An assembled structure stable nickel-hydrogen battery structure

Abstract

The utility model discloses a nickel-hydrogen battery structure with a stable assembly structure, which includes a housing, an end cover, a core assembly and a nickel cup. The core assembly is arranged inside the housing, and the nickel cup is arranged between the end cover and the core assembly; a dividing cut is further formed at the bottom of the nickel cup for dividing the bottom of the cup into several welding parts, and each welding part is provided with a cup body protrusion, and the cup body protrusion is welded to the pole ear of the core assembly. In this way, by forming a plurality of welding parts with cup body protrusions through the dividing cut on the nickel cup, when installing, the cup body protrusions on the welding parts are inserted between the pole ears of the core assembly, increasing the contact area between the nickel cup and the pole ears, shortening the current path of the positive and negative double needles of the electric welding, having stronger conductivity, high safety and extended service life; through the larger welding area between the nickel cup and the core assembly and the end cover, the overall welding structure strength is improved, avoiding the risk of solder joint disconnection caused by directly welding the end cover on the core assembly in the traditional process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of battery manufacturing technology, and in particular to a nickel-metal hydride battery structure with a robust assembly structure. Background Technology

[0002] Nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries are alkaline secondary batteries that use a metal hydride as the negative electrode and nickel hydroxide as the positive electrode. They are used in emergency power supplies, energy storage systems for energy-efficient elevators, hybrid vehicles, and consumer electronics such as digital cameras. Existing Ni-MH batteries typically consist of a casing, a winding assembly, and end caps. The winding assembly has tabs. In traditional battery manufacturing processes, the tabs and the bottom surface of the end caps are first electrically conductively and thermally welded together, fusing them together. Then, the winding assembly is installed inside the casing, and the end caps are connected to the casing.

[0003] However, the existing technology still has the following drawbacks:

[0004] 1. In existing nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) batteries, if the core assembly is installed inside the casing and then spot-welded to the end cap, the end cap thickness may not meet the spot-welding requirements. When the core assembly is welded to the end cap and then installed into the casing, the spot weld contact point is prone to breakage. Furthermore, the contact area between the bottom surface of the end cap and the tab in traditional spot welding is often relatively small, resulting in insufficient weld strength and higher internal resistance, affecting the charging and discharging efficiency, safety, and lifespan of the NiMH battery. 2. During the spot welding process of the NiMH battery end cap, the welding current typically flows from the center of the end cap to the edge and then to the tab of the core assembly. During this process, some current is often lost, and the aluminum end cap dissipates heat quickly, which can easily lead to incomplete penetration and poor fusion, affecting the structural strength of the weld between the end cap and the tab. Utility Model Content

[0005] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a nickel-metal hydride battery structure with a stable assembly structure.

[0006] The objective of this utility model is achieved by the following technical solution: a nickel-metal hydride battery structure with a stable assembly structure, including a shell, an end cap, a core assembly, and a nickel cup. The core assembly is disposed inside the shell, and the nickel cup is disposed between the end cap and the core assembly. The bottom of the nickel cup is also provided with a dividing cut for dividing the bottom of the cup into several welding parts. Each welding part is provided with a cup body protrusion, and the cup body protrusion is welded to the electrode tab of the core assembly.

[0007] Furthermore, a central hole is provided in the bottom center of the nickel cup, the inner end of the dividing cut is connected to the central hole, the outer end extends toward the edge of the nickel cup, and several dividing cuts are arranged in a ring array around the central hole.

[0008] Furthermore, the outer end of the slit is not connected to the edge of the nickel cup.

[0009] Furthermore, the nickel cup has a cup body edge tooth on its edge, and the cup body edge tooth is welded to the end cap.

[0010] Furthermore, the cup body edge teeth are arranged in a plurality of spaces along the edge of the nickel cup, and the cup body edge teeth are bent at 90° from the bottom of the nickel cup upward along the bent portion.

[0011] Furthermore, the edge teeth of the cup body extend beyond the outer edge of the bottom of the nickel cup, and the bent portion of the edge teeth is located in the middle of the edge teeth.

[0012] Furthermore, a welding concave surface is formed on the outer peripheral wall of the end cap, and the axial width of the welding concave surface is equal to the bending length of the edge teeth of the cup body, so that the welding concave surface is positioned and welded to the edge teeth of the cup body.

[0013] Furthermore, the cup body protrusions are integrally stamped outward from the face of the welding part, and a plurality of the cup body protrusions are arranged in a ring, rectangle or path array on the welding part.

[0014] Furthermore, the cup body protrusion protrudes outward from the welded part at a height of <2mm, and the distance between two adjacent cup body protrusions is 1-2mm.

[0015] Furthermore, one or both ends of the winding core assembly are provided with tabs that are welded to the nickel cup, and the winding core assembly is screwed to the end cap; the outer periphery of the end cap is provided with an outer groove, and the inner wall of the housing is provided with an inner wall rib that is fitted and engaged with the outer groove of the end cap through the inner wall rib; an insulating positioning element is provided between the outer periphery of the end cap and the inner wall of the housing, and the insulating positioning element also abuts against the nickel cup.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows: by setting a nickel cup between the core assembly and the end cap, and opening a dividing cut on the nickel cup to form multiple welding parts, each welding part is provided with a cup body protrusion. During installation, the cup body protrusion is inserted between the tabs of the core assembly, increasing the contact area between the nickel cup and the tabs. The current of the welding positive and negative electrodes can flow along the shorter path of the cup body protrusion of two adjacent welding parts. Compared with the previous implementation method where the current flows radially from the end cap surface, it can significantly reduce the internal resistance of spot welding, provide sufficient current, ensure the welding penetration and fusion effect, improve the welding stability of the nickel cup and the core assembly, enhance conductivity, ensure the charging and discharging effect of the nickel-metal hydride battery, improve safety, and extend service life.

[0017] In addition, the nickel cup, as an intermediate connector between the end cap and the core assembly, can be welded to the tab of the core assembly first and then to the end cap, and finally the whole assembly is installed into the housing. The large welding area of ​​the nickel cup with the core assembly and the end cap improves the overall welding structure strength and avoids the risk of weld breakage caused by the end cap being directly welded to the core assembly in the traditional process. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the nickel-metal hydride battery structure in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a plan view of the nickel-metal hydride battery structure in a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A three-dimensional sectional view after being cut along the AA direction;

[0021] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Enlarged view of point B in the middle;

[0022] Figure 5 for Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the exploded three-dimensional structure after being cut along the AA direction;

[0023] Figure 6 This is a perspective view of the nickel cup of the nickel-metal hydride battery structure in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] In the picture:

[0025] 10. Shell; 101. Inner wall ribs;

[0026] 20. End cap; 201. Welding concave surface; 202. External groove of the cap body;

[0027] 30. Core assembly;

[0028] 40. Nickel cup; 401. Welded part; 402. Cup body protrusion; 403. Dividing notch; 404. Central hole; 405. Cup body edge teeth; 4051. Bending part;

[0029] 50. Insulating positioning components. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that, without conflict, the various embodiments or technical features described below can be arbitrarily combined to form new embodiments.

[0031] like Figure 1-6As shown, a robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure is designed for applications in emergency power supplies, energy storage systems for energy-efficient elevators, hybrid vehicles, and consumer electronics such as digital cameras. The nickel-metal hydride battery structure includes a housing 10, an end cap 20, a core assembly 30, and a nickel cup 40. The core assembly 30 is installed within the housing 10, and its ends have several conductive tabs. The nickel cup 40 is mounted on the end of the core assembly 30, and the end cap 20 is then mounted on the nickel cup 40, positioning the nickel cup 40 between the end cap 20 and the core assembly 30.

[0032] The bottom of the nickel cup 40 is divided into multiple independent welding portions 401 by a dividing cut 403. Each welding portion 401 has several cup body protrusions 402 integrally stamped on it, and these protrusions are either three-dimensional cones or squares. When the nickel cup 40 is mounted on the core assembly 30, these cup body protrusions 402 on the welding portions 401 can be inserted between the layered tabs of the core assembly 30. Then, spot welding can be performed from the dividing cut 403 of the nickel cup 40 to fix the cup body protrusions 402 to the tabs of the core assembly 30 by spot welding or laser welding.

[0033] During spot welding, the positive and negative welding needles respectively contact two adjacent welding parts 401. Therefore, the current from the positive and negative welding needles can flow along the shortest path along the cup protrusion 402 of the two adjacent welding parts 401. Previously, without the nickel cup 40, the current between the positive and negative welding needles would flow radially from the end cap 20, which would consume a large current and fail to meet the spot welding current requirements, thus affecting the welding effect.

[0034] Therefore, by setting a nickel cup 40 between the core assembly 30 and the end cap 20, and forming multiple welding parts 401 by opening a dividing cut 403 on the nickel cup 40, each welding part 401 is provided with a cup body protrusion 402. During installation, the cup body protrusion 402 is inserted between the tabs of the core assembly 30, increasing the contact area between the nickel cup 40 and the tabs, thereby increasing the welding contact area by more than 30%. The current of welding the positive and negative electrodes can flow along the shorter path of the cup body protrusion 402 of two adjacent welding parts 401, which shortens the current path of welding the positive and negative electrodes. Compared with the previous implementation method where the current flows radially from the end cap 20, the spot welding internal resistance is reduced by 15%-20%. Sufficient current is provided to ensure the welding penetration and fusion effect, improve the welding stability of the nickel cup 40 and the core assembly 30, enhance conductivity, ensure the charging and discharging effect of the nickel-metal hydride battery, improve safety, and extend service life.

[0035] In addition, the nickel cup 40, as an intermediate connector between the end cap 20 and the core assembly 30, can be welded to the tabs of the core assembly 30 first and then to the end cap 20. Finally, the whole assembly is installed into the housing 10. The large welding area of ​​the nickel cup 40 with the core assembly 30 and the end cap 20 improves the overall welding structure strength and avoids the risk of weld breakage caused by the end cap 20 being directly welded to the core assembly 30 in the traditional process. The pre-welded nickel cup 40 and the modular assembly process increase production efficiency by 25% and reduce the defect rate by 10%.

[0036] A central hole 404 is provided at the center of the bottom of the nickel cup 40. The inner end of the dividing cut 403 communicates with the central hole 404, while the outer end extends towards the edge of the nickel cup 40 but does not communicate with it. That is, the outer end of the dividing cut 403 terminates on the inner side of the edge of the nickel cup 40, maintaining a certain distance from the edge of the nickel cup 40 to ensure the structural integrity of the bottom edge. Therefore, the continuous area of ​​the bottom edge is preserved to prevent the dividing cut 403 from causing a decrease in the overall rigidity of the nickel cup 40; the length of the cut is limited to prevent molten metal from overflowing and contaminating the shell 10 or insulating components during welding.

[0037] By designing the segmented cuts 403 on the nickel cup 40, the segmented cuts 403 are arranged in a ring array around the central hole 404, forming a radial structure. The central hole 404 and the radial cut design of the nickel cup 40 reduce spot welding current loss by 40% and increase the weld penetration rate to over 99.5%. The radial distribution of the segmented cuts 403 shortens the current path from the nickel cup 40 to the electrode, optimizes the current path, and reduces current loss; and the ring array of segmented cuts 403 ensures uniform distribution of welding heat, avoiding local overheating or incomplete penetration.

[0038] The nickel cup 40 has several cup body edge teeth 405 along its edge. The cup body edge teeth 405 are bent upward at 90° along the bending part 4051. After bending, the upward bending part 4051 of the cup body edge teeth 405 can fit with the outer peripheral wall of the end cover 20, thereby laser welding the body edge teeth with the outer peripheral wall of the end cover 20.

[0039] Therefore, by setting cup body edge teeth 405 around the periphery of the nickel cup 40 and welding it to the end cap 20, instead of the traditional direct welding method between the bottom surface of the end cap 20 and the electrode lug, the welding contact area is further expanded, and the connection reliability is improved. At the same time, the nickel cup 40 is pre-fixed to the end cap 20 by the cup body edge teeth 405, further avoiding weld point breakage caused by assembly after spot welding. During assembly, the bent part 4051 of the nickel cup 40 serves as a positioning reference, ensuring accurate alignment between the nickel cup 40 and the end cap 20, and achieving precise positioning assembly; the spacing distribution of the cup body edge teeth 405 improves the vibration resistance of the end cap 20 and the nickel cup 40 joint, enhances shear resistance, and further improves the overall welded structure strength.

[0040] More specifically, a welding concave surface 201 is formed on the outer peripheral wall of the end cap 20. The welding concave surface 201 is arranged circumferentially along the outer wall of the end cap 20 to form an annular welding concave surface 201. In addition, the cup body edge teeth 405 extend beyond the outer edge of the bottom of the nickel cup 40, and the bent portion 4051 is located in the middle of the edge teeth, so that the bending length of the cup body edge teeth 405 matches the axial width of the welding concave surface 201. After bending, the upper part of the cup body edge teeth 405 can be embedded in the welding concave surface 201 of the end cap 20 and fixed by ultrasonic positioning welding.

[0041] Therefore, by extending the edge teeth 405 of the cup body to fill the concave surface of the end cap 20, a mechanical interlocking structure is formed between the cup body and the end cap 20. The welding concave surface 201 and the edge teeth 405 of the cup body are matched in size to avoid welding misalignment. This ensures that the edge teeth 405 of the cup body and the welding concave surface 201 of the end cap 20 are in close contact, reducing the contact resistance in the current transmission path. The concave surface structure concentrates the welding heat, slowing down the heat dissipation rate of the aluminum end cap 20, ensuring full penetration, and further improving the welding effect.

[0042] The cup body protrusion 402 is integrally formed on the surface of the welding part 401 by stamping process. The cup body protrusion 402 can be arranged in a ring, rectangle or path array on the welding part 401. The distance between two adjacent cup body protrusions 402 is 1-2mm. The height of the cup body protrusion 402 is controlled within 2mm. The root of the protrusion can be designed with a rounded transition.

[0043] Therefore, by using different array patterns of the cup protrusions 402 on the surface of the welding part 401, the electrode tab distribution requirements of the core assembly 30 are adapted, thereby flexibly adapting the electrode tab shape; by appropriately designing the size of the cup protrusions 402, the welding stress is dispersed to avoid weld cracking, while avoiding excessive cup protrusions 402 causing stamping cracking, reasonable spacing ensures welding coverage, and the dense array of cup protrusions 402 forms multi-channel conductivity, reducing the overall contact resistance.

[0044] In this embodiment, the tabs at both ends of the winding assembly 30 of the single nickel-metal hydride battery are welded to the nickel cup 40. One end of the final single nickel-metal hydride battery in the battery pack is also welded to the nickel cup 40. A screw hole is provided in the center of the end cap 20, and a threaded connector is also provided at the end of the winding assembly 30. A screw is used to connect the winding assembly 30 to the threaded connector by passing a screw through the screw hole in the end cap 20. Since the nickel cup 40 has a central hole 404, it does not obstruct the screw connection between the winding assembly 30 and the end cap 20. The inner wall of the housing 10 has an annular inner wall rib 101, and the outer periphery of the end cap 20 has an annular outer cap groove 202. During installation, the inner wall rib 101 and the outer cap groove 202 are fitted together. Therefore, the screw connection and fitting structure between the end cap 20 and the housing 10 work together to improve the overall structural impact resistance.

[0045] In addition, an insulating positioning component 50 is provided between the outer periphery of the end cap 20 and the inner wall of the housing 10. The insulating positioning component 50 is a ring-shaped plastic part with an approximately L-shaped cross-section. The inner side of the insulating positioning component 50 has a groove that engages with the outer groove 202 of the end cap, and the outer side has a protrusion that abuts against the inner wall of the housing 10, thereby positioning and fixing them together. The protruding part at the lower end of the insulating positioning component 50 also abuts against the cup edge teeth 405 welded to the end cap 20. Thus, the insulating positioning component 50 achieves precise alignment of the nickel cup 40, the end cap 20, and the housing 10, preventing misalignment and improving the overall assembly stability of the nickel-metal hydride battery.

[0046] The above embodiments are merely preferred embodiments of this utility model and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of this utility model. Any non-substantial changes and substitutions made by those skilled in the art based on this utility model shall fall within the scope of protection claimed by this utility model.

Claims

1. A robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure, characterized in that, The device includes a housing, an end cap, a core assembly, and a nickel cup. The core assembly is disposed inside the housing, and the nickel cup is disposed between the end cap and the core assembly. The bottom of the nickel cup is also provided with a dividing cut for dividing the bottom of the cup into several welding parts. Each welding part is provided with a cup body protrusion, and the cup body protrusion is welded to the tab of the core assembly.

2. The robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The nickel cup has a central hole in the bottom center. The inner end of the dividing cut is connected to the central hole, and the outer end extends toward the edge of the nickel cup. Several dividing cuts are arranged in a ring array around the central hole.

3. The robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The outer end of the slit is not connected to the edge of the nickel cup.

4. The robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The nickel cup has a cup body edge tooth, which is welded to the end cap.

5. The robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure as described in claim 4, characterized in that, The cup body edge teeth are arranged in a plurality of spaces along the edge of the nickel cup, and the cup body edge teeth are bent at 90° from the bottom of the nickel cup upward along the bent portion.

6. The robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The cup body edge teeth extend beyond the outer edge of the nickel cup bottom, and the bent part of the cup body edge teeth is located in the middle of the cup body edge teeth.

7. The robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure as described in claim 5, characterized in that, The outer peripheral wall of the end cap has a welding concave surface, the axial width of which is equal to the bending length of the edge teeth of the cup body, so that the welding concave surface is positioned and welded to the edge teeth of the cup body.

8. The robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The cup body protrusions are integrally stamped outward from the face of the welding part, and a plurality of the cup body protrusions are arranged in a ring, rectangle or path array on the welding part.

9. The robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The cup body protrusion extends outward from the welded part at a height of <2mm, and the distance between two adjacent cup body protrusions is 1-2mm.

10. The robust nickel-metal hydride battery structure according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, The winding core assembly has tabs at one or both ends that are welded to the nickel cup, and the winding core assembly is screwed to the end cap; the outer periphery of the end cap has an outer groove, and the inner wall of the housing has an inner wall rib that is fitted into the outer groove of the end cap; an insulating positioning element is provided between the outer periphery of the end cap and the inner wall of the housing, and the insulating positioning element also abuts against the nickel cup.

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