Battery module and battery pack

Abstract

The utility model provides a battery module and a battery pack, and relates to the technical field of battery modules. The battery module comprises a shell and a plurality of battery cells, wherein the plurality of battery cells are stacked along the length direction of the shell; the shell comprises a first plate body and two second plate bodies; the first plate body comprises a bottom, a side part and a convex rib which are integrally formed, the bottom and the side part are arranged at an included angle, the bottom is used for supporting one end, deviating from the tab, of the battery cell, and the side part abuts against one end, in the width direction, of the battery cell to limit the battery cell; the convex rib is arranged on one side, deviating from the battery cell, of the side part, extends along the length direction of the side part and extends to two ends of the length direction of the side part; the length direction of the first plate body is parallel to the length direction of the shell; the two second plate bodies are arranged at the two ends of the first plate body in the length direction and are in threaded connection with the side parts at the convex ribs; and the plurality of battery cells are clamped between the pair of second plate bodies. The battery module provided by the embodiment of the utility model is simple in structure, and the assembly efficiency of the battery module is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of batteries, in particular to a battery module and a battery pack. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the rapid development of the global new energy market and the continuous enhancement of environmental awareness, lithium batteries, as a kind of efficient and environmentally friendly new energy, have gradually become a hot topic. Lithium battery systems have been widely used in electric vehicles, energy storage systems, smart homes, unmanned aerial vehicles and other fields. The lithium battery module is one of the important components of the lithium battery system.

[0003] In the related art, the battery (such as a lithium battery, especially a lithium solid-state lithium battery) has a large volume expansion. In order to limit the expansion of the lithium battery, a certain pre-pressure needs to be applied to the battery loaded in the shell. At the same time, in order to enable the shell to adapt to lithium batteries of different models and to adjust the size of the pre-pressure applied by the shell to the battery, the shell generally also needs to include a pull rod, a locking piece and other structures, thereby resulting in a complex structure of the shell and a low assembly efficiency. UTILITY MODEL CONTENT

[0004] The present application provides a battery module and a battery pack, aiming to improve at least one of the above technical problems.

[0005] In one aspect, the present application provides a battery module, which comprises a shell and a plurality of battery cells, and the plurality of battery cells are stacked along the length direction of the shell.

[0006] The shell comprises a first plate body and two second plate bodies, and the two second plate bodies are arranged at both ends of the length direction of the first plate body and are threadedly connected with both ends of the length direction of the first plate body at the protruding ribs.

[0007] The first plate body comprises an integrally formed bottom, a side and a protruding rib, the bottom and the side are arranged at an included angle, the bottom is used for supporting one end of the battery cell away from the tab, and the side abuts against one end of the battery cell in the width direction to limit the battery cell; the protruding rib is arranged on one side of the side away from the battery cell, the protruding rib extends along the length direction of the side and extends to both ends of the length direction of the side.

[0008] The plurality of battery cells are clamped between the two second plate bodies.

[0009] In some embodiments of the present application, the number of the first plate bodies is two, the cross section of each first plate body is in the shape of the letter "L", the two sides are oppositely arranged, the two bottoms extend in the direction of approaching each other, and there is a gap between them.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present application, the first plate body has a cross-section in the shape of a letter "U", and the number of the side portions is two, the two side portions are oppositely arranged along the width direction of the battery cell, and the bottom portion connects the two side portions.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present application, a sealed cavity is arranged in the first plate body and / or the second plate body, and the sealed cavity is used to accommodate phase change material.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present application,

[0013] The sealed cavity includes a first sealed cavity arranged in the first plate body, the first sealed cavity includes a plurality of first sub-cavities, the plurality of first sub-cavities are distributed along the height direction of the shell, and each first sub-cavity extends along the length direction of the shell; and / or

[0014] The sealed cavity includes a second sealed cavity arranged in the second plate body, the second sealed cavity includes a plurality of second sub-cavities, the plurality of second sub-cavities are distributed along the height direction of the shell, and each second sub-cavity extends along the width direction of the shell.

[0015] In some embodiments of the present application, the sealed cavity accommodates phase change material, and the phase change material includes one or more of paraffin and higher fatty acids.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present application, the battery module further includes a heat dissipation plate arranged between adjacent two battery cells and / or between the battery cell and the shell; and / or

[0017] The battery module further includes a buffer plate arranged between adjacent two battery cells and / or between the battery cell and the shell.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present application, the battery module further includes a connecting plate, and the tab of each battery cell is arranged on the same side of the connecting plate; the connecting plate is arranged on the same side of the tab, and the connecting plate electrically connects adjacent two battery cells through the tab.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present application, the connecting plate has a first opening and a second opening arranged at intervals, adjacent two battery cells include a first battery cell and a second battery cell, a first tab of the first battery cell is located in the first opening, a second tab of the second battery cell is located in the second opening, and the first tab and the second tab are electrically connected through the connecting plate.

[0020] The second aspect of the present application provides a battery pack, which includes the battery module.

[0021] Advantages:

[0022] The battery module in the application comprises a shell and a plurality of battery cells, the plurality of battery cells are stacked along the length direction of the battery module; the shell comprises a first plate body and a pair of second plate bodies; the first plate body comprises an integrally formed bottom, a side portion and a protruding rib, the bottom and the side portion are arranged at an included angle, the bottom is used for supporting one end of the battery cell away from the tab, and the side portion abuts against one end of the battery cell in the width direction to limit the battery cell; the protruding rib is arranged on the side of the side portion away from the battery cell, the protruding rib extends along the length direction of the side portion and extends to both ends of the length direction of the side portion; the length direction of the first plate body is arranged in parallel with the length direction of the battery module; the pair of second plate bodies are arranged at both ends of the length direction of the first plate body and are threadedly connected with the side portion at the protruding rib; and the plurality of battery cells are clamped between the pair of second plate bodies. The battery module in the embodiment of the application has a simple structure and is conducive to improving the assembly efficiency of the battery module. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings needed to be used in the embodiment description. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the application, and other drawings can also be obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative effort based on these drawings.

[0024] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a first embodiment of the battery module provided by the application;

[0025] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a partial structural schematic diagram of the battery module shown in the figure;

[0026] Figure 3 is Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of the battery module provided in the figure from another perspective;

[0027] Figure 4 is Figure 2 is a partial exploded structural schematic diagram of the battery module provided in the figure;

[0028] Figure 5 is Figure 1 is a top view of the battery module shown in the figure;

[0029] Figure 6 is a structural schematic diagram of one embodiment of the first plate body provided by the application;

[0030] Figure 7 is Figure 6 is a structural schematic diagram of the first plate body provided in the figure from another perspective;

[0031] Figure 8 is a structural schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the battery module provided by the application;

[0032] Figure 9 is a structural schematic view of one embodiment of the connecting plate provided by the embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 10 is Figure 9 a top view of the connecting plate shown in the figure;

[0034] Figure 11 is a structural schematic view of another embodiment of the connecting plate provided by the embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0036] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the purpose of facilitating the description of the present application and simplifying the description, and therefore cannot be understood as indicating or implying that the devices or elements indicated must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present application.

[0037] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only for the purpose of description, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined with "first" and "second" can explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "multiple" is two or more, unless otherwise specifically limited.

[0038] In this application, the word "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any implementation described as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other implementations. The following description is presented to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the application. For purposes of explanation, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the application. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that the application can be practiced without the specific details presented herein. In other instances, well known structures and processes are not elaborated in order to avoid obscuring the subject matter of this application. Thus, the present application is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accorded the widest

[0039] With the rapid development of the global new energy market and the continuous enhancement of environmental awareness, lithium batteries, as a kind of efficient and environmentally friendly new energy, have gradually become a hot topic. Lithium battery systems have been widely used in electric vehicles, energy storage systems, smart homes, unmanned aerial vehicles and other fields. Lithium battery modules are one of the important components of lithium battery systems.

[0040] In the related art, the battery (such as a lithium battery, especially a solid-state lithium battery) has a large volume expansion. In order to limit the expansion of the battery, a certain pre-pressure needs to be applied to the battery loaded in the shell. At the same time, in order to enable the shell to adapt to lithium batteries of different models and to adjust the size of the pre-pressure applied by the shell to the battery, the shell is generally a detachable structure and further includes a pull rod, a pressing plate cooperating with the pull rod, a locking piece and other structures, thereby resulting in the problems of complex structure of the shell and low assembly efficiency.

[0041] In view of this, the embodiments of the present application provide a battery module, which has a simple structure, high assembly efficiency and can reduce the volume expansion of the battery.

[0042] Referring to Figures 1 to 11 The embodiments of the present application provide a battery module 100, which includes a shell 10 and a plurality of battery cells 20, and the plurality of battery cells 20 are arranged in the shell 10. Exemplarily, the plurality of battery cells 20 in the embodiments of the present application are used for storing or releasing electric energy. The shell 10 is used for providing a mounting space and protecting the plurality of battery cells 20 mounted therein.

[0043] Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2In the embodiments of the present application, the plurality of battery cells 20 are stacked along the length direction of the shell (i.e. the length direction of the battery module 100) F1. For example, the battery cell 20 can be a square battery cell or a soft package battery cell, which is not limited herein. In the following, the length direction of the shell 10 is also the length direction of the battery module 100, unless otherwise specified. The width direction of the shell 10 is also the length direction of the battery module 100.

[0044] For example, in order to facilitate processing and improve space utilization, each battery cell 20 is generally square in structure, and the shape and size of each battery cell 20 are the same or similar. The mounting space in the shell 10 is adapted to the size and shape of the plurality of battery cells 20. The thickness direction of each battery cell 20 (i.e. the length direction F1 of the shell 10 or the battery module 100), the largest surface of each battery cell 20 is generally perpendicular to the length direction of the battery module 100, and the plurality of battery cells 20 are stacked along the length direction of the battery module 100, which can also be understood as the plurality of battery cells 20 are stacked along the thickness direction thereof.

[0045] In the embodiments of the present application, the shell 10 includes a first plate body 11 and a pair of second plate bodies 12 (i.e. two second plate bodies). It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, "a pair" in the present application can also mean two. In order to facilitate observation of the structure of the shell 10, Figure 2 In the embodiments of the present application, the battery module in

[0046] In the embodiments of the present application, please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 6 The first plate body 11 includes an integrally formed bottom 115, a side 113 and a protruding rib 114. The bottom 115 and the side 113 are arranged at an angle, for example, the bottom 115 and the side 113 are generally arranged vertically. The bottom 115 is used to support the end of the battery cell 20 away from the tab, and the side 113 abuts one end of the width direction F2 of the battery cell to limit the battery cell 20. The protruding rib 114 is arranged on the side of the side 113 away from the battery cell 20, the protruding rib 114 extends along the length direction of the side 113 (i.e. the length direction F1 of the shell or the battery module), and extends to both ends of the length direction of the side 113. A pair of second plate bodies 12 are arranged at both ends of the length direction of the first plate body 11, and are threadedly connected at both ends of the length direction of the first plate body 11 at the protruding rib 114. A plurality of battery cells 20 are clamped between a pair of second plate bodies 12.

[0047] It should be noted that the length direction F1 of the battery module 100, the extension direction of the convex ribs 114, the length direction of the side portions 113, and the stacking direction of the battery cells 20 are arranged in parallel. In this way, the strength of the side portions 113 can be increased, and the tensile force or pressure that the side portions 113 can withstand in the stacking direction of the battery cells 20 (i.e., the length direction of the battery module) can be increased, thereby increasing the structural stability of the shell 10 and the battery module 100.

[0048] In the embodiments of the present application, the first plate body 11 includes the bottom portion 115, the side portions 113, and the convex ribs 114 that are integrally formed, thereby increasing the structural strength of the first plate body 11 and improving the assembly efficiency of the shell 10. Meanwhile, since the pair of second plate bodies 12 are arranged at the two ends of the length direction of the first plate body 11 and are threadedly connected to the first plate body 11 (e.g., the side portions 113 and the bottom portion 115) at the convex ribs 114, the assembly efficiency of the shell 10 can be further improved, and the strength of the shell 10 can be provided. For example, the convex ribs 114 are provided with threaded holes 114a, and the second plate bodies 12 are threadedly connected to the first plate body 11 through the threaded holes 114a.

[0049] Meanwhile, since the plurality of battery cells 20 are clamped between the pair of second plate bodies 12, the second plate bodies 12 can apply a pre-pressing force to the battery cells 20 to improve or avoid the deformation of the battery cells 20 caused by the volume expansion of the battery cells 20 during use. Meanwhile, the pair of second plate bodies 12 are threadedly connected to the two ends of the length direction of the first plate body 11, and the distance between the second plate bodies 12 and the first plate body 11 can be adjusted through the threaded fastening member, thereby changing the distance between the pair of second plate bodies 12, and further adjusting the pre-pressing force applied by the pair of second plate bodies 12 to the battery cells 20. Compared with the scheme in the related art for improving the expansion and deformation of the battery by arranging a pull rod, a pressing plate cooperating with the pull rod, a fastening member, and the like, the structure of the battery module 100 in the present application is simpler, and the assembly efficiency of the battery module 100 can be improved, and the volume expansion of the battery cells 20 in the shell can be effectively reduced.

[0050] For example, the pair of second plate bodies 12 are symmetrically arranged at the two ends of the length direction of the first plate body 11.

[0051] In some embodiments of the present application, please refer to Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figure 6, the first plate body 11 is in the shape of the letter "L", the two side portions 113 are arranged oppositely, and the two bottom portions 115 extend towards each other and have a gap therebetween. In this embodiment, the two bottom portions 115 extend towards each other and are arranged apart from each other, so that a gap 115a is formed between the two bottom portions 115, which is beneficial to reduce the raw materials for manufacturing the first plate body 11, and the heat generated by the battery cell 20 in the shell 10 can be dissipated through the gap 115a, which is beneficial to improve the temperature stability of the battery module 100 during operation.

[0052] In some other embodiments of the present application, the first plate body 11 can also be in the shape of the letter "U", the side portion 113 can be in the shape of the letter "L", the two side portions 113 are arranged oppositely along the width direction F2 of the battery cell, and the bottom portion 115 connects the two side portions 113. It should be noted that the difference between this embodiment and the embodiment of the first plate body 11 in Figure 2 is that the two bottom portions 115 in Figure 1 extend towards each other and are connected to each other. In this way, it is beneficial to further improve the structural strength of the first plate body 11 and improve the assembly efficiency of the battery module 100.

[0053] In some embodiments of the present application, the first plate body 11 and / or the second plate body 12 is provided with a sealed cavity for accommodating phase change material. Specifically, the sealed cavity contains phase change material. It can be understood that, by providing the first plate body 11 and / or the second plate body 12 with a sealed cavity for accommodating phase change material, the weight of the shell 10 can be reduced compared to the prior art solution of providing a cooling water pipeline on the shell 10, thereby reducing the weight of the battery module 100 in the present application. At the same time, the phase change material in the present application can absorb a large amount of heat to reduce the temperature of the battery cell 20 when the temperature of the battery cell 20 is relatively high, and release a large amount of heat to increase the temperature of the battery cell 20 when the temperature of the battery cell 20 is relatively low, so that the battery cell 20 in the shell 10 in the present application has a relatively stable working temperature. Specifically, please refer to Figure 2 , the first plate body 11 is provided with a first sealed cavity 111 for accommodating phase change material. Exemplarily, the first sealed cavity 111 accounts for 30% to 80% of the overall volume of the first plate body 11. In this way, it is beneficial to further improve the temperature stability of the battery module during operation. Further, the phase change temperature of the phase change material is 30°C to 80°C. In this way, it is beneficial to stabilize the temperature of the battery cell 20 or the battery module 100 in the present application at 30°C to 80°C.

[0054] In some embodiments of the present application, the first plate body 11 is provided with a plurality of grooves on the side facing the battery cell 20; the grooves are arranged opposite to at least one battery cell 20; the grooves cooperate with one end of the battery cell 20 in the width direction to limit the battery cell 20, that is, one end of the battery cell 20 extends into the groove, and the groove can limit the battery cell 20 located in it. Exemplarily, the groove is clamped with one end of the battery cell in the width direction to limit the battery cell.

[0055] It should be noted that the grooves are arranged opposite to at least one battery cell 20, which means that one groove can be arranged opposite to one battery cell 20, that is, the grooves are arranged one by one opposite to the battery cells 20. Of course, one groove can also be arranged opposite to multiple battery cells 20 (for example, two or three, etc.), which is not limited herein. The embodiments of the present application are provided with a plurality of grooves on the side of the first plate body 11 facing the battery cell 20, which is beneficial to further increase the strength of the first plate body 11 and reduce the raw material cost of the shell 10. The grooves cooperate with one end of the battery cell 20 in the width direction to limit the battery cell 20, which is beneficial to improve the assembly efficiency and accuracy of the battery cell 20.

[0056] In some embodiments of the present application, the first plate body 11 is provided with a first sealed cavity 111 for accommodating phase change material; the first plate body 11 is provided with a plurality of grooves on the side facing the battery cell 20; the grooves cooperate with one end of the battery cell 20 in the width direction to limit the battery cell 20. It should be noted that in the related art, a predetermined pressure is generally applied to the front surface of the battery cell 20 (that is, the largest surface of the battery cell 20) to avoid the expansion and deformation of the battery cell 20, while the position close to the side surface of the battery cell 20 (for example, the end in the width direction of the battery cell 20) is almost not subjected to the pre-pressure, resulting in the problem of easy deformation. Compared with the related art, the embodiments of the present application are provided with the first sealed cavity 111 in the first plate body 11 for accommodating phase change material, and the first plate body 11 is provided with grooves on the side facing the battery cell 20, so that one end (that is, one end in the width direction of the battery cell 20) of the battery cell 20 located in the groove is closer to the first sealed cavity 111 than other regions of the battery cell 20, and has better temperature stability during the working process of the battery cell 20, and the groove limits the end, thereby reducing the deformation of the end in the width direction of the battery cell 20 cooperating with the groove and improving the structural stability of the battery module 100 during working.

[0057] In some embodiments of the present application, the shape of one end of the battery cell 20 in the width direction is adapted to the shape of the groove, which is conducive to further improving the assembly accuracy of the battery cell 20, improving the contact area between the battery cell 20 and the body, further reducing the swelling deformation of the battery cell 20 in the present application during work, and making the structure of the battery cell 20 module more stable. For example, the structure of the battery cell 20 is square (i.e., the battery cell 20 is a square battery cell 20), and correspondingly, the groove is a square groove. Of course, in other embodiments of the present application, the shape of one end of the battery cell 20 in the width direction can also be other shapes, which are not limited herein.

[0058] For example, one end of the battery cell 20 in the width direction is located entirely within the groove. In this way, it is conducive to further improving the contact area between the battery cell 20 and the body, further reducing the swelling deformation of the battery cell 20 in the present application during work, and making the structure of the battery cell 20 module more stable.

[0059] Specifically, the shell 10 includes a pair of the first plate bodies 11 (i.e., two first plate bodies 11), which are oppositely arranged along the width direction of the battery module 100, and the two ends of the battery cell 20 in the width direction are respectively matched with the grooves on the pair of the first plate bodies 11. In this way, it is conducive to further improving the stability of the battery module 100 of the present application. For example, the pair of the first plate bodies 11 are generally symmetrically arranged, and the two ends of the battery cell 20 in the width direction are respectively matched with the corresponding grooves on the pair of the first plate bodies 11.

[0060] For example, the phase change material includes one or more of paraffin and high-grade fatty acids.

[0061] In some embodiments of the present application, a heat-conducting layer is provided between the battery cell 20 and the first plate body 11. For example, the side surface of the battery cell 20 (i.e., the surface of the battery cell 20 opposite to the groove) is provided with a heat-conducting adhesive, and the battery cell 20 is fixed in the groove through the heat-conducting adhesive. In this way, the heat-conducting adhesive is conducive to faster conduction of heat on the battery cell 20 to the first plate body 11, and is conducive to further improving the temperature stability and structural stability of the battery cell 20 in the shell 10.

[0062] In some embodiments of the present application, a plurality of grooves are arranged along the length direction of the battery module 100, and a plurality of grooves and a plurality of battery cells 20 are arranged one-to-one. In this way, it is conducive to further improving the assembly accuracy of the battery cell 20.

[0063] In other embodiments of the present application, the first sealed cavity 111 includes a plurality of first sub-cavities 111a. It should be noted that the shape and arrangement direction of the plurality of first sub-cavities 111a are not limited herein.

[0064] Exemplarily, the first sub-cavities 111a are distributed along the length direction of the battery module 100, and each first sub-cavities 111a extends along the height direction of the battery module 100. In this way, the temperature control of the battery cells 20 can be differentiated. In some use scenarios, if the battery cells 20 located near the middle position have a higher temperature than the battery cells 20 located at the edge position, the first sub-cavities 111a corresponding to the battery cells 20 at the middle position can be provided with better cooling effect or more phase change materials, so that the battery cells 20 at the middle position can be cooled faster, thereby realizing differentiated temperature adjustment of the battery cells 20 at different positions and meeting more use scenarios.

[0065] Exemplarily, referring to Figure 2 , the first sub-cavities 111a can also be distributed along the height direction of the battery module 100 (i.e., the directions perpendicular to F1 and F2, respectively), and each first sub-cavities 111a extends along the length direction F1 of the battery module 100, which is not limited herein.

[0066] In some embodiments of the present application, along the length direction F1 of the battery module 100, at least part of the first sub-cavities 111a are arranged corresponding to the two adjacent grooves, i.e., at least part of the first sub-cavities 111a are arranged opposite to the side surfaces of the two adjacent battery cells 20. In this way, the temperature difference between the two adjacent battery cells 20 can be reduced, and the stability of the battery cells 20 in operation can be further improved.

[0067] In some embodiments of the present application, the second plate body 12 is provided with a second sealed cavity for accommodating phase change materials. In this way, the weight of the battery module 100 and the deformation amount during operation can be further reduced, and the stability of the battery module 100 during operation can be improved.

[0068] In some embodiments of the present application, the second plate body 12 is provided with a second sealed cavity, and the second sealed cavity includes a plurality of second sub-cavities 121a, at least part of which are used to accommodate phase change materials. It should be noted that the shape and arrangement direction of the second sub-cavities 121a are not limited herein.

[0069] Exemplarily, the second sub-cavities 121a are distributed along the height direction of the battery module 100, and each second sub-cavities 121a extends along the width direction of the battery module 100. In this way, the temperature control of different regions of the battery cells 20 can be differentiated.

[0070] In some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figure 5The battery module 100 further comprises a heat dissipation plate 30 arranged between two adjacent battery cells 20. Further, a heat dissipation plate 30 is arranged between the second plate body 12 and the battery cell. In this way, by arranging a heat dissipation plate 30 between two adjacent battery cells 20, the heat transfer between the two adjacent battery cells 20 is facilitated, the temperature stability of the plurality of battery cells 20 in the shell 10 is improved, and the volume expansion of the battery cells 20 during operation is reduced, thereby improving the stability of the battery module 100. Exemplarily, the heat dissipation plate 30 can be a fiber heat dissipation plate (for example, a heat-conductive carbon fiber heat dissipation plate), or a rubber heat dissipation plate (for example, a silica gel heat dissipation plate), which is not limited herein.

[0071] Further, the heat dissipation plate 30 comprises a folded edge, which is folded towards the side surface of the adjacent battery cell (i.e. the end surface in the width direction of the battery cell or the narrow end surface of the battery cell), and is arranged opposite to the side surface of the battery cell 20. In this way, by arranging a folded edge on the heat dissipation plate 30, the folded edge can protect the side surface of the battery cell 20 located on the inner side thereof, and increase the contact area between the battery cell 20 and the heat dissipation plate 30, thereby further improving the heat dissipation effect of the battery cell 20.

[0072] In some embodiments of the present application, the battery module 100 further comprises a buffer plate (not shown in the figure), which is arranged between the battery cell 20 and the second plate body 12 or between the battery cell 20 and the first plate body 11, i.e. the first plate body 11 and / or the second plate body 12 abuts against the corresponding battery cell 20 through the buffer plate. Exemplarily, the buffer plate is an insulating buffer plate, so as to avoid the leakage of the shell 10 and improve the buffering performance and safety performance of the battery module 100.

[0073] In some embodiments of the present application, the battery module 100 further comprises a buffer plate arranged between two adjacent battery cells 20. In this embodiment, by arranging a buffer plate between two adjacent battery cells 20, the rigid contact between the two adjacent battery cells 20 is avoided, and the buffering performance of the battery module 100 is improved.

[0074] In some embodiments of the present application, the first plate body 11 and / or the second plate body 12 is an aluminum alloy plate. In this way, the mechanical strength of the shell 10 is ensured while the shell 10 has a smaller volume and a lighter weight.

[0075] In some embodiments of the present application, referring to Figures 8 to 11 The battery module 100 further comprises a connecting plate 50 arranged on the same side as the tabs of the plurality of battery cells 20. The connecting plate 50 is arranged on the same side as the tabs, and the connecting plate 50 electrically connects two adjacent battery cells 20 through the tabs. Exemplarily, the connecting plate 50 is connected to the tabs of two adjacent battery cells 20, and the two adjacent battery cells 20 are connected in series through the connecting plate 50.

[0076] Further, the connecting plate 50 has a first opening 50a and a second opening 50b arranged at intervals, two adjacent battery cells 20 include a first battery cell and a second battery cell, the first tab 21 of the first battery cell is located in the first opening 50a, and the second tab 22 of the second battery cell is located in the second opening 50b, and the first tab 21 and the second tab 22 are electrically connected through the connecting plate 50. Specifically, the first tab 21 includes a first positive tab 21a and a first negative tab 21b, and the second tab 22 includes a second positive tab 22a and a second negative tab 22b, the first positive tab 21a and the second negative tab 22b are arranged adjacent to and opposite to each other, and the first positive tab 21a and the second negative tab 22b are electrically connected through the connecting plate 50.

[0077] In some embodiments of the present application, each battery cell 20 includes a positive tab and a negative tab, and the positive tab and the negative tab of each battery cell are arranged at intervals along the width direction of the battery cell 20. Among two adjacent battery cells 20, the positive tab of one battery cell 20 is arranged opposite to (i.e., on the same side of) the negative tab of the other battery cell 20. The battery module 100 includes a plurality of connecting plates 50, and along the width direction of the battery cell 20, the plurality of connecting plates 50 include a first connecting plate group and a second connecting plate group, the first connecting plate group includes a plurality of first connecting plates 50c arranged at intervals along the length direction of the battery module, and the second connecting plate group includes a plurality of second connecting plates 50d arranged at intervals along the length direction of the battery module, and the first connecting plate 50c or the second connecting plate 50d connects one positive tab and one negative tab arranged opposite to each other on two adjacent battery cells 20.

[0078] Specifically, along the width direction of the battery module 100, the first connecting plate 50c and the second connecting plate 50d arranged adjacent to each other are staggered, and along the height direction of the battery module 100 (i.e., the direction perpendicular to F1 and F2 respectively), the first connecting plate 50c and the second connecting plate 50d are located on the same plane. In this way, it is beneficial to improve the smoothness of the electrical connection between the two adjacent battery cells 20 and the connecting plate 50, and further improve the structural compactness of the battery module 100. It should be noted that in the embodiments of the present application, the structures of the first connecting plate 50c and the second connecting plate 50d can be the same or different, which is not limited herein. For example, the structures of the first connecting plate 50c and the second connecting plate 50d are the same.

[0079] In some embodiments of the present application, the connecting plate 50 comprises an insulating body 51 and a conductive layer 52 on the insulating body 51. The first opening 50a and the second opening 50b are provided on the insulating body 51, and the conductive layer 52 covers the portion of the insulating body 51 between the first opening 50a and the second opening 50b, and the first tab 21 and the second tab 22 are electrically connected through the conductive layer 52. The first opening 50a and the second opening 50b are arranged in the width direction of the insulating body 51 (i.e. the length direction of the battery module 100). The first opening 50a and the second opening 50b respectively extend in the length direction of the insulating body 51 (i.e. the width direction of the battery module 100), and in the length direction of the insulating body 51, the size of the first opening 50a is greater than the size of the first tab 21, the size of the second opening 50b is greater than the size of the second tab 22, and the area of the first opening 50a is greater than the cross-sectional area of the first tab 21, and the area of the second opening 50b is greater than the cross-sectional area of the second tab 22. In this way, the first tab 21 can smoothly pass through the first opening 50a, the second tab 22 can smoothly pass through the second opening 50b, then the end of the first tab 21 (i.e. the free end of the first tab 21 or the end away from the shell 10) passing through the first opening 50a is bent towards the conductive layer 52 to make it electrically connected with the conductive layer 52, and the end of the second tab 22 (i.e. the free end of the second tab 22 or the end away from the shell 10) passing through the second opening 50b is bent towards the conductive layer 52 to make it electrically connected with the conductive layer 52, which is conducive to improving the stability of the electrical connection between the two adjacent battery cells 20 and improving the assembly efficiency.

[0080] In some embodiments of the present application, along the width direction of the insulating body 51, please refer to Figure 11 , the conductive layer 52 has a first conductive end 52a and a second conductive end 52b, the first conductive end 52a extends into the first opening 50a, and the second conductive end 52b extends into the second opening 50b. In this way, it is conducive to increasing the contact area of the conductive layer 52 with the first tab 21 and the second tab 22, and further improving the convenience and stability of the electrical connection of the first tab 21 and the second tab 22.

[0081] The embodiments of the present application also provide a battery pack comprising at least one battery module 100. Since the battery pack in the embodiments of the present application comprises the above battery module 100, it has the beneficial effects of the battery module 100 described in the present application. For example, the battery pack comprises a box body and a plurality of battery modules 100, and the plurality of battery modules 100 are fixed in the box body.

[0082] In some embodiments of the present application, the battery pack further comprises an electrical system, a thermal management system, a bms (battery management system), etc. It should be noted that the electrical system, the thermal management system and the bms are not the main improvement points of the present application, and will not be described here.

[0083] In the above-described embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own focus, and the parts not described in detail in a certain embodiment can be referred to the detailed description of other embodiments above, which will not be repeated here.

[0084] The foregoing merely illustrates the principles of the application. It will thus be appreciated that those skilled in the art will be able to devise various arrangements which, although not explicitly described or shown herein, embody the principles of the application and are thus within its spirit and scope. It will be understood that the application is not limited to the embodiments described above, but includes all embodiments which would normally occur to persons of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the above description and appended claims.

[0085] Also, the use of "a" or "an" to describe embodiments is intended to be a non-limiting identification of one or more of those embodiments. For example, "a" or "an" can be used to describe one or more of the features, structures, or characteristics of the embodiments. Thus, a reference to "a" or "an" embodiment or element is a reference to one or more of those embodiments or elements, and this use of the term "a" or "an" is only intended to be used to identify one or more of those embodiments or elements in the specification and claims.

[0086] Similarly, it is to be noticed that the term "comprising", used in the description, is not used in the sense restricting itself to the features of the embodiments described. It is used to mean that the embodiments include, but are not limited to, those features. It is to be noted that, as used in the present application, the term "and / or" comprises the possible presence of one or more of the listed elements and the absence of one or more of the listed elements. For example, when referring to "A and / or B" this means that A can be present, B can be present, or both A and B can be present.

[0087] Some embodiments use numerical ranges to describe quantities of components, attributes, etc. It should be understood that the numerical ranges recited in the embodiments descriptions are approximate ranges, which can be modified using modifiers such as "about", "approximately", or "generally" in some embodiments. Unless otherwise indicated, "about", "approximately", or "generally" means ±20% of the indicated value. Accordingly, numerical parameters in the specification and claims are approximations, which can vary depending on the desired properties sought to be obtained by the individual embodiments. In some embodiments, numerical parameters are approximations that can depend on the equipment, the state of the art, and the like. Although the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broadest scope of the embodiments are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as possible. Any numerical value, however, can contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.

[0088] The above has carried out the detailed introduction to the battery module and the battery pack provided by the embodiment of the application, the principle and the implementation mode of the application are described in the text by applying specific examples, the above embodiment description is only for helping understanding the method of the application and its core idea; meanwhile, for the person skilled in the art, according to the idea of the application, the specific implementation mode and the application range will have the change, and the above is described, and the content of the specification should not be understood as the limitation of the application.

Claims

1. A battery module, characterized by, The battery module comprises a shell and a plurality of battery cells stacked along the length direction of the shell; The shell comprises a first plate body and two second plate bodies; the first plate body comprises an integrally formed bottom, a side, and a protruding rib; The two second plate bodies are arranged at the two ends of the length direction of the first plate body and are threadedly connected with the two ends of the length direction of the first plate body at the protruding rib; The bottom and the side are arranged at an included angle, the bottom is used to support the end of the battery cell away from the tab, and the side abuts against one end of the battery cell in the width direction to limit the battery cell; the protruding rib is arranged on the side away from the battery cell, the protruding rib extends along the length direction of the side and extends to the two ends of the length direction of the side; The plurality of battery cells are clamped between the two second plate bodies.

2. The battery module of claim 1, wherein, The number of the first plate bodies is two, the cross section of each first plate body is in the shape of the letter "L", the two sides are oppositely arranged, the two bottoms extend in the direction of approaching each other and have a gap therebetween.

3. The battery module of claim 1, wherein, The cross section of the first plate body is in the shape of the letter "U", the number of the sides is two, the two sides are oppositely arranged along the width direction of the battery cell, and the bottom connects the two sides.

4. The battery module of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The first plate body and / or the second plate body is provided with a sealed cavity, and the sealed cavity is used to accommodate phase change material.

5. The battery module of claim 4, wherein, The sealed cavity comprises a first sealed cavity arranged in the first plate body, the first sealed cavity comprises a plurality of first sub-cavities, the plurality of first sub-cavities are distributed along the height direction of the shell, and each first sub-cavity extends along the length direction of the shell; and / or The sealed cavity comprises a second sealed cavity arranged in the second plate body, the second sealed cavity comprises a plurality of second sub-cavities, the plurality of second sub-cavities are distributed along the height direction of the shell, and each second sub-cavity extends along the width direction of the shell.

6. The battery module of claim 4, wherein, The sealed cavity contains phase change material, and the phase change material comprises one or more of paraffin and high-grade fatty acid.

7. The battery module of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The battery module further comprises a heat dissipation plate arranged between adjacent two battery cells and / or between the battery cell and the shell; and / or The battery module further comprises a buffer plate arranged between adjacent two battery cells and / or between the battery cell and the shell.

8. The battery module of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein, The battery module further comprises a connecting plate, and the tabs of the plurality of battery cells are arranged on the same side; the connecting plate is arranged on the same side as the tabs, and the connecting plate electrically connects adjacent two battery cells through the tabs.

9. The battery module of claim 8, wherein, The connecting plate has a first opening and a second opening arranged at intervals thereon, adjacent two battery cells comprise a first battery cell and a second battery cell, a first tab of the first battery cell is located in the first opening, a second tab of the second battery cell is located in the second opening, and the first tab and the second tab are electrically connected through the connecting plate.

10. A battery pack, characterized by, The battery pack comprises at least one battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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