-pack battery clamping device (100) according to claim 2, characterized in that: The clamping plate assembly (2) is provided with a pressure sensor (41) and a temperature sensor (42).

5. The soft-pack battery clamping device (100) according to claim 4, wherein: A display screen (88) is provided on the side of the base (1) for displaying the pressure value and temperature value sensed by the pressure sensor (41) and the temperature sensor (42).

6. The soft-pack battery clamping device (100) according to claim 1, wherein: A positive electrode jack (53) and a negative electrode jack (54) are provided on one side edge of the base (1). The positive electrode jack (53) and the negative electrode jack (54) are respectively connected to the metal elastic sheets (61, 62) through wires (99) inside the base (1) for receiving the electrical signals output by the two tabs (81, 82).

7. The soft-pack battery clamping device (100) according to claim 1, wherein: An insulating rubber pad or other insulating elastic layer is laid on the inner layers of the fixed splint (21) and the sliding splint (22).

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