A tab assembly, a battery pack, a vehicle

Abstract

The application provides a transition sheet assembly, a battery pack and a vehicle, which can improve the strength of the connection between a battery module and a battery box. The transition sheet assembly comprises a transition sheet body, the transition sheet body comprises a first side and a second side distributed along the thickness direction thereof, the surface of the first side is a plane, and the second side comprises a plurality of protrusions. A glue layer is bonded to one side of the first side, and the other side of the glue layer is used for bonding to a battery module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of battery technology, specifically to an adapter assembly, a battery pack, and a vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] A battery pack consists of a battery housing and battery modules installed inside the housing. Each battery module contains multiple battery cells. After the battery modules are placed in the battery housing, expanding foam can be poured in to bond and fix the battery modules to the battery housing. However, the bonding strength between the battery modules and the expanding foam is limited, resulting in poor adhesion and hindering the use of the battery pack. For example, it is prone to delamination during mechanical tests such as vibration and impact. Utility Model Content

[0003] The purpose of this application is to provide an adapter assembly, battery pack, and vehicle that can improve the strength of the connection between the battery module and the battery box.

[0004] This application provides an adapter assembly, the adapter assembly comprising:

[0005] The adapter body includes a first side and a second side distributed along its thickness direction, the surface of the first side is a plane, and the second side includes a plurality of protrusions.

[0006] An adhesive layer, one side of which is bonded to the surface of the first side, and the other side of which is used to bond to the battery module.

[0007] Optionally, the plane containing the thickness and height directions of the adapter plate body is defined as the first plane, and the cross-section of the protrusion along the first plane is any one of trapezoid, triangle, square and semicircle.

[0008] Optionally, the protrusions extend along the length direction of the adapter body, and a plurality of the protrusions are spaced apart along the height direction of the adapter body; there is a first distance d2 between adjacent protrusions, and the adapter body has a thickness d1, satisfying: d2≥d1.

[0009] Optionally, the adapter plate body is a structure made of composite material through molding;

[0010] Alternatively, the adapter body may be a structure made of PA and glass fiber injection molding;

[0011] Alternatively, the adapter body may be a structure made of PBT and glass fiber injection molding;

[0012] Alternatively, the adapter body may be a structure made of PPE and glass fiber injection molding.

[0013] This application also provides a battery pack, including a battery housing and a battery module, the battery module being located inside the battery housing, and at least a portion of the surface of the battery module having an adapter assembly as described above adhered to it; a foam adhesive is provided between the adapter assembly and the battery housing.

[0014] Optionally, the battery module includes multiple rows of cells, defining the arrangement direction of multiple cells in each row as the X-direction and the arrangement direction of the multiple rows of cells as the Y-direction, wherein the X-direction and the Y-direction are perpendicular; the adapter plate assembly is bonded to both ends of the battery module along the X-direction.

[0015] Optionally, the battery housing includes a side wall portion, which includes a first wall portion and a third wall portion disposed opposite to each other along the Y direction, and a second wall portion and a fourth wall portion disposed opposite to each other along the X direction;

[0016] The battery housing also includes two housing beams, both of which connect the first wall and the third wall. One housing beam is spaced apart from the second wall, and the other housing beam is spaced apart from the fourth wall. The battery module is located between the first wall, the third wall, and the two housing beams. The foam adhesive is present between the adapter assembly and the housing beams.

[0017] Optionally, the gaps between the battery module and the first wall portion and the third wall portion are both greater than the gap between the battery module and the box beam; the battery pack also includes a pad, the pad having two flat sides along its thickness direction, the pad being bonded to one side of the battery module opposite to the first wall portion and the third wall portion, and having foam adhesive between it and the corresponding first wall portion or third wall portion.

[0018] This application also provides a vehicle including any of the battery packs described above.

[0019] The adapter plate assembly in this application has adapter plate bodies with different surfaces. The first surface is flat, allowing for bonding with the relatively smooth surface of the battery module's cells via adhesive, ensuring connection strength. The other side of the adapter plate body, being uneven, increases the adhesive area with the foam, thereby increasing the bonding strength between the foam and the battery module and improving the foam's fixing effect. Therefore, compared to the prior art method of directly bonding foam to the cell surface, this application indirectly increases the adhesive area when the battery module and foam are bonded by an adapter plate assembly with different surfaces on both sides, thus ensuring the foam's fixing effect.

[0020] The battery pack provided in this application includes the adapter assembly described in any of the above claims, and the vehicle provided includes the battery pack described in any of the above claims. Therefore, it has the same technical effect as the adapter assembly described above. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the battery pack structure in one embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Enlarged schematic diagram of part A in the middle;

[0023] Figure 3 for Figure 2 The cross-sectional view of the battery pack at the location of the adapter assembly is shown from the perspective of cross-section along the XZ plane.

[0024] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the intermediate connector assembly;

[0025] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the first structure of the intermediate connector assembly;

[0026] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a second structure of the adapter plate body in one embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of a third structure of the adapter plate body in one embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the fourth structure of the adapter plate body in one embodiment of this application.

[0029] The annotations in the attached figures are explained as follows:

[0030] 100-battery pack;

[0031] 11-Battery housing; 111-Side wall; 1111-First wall; 1112-Second wall; 1113-Third wall; 1114-Fourth wall; 112-Housing beam; 113-Bottom; 11a-First mounting space; 11b-Second mounting space; 11c-Gap;

[0032] 12-Battery module; 121-Battery cell;

[0033] 13-Adapter assembly; 131-Adapter body; 1311-First side; 13121-Protrusion; 1312-Second side; 132-Adhesive layer. Detailed Implementation

[0034] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of this application, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In the embodiments of this application, the terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," etc., are used only to describe the same or similar features, and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features.

[0035] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the battery pack 100 in one embodiment of this application; Figure 2 for Figure 1 Enlarged diagram of part A in the middle.

[0036] In this embodiment, the battery pack 100 includes a battery housing 11 and a battery module 12 located within the battery housing 11. The battery module 12 includes multiple battery cells 121. (The last sentence appears to be incomplete and possibly refers to a separate, unrelated point about viewing the interior of the battery pack 100.) Figure 1 Only the side wall 111 and bottom 113 of the battery housing 11 are shown; the top is not shown. The battery cells 121 can be arranged in rows inside the battery housing 11. Figure 1 The battery module 121 is arranged in multiple rows. Each row of cells 121 extends along the X-direction, and the multiple rows of cells 121 are distributed along the Y-direction, which is perpendicular to the X-direction. The multiple cells 121 are arranged together to form a battery module 12. In this embodiment, the X-direction of each row of cells 121 is also the X-direction of the vehicle, i.e., the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, and the Y-direction is also the Y-direction of the vehicle, i.e., the width direction of the vehicle. Of course, the arrangement direction of the cells 121 may not correspond to the width direction or the front-to-back direction of the vehicle, and there is no restriction on this. Figure 1 The Z-direction shown in the diagram represents the height direction, i.e., the vertical direction.

[0037] In this embodiment, the battery module 12 is located inside the battery housing 11. At least a portion of the surface of the battery module 12 is provided with an adapter assembly 13, which is located between the battery module 12 and the battery housing 11. Foam (not shown in the figure) is present between the adapter assembly 13 and the battery housing 11.

[0038] Please combine Figure 3 and Figure 4 understand, Figure 3 for Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of the battery pack 100 at the position of the adapter assembly 13, which is a view taken along the XZ plane; Figure 4 for Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the intermediate connector assembly 13.

[0039] The adapter assembly 13 in this embodiment includes an adapter body 131 and an adhesive layer 132. The adapter body 131 includes a first side 1311 and a second side 1312 distributed along its thickness direction. The surface of the first side 1311 is planar. The second side 1312 of the adapter body 131 includes a plurality of protrusions 13121, that is, the surface of the second side 1312 is uneven, and the surface roughness of the first side 1311 and the second side 1312 is set to be different.

[0040] One side of the adhesive layer 132 of the adapter assembly 13 is bonded to the surface of the first side 1311 of the adapter body 131, so that the adapter body 131 and the adhesive layer 132 can be connected into a single assembly. The other side of the adhesive layer 132 is used to bond to the battery module 12, specifically to the surface of the battery cell 121. Figure 3 As shown, after the adhesive layer 132 of the adapter assembly 13 is bonded to the surface of the battery cell 121, the adapter assembly 13 is located outside the battery module 12. At this time, there is still a gap 11c between the adapter body 131 of the adapter assembly 13 and the battery box 11. When the battery module 12 is installed into the battery box 11 and foam is poured in, the foam can fill the gap 11c between the adapter body 131 and the battery box 11 and solidify during the foaming process to connect the adapter body 131 and the battery box 11, thereby indirectly connecting the battery box 11 and the battery cell 121.

[0041] In this embodiment, the surface of the battery cell 121 is relatively smooth. For example, the battery cell 121 is generally covered with a blue film. The blue film has good insulation properties, chemical resistance, and high tensile strength, which can protect the battery cell 121. Since the blue film is relatively smooth, the surface of the battery cell 121 is also relatively smooth. In the background technology, after the foaming adhesive is poured in, it directly contacts the smooth surface of the battery cell 121, resulting in low bonding strength and poor bonding effect. However, in this embodiment, the battery pack 100 is provided with an adapter assembly 13. The surface of the first side 1311 of the adapter assembly 13 is smooth and can be bonded to the relatively smooth surface of the battery cell 121 through the adhesive layer 132. The adhesive layer 132 bonded to the smooth surface has the advantage of reliable connection. It is understood that the surface of the first side 1311 of the adapter body 131 mentioned in this application is a plane. Here, "plane" means that the surface is relatively smooth. However, due to processing technology and other reasons, the surface of the first side 1311 is obviously not theoretically completely smooth. That is, the surface roughness is difficult to reach zero. As long as the surface of the first side 1311 is relatively smooth, the bonding is relatively reliable after bonding with the surface of the battery cell 121.

[0042] The surface of the second side 1312 of the adapter assembly 13 is uneven, meaning its surface roughness is greater than that of the first side 1311 and also greater than that of the battery cell 121. After the adapter assembly 13 is bonded to the outside of the battery module 12, the rougher surface effectively increases the adhesive area of ​​the battery module 12. When the expanding foam injected after the battery module 12 is installed into the battery housing 11 cures, it increases the bonding strength between the expanding foam and the battery module 12, thereby improving the fixing effect of the expanding foam. Therefore, compared to the method of directly bonding the expanding foam to the surface of the battery cell in the prior art, this embodiment indirectly increases the adhesive area when the battery module 12 and the expanding foam are bonded by setting the adapter assembly 13 with different surfaces on both sides, thus ensuring the fixing effect of the expanding foam.

[0043] Please continue to refer to this. Figure 5 , Figure 5 for Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the first structure of the intermediate connector assembly 13 and the intermediate connector body 131.

[0044] In this embodiment, the protrusion 13121 extends along the length direction of the adapter body 131, which is the Y-direction of the battery module 12. Therefore, the protrusion 13121 is a raised strip structure. Multiple protrusions 13121 are distributed at intervals along the height direction of the adapter body 131, i.e., distributed along the Z-direction. Adjacent protrusions 13121 have a first distance d2, and the adapter body 131 has a thickness d1, satisfying d2 ≥ d1. It can be seen that d1 is mainly determined by the width of the gap 11c between the adapter body 131 and the battery housing 11. In this embodiment, d1 is approximately 3mm. This size can be adjusted depending on the battery pack 100 model. d2 can be set to be greater than or equal to d1. The expanding foam enters through the gap 11c between the adapter body 131 and the battery box 11, meaning the opening width is d1. If d2 is not less than d1, it facilitates the flow of the expanding foam, ensuring it fills the gap 11c more fully. However, d2 should not be too large, as this would reduce the number of protrusions 13121 and affect the adhesive area with the expanding foam. Therefore, the design of d2 can balance ensuring the flowability of the expanding foam and increasing its adhesive area.

[0045] Additionally, the height of the adapter plate body 131 in this embodiment is... Figure 5 As shown in L, in this embodiment, the adapter assembly 13 is bonded to the side of the battery cell 121. The height of the adapter body 131 and the height of the battery cell 121 can be approximately equal, that is, to maximize the bonding area of ​​the corresponding side surface of the battery cell 121 and improve the connection effect.

[0046] Figure 5In the definition, the plane containing the thickness and height directions of the adapter body 131 is the first plane, and the cross section of the protrusion 13121 along the first plane is trapezoidal. The first plane is specifically the YZ plane. The height direction of the adapter body 131 is the Z direction, and the length direction is the Y direction. The trapezoid has an inclined surface that can guide the flow of the foam adhesive.

[0047] It can be seen that the structural form of protrusion 13121 is not limited to this, and can be combined with Figures 6 to 8 understand, Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of a second structure of the adapter plate body 131 in one embodiment of this application; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the third structure of the adapter plate body 131 in one embodiment of this application; Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the fourth structure of the adapter plate body 131 in one embodiment of this application.

[0048] Figure 6 In the middle, the cross section of the protrusion 13121 of the adapter body 131 is triangular. This shape of the protrusion 13121 is more conducive to the flow of foam adhesive, but the increase in adhesive area is smaller than that of the trapezoidal cross section design mentioned above. Figure 7 The cross-section of the protrusion 13121 of the intermediate connector body 131 is square. This shape of protrusion 13121 is more conducive to increasing the adhesive area, but it is less effective in improving the flowability of the foam than the trapezoidal cross-section mentioned above. Figure 8 The cross-section of the protrusion 13121 of the intermediate connector body 131 is semi-circular. This shape of the protrusion 13121 can better balance the flowability of the foam and the increase of the adhesive area.

[0049] As mentioned earlier, the two sides of the adapter body 131 have different surface roughness designs. One side of the surface is uneven, requiring special shaping during processing. To facilitate the forming of the adapter body 131, it can be a structure molded from composite materials, which is beneficial for processing surfaces of different shapes. The composite materials mentioned here are specifically resins, mainly thermosetting resins such as epoxy and polyurethane.

[0050] In some specific embodiments, the adapter body 131 can also be a structure made of PA (Polyamide) and glass fiber injection molding, or a structure made of PBT (polybutylene terephthalate) and glass fiber injection molding, or a structure made of PPE (Polyphenylene ether) and glass fiber injection molding. These structural forms of the adapter body 131 also facilitate the molding of the desired smooth first side 1311 and uneven second side 1312.

[0051] All of the above-mentioned structural forms that form the adapter body 131 can ensure the bonding force between the adapter body 131 and the foam adhesive. For example, they can all achieve a peel force ≥1 MPa between the adapter body 131 and the foam adhesive.

[0052] Please continue to refer to this. Figure 1 In this embodiment, the annular sidewall 111 of the battery housing 11 includes two opposing first wall portions 1111 and a third wall portion 1113, and two opposing second wall portions 1112 and a fourth wall portion 1114. The first wall portions 1111, second wall portions 1112, third wall portions 1113, and fourth wall portions 1114 are connected end to end in sequence to form the annular sidewall 111 of the battery housing 11. Among them, the first wall portions 1111 and third wall portions 1113 are distributed along the Y direction, and the second wall portions 1112 and fourth wall portions 1114 are distributed along the X direction.

[0053] In addition to housing the battery module 12, the battery housing 11 also houses other components. In this embodiment, the battery housing 11 further includes housing beams 112, specifically two housing beams 112. The two ends of the housing beams 112 are connected to the first wall portion 1111 and the third wall portion 1113, respectively. The two housing beams 112, the first wall portion 1111, the third wall portion 1113, the bottom 113 of the battery housing 11, and the top of the battery housing 11 enclose a cavity for housing the battery module 12. The fourth wall portion 1114 and one housing beam 112 are spaced apart to form a first installation space 11a. The second wall portion 1112 and another housing beam 112 are spaced apart to form a second installation space 11b. Both the first installation space 11a and the second installation space 11b can be used to install other components of the battery housing 11.

[0054] Specifically, in this embodiment, the battery module 12 is provided with an adapter plate assembly 13 at one end relative to the box beam 112. That is, the battery cells 121 at both ends of the battery module 12 along the X direction are bonded with the adapter plate assembly 13, and the space between the adapter plate assembly 13 and the box beam 112 is filled with expanding foam. Figure 1The box beam 112 helps to separate the installation space of the battery module 12 from other components, reducing the impact on the battery module 12. The box beam 112 limits the battery module 12 in the X direction and provides the necessary mechanical strength. As mentioned above, each row of cells 121 of the battery module 12 is arranged along the X direction, so the limiting requirement in the X direction is relatively strict to ensure that the arrangement of each row of cells 121 is compact, while also leaving more first installation space 11a and second installation space 11b. At this time, the gap 11c between the box beam 112 and the battery module 12 is set to be small. After the foam adhesive enters, the narrow gap 11c is particularly unfavorable for the full filling and bonding of the foam adhesive. Therefore, the aforementioned adapter plate assembly 13 is particularly effective in improving the bonding reliability of the foam adhesive at this position.

[0055] In addition, the battery cells 121 are arranged in a row with their large surfaces facing each other. The battery cells 121 are generally cuboids, and the large surface of the battery cell 121 is the side surface with the larger area. In this embodiment, the adapter plate assembly 13 is provided at both ends of the battery cells 121 along the X direction of the battery module 12. The large surface of the battery cells 121 is used to bond the adapter plate assembly 13, which also helps to ensure the reliability of the bonding. It can be seen that the adhesive layer 132 of the adapter plate assembly 13 can be bonded to one side surface of at least one cell 121. That is, the length of the adhesive layer 132 along the Y direction can be approximately the same as the length of the battery module 12. The adhesive layer 132 can also be bonded to the large surface of multiple cells 121 at the end of the battery module 12. The length of the adhesive layer 132 along the Y direction can also be less than the length of the battery module 12. Thus, the adhesive layer 132 can be bonded to the large surface of one or more cells 121. In other words, one or more adapter plate assemblies 13 can be provided between the battery module 12 and the box beam 112. The specific configuration depends on actual needs and is not limited here.

[0056] Of course, in addition to the ends along the X-direction, the bonding performance of the foam adhesive can also be improved between other parts of the battery module 12 and the battery housing 11 by setting the adapter plate assembly 13. In some specific embodiments, control components, liquid cooling plates and other structures are provided between the top and bottom 113 of the battery housing 11 and the battery module 12. Therefore, in this embodiment, the adapter plate assembly 13 is mainly arranged between the housing beam 112 and the side of the battery module 12. However, it is obvious that in other configurations, the adapter plate assembly 13 can also be set between the top of the battery module 12 and the top of the battery housing 11, or between the bottom of the battery module 12 and the bottom 113 of the battery housing 11, as needed.

[0057] In addition, in this embodiment, the gap between the battery module 12 and the battery housing 11 in the Y direction is relatively large. That is, the gap between the battery module 12 and the first wall portion 1111 and the third wall portion 1113 is larger than the gap 11c between the battery module 12 and the housing beam 112. Therefore, for the gap in the Y direction, it is easier to fully fill the foam and reliably bond it with the battery module 12. Thus, a transition piece assembly 13 can be provided between the first wall portion 1111 and the third wall portion 1113 of the battery housing 11, or it can be omitted. If the transition piece assembly 13 is omitted, for example, a pad with flat sides along the thickness direction can be provided. The pad can also be bonded to the battery module 12. There is foam between the pad and the battery housing 11. The provision of the pad also helps to improve the modality of the battery pack 100.

[0058] This application embodiment also provides a method for assembling a battery pack 100, including:

[0059] Multiple battery cells 121 are assembled into a battery module 12;

[0060] The adhesive layer 132 of the adapter plate assembly 13 is bonded to the surface of at least a portion of the battery cell 121 of the battery module 12; in this embodiment, the two ends of the battery module 12 in the X direction are respectively bonded to the corresponding adapter plate assembly 13.

[0061] The battery module 12 with the adapter plate assembly 13 attached is installed into the battery box 11 of the battery pack.

[0062] Foam is poured between the battery module 12 and the battery housing 11.

[0063] After the foamed adhesive is cured and molded, the battery module 12 and the battery box 11 are fixedly connected, and the connection is relatively reliable, which can improve the overall pack mode and mechanical properties of the battery pack 100.

[0064] This application also provides a vehicle including the battery pack 100 described in any of the above embodiments, which has the same technical effects as the battery pack 100 in the above embodiments, and will not be described again.

[0065] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this application. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various improvements and modifications without departing from the principles of this application, and these improvements and modifications should also be considered within the scope of protection of this application.

Claims

1. An adapter plate assembly, characterized in that, The adapter assembly (13) includes: The adapter body (131) includes a first side (1311) and a second side (1312) distributed along its thickness direction. The surface of the first side (1311) is a plane, and the second side (1312) includes a plurality of protrusions (13121). Adhesive layer (132), one side of which is bonded to the surface of the first side (1311), and the other side of which is used to bond to the battery module (12).

2. The adapter assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, The plane containing the thickness and height directions of the adapter plate body (131) is defined as the first plane, and the cross section of the protrusion (13121) along the first plane is any one of trapezoid, triangle, square and semicircle.

3. The adapter assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that, The protrusions (13121) extend along the length direction of the adapter body (131), and the protrusions (13121) are spaced apart along the height direction of the adapter body (131); there is a first distance d2 between adjacent protrusions (13121), and the adapter body (131) has a thickness d1, satisfying: d2≥d1.

4. The adapter assembly according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, The adapter plate body (131) is a structure made of composite material by molding; Alternatively, the adapter body (131) may be a structure made of PA and glass fiber injection molding; Alternatively, the adapter body (131) may be a structure made of PBT and glass fiber injection molding; Alternatively, the adapter body (131) may be a structure made of PPE and glass fiber injection molding.

5. A battery pack, characterized in that, The battery module (12) includes a battery housing (11) and a battery module (12), the battery module (12) being located inside the battery housing (11), and at least a portion of the surface of the battery module (12) being bonded with an adapter assembly (13) as described in any one of claims 1-4; a foam adhesive is present between the adapter assembly (13) and the battery housing (11).

6. The battery pack according to claim 5, characterized in that, The battery module (12) includes multiple rows of cells (121), and the arrangement direction of multiple cells (121) in each row is defined as the X direction, and the arrangement direction of the multiple rows of cells (121) is defined as the Y direction, and the X direction and the Y direction are perpendicular; the adapter plate assembly (13) is bonded to both ends of the battery module (12) along the X direction.

7. The battery pack according to claim 6, characterized in that, The battery box (11) includes a side wall (111), which includes a first wall (1111) and a third wall (1113) arranged opposite to each other along the Y direction, and a second wall (1112) and a fourth wall (1114) arranged opposite to each other along the X direction. The battery housing (11) also includes two housing beams (112), both of which connect the first wall portion (1111) and the third wall portion (1113). One housing beam (112) is spaced apart from the second wall portion (1112), and the other housing beam (112) is spaced apart from the fourth wall portion (1114). The battery module (12) is located between the first wall portion (1111), the third wall portion (1113), and the two housing beams (112). The adapter assembly (13) and the housing beams (112) have the foam adhesive between them.

8. The battery pack (100) according to claim 7, characterized in that, The gaps between the battery module (12) and the first wall portion (1111) and the third wall portion (1113) are all greater than the gap (11c) between the battery module (12) and the box beam (112); the battery pack (100) also includes a pad, the pad having two flat sides along its thickness direction, the pad being bonded to one side of the battery module (12) opposite to the first wall portion (1111) and opposite to the third wall portion (1113), and having foam adhesive between it and the corresponding first wall portion (1111) or third wall portion (1113).

9. A vehicle, characterized in that, Includes the battery pack (100) as described in any one of claims 5-8.

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