Flexible connector for cell data acquisition in battery modules

Abstract

This utility model discloses a flexible connector for cell data acquisition in a battery module, comprising a lower insulating film, a circuit layer, and an upper insulating film, with the circuit layer located between the lower and upper insulating films. In this flexible connector for cell data acquisition in a battery module, the metal conductor is made of iron or aluminum. Windows are provided on the upper and lower insulating films, and pads for connecting to external circuits and electronic devices are formed at positions corresponding to the metal conductors and windows. Copper or nickel, or other metals with good solder wettability and conductivity, are plated on the pads as a metal soldering layer to ensure connection stability and conductivity at the solder joints. This flexible connector allows for convenient windowing of the insulating film; windows can be set on either the upper or lower insulating film according to circuit requirements, and the position of the pads can be flexibly set according to circuit needs, thus facilitating the connection between the cell data acquisition circuit and external circuits.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of battery production technology, and in particular to a flexible connector for acquiring cell data in a battery module. Background Technology

[0002] A battery module consists of multiple battery cells. To ensure the safe operation of the battery module, an external battery management system is needed to monitor the cells in real time, allowing for timely detection and handling of any problems. Therefore, the acquisition and monitoring of data such as cell voltage and temperature within the battery module is essential. Existing battery modules typically use wiring harnesses, FPC circuit boards, or PCB circuit boards as the circuit components for data acquisition and connection to achieve the acquisition of data such as cell voltage and temperature.

[0003] Currently, the conductors in the cell data acquisition circuits of existing battery modules are primarily made of copper, which is costly. A small number of designs use copper-aluminum composite materials instead of pure copper as the conductors in the data acquisition circuits. However, the composite process for these copper-aluminum composite materials is complex, the price advantage is not significant, and the solder pads for copper-aluminum composite materials can only be placed on the copper side, limiting their use and flexibility, which is detrimental to battery module circuit design. On the other hand, if aluminum is used entirely, due to the inherent properties of aluminum, it is difficult to guarantee surface solderability with solder during welding, leading to problems such as cold solder joints and weak welds, posing safety hazards to product quality. Therefore, it is necessary to further improve the connection components of the existing cell data acquisition circuits in battery modules.

[0004] Therefore, in view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, it is necessary to design a flexible connector for battery module cell data acquisition to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content

[0005] To overcome the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention aims to disclose a flexible connector for cell data acquisition in a battery module, which reduces manufacturing costs while ensuring the conductivity and reliability of the welding points.

[0006] This utility model discloses a flexible connector for acquiring cell data in a battery module, comprising an upper insulating film, a circuit layer, and a lower insulating film. The circuit layer is located between the lower and upper insulating films and is composed of a metal conductor, the material of which is either aluminum or iron. The upper or lower insulating film has multiple openings, and the metal conductors at the corresponding positions of the openings form pads. The surface of the pads is plated with a metal solder layer.

[0007] Preferably, the metal weld layer is made of any one of copper, nickel, or silver.

[0008] Preferably, the metal welding layer is any one or a mixture of several of the following: electroplating, vapor deposition, or magnetron sputtering.

[0009] Preferably, the metal conductor is made of aluminum, and the metal welding layer is made of copper.

[0010] Preferably, the lower insulating fixing film and the upper insulating fixing film are independently selected from one or more combinations of PI film, PET film, PEI film, insulating tape or hot-pressed support film.

[0011] Preferably, the metal conductor is made of one or more combinations of conductive metal wire, conductive metal narrow strip, and conductive metal thin film.

[0012] The advantages of this invention compared to existing technologies are as follows: The flexible connector for battery module cell data acquisition uses iron or aluminum as the metal conductor. Windows are set on the upper and lower insulating films. Connection pads for external circuits and electronic devices are formed at positions corresponding to the metal conductors and windows. Copper or nickel, or other metals with good solder wettability and conductivity, are plated onto the pads as a metal welding layer, ensuring connection stability and conductivity at the welding points. This flexible connector allows for convenient windowing on the insulating film; windows can be set on either the upper or lower insulating film according to circuit requirements. The position of the pads can be flexibly set according to circuit needs, thus facilitating the connection between the cell data acquisition circuit and external circuits. Attached Figure Description

[0013] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of this utility model or the technical solutions in 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 utility model. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0014] Figure 1 An exploded view of the flexible connector for cell data acquisition in the battery module of this utility model;

[0015] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the metal-plated welding layer on the front side of the solder pad in this utility model;

[0016] In the above attached diagram, 1 is the lower insulating fixing film; 2 is the circuit layer; 21 is the metal conductor; 22 is the solder pad; 22a is the metal solder layer; 3 is the upper insulating fixing film; and 4 is the window. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The following specific embodiments illustrate the implementation of this utility model. Those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of this utility model from the content disclosed in this specification.

[0018] It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this application are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be used interchangeably where appropriate for the purposes of describing embodiments of this application herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and their synonyms, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus.

[0019] In this application, the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "front," "back," "top," "bottom," "inner," "outer," "middle," "vertical," "horizontal," "lateral," and "longitudinal" indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. These terms are primarily for the purpose of better describing this utility model and its embodiments, and are not intended to limit the indicated device, element, or component to having a specific orientation, or to be constructed and operated in a specific orientation.

[0020] Furthermore, in addition to indicating direction or positional relationship, some of the aforementioned terms may also have other meanings. For example, the term "above" may also be used in some cases to indicate a certain dependency or connection relationship. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of these terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0021] Furthermore, the terms "installation," "setting," "equipped with," "connection," "linking," "fitting," and "fitting" should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral structure; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or it can be an internal connection between two devices, components, or parts. Similarly, "fitting" can mean completely or partially fitted. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model according to the specific circumstances.

[0022] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be combined with each other. This application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0023] Example:

[0024] like Figure 1and Figure 2 As shown, this utility model discloses a flexible connector for acquiring cell data in a battery module, comprising a lower insulating fixing film 1, a circuit layer 2, and an upper insulating fixing film 3, wherein the circuit layer 2 is located between the lower insulating fixing film 1 and the upper insulating fixing film 3. The circuit layer 2 is composed of a metal conductor, the material of which is either aluminum or iron.

[0025] Multiple openings 4 are provided on the upper insulating film 3 or the lower insulating film 1. Metal conductors 21 at the corresponding positions of the openings 4 form pads 22. To improve the conductivity and solder joint properties of the pads 22, a metal solder layer 22a is plated on the surface of the pads 22. The metal solder layer 22a is made of a metal material with good solder wettability and conductivity, preferably copper, silver, or nickel. The pads 22 can be placed at any position on the metal conductor 21, not just at the ends of the metal conductor 21, depending on the connection location with external circuits or electronic components. Forming pads on the metal conductor as solder joints, and using metals with good solder wettability and conductivity such as copper or nickel as the metal solder layer, ensures the connection stability and conductivity at the solder joint.

[0026] This flexible connector can have openings on the lower insulating film 1 or the upper insulating film 3 to form pads. The position of the pads can be flexibly set according to circuit needs, facilitating the connection between the cell data acquisition circuit and external circuits. The metal solder layer on the pad 22 can be formed using different processes depending on the operating environment, increasing its applicability. Since the overall area of ​​the pad 22 accounts for a small percentage of the total circuit area, plating a metal solder layer on the pad significantly reduces costs compared to traditionally using copper or copper-aluminum composite materials as the metal conductor, making it highly practical.

[0027] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the metal welding layer 22a can be formed by electroplating, vapor deposition, or magnetron sputtering, depending on the actual application requirements. Any one or a combination of these processes can be used, which greatly increases the applicability of the flexible connector.

[0028] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, in order to reduce the production cost of flexible connectors, the insulating fixing film 1 and the insulating protective film 3 are independently selected from one or more combinations of PI film, PET film, PEI film, insulating tape or hot-pressed support film.

[0029] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1As shown, in order to reduce the production cost of flexible connectors, the metal conductor 21 is made of one or more combinations of conductive metal wire, conductive metal narrow strip and conductive metal film, which improves the flexibility of the metal conductor while reducing manufacturing costs.

[0030] This flexible connector for battery module cell data acquisition uses iron or aluminum as the metal conductor. Windows are set on the upper and lower insulating films, and pads for connecting to external circuits and electronic components are formed at the corresponding positions of the metal conductors and windows. Copper or nickel, or other metals with good solder wettability and conductivity, are plated on the pads as a metal soldering layer to ensure connection stability and conductivity at the solder joints. This flexible connector allows for convenient windowing on the insulating film; windows can be set on either the upper or lower insulating film as needed, and the position of the pads can be flexibly set according to circuit requirements, thus facilitating the connection between the cell data acquisition circuit and external circuits.

[0031] Finally, it should be noted that the above are merely preferred embodiments of the present utility model and are not intended to limit the present utility model. Although the present utility model has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present utility model should be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A flexible connector for acquiring cell data in a battery module, comprising a lower insulating fixing film (1), a circuit layer (2), and an upper insulating fixing film (3), wherein the circuit layer (2) is located between the lower insulating fixing film (1) and the upper insulating fixing film (3), and the circuit layer (2) is composed of a metal conductor (21), characterized in that: The metal conductor (21) is made of either aluminum or iron. The upper or lower insulating film has multiple openings. The metal conductor (21) at the corresponding position of the opening forms a pad (22). The surface of the pad (22) is plated with a metal welding layer.

2. The flexible connector for acquiring cell data in a battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal weld layer is made of any one of copper, nickel, or silver.

3. The flexible connector for acquiring cell data in a battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal welding layer is any one or a mixture of several of the following: electroplating, vapor deposition, or magnetron sputtering.

4. The flexible connector for acquiring cell data in a battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal conductor (21) is made of aluminum, and the metal welding layer is made of copper.

5. The flexible connector for acquiring cell data in a battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lower insulating fixing film (1) and the upper insulating fixing film (3) are independently selected from one or more combinations of PI film, PET film, PEI film, insulating tape or hot-pressed support film.

6. The flexible connector for acquiring cell data in a battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The metal conductor (21) is made of one or more combinations of conductive metal wire, conductive metal narrow strip and conductive metal film.

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