Potting energy storage module and battery pack thereof

Abstract

The application provides a pouring energy storage module and a battery pack thereof, and is applied to the technical field of energy storage modules. The pouring energy storage module comprises an array of battery cells, an upper connecting row assembly, a lower connecting row assembly, an external electrode terminal, an upper pouring glue layer and a lower pouring glue layer. The upper connecting row assembly is sleeved and welded on the upper end electrode of the array of battery cells, the lower connecting row assembly is sleeved and welded on the lower end electrode of the array of battery cells, the external electrode terminal is connected with the upper connecting row assembly and / or the lower connecting row assembly, the upper pouring glue layer is formed by curing heat-conducting pouring glue and at least covers the upper connecting row assembly, and the lower pouring glue layer is formed by curing heat-conducting pouring glue and at least covers the lower connecting row assembly. The external electrode terminal is exposed to the outside from the upper pouring glue layer and / or the lower pouring glue layer to be conductively connected with an electric device. The pouring energy storage module and the battery pack thereof have good heat conduction and vibration resistance and are simple to assemble.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of energy storage module technology, specifically to a potted energy storage module and its battery pack. Background Technology

[0002] Supercapacitor modules are used in rail transit. When the rail transit system starts, the module's battery pack provides a large instantaneous current; when the rail transit system brakes, the module's battery pack can absorb regenerative energy. This frequent starting and braking of rail transit generates a significant amount of heat. To solve the heat dissipation problem, supercapacitor modules typically use an aluminum alloy structure. To reduce the weight of the battery pack, the module housing is also made of multiple pieces of aluminum alloy welded or bent. The battery cells are fixed by plastic brackets. Specifically, taking a cylindrical supercapacitor module as an example, the plastic bracket has a ring structure. The battery cells are installed in the ring structure of the plastic bracket. First, the battery cells are fixed by the plastic bracket, and then the battery cell connecting strip is installed. A thermal pad is laid on the connecting strip, and a heat dissipation cover presses down on the thermal pad. This structural form achieves heat dissipation for the module's battery cells.

[0003] The existing solution has the following problems when applied:

[0004] Firstly, assembling the cell array and connecting busbars is difficult. Specifically, the cells are first fixed with plastic brackets, and then the connecting busbars are installed. The connecting busbars are installed on the top and bottom sides, allowing multiple cells to be connected in series or parallel. The connecting holes of the connecting busbars are laser-welded to the electrodes of the cells, requiring a fit clearance of ≤0.1mm. If this range is exceeded, the quality of the laser welding is difficult to guarantee. Once the cells are fixed by the plastic brackets, their positions are determined by the plastic brackets. When assembling the connecting busbars and the cell electrodes, especially when multiple cells are connected in series or parallel, the connecting busbars need to be simultaneously fitted with all the electrodes in the cell array. Because the tolerances of the plastic brackets have a significant impact on the position of the cell electrodes, the assembly of the connecting busbars and the cells becomes extremely difficult.

[0005] Secondly, the compression of the thermal pad needs to cover the height tolerance of the battery cell. If the compression is too large, the rebound force of the thermal pad will be continuously applied to the cover plate, affecting the vibration intensity of the cover plate.

[0006] Therefore, simplifying the assembly process of the cell array and the connector assembly, and avoiding the need to dissipate heat through the connector without affecting heat dissipation efficiency, have become urgent technical problems to be solved. Utility Model Content

[0007] In view of this, embodiments of this specification provide a potted energy storage module and its battery pack to solve the technical problems existing in the field of energy storage technology.

[0008] The embodiments in this specification provide the following technical solutions:

[0009] A potted energy storage module includes: a cell array comprising multiple cell sub-arrays; an upper connecting bus assembly sleeved and welded to the upper electrode of the cell array; a lower connecting bus assembly sleeved and welded to the lower electrode of the cell array; external electrode terminals connected to the upper connecting bus assembly and / or the lower connecting bus assembly; an upper potting compound layer formed by curing thermally conductive potting compound and at least covering the upper connecting bus assembly; and a lower potting compound layer formed by curing thermally conductive potting compound and at least covering the lower connecting bus assembly; wherein the external electrode terminals are exposed to the outside from the upper potting compound layer and / or the lower potting compound layer to facilitate conductive connection with an electrical device.

[0010] To optimize the above solution, the following technical measures were also adopted:

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, each of the upper connecting bar assembly and the lower connecting bar assembly includes: a plurality of connecting bars corresponding one-to-one with a plurality of cell sub-columns, the connecting bars being used to connect electrodes in the corresponding cell sub-columns in series or in parallel; and at least one connector for connecting adjacent connecting bars so that the cell array, the upper connecting bar assembly, the lower connecting bar assembly, and the external electrode terminals constitute an integral unit.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the connecting member is fixed to the adjacent connecting row by adhesive bonding.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, one of the upper connecting bus assembly and the lower connecting bus assembly includes a positive connecting bus and a negative connecting bus. The positive connecting bus is connected to the positive terminal of the battery cell at the positive terminal of the energy storage module, and the negative connecting bus is connected to the negative terminal of the battery cell at the negative terminal of the energy storage module. The external electrode terminal includes a positive terminal portion disposed on the positive connecting bus and a negative terminal portion disposed on the negative connecting bus.

[0014] This specification also proposes a battery pack, including the aforementioned potted energy storage module, and further including an upper heat dissipation cover plate covering the upper potting layer and a lower heat dissipation cover plate covering the lower potting layer, wherein the upper heat dissipation cover plate and the lower heat dissipation cover plate are fixedly connected.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, the upper heat dissipation cover plate defines an upper concave cavity with an opening facing downwards, and the lower heat dissipation cover plate defines a lower concave cavity with an opening facing upwards. The energy storage module is sandwiched between the upper and lower concave cavities, and the upper and lower potting adhesive layers are potted and cured in the lower concave cavity.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment, each of the upper heat dissipation cover and the lower heat dissipation cover is provided with a heat dissipation fin structure.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment, a support member is further included, which is disposed between the upper heat dissipation cover and the lower heat dissipation cover, and the support member is detachably fixedly connected to both the upper heat dissipation cover and the lower heat dissipation cover.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the energy storage module is a cuboid module, and the battery pack further includes two side plates, two end plates, and four support rods disposed between the upper heat dissipation cover and the lower heat dissipation cover. The two side plates are located on both sides of the long side of the energy storage module, the two end plates are located on both sides of the short side of the energy storage module, and the four support rods have an L-shaped cross-section and are each located at the four corners of the energy storage module. The two side plates, two end plates, four support rods, and the upper and lower heat dissipation cover together form a closed cavity surrounding the energy storage module.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment, one of the two end plates and the two side plates is provided with a through hole for external wiring terminals to pass through.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects that at least one technical solution adopted in the embodiments of this specification can achieve include at least:

[0021] Firstly, this module eliminates the use of plastic brackets. Before fixing the battery cells, the electrodes at both ends of the battery cell array are assembled with their corresponding connecting bus assemblies and then welded together. Since the position of the battery cells can be finely adjusted during the assembly process, it is easy to achieve the alignment connection between the connecting bus and the entire battery cell array. Once the alignment accuracy meets the welding requirements, they can be welded together. This avoids the influence of the tolerance of the plastic bracket on the alignment accuracy of the battery cells and connecting bus assemblies, ensuring the welding quality of both, and also simplifies the assembly process of the battery cells and connecting bus.

[0022] Furthermore, the upper and lower ends of the cell array and the corresponding connecting components are all fixed by a potting compound layer. The potting compound layer is made of thermally conductive potting compound. In the module battery pack, the potting compound layer is in direct contact with the heat dissipation cover plate, realizing heat conduction and heat dissipation for the connecting components and the cell array in the module. There is no need to construct a thermal pad. The heat conduction path is short and there is no reaction force acting on the cover plate. This can maintain the heat dissipation efficiency of the cell array in the module and avoid affecting the vibration intensity of the cover plate, thereby improving the robustness and stability of the entire module and battery pack packaging. Attached Figure Description

[0023] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the bare mold structure in an embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the bare mold during potting and curing in an embodiment of this application;

[0026] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the battery pack structure in an embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the cooperation structure between the energy storage module and the heat dissipation cover in an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the cooperative structure of the energy storage module, heat dissipation cover and support rod in the embodiments of this application;

[0029] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the disassembled structure of the battery pack in an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the upper and lower heat dissipation cover plates in the embodiment of this application.

[0031] Figure Labels

[0032] 100. Battery pack; 11. Upper heat dissipation cover; 12. Lower heat dissipation cover; 121. Lower recess; 2. Side plate; 3. End plate; 4. Bare mold; 41. Negative terminal block; 411. Negative terminal section; 42. Positive terminal block; 421. Positive terminal section; 44. Intermediate connection block; 45. Connector; 5. Cylindrical cell. Detailed Implementation

[0033] The embodiments of this application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0034] The following specific examples illustrate the implementation of this application. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of this application from the content disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of them. This application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of this application. It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0035] It should be noted that various aspects of embodiments within the scope of the appended claims are described below. It will be apparent that the aspects described herein can be embodied in a wide variety of forms, and any particular structure and / or function described herein is merely illustrative. Based on this application, those skilled in the art will understand that one aspect described herein can be implemented independently of any other aspect, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, any number and aspects set forth herein can be used to implement the device and / or practice the method. Additionally, this device and / or method can be implemented using structures and / or functionalities other than one or more of the aspects set forth herein.

[0036] It should also be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic representations of the basic concept of this application. The drawings only show the components related to this application and are not drawn according to the actual number, shape and size of the components in the actual implementation. In the actual implementation, the form, quantity and proportion of each component can be arbitrarily changed, and the layout of the components may also be more complex.

[0037] This specification presents an encapsulated energy storage module and its battery pack, aiming to solve the problems in the prior art where the assembly of the cell array and the connecting busbar assembly is difficult due to the tolerance of the plastic bracket, and the presence of the thermal pad on the connecting busbar affects the vibration intensity of the heat dissipation cover. It can not only simplify the assembly process of the cell array and the connecting busbar assembly, making the assembly operation convenient, but also eliminate the thermal pad structure while maintaining good heat dissipation efficiency and effect of the connecting busbar assembly and the energy storage module, thereby saving some component costs.

[0038] The technical solutions provided by the various embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0039] like Figures 1 to 2As shown in the embodiments of this specification, a potted energy storage module is first provided. This energy storage module can be a supercapacitor module, a hybrid supercapacitor module, or the energy storage module described in this embodiment; no limitation is made here. Specifically, the energy storage module includes a cell array, an upper connection bus assembly, a lower connection bus assembly, external electrode terminals, an upper potting compound layer, and a lower potting compound layer. The cell array includes multiple cell sub-arrays. In this embodiment, the cell sub-array includes multiple cylindrical cells 5, arranged in a certain order and according to certain rules to achieve conductive connections within and between cell sub-arrays in a desired manner. In other embodiments, the cell sub-array includes multiple square cells or multiple non-standard shaped cells; no limitation is made here. An upper connecting bus assembly is sleeved and soldered to the upper electrode of the battery cell array, and a lower connecting bus assembly is sleeved and soldered to the lower electrode of the battery cell array. External electrode terminals are connected to the upper connecting bus assembly and / or the lower connecting bus assembly. In one embodiment, the external electrode terminals are integrally formed and connected to the upper connecting bus assembly and / or the lower connecting bus assembly. In this embodiment, the external electrode terminals are connected to the upper connecting bus assembly, and the specific connection method is described in detail below. An upper potting compound layer is formed by curing thermally conductive potting compound and at least covers the upper connecting bus assembly. A lower potting compound layer is formed by curing thermally conductive potting compound and at least covers the lower connecting bus assembly. The external electrode terminals are exposed to the outside from the upper potting compound layer and / or the lower potting compound layer to facilitate conductive connection with an electrical device.

[0040] In this embodiment, when assembling and testing the bare mold 4, multiple cylindrical cells 5 can be arranged into a predetermined cell array on the tooling platform according to the desired circuit connection form. The cell array includes multiple cell sub-columns, and the number and position of the cell sub-columns correspond one-to-one with the number and position of the connecting bars in the corresponding connecting bar assembly. Then, the upper connecting bar assembly is directly assembled onto the same electrode on the upper end face of the cell array. Here, the connecting bars in the upper connecting bar assembly are each fitted onto the corresponding cell electrode in the cell array. After meeting the assembly and welding requirements, the connecting bar assembly is welded and fixed. The workpiece is flipped over, and similarly, the lower connecting bar assembly is assembled onto the same electrode on the lower end face of the cell array. After meeting the assembly and welding requirements, the connecting bar assembly is welded and fixed. After double-sided welding is completed, adjacent connecting bars are quickly connected in each connecting assembly through temporary connectors 45 to form an integral part, namely the bare mold 4, which can be used to perform relevant tests, such as manufacturing defect tests on each cell sub-column and connecting bar.

[0041] This module eliminates the use of plastic brackets. Before fixing the cells, the electrodes at both ends of the cell array are assembled with their corresponding connecting bus assemblies and then welded together. Since the position of the cells can be finely adjusted during the assembly process, it is easy to align the connecting bus with the entire cell array. Once the alignment accuracy meets the welding requirements, they can be welded together. This avoids the influence of the tolerance of the plastic bracket on the alignment accuracy of the cells and connecting bus assemblies, ensuring the welding quality of both, and also simplifies the assembly process of the cells and connecting bus.

[0042] In this embodiment, the upper and lower ends of the cell array and the corresponding connecting bus assemblies are all fixed by a potting compound layer. The potting compound layer is made of a thermally conductive potting compound, such as epoxy resin with a thermal conductivity of 0.8–1 W / (m·K). In the module battery pack, the potting compound layer is in direct contact with the heat dissipation cover plate, achieving heat conduction and heat dissipation for the connecting bus assemblies and the cell array within the module. No thermal pad is required, the heat conduction path is short, and there is no reaction force acting on the cover plate. This maintains the heat dissipation efficiency for the cell array within the module and avoids affecting the vibration intensity of the cover plate, improving the robustness and stability of the entire module and battery pack encapsulation. The curing process of the potting compound layer will be described in detail below.

[0043] Specifically, each of the upper connecting bar assembly and the lower connecting bar assembly includes multiple connecting bars and at least one connector 45. The multiple connecting bars correspond one-to-one with multiple battery cell sub-arrays. The connecting bars are used to connect electrodes within the corresponding battery cell sub-arrays in series or parallel. The at least one connector 45 is used to connect adjacent connecting bars so that the battery cell array, the upper connecting bar assembly, the lower connecting bar assembly, and the external electrode terminals form a single unit, i.e., the bare mold 4 for testing. Optionally, the connector 45 is fixed to the adjacent connecting bar by adhesive bonding.

[0044] Specifically, one of the upper connection busbar assembly and the lower connection busbar assembly includes a positive connection busbar 42 and a negative connection busbar 41. The positive connection busbar 42 is connected to the positive terminal of the battery cell at the positive terminal of the energy storage module, and the negative connection busbar 41 is connected to the negative terminal of the battery cell at the negative terminal of the energy storage module. The external electrode terminal includes a positive terminal portion 421 disposed on the positive connection busbar 42 and a negative terminal portion 411 disposed on the negative connection busbar 41.

[0045] Based on this, such as Figures 3 to 7 As shown in the embodiments of this specification, another battery pack 100 is disclosed, including the above-mentioned potted energy storage module, and also including an upper heat dissipation cover plate 11 covering the upper potting adhesive layer and a lower heat dissipation cover plate 12 covering the lower potting adhesive layer, wherein the upper heat dissipation cover plate 11 and the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12 are fixedly connected.

[0046] like Figure 7 As shown, in this embodiment, the upper heat dissipation cover 11 and the lower heat dissipation cover 12 have the same structure. The upper heat dissipation cover 11 defines an upper concave cavity with an opening facing downwards, and the lower heat dissipation cover 12 defines a lower concave cavity 121 with an opening facing upwards. The energy storage module is sandwiched between the upper concave cavity and the lower concave cavity 121. The upper potting adhesive layer and the lower potting adhesive layer are potted and cured in the lower concave cavity 121.

[0047] After the relevant tests are completed, the bare mold 4 can be initially fixed in the recessed cavity 121 of the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12, and potting compound is poured in. This potting compound has a certain thermal conductivity, and the compound can fill the entire recessed cavity 121 of the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12. After initial curing, the aforementioned upper potting compound layer is formed. The bare mold 4 is flipped over so that the other side of the bare mold 4 is fixed in the recessed cavity 121 of the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12, and potting compound is poured in. When the potting compound is completely cured, the aforementioned lower potting compound layer is formed. The bare mold 4 and the upper and lower potting compound layers constitute the aforementioned energy storage module. At this time, the upper heat dissipation cover plate 11 is placed on the upper potting compound layer. A support rod 7 can be installed between the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12 and the upper heat dissipation cover plate 11. The support rod 7 is fixedly installed around the bare mold 4. Here, the support rod 7 is an L-shaped angle steel sheet. The support rod 7 and the sides of the upper and lower heat dissipation covers are provided with fixing holes. The support rod 7 is fixed between the upper and lower heat dissipation covers by fasteners that pass through the fixing holes. Finally, the two end plates 3 and the two side plates 2 are installed, thus completing the assembly of the entire battery pack.

[0048] In this embodiment, each of the upper heat dissipation cover plate 11 and the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12 is provided with a heat dissipation fin structure to increase the heat dissipation area and improve the heat dissipation efficiency of the module.

[0049] In this embodiment, the battery pack further includes a support member disposed between the upper heat dissipation cover plate 11 and the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12. The support member is, for example, the aforementioned strut. The support member is detachably fixedly connected to both the upper heat dissipation cover plate 11 and the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12. In this embodiment, for example, the connection is made by screws.

[0050] In this embodiment, the energy storage module is a cuboid module. The battery pack 100 also includes two side plates 2, two end plates 3, and four support rods disposed between the upper heat dissipation cover plate 11 and the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12. The two side plates 2 are located on both sides of the long side of the energy storage module, and the two end plates 3 are located on both sides of the short side of the energy storage module. The four support rods have L-shaped angle steel pieces and are each located at the four corners of the energy storage module. The two side plates 2, two end plates 3, four support rods, and the upper heat dissipation cover plate 11 and the lower heat dissipation cover plate 12 together form a closed cavity surrounding the energy storage module. The two side plates 2, two end plates 3, and four support rods are all within the scope of the aforementioned support components and will not be described in detail here.

[0051] In some embodiments, one of the two end plates 3 and the two side plates 2 has a through-hole for external wiring terminals to pass through. For example... Figure 3 and Figure 6 As shown, in this embodiment, one of the end plates 3 has two through holes opposite to the upper connecting row assembly. The two through holes are symmetrically arranged in the width direction of the module, so that the negative terminal 411 and the positive terminal 421 are exposed from the aforementioned closed cavity to the outside.

[0052] In this embodiment, the battery pack with this potting method has a simple structure. Since there are no plastic parts affecting the battery cells, the welding quality can be guaranteed. Simultaneously, the potting compound completely covers the connectors, allowing heat to be transferred from the connectors to the potting compound, and then to the heat dissipation cover plate. The path is short and there is no reaction force acting on the cover plate. It has good thermal conductivity and vibration resistance, is easy to assemble, and fully meets the requirements for automotive-grade modules.

[0053] In this specification, the same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, the descriptions of the embodiments described later are relatively simple, and relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions of the foregoing embodiments.

[0054] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A potted energy storage module, characterized by, include: A cell array, comprising multiple cell sub-arrays; The upper connecting row assembly is sleeved and welded to the upper electrode of the cell array; The lower connecting assembly is sleeved and welded to the lower electrode of the cell array; External electrode terminals are connected to the upper connection row assembly and / or the lower connection row assembly; The upper potting compound layer is formed by curing thermally conductive potting compound and at least covers the upper connector assembly; The lower potting compound layer is formed by curing thermally conductive potting compound and at least covers the lower connector assembly; The external electrode terminals are exposed to the outside from the upper and / or lower potting layers to facilitate conductive connection with an electrical device.

2. The potted energy storage module of claim 1, wherein, Each of the upper connecting row assembly and the lower connecting row assembly includes: Multiple connecting bars, each corresponding to a different battery cell row, are used to connect electrodes within the corresponding battery cell row in series or parallel; and At least one connector is used to connect adjacent connectors so that the cell array, the upper connector assembly, the lower connector assembly, and the external electrode terminals form a single unit.

3. The potted energy storage module of claim 2, wherein, The connecting component is fixed to the adjacent connecting row by adhesive bonding.

4. The potted energy storage module of claim 1, wherein, One of the upper connecting busbar assembly and the lower connecting busbar assembly includes a positive connecting busbar and a negative connecting busbar. The positive connecting busbar is connected to the positive terminal of the cell sub-array at the positive end of the energy storage module, and the negative connecting busbar is connected to the negative terminal of the cell sub-array at the negative end of the energy storage module. The external electrode terminal includes a positive terminal portion disposed on the positive connecting busbar and a negative terminal portion disposed on the negative connecting busbar.

5. A battery pack, characterized by, The energy storage module as described in claim 1 further includes an upper heat dissipation cover plate covering the upper potting layer and a lower heat dissipation cover plate covering the lower potting layer, wherein the upper heat dissipation cover plate and the lower heat dissipation cover plate are fixedly connected.

6. The battery pack of claim 5, wherein, The upper heat dissipation cover plate defines an upper concave cavity with an opening facing downwards, and the lower heat dissipation cover plate defines a lower concave cavity with an opening facing upwards. The energy storage module is sandwiched between the upper and lower concave cavities, and the upper and lower potting adhesive layers are potted and cured in the lower concave cavity.

7. The battery pack of claim 5, wherein, Each of the upper and lower heat dissipation covers has a heat dissipation fin structure.

8. The battery pack of claim 5, wherein, It also includes a support member disposed between the upper heat dissipation cover and the lower heat dissipation cover, the support member being detachably fixedly connected to both the upper heat dissipation cover and the lower heat dissipation cover.

9. The battery pack according to claim 5, characterized in that, The energy storage module is a cuboid module. The battery pack also includes two side plates, two end plates, and four support rods disposed between the upper heat dissipation cover and the lower heat dissipation cover. The two side plates are located on both sides of the long side of the energy storage module, the two end plates are located on both sides of the short side of the energy storage module, and the four support rods have an L-shaped cross-section and are located at the four corners of the energy storage module. The two side plates, two end plates, four support rods, and the upper and lower heat dissipation cover together form a closed cavity surrounding the energy storage module.

10. The battery pack according to claim 9, characterized in that, One of the two end plates and the two side plates has a through hole for external wiring terminals to pass through.

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