Integrated protection features in battery cells, batteries and battery packs

Abstract

This application relates to the field of battery structure, and in particular to a battery cell, battery, and battery pack with integrated protection functions. The battery cell with integrated protection functions includes a battery cell and a protective component; the protective component includes a first protective coating and a second protective coating; the first protective coating is disposed on a first side of the battery cell; the length and width sides of the battery cell form the first side; the second protective coating is disposed on a second side of the battery cell; the thickness and width sides of the battery cell form the second side. This application directly sprays and attaches insulating buffer material to the battery cell, resulting in a simple and rapid process. Compared with traditional solutions that require pasting insulating buffer sheets onto the surface of the battery cell, this reduces the pasting process. The battery cells are simply stacked in an orderly manner on a fixture, significantly reducing the types of protective parts between the cells. This simplifies the insulation buffer and heat insulation solutions between the cells, reduces the steps in stacking and assembling the cells, and effectively improves the efficiency of module stacking and assembly.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of battery structure, and in particular to a cell, battery and battery pack with integrated protection function. Background Technology

[0002] The battery cell module is an important component of a battery pack. Battery modules often employ a structure that connects several groups of cells to form a battery cell module.

[0003] Currently, individual insulating sheets are used between battery cells for insulation, buffering, and thermal protection. These insulating sheets are adhered to the large or narrow surfaces of the cell using adhesive, resulting in a variety of materials, complex operations, and significantly reduced production efficiency. The utilization rate of insulation materials between cells is low during processing, leading to cost waste. Furthermore, existing insulation protection solutions often require the coordinated use of multiple components, increasing the complexity of material management and reducing the space utilization and energy density of the battery module. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a battery cell, battery, and battery pack with integrated protection functions, which can reduce the types of protective parts between battery cells, make the insulation buffer and heat insulation scheme between battery cells simpler, and improve production efficiency.

[0005] This application provides a battery cell with integrated protection functions, including the battery cell and protection components;

[0006] The protective component includes a first protective coating and a second protective coating;

[0007] The first protective coating is provided on the first side of the battery cell; the length side and the width side of the battery cell surround and form the first side.

[0008] The second protective coating is provided on the second side of the battery cell; the thickness side and the width side of the battery cell surround and form the second side.

[0009] In the above technical solution, the first protective coating is further defined as a frame-shaped structure covering the circumferential edge of the first side.

[0010] In the above technical solution, the frame structure is further defined as a rectangular frame and is adapted to the contour of the first side surface;

[0011] The frame structure includes two first borders and two second borders; the two first borders are spaced apart along the width direction of the battery cell; the two second borders are spaced apart along the length direction of the battery cell.

[0012] In the above technical solution, the width of the first border is a, and a is between 2mm and 10mm;

[0013] The width of the second border is b, and b is between 3mm and 30mm.

[0014] In the above technical solution, the distance between the first length side of the first side and the edge of the first protective coating is a1, and a1 is between 1mm and 9mm; the first length side is connected to the top surface of the battery cell.

[0015] The distance between the second length side of the first side and the edge of the first protective coating is a2, and a2 is between 0 and 9 mm; the second length side is connected to the bottom surface of the battery cell.

[0016] In the above technical solution, further, along the width direction of the battery cell, the second protective coating covers a preset area on the second side, the preset area being away from the top surface of the battery cell.

[0017] In the above technical solution, the distance between the first thickness edge of the second side and the edge of the second protective coating is h; the first thickness edge is connected to the top surface of the battery cell;

[0018] The width of the battery cell is H, and the ratio of h to H is 0.8.

[0019] In the above technical solution, the thickness of the second protective coating is further greater than the thickness of the first protective coating.

[0020] This application also provides a battery, including a cell with integrated protection function as described in the above-described scheme.

[0021] This application also provides a battery pack including the battery described in the above-described scheme.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of this application are as follows:

[0023] The integrated protective battery cell provided in this application achieves its functionality by spraying and attaching insulating buffer material onto the battery cell, a simple and rapid process. Compared to traditional solutions that require attaching insulating buffer sheets to the battery cell surface, this reduces the attachment process. The battery cells are simply stacked in an orderly manner on a fixture, significantly reducing the types of protective components between cells. This simplifies the insulation and heat insulation solutions between cells, reduces the number of stacking and assembly steps, and effectively improves the efficiency of module stacking and assembly.

[0024] This application also provides a battery, including a cell with integrated protection functions as described in the above solution. Based on the above analysis, it is clear that the battery also possesses the aforementioned beneficial effects, which will not be elaborated upon further here.

[0025] This application also provides a battery pack, including the battery described in the above solution. Based on the above analysis, it is clear that the battery pack also possesses the aforementioned beneficial effects, which will not be elaborated upon further here. Attached Figure Description

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the specific embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0027] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the battery cell with integrated protection function provided in this application;

[0028] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the first protective coating provided in this application;

[0029] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the structure of the second protective coating provided in this application.

[0030] In the figure: 101 - First side; 102 - First protective coating; 103 - Second side; 104 - Second protective coating; 105 - First frame; 106 - Second frame. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The technical solutions of this application will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of this application. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0032] In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0033] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances.

[0034] Example 1

[0035] See Figures 1 to 3 As shown, the battery cell with integrated protection function provided in this application includes a battery cell and a protection component; the protection component includes a first protective coating 102 and a second protective coating 104; the first protective coating 102 is provided on the first side 101 of the battery cell; the length side and the width side of the battery cell surround to form the first side 101; the second protective coating 104 is provided on the second side 103 of the battery cell; the thickness side and the width side of the battery cell surround to form the second side 103.

[0036] Specifically, a battery cell includes a cell body and a casing, with the cell body located inside the casing. Some cells also have an insulating film covering the outside of the casing. This application involves directly spraying an insulating buffer material onto the surface of the cell's casing or insulating film, forming a first protective coating 102 and a second protective coating 104 on the cell surface. This integrates functions such as insulation, cell expansion buffering, and heat insulation into the cell. Furthermore, the sprayed protective coating is thinner and occupies less space, thereby improving the space utilization and energy density of the battery module.

[0037] Specifically, the first side 101 formed by the length and width sides of the battery cell is the large side of the battery cell, and the second side 103 formed by the thickness and width sides of the battery cell is the narrow side of the battery cell. When multiple rows of battery cells are arranged to form a module, the large and narrow sides of the battery cells are in contact with each other. This application provides a first protective coating 102 on the large side of the battery cell and a second protective coating 104 on the narrow side of the battery cell, which can improve the insulation performance between the battery cells.

[0038] This application directly sprays and adheres the insulating buffer material onto the battery cell, making the process simple and fast. Compared to traditional solutions that require pasting insulating buffer sheets onto the battery cell surface, this reduces the pasting process. The battery cells are simply stacked in an orderly manner on a fixture, significantly reducing the types of protective components between cells. This simplifies the insulation and heat insulation solutions between cells, reduces the number of stacking and assembly steps, and effectively improves the efficiency of module stacking and assembly.

[0039] Specifically, during the cell stacking and assembly process, the cells can be placed sequentially on a dedicated fixture with a positioning structure to ensure accurate placement of the cells according to design requirements. Since the surface of the cells has been coated with an insulating buffer coating, adjacent cells naturally form insulation, buffering, isolation, and protection, eliminating the need for additional insulating materials.

[0040] Furthermore, due to the relatively smooth surface of the insulating film on the battery cell, traditional solutions use silicone foam with full-surface adhesive for the narrow-face insulating sheet of the battery cell, with adjacent cells bonded to the insulating sheet to connect them. During vibration, the interaction between these bonded cells causes tension on the weld seam at the top of the battery cell, easily leading to weld cracking and posing a safety hazard. This application integrates an insulating buffer coating on the surface of the battery cell, giving it inherent insulating and buffering capabilities. The cells are no longer bonded to each other; instead, the roughness of the coating surface increases the friction between the cells, replacing the traditional adhesive structure. This optimizes the stress at the weld seam of the top of the battery cell during vibration, effectively preventing weld cracking. Moreover, the insulating buffer coating has high material utilization, reducing costs.

[0041] Preferably, the insulating buffer material can be a commonly used insulating and protective material inside the battery pack, such as silicone, polyurethane, organosilicon resin, acrylic resin, epoxy-silane composite material, etc.

[0042] In an optional embodiment, the first protective coating 102 is a frame-shaped structure that covers the circumferential edge of the first side 101.

[0043] In this embodiment, the battery cell may expand during charging and discharging, especially in high-temperature environments. By leaving the protective coating uncoated in the center of the first side 101, additional space can be provided for the battery cell, preventing it from being restricted by the coating during expansion. The uncoated central area also allows for better heat dissipation. Furthermore, applying the protective coating only to the edge areas reduces material usage, thereby lowering production costs.

[0044] See Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the outline of the first side 101 is rectangular, and the frame structure is set as a rectangular frame that fits the outline of the first side 101, ensuring that the coating can cover all areas of the edge region of the first side 101, providing comprehensive protection. Specifically, the frame structure includes two first side frames 105 and two second side frames 106. The two first side frames 105 are spaced apart along the width direction of the battery cell, and the two second side frames 106 are spaced apart along the length direction of the battery cell. The two first side frames 105 and the two second side frames 106 are connected to form a hollow frame structure.

[0045] In this embodiment, the width of the first frame 105 is 'a', and 'a' is between 2mm and 10mm. Optionally, the width of the first frame 105 can be set to 4mm, 5mm, or 6mm, etc., and the width of the first frame 105 can be adjusted according to the width of the battery cell. The width of the second frame 106 is 'b', and 'b' is between 3mm and 30mm. Optionally, the width of the second frame 106 can be set to 15mm, 16mm, or 17mm, etc., and the width of the second frame 106 can be adjusted according to the length of the battery cell.

[0046] In this embodiment, because the width of the battery cell is relatively small, and the two first frame borders 105 are spaced apart along the width direction of the battery cell, the width of the first frame borders 105 is relatively narrow, so that a sufficiently large gap is left between the two first frame borders 105, so that the expansion of the middle part of the battery cell is not restricted by the coating. The length of the battery cell is relatively large, and the two second frame borders 106 are spaced apart along the length direction of the battery cell, so the width of the second frame borders 106 can be set to be relatively wide to improve the protective effect, and a sufficiently large gap can also be left between the two second frame borders 106, so that the expansion of the middle part of the battery cell is not restricted by the coating.

[0047] In the optional solutions of this embodiment, such as Figure 2 As shown, the distance between the first long side of the first side 101 and the edge of the first protective coating 102 is a1, and a1 is between 1 mm and 9 mm; optionally, a1 can be set to 4 mm, 4.5 mm, and 5 mm, etc.; the first long side is connected to the top surface of the battery cell. The distance between the second long side of the first side 101 and the edge of the first protective coating 102 is a2, and a2 is between 0 and 9 mm; optionally, a2 can be set to 0, 1.5 mm, and 3 mm, etc.; the second long side is connected to the bottom surface of the battery cell.

[0048] In this embodiment, the battery cell body is specifically a rolled core, and the rolled core generally does not fill the inner cavity of the housing. A gap is left between the top surface of the rolled core and the top surface of the battery cell in the upper part of the housing. To avoid applying pressure to this gap when spraying the protective coating, this application sets a certain distance between the upper edge of the first protective coating 102 and the upper edge of the first side surface 101 (the first length side of the first side surface 101), preventing pressure from being applied to this area and causing housing deformation. The rolled core fills the lower part of the housing, thus providing some support to the housing. A protective coating can be sprayed on this area, or a certain area can be left uncoated.

[0049] In an optional embodiment, the second protective coating 104 covers a preset area of ​​the second side 103 along the width direction of the battery cell, and the preset area is away from the top surface of the battery cell.

[0050] In this embodiment, such as Figure 1 and Figure 3As shown, the upper part of the second side 103 is not coated with a protective coating. When the second side 103 of adjacent cells come into contact with each other, no friction is generated on the upper part of the second side 103, so as not to cause pulling on the weld of the top cover of the cell, and further avoid the weld cracking at that point.

[0051] In the optional solutions of this embodiment, such as Figure 3 As shown, the distance between the first thickness edge of the second side 103 and the edge of the second protective coating 104 is h; the first thickness edge is connected to the top surface of the battery cell; the width of the battery cell is H, and the ratio of h to H is 0.8. In this way, while ensuring the insulation and buffering function, the second protective coating 104 can be prevented from pulling on the weld of the top cover of the battery cell.

[0052] Example 2

[0053] The battery cell with integrated protection function in this embodiment is an improvement based on the above embodiments. The technical content disclosed in the above embodiments will not be described again, and the content disclosed in the above embodiments also belongs to the content disclosed in this embodiment.

[0054] In an optional embodiment, the thickness of the second protective coating 104 is greater than the thickness of the first protective coating 102. In practical applications, the thicknesses of the first protective coating 102 and the second protective coating 104 can be adjusted according to the gap between the battery cells. Specifically, the thickness of the first protective coating 102 can be set to 0.9 mm; the thickness of the second protective coating 104 can be set to 1.1 mm.

[0055] In this embodiment, when the battery cell expands, the first side surface 101, as the large surface of the battery cell, undergoes greater deformation. Specifically, the middle portion of the first side surface 101 deforms more significantly, while the circumferential edges deform less. This application provides a relatively thin first protective coating 102, which allows it to deform more easily along the circumferential edges of the first side surface 101 when the battery cell expands, thus preventing the first protective coating 102 from easily detaching.

[0056] When the battery cell expands, the deformation of the second side 103, which is the narrow side of the battery cell, is relatively small. Therefore, the thickness of the second protective coating 104 can be set to be thicker to improve the insulation and buffering effect of the second protective coating 104.

[0057] Optionally, the first protective coating 102 and the second protective coating 104 may use different spraying materials. The spraying material used for the first protective coating 102 is softer, while the spraying material used for the second protective coating 104 is harder, making it easier for the first protective coating 102 to deform along the circumferential edge of the first side 101. For example, the first protective coating 102 may be made of foamed silicone material, and the second protective coating 104 may be made of foamed polyurethane material.

[0058] Example 3

[0059] This application provides a battery in embodiment three, which includes a battery cell with integrated protection function of any of the above embodiments. Therefore, all the beneficial technical effects of the battery cell with integrated protection function of any of the above embodiments will not be repeated here.

[0060] Example 4

[0061] Embodiment 4 of this application provides a battery pack that includes the battery of Embodiment 3 described above. Therefore, it has all the beneficial technical effects of the battery of Embodiment 3 described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0062] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and not to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein; and these modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application. In addition, those skilled in the art can understand that although some embodiments herein include certain features included in other embodiments but not other features, combinations of features from different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of this application and form different embodiments.

Claims

1. A battery cell with integrated protection function, characterized in that, Including battery cells and protective components; The protective component includes a first protective coating and a second protective coating; The first protective coating is provided on the first side of the battery cell; the length side and the width side of the battery cell surround and form the first side. The second protective coating is provided on the second side of the battery cell; the thickness side and the width side of the battery cell surround and form the second side.

2. The battery cell with integrated protection function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first protective coating is a frame-shaped structure that covers the circumferential edge of the first side.

3. The battery cell with integrated protection function according to claim 2, characterized in that, The frame structure is a rectangular frame and is adapted to the contour of the first side; The frame structure includes two first borders and two second borders; the two first borders are spaced apart along the width direction of the battery cell; the two second borders are spaced apart along the length direction of the battery cell.

4. The battery cell with integrated protection function according to claim 3, characterized in that, The width of the first border is a, and a is between 2mm and 10mm; The width of the second border is b, and b is between 3mm and 30mm.

5. The battery cell with integrated protection function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The distance between the first long side of the first side and the edge of the first protective coating is a1, and a1 is between 1mm and 9mm; the first long side is connected to the top surface of the battery cell; The distance between the second length side of the first side and the edge of the first protective coating is a2, and a2 is between 0 and 9 mm; the second length side is connected to the bottom surface of the battery cell.

6. The battery cell with integrated protection function according to claim 1, characterized in that, Along the width direction of the battery cell, the second protective coating covers a predetermined area on the second side, the predetermined area being away from the top surface of the battery cell.

7. The battery cell with integrated protection function according to claim 6, characterized in that, The distance between the first thickness edge of the second side and the edge of the second protective coating is h; the first thickness edge is connected to the top surface of the battery cell; The width of the battery cell is H, and the ratio of h to H is 0.

8.

8. The battery cell with integrated protection function according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second protective coating is thicker than the first protective coating.

9. A battery, characterized in that, The battery cell includes the integrated protection function as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A battery pack, characterized in that, Includes the battery as described in claim 9.

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