Battery pack with thermal runaway protection assembly

Abstract

The utility model discloses a battery pack with a thermal runaway protection assembly, and relates to the technical field of battery thermal runaway management. The battery pack comprises a plurality of battery cell units, a gap is formed between every two adjacent battery cell units, each battery cell unit comprises a protection assembly and single battery cells arranged on the two sides of the protection assembly respectively, the interior of the protection assembly communicates with external cooling liquid supply equipment, and a spraying opening is formed in the upper end face of the protection assembly. And the spraying openings (13) are used for spraying cooling liquid to fill the gaps so as to separate the adjacent battery cell units. According to the battery pack with the thermal runaway protection assembly disclosed by the utility model, in a thermal runaway environment, cooling liquid can flow downwards from the upper end surfaces of the battery cell units along the side walls of the battery cell units, so that flowing cooling liquid interlayers are formed on the upper end surfaces and the side walls of the battery cell units and are finally accumulated at the bottoms of the battery cells, and the battery cell units are effectively isolated; and cell thermal runaway spreading is prevented.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to battery thermal runaway management technical field especially relates to a battery pack with thermal runaway protection assembly. BACKGROUND

[0002] The prior art discloses a kind of thermal runaway protection device for battery pack, including liquid cooling plate, the liquid cooling plate is used to be arranged in the battery pack;Spray head, the spray head is set to the liquid cooling plate and is communicated with the cooling flow channel in the liquid cooling plate, the spray head is equipped with spray hole;And, hot melt sleeve, the hot melt sleeve is set to the outside of the spray head and seals the spray hole;Wherein, under thermal runaway environment, the hot melt sleeve can be melted and expose the spray hole.Spray head is directly arranged on liquid cooling plate, and directly using cooling fluid in liquid cooling plate carries out spray operation, need not configure a large number of pipeline, simplify the structure of thermal runaway protection device, improve the degree of integration, also need not separate storage spray liquid, reduce the requirement to installation space, make the practical application ability of thermal runaway protection device greatly enhanced.

[0003] But, the above-mentioned device still has following defects:

[0004] In order to not occupy the height installation space of battery pack, leading to battery pack internal space utilization rate reduction, spray head is installed in the empty area of the two sides of electric core, and the empty area is larger (to accommodate spray head), so when thermal runaway phenomenon occurs, even if spray head sprays cooling liquid upwards, most cooling liquid will only fall downwards from the empty area of the two sides of electric core, so that cooling liquid barrier in continuous flow is formed on the upper end surface and side portion of electric core, leading to that electric core that thermal runaway occurs cannot be effectively isolated, cannot inhibit thermal runaway to spread to adjacent electric core, leading to that battery thermal runaway range becomes larger, causes greater loss. UTILITY MODEL CONTENTS

[0005] The utility model provides a kind of battery pack with thermal runaway protection assembly, in thermal runaway environment, cooling liquid can flow downwards from the upper end surface of electric core unit along the side wall of electric core unit, to form flowing cooling liquid barrier at the upper end surface and side wall of electric core unit in turn, and finally accumulated in the bottom of electric core unit, to isolate electric core unit, prevent thermal runaway from spreading, to solve the above technical problem.

[0006] The technical scheme for solving the above problems of the utility model is: provide a kind of battery pack with thermal runaway protection assembly, the battery pack includes a plurality of electric core units, gap is equipped between adjacent electric core units, the electric core unit includes protection assembly and single electric core respectively arranged in the two sides of the protection assembly, the inside of protection assembly is communicated with external cooling liquid supply equipment, the upper end surface of protection assembly is equipped with spray port, the spray port is used to spray cooling liquid, to fill the gap, to separate adjacent electric core units in turn.

[0007] Further, the protection assembly comprises a liquid cooling beam and a liquid cooling flow channel arranged inside the liquid cooling beam, the spray port is arranged on the upper end surface of the liquid cooling beam, and the upper end surface of the liquid cooling beam is exposed at the upper end surface of the battery cell unit,

[0008] Further, the liquid cooling beam is provided with a main flow channel, the main flow channel is communicated with the liquid cooling flow channel, and the main flow channel is formed with a connecting port communicated with an external cooling liquid supply device on the side end surface of the liquid cooling beam.

[0009] Further, the liquid cooling flow channel comprises a spraying flow channel and a cooling flow channel, the spraying flow channel is communicated with the spray port, at least one spraying flow channel is arranged, and the spraying flow channel is arranged in the upper region of the liquid cooling beam; a plurality of cooling flow channels are arranged, and the plurality of cooling flow channels are equidistantly arranged in the height direction and horizontally arranged inside the liquid cooling beam, and the cooling liquid in the cooling flow channel is used for cooling the battery cells on both sides of the liquid cooling beam and in contact with the liquid cooling beam.

[0010] Further, the spray port is provided with a hot melt plug.

[0011] Further, the hot melt plug is made of polyethylene or nylon material or hot melt adhesive.

[0012] Further, the battery cells on both sides of the protection assembly are arranged opposite to each other.

[0013] Further, the battery cells on both sides of the liquid cooling beam are in contact with the side of the liquid cooling beam.

[0014] Further, the spray port comprises a first spray port arranged towards the aluminum row above the battery cell unit.

[0015] Further, the spray port comprises a second spray port arranged towards the sampling plate above the battery cell unit.

[0016] Further, the spray port further comprises a third spray port arranged towards the upper side of the explosion-proof valve of the battery cell in the battery cell unit.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the utility model are as follows:

[0018] When thermal runaway occurs, the thermal melt plug melts, the spray nozzle sprays the cooling liquid, and since the liquid cooling beam is located between the two single cells, i.e. in the middle of the two single cells, when the cooling liquid is sprayed from the spray nozzle in the middle of the cell unit where thermal runaway occurs, the cooling liquid can flow from the middle area of the upper end surface of the cell unit to the edge of the upper end surface of the cell unit, and then flow downward along the side wall of the cell unit under the action of gravity, and then form a cooling liquid barrier in sequence at the upper end surface and the side wall of the single cell in the cell unit, and then cooperate with the cooling liquid accumulated in the bottom of the battery pack shell and the liquid cooling beam itself to further form an isolation cavity wrapped outside the single cell in thermal runaway, and to form comprehensive isolation for the single cell in thermal runaway to avoid the spread of thermal runaway.

[0019] Moreover, since the spray flow channel and the cooling flow channel are designed in layers, even if thermal runaway occurs, the cooling liquid can circulate between the liquid cooling beam and the external cooling liquid supply device to cool the single cell.

[0020] In addition, when thermal runaway does not occur, the thermal melt plug is solid, which can block the spray nozzle, and the cooling liquid can normally circulate between the liquid cooling beam and the external cooling liquid supply device to cool the single cell. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and form part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application. In these drawings, like reference numerals are used to represent similar elements. The drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the present application, not all embodiments. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative labor.

[0022] Figure 1 is a schematic structural view of the battery pack of the present embodiment;

[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic structural view of the battery pack of the present embodiment; Figure 1 is an enlarged view A of the partial structure of the battery pack of the present embodiment;

[0024] Figure 3 is a structural view of the protection assembly of the present embodiment;

[0025] Figure 4 is a structural view of the protection assembly of the present embodiment;

[0026] 1 - cell unit, 11 - single cell, 12 - liquid cooling beam, 13 - spray nozzle, 14 - liquid cooling flow channel, 15 - main flow channel;

[0027] 2 - thermal melt plug. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The orientation terms mentioned or possibly mentioned in the present specification, such as up, down, left, right, front, back, front side, back side, top, bottom, etc., are defined with respect to the configuration shown in the drawings, and the terms "inner" and "outer" refer to the direction towards or away from the geometric center of a particular component, which are relative concepts, and thus can change accordingly depending on the different positions, different use states, etc. Therefore, these or other orientation terms should not be interpreted as limiting terms.

[0029] Referring to Figures 1 to 4 , the utility model discloses a battery pack with thermal runaway protection assembly, it mainly includes a plurality of electric core unit 1, and electric core unit 1 includes protection assembly and the monomer electric core 11 of opposite setting in protection assembly both sides, the inside of protection assembly is connected with outside cooling liquid supply equipment, and protection assembly forms the spout 13 at the upper end surface of electric core unit 1;In the thermal runaway environment, cooling liquid is continuously flowed down along the side of electric core unit 1 from the spout 13 to form the flowing cooling liquid separation layer at the upper end surface and the side wall of electric core unit 1 to isolate electric core unit 1.

[0030] Specifically, referring to Figure 4 , with reference to Figure 4 The protection assembly includes a liquid cooling beam 12 and a plurality of liquid cooling channels 14 arranged inside the liquid cooling beam 12. The plurality of liquid cooling channels 14 are horizontally equidistantly arranged inside the liquid cooling beam 12 along the height direction. The left and right ends of the liquid cooling beam 12 are vertically provided with main flow channels 15. The left end of the main flow channel 15 is in communication with the left ends of all the liquid cooling channels 14. The left end of the main flow channel 15 is further provided with a connecting port on the left end surface of the liquid cooling beam 12. The right end of the main flow channel 15 is also in communication with the right ends of all the liquid cooling channels 14, and the right end of the main flow channel 15 is also provided with a connecting port on the right end surface of the liquid cooling beam 12.

[0031] In this case, when thermal runaway occurs, the protection assembly can be connected to the external cooling liquid supply device through the two main flow channels 15, so that the cooling liquid can flow along the main flow channel 15-liquid cooling channel 14, flow from the spout 13 to the upper end surface of the electric core unit 1, and then flow down along the side wall of the electric core unit 1 from the edge of the upper end surface of the electric core unit 1, thereby forming a flowing cooling liquid separation layer at the upper end surface and the side wall of the electric core unit 1. In combination with the liquid cooling beam 12 and the cooling liquid accumulated at the bottom of the battery pack housing, an isolation cavity capable of wrapping the monomer electric core 11 is formed, thereby isolating the electric core and preventing the spread of thermal runaway.

[0032] It should be noted that in other embodiments, the protection assembly is a T-shaped pipe vertically arranged between two single cells 11, the upper end of the T-shaped pipe is flush with the upper end surface of the cell unit 1, and the upper end of the T-shaped pipe is also provided with a spray opening 13, and the lower end of the pipe is connected to the external cooling liquid supply device. After the cooling liquid flows out from the spray opening 13 at the upper end of the pipe, it can also flow from the upper end surface of the cell unit 1 to the lower end of the side wall of the cell unit 1, so as to form a flowing cooling liquid isolation layer at the upper end and the side wall of the cell unit 1.

[0033] In some embodiments, in order to facilitate the arrangement of multiple cell units 1 and reduce the installation difficulty of the protection assembly in the battery pack, as shown in Figure 1 In this embodiment, the four protection assemblies of the four cell units 1 are connected to each other to form a whole, so that the four groups of oppositely arranged single cells share one protection assembly.

[0034] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 4 In order to avoid the cooling liquid from being sprayed out of the spray opening 13 when the battery pack does not have thermal runaway, the spray opening 13 is also filled with a hot-melt plug 2 made of polyethylene. The hot-melt plug 2 is solid at room temperature, which can effectively block the spray opening 13. When thermal runaway occurs, the temperature of the battery pack rises, and the hot-melt plug 2 melts, the cooling liquid can still flow out of the spray opening 13.

[0035] It should be noted that in other embodiments, the hot-melt plug can also be made of other materials with lower melting points, such as nylon or hot-melt glue.

[0036] Moreover, when the spray opening 13 is provided with the hot-melt plug 2, the liquid cooling flow channel 14 can also be divided into at least one spray flow channel and multiple cooling flow channels. The spray flow channel is arranged at the upper end of the liquid cooling beam 12 in the height direction, the spray opening 13 is connected to the spray flow channel, and the multiple cooling flow channels are connected to the output end of the external cooling liquid supply device through one main flow channel 15 and connected to the input end of the external cooling liquid supply device through another main flow channel 15.

[0037] In this case, when the battery pack has thermal runaway, part of the cooling liquid can flow into the spray flow channel along the main flow channel 15 under the drive of the external cooling liquid supply device, and flow out of the spray opening 13 after the hot-melt plug 2 melts, to form a flowing cooling liquid isolation layer around the thermal runaway single cell 11. Another part of the cooling liquid flows into the cooling flow channel along one of the main flow channels 15, and flows back to the external cooling liquid supply device from the other main flow channel 15, to form a circulation, so that the protection assembly can also continuously cool the single cells 11 on both sides by liquid cooling. The two are combined to form a complete isolation cavity around the thermal runaway cell, preventing the spread of thermal runaway, and even eliminating thermal runaway.

[0038] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 2 the image part in the rectangle in the above, with reference to Figure 2 , the cooling liquid has a higher flow speed in the liquid cooling channel 14 to facilitate the ejection from the spray port 13. In addition, five spray ports 13 are arranged on the upper end surface of the liquid cooling beam 12 between the two oppositely arranged single battery cells 11, which are arranged in the order of first spray port, second spray port, third spray port, second spray port, and first spray port from top to bottom. The two first spray ports are above the aluminum row, and the cooling liquid ejected from the two first spray ports can first cool the aluminum row above the single battery cell 11 that has thermal runaway, and then fall back to the upper end surface of the single battery cell 11, thereby forming a cooling liquid layer flowing on the upper end surface and the side wall of the single battery cell 11. The two second spray ports are above the sampling plate, and the cooling liquid ejected from the two second spray ports can first cool the sampling plate above the single battery cell 11 that has thermal runaway, so as to slow down the time of failure of the sampling function, so that the sampling plate can collect more data, and then fall back to the upper end surface of the single battery cell 11, thereby forming a cooling liquid layer flowing on the upper end surface and the side wall of the single battery cell 11. The third spray port is on both sides of the explosion-proof valve of the single battery cell 11, and the cooling liquid ejected from the third spray port can cool the gas ejected from the explosion-proof valve upwards, thereby reducing the temperature of the ejected gas, and then falling back to the upper end surface of the single battery cell 11, thereby forming a cooling liquid layer flowing on the upper end surface and the side wall of the single battery cell 11, so as to reduce the risk of thermal runaway spreading.

[0039] In addition, the cooling liquid ejected upwards from the five spray ports 13 can further continue to cool the surface of the single battery cell 11 under the action of gravity when falling back to the upper surface of the single battery cell 11, and finally accumulates at the bottom.

[0040] The above-mentioned matters not mentioned are applicable to the prior art.

[0041] Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and not to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or make equivalent replacement for part of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A battery pack having a thermal runaway protection assembly, the battery pack comprising: The battery pack comprises a plurality of battery cell units (1), gaps are arranged between adjacent battery cell units (1), the battery cell unit (1) comprises a protection assembly and single battery cells (11) arranged on both sides of the protection assembly respectively, the inside of the protection assembly is communicated with an external cooling liquid supply device, a spray opening (13) is arranged on the upper end surface of the protection assembly, and the spray opening (13) is used for spraying cooling liquid to fill the gaps and separate adjacent battery cell units (1).

2. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein, The protection assembly comprises a liquid cooling cross beam (12) and a liquid cooling flow channel (14) arranged in the liquid cooling cross beam (12), the spray opening (13) is arranged on the upper end surface of the liquid cooling cross beam (12), and the upper end surface of the liquid cooling cross beam (12) is exposed at the upper end surface of the battery cell unit (1).

3. The battery pack of claim 2, wherein, The liquid cooling cross beam (12) is internally provided with a main flow channel (15) communicated with the liquid cooling flow channel (14), and the main flow channel (15) is formed with a connecting opening communicated with the external cooling liquid supply device on the side end surface of the liquid cooling cross beam (12).

4. The battery pack of claim 2, wherein, The liquid cooling flow channel (14) comprises a spraying flow channel and a cooling flow channel, the spraying flow channel is communicated with the spray opening (13), at least one spraying flow channel is arranged, and the spraying flow channel is arranged in the upper region of the liquid cooling cross beam (12); a plurality of cooling flow channels are arranged, and the plurality of cooling flow channels are equidistantly arranged in the liquid cooling cross beam (12) in the height direction and are horizontally arranged, cooling liquid in the cooling flow channel is used for cooling the single battery cells (11) on both sides of the liquid cooling cross beam (12) and in contact with the liquid cooling cross beam (12).

5. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein, A hot melt plug (2) is arranged at the spray opening (13).

6. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein, The single battery cells (11) on both sides of the protection assembly are arranged opposite to each other.

7. The battery pack of claim 2, wherein, The single battery cells (11) on both sides of the liquid cooling cross beam (12) are in contact with the side of the liquid cooling cross beam (12).

8. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein, The spray opening (13) comprises a first spray opening arranged towards the aluminum row above the battery cell unit (1).

9. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein, The spray opening (13) comprises a second spray opening arranged towards the sampling plate above the battery cell unit (1).

10. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein, The spray opening (13) further comprises a third spray opening arranged towards the upper side of the explosion-proof valve of the single battery cell (11) in the battery cell unit (1).

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