Device for contacting battery cells

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for contacting battery cells (40, 68) with at least one power electronics unit (20) of a forming unit (10), wherein the at least one power electronics unit (20) is accommodated individually or in modules in a forming chamber (12, 14) of the forming unit (10). The at least one power electronics unit (20) is accommodated with a contact strip (24) on a replaceable mainboard (26), to which the battery cells (40, 68) are connected and which has a detachable electrical connection (16, 18) to a DC voltage supply. Furthermore, the invention relates to the use of the device for contacting battery cells (40, 68) with at least one power electronics unit (20) or modules (26) with multiple power electronics units (20) for forming the battery cells (40, 68) in a forming unit (10).

Description

Technical FieldThe invention relates to a device for contacting battery cells with power electronics of a forming unit, wherein the power electronics are accommodated individually or in modules in a forming chamber of the forming unit. The invention furthermore relates to a forming unit having a device for contacting battery cells and to the use of the device for contacting battery cells with at least one power electronics or modules of power electronics for forming the battery cells in a forming unit.Prior ArtDE 10 2014 208 225 A1 discloses a device for forming battery cells with a forming stage or forming electronics, which comprises power electronics. The forming stage or forming electronics provides a controlled output voltage or current for the serial or parallel formation of the battery cells to be formed. These comprise integrated power electronics with power semiconductors, at least one of which influences the forming current of the battery cells with integrated power electronics to be formed.DE 10 2014 208 214 A1 discloses a device comprising a battery cell having a first cell terminal and a second cell terminal. The battery cell has at least one communication interface for data exchange with at least one forming stage. Furthermore, the battery cell has an integrated monitoring sensor system and an integrated battery state detection sensor system having a memory for forming data of the battery cell.DE 10 2017 217 318 A1 relates to a charging device and a charging method for charging at least one battery cell, in particular a forming device, and to a forming method with which a plurality of battery cells can be charged and discharged again in succession in one process. A contact block makes electrical contact with the two terminals of the battery cell to be charged. A positioning device moves the accommodated battery cell relative to the contacting block into a charging position. A connecting means establishes an electrical connection between a voltage source and the contact block. A flexible and electrically conductive connection element of a connection means is electrically conductively connected to the contact-making block and the voltage source. The flexible connecting element allows the connected contacting block to be moved in any direction relative to the connected voltage source.Disclosure of the InventionA device for contacting battery cells with at least one power electronics of a forming unit is proposed, wherein the power electronics are accommodated individually or in modules in a forming chamber. On an exchangeable main board, at least one power electronics unit is accommodated with a contact pin strip, to which the battery cells are connected, and which has a releasable electrical connection to a DC supply voltage.The solution proposed according to the invention advantageously makes it possible to achieve that one and the same component, namely a main board, serves as a voltage distributor to the power electronics, and the main board is simultaneously connected to the battery cells to be formed, whether battery cells having pouch cells or a fixed housing. The mainboard can advantageously be easily removed from the forming unit and can be removed without problems for maintenance or diagnostic purposes.The device proposed according to the invention is advantageously designed such that the mainboard is connected to the DC supply voltage and is additionally connected to a central server and / or a central controller.The device proposed according to the invention is furthermore characterized in that the DC supply voltage is more than 590 volts.In the device proposed according to the invention, it is provided in particular that communication or data exchange takes place between the at least one power electronics or the power electronics arranged in modules and the mainboard via contact pin strips in their state coupled to one another, i.e. inserted. The contact pin strips represent an extraordinarily robust electrical connection between the individual power electronics and the replaceable main board.The device proposed according to the invention is advantageously designed such that contact is made between the at least one power electronics or the modules having a plurality of power electronics and the battery cells, in particular the battery cells to be formed, via at least one electrical connection which comprises a plug connector, a copper line and furthermore a cell contact.In the device proposed according to the invention, it is furthermore provided that the copper line is mechanically decoupled from the mainboard and is fixed to a carrier plate. It is also possible to arrange an electrical interface between high-current lines or the mainboard and the battery cells to be formed. By providing an electrical interface, it is possible to leave the arrangement of the individual power electronics for forming different battery types the same. However, by introducing the electrical interface, it is possible to contact a wide variety of formats with the individual power electronics. For example, the provided electrical interface could be connected to the mainboard via a pluggable connection.The device proposed according to the invention is designed in such a way that, in the inserted state of the contact pin strips and the power electronics, the mainboard is simultaneously electrically connected to a battery cell by means of a contact-making device having pouch cells accommodated in a workpiece carrier.Furthermore, the device proposed according to the invention for contacting battery cells is distinguished in that the mainboard forms a type of rotary disk or stroke in addition to providing a central voltage supply of up to approximately 600 volts. As a result, for example, a merging of Ethernet / Ethercat data lines can be ensured, which has the advantage that a single line runs to a superordinate central server or to a superordinate central control device.The invention further relates to a forming unit having at least one device for contacting battery cells, wherein the forming unit has a dividing wall between a first forming chamber and a second forming chamber, which dividing wall can be extended in an extension direction such that the at least one power electronics or modules having a plurality of power electronics together with the mainboard are freely accessible on an extendable tray. By such a design of the forming unit, in addition to a very good accessibility of the upper side of the mainboard, a rapid diagnosis or a rapid exchange of either individual power electronics or of power electronics modules or of the mainboard can be effected.The forming unit proposed according to the invention is further characterized in that it has a first forming chamber and a second forming chamber which are separated from one another by the extendable drawer comprising a separating plate and the mainboard.The forming unit proposed according to the invention is furthermore designed in such a way that, when the load is pulled out in the pull-out direction, a connector plug and a mating plug are directly decontained from the DC supply voltage and the mainboard is decoupled from the DC supply voltage and is therefore not energized. This increases the safety in handling the forming unit.Furthermore, the forming unit proposed according to the invention is designed in such a way that the at least one power electronics or modules electrically contact a plurality of power electronics on the upper side of the mainboard and the battery cells are electrically contact-connected to the lower side of the mainboard via the at least one electrical connection.The forming unit proposed according to the invention furthermore advantageously has a decentralized intelligence, i.e. each of the forming stages has its own arithmetic unit with logic. As a result, each of the battery cells can be considered and evaluated separately, wherein a subsequent merging of the data takes place and an evaluation can be merged in the central computer or chamber computer.The invention furthermore relates to the use of the device for contacting battery cells with power electronics or modules with a plurality of power electronics for forming the battery cells within a forming unit.Advantages of the InventionBy means of the device proposed according to the invention for contacting battery cells to be formed, on the one hand, a very compact structure of a forming unit can be achieved. In the solution proposed according to the invention, a very short distance between power electronics and a battery cell coupled to the latter by means of the mainboard can be achieved, as a result of which a very low electrical resistance is produced between the power electronics and the battery cell to be formed. The device proposed according to the invention for contacting power electronics and battery cells represents a central interface in the form of the main board, wherein a plurality of power electronics or modules having a plurality of power electronics can be accommodated on the upper side of the main board.In a way which is particularly advantageous from the manufacturing standpoint, the individual power electronics or the modules can be produced with a plurality of power electronics without a housing and can be accommodated centrally in a forming chamber of the forming unit. This results in a spatial separation of the forming chamber, in which the battery cells to be formed are accommodated, from the forming chamber, in which the power electronics or the modules with multiple power electronics are accommodated within the forming unit. In addition, the solution proposed according to the invention allows a very maintenance- and repair-friendly construction.Since the power electronics modules can be manufactured without housings, a relatively great saving in space results, so that a larger number of power electronics can be accommodated in a forming chamber. Moreover, there is a very high degree of flexibility with respect to the forming unit, modifications can be made very easily because of the high variability of the proposed arrangement. Furthermore, the costs for subsequent investments can be significantly reduced. In addition to the formation of battery cells having a housing made of, for example, a plastic material, pouch cells having flexibility can also be formed with the solution proposed according to the invention, which can be adapted to the most varied cell types, cell chemistries and cell geometries, so that the outlay is limited.In the solution proposed according to the invention, the individual power electronics or the power electronics modules can be plugged onto the mainboard via a pin strip. This can be connected directly to a DC supply voltage (DC grid>590 volts), so that the individual power electronics or modules can be supplied with a plurality of power electronics via a plug strip. The current required for forming can be obtained directly with the battery cell to be formed, for example, via a fork connector, a copper line and a cell contact.The copper line is mechanically decoupled from the mainboard proposed according to the invention, but is connected to the separating plate which runs between the first forming chamber and the second forming chamber of the forming unit. The separating plate can be pulled out in a pull-out direction together with the mainboard and the power electronics accommodated thereon for maintenance, repair and modification purposes. This results in a very simple possibility for replacing the mainboard as such or the components accommodated on its upper side. When the separating plate including the mainboard is pulled out, it is directly separated from the DC voltage supply by separating the connector plug and the counterplug.The device proposed according to the invention for contacting, on the one hand, and the forming unit as such, on the other hand, can be very easily adapted to the most varied battery cell types, wherein only minor modifications, for example with regard to an exchange of contacting devices for pouch cells in a workpiece carrier, have to be carried out.Brief Description of the DrawingsEmbodiments of the invention are explained in more detail on the basis of the drawings and the following description.The following are shown: FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of the structure of a forming unit having power electronics and a battery cell to be formed by the latter, FIG. 2 shows a perspective illustration of a forming unit, FIG. 3 shows an illustration of power electronics within a forming unit for forming battery cells, for example pouch cells, which are inserted into a workpiece carrier, FIG. 4 shows a representation of pouch cells, FIG. 5 shows the representation of a forming unit with a removed load including the mainboard, on the top side of which a number of power electronics units are arranged as modules and are freely accessible, FIG. 6 shows a central control for a plurality of forming units, and FIG. 7 shows an embodiment variant with an electrical interface between mainboard and battery to be formed.Embodiments of the InventionIn the following description of the embodiments of the invention, identical or similar elements are denoted by identical reference symbols, wherein a repeated description of these elements is omitted in individual cases. The figures only schematically represent the subject matter of the invention.FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment variant of a forming unit 10, which here, indicated schematically, has a first forming chamber 12 and a second forming chamber 14 lying beneath it, separated by means of a separating plate 32. A main board 26 movable in the extension direction 54, for example by means of an extendable drawer 52, is accommodated on the separating plate 32. This comprises a connector plug 16 which makes electrical contact with a mating plug 18. The main board 26 can be connected, for example, to a DC supply voltage (DC grid) of the order of >590 volts by the components connected to one another, namely connector plug 16 and mating plug 18. The main board 26 shown in FIG. 1 has a contact pin strip 24 on its upper side 28. According to the illustration in FIG. 1, this is connected to a contact pin strip 24 of complementary design of the power electronics 20 schematically illustrated here. This results in an electrical contact between the main board 26 and its DC voltage supply and the power electronics 20, and in addition, in the inserted state 50 of the contact pin strips 24, 30 according to the illustration in FIG. 1, a data exchange can be brought about between the power electronics 20 and the main board 26.The main board 26 which is accommodated on the separating plate 32 between the first forming chamber 12 and the second forming chamber 14 and can be moved in an extraction direction 54 is connected to a battery cell 40 accommodated in the second forming chamber 14 via electrical connections 34 passing through the separating plate 32. The battery cell 40 illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a housing 48, The battery cell 40 can execute both a travel path in the Z direction 44 and a travel path 46 extending in the X direction by means of a handling mechanism, not illustrated in more detail here, and in this way can be set to the power electronics 20 or to the electrical connection 34 to the power electronics 20 within the second forming chamber 14. The electrical connection 34 accordingly comprises a copper line 36, which establishes an electrical connection 34 to the cell contacting 35 via plug connectors 22 directly to the at least one power electronics 20 in the first forming chamber 12 arranged above the battery cell 40 to be formed. Via the power electronics 20, the battery cell 40 to be formed, which is connected in the second forming chamber 14 to the at least one power electronics 20, is now formed and conditioned according to the specifications via a central server 76 or a central controller 76.Advantageously, the current required for forming the battery cell 40 according to the illustration in FIG. 1 is conducted via the plug connector 22, the copper line 36 and the cell contact 35 to the battery cell 40, with the result that a low resistance results due to the short distance between the power electronics 20 and the battery cell 40. The main board 26 shown in FIG. 1 represents a central interface for a plurality of power electronics 20 arranged in modules. These can be manufactured without a housing and thus be accommodated in the first forming chamber 12 in a space-saving manner, since the housing of the first forming chamber 12 shields the power electronics 20, whether arranged individually or in modules therein, from the environment.The illustration according to FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a forming unit 10. An extendable tray 52 is moved out of its first forming chamber 12 in the extension direction 54. On this extendable tray 52, which comprises the mainboard 26 shown in section in FIG. 1 and the separating plate 32, a plurality of power electronics 20 arranged in modules 56 are accommodated. After the pull-out of the extendable tray 52 in the pull-out direction 54 according to FIG. 2, the upper side 28 of the mainboard 26 is freely accessible. Now, either modules 56 of power electronics 20 or individual power electronics 20 or also the main board 26 itself can be exchanged in a very simple manner, since the main board 26 or its upper side 28 is freely accessible from all sides on account of the extendable load 52.FIG. 3 shows a further variant of the device proposed according to the invention for contacting battery cells 40, 68.FIG. 3 shows that in this embodiment variant the power electronics 20 are likewise accommodated in the first forming chamber 12 of the forming unit 10. Here too, the power electronics 20 are connected to the mainboard 26 in the inserted state 50 of contact pin strips 24, 30. The main board 26 is in turn accommodated on the separating plate 32, which in turn can be moved in the pull-out direction 54. The main board 26 is connected to a DC supply voltage analogously to the illustration according to FIG. 1 via the connector plug 16 and the mating plug 18 which is contacted therewith. On the underside of the separating plate 32, which separates the first forming chamber 12 from the second forming chamber 14 of the forming unit 10, pairs of contacting devices 62 and pouch cells 68 inserted into a workpiece carrier 60 are electrically connected to the mainboard 26 via electrical connecting elements 66 via electrical connecting elements 66. Thus, in contrast to the illustration in FIG. 1, not only battery cells 40 which have a fixed housing 48, but also flexible pouch cells 68, which are inserted into a workpiece carrier 60, can be connected to the power electronics 20 by means of the contact-making devices 62 located in their inserted position 64. Thus, the forming unit 10 is characterized in that relatively minor modifications (cf. representations of FIGS. 1 and 3 ) can form the most varied types of battery cells, namely both pouch cells 38 according to FIG. 3 and battery cells 40 which have a fixed housing 48. The electrical current required to form the battery cells, as shown in FIG. 3 of pouch cells 68, is distributed across the DC supply voltage applied to the mainboard 26 via the plug connection 16, 18. In the embodiment variant according to FIG. 3, too, the power electronics 20 can be accommodated individually or in modules 56 and can be designed without a housing, so that a relatively large number of power electronics 20 can be accommodated within the first forming chamber 12.It is indicated in FIG. 3 that the workpiece carrier 60 receiving a number of pouch cells 68, contacted via contacting devices 62, can be positioned against the separating plate 32 both in the Z direction 44 and in the X direction 46, so that a robust electrical connection is produced via electrical connecting elements 66.The illustration according to FIG. 4 shows, in a schematic manner, pouch cells 68 which have a substantially rectangular geometry and each have a contact lug 70 along their short side. A length of the pouch cells 68 is denoted by reference numeral 72, a width of the pouch cells 68 is denoted by reference numeral 74.The pouch cells 68 shown in perspective in FIG. 4 are inserted into the workpiece carrier 60 in the upright position according to the illustration in FIG. 3, in each case contacted via a contacting device 62 configured in the form of a printed circuit board, into individual compartments of the workpiece carrier 60, so that a plurality of pouch cells 68 inserted into the workpiece carrier 60 in the upright position can be formed.FIG. 5 shows schematically the forming unit 10, the first forming chamber 12 and the second forming chamber 14 of which are accessible. The extendable drawer 52 is, for example, pulled out of the first forming chamber 12 in the pull-out direction 54. This results in very good accessibility to the top side 28 of the main board 26, wherein only a few power electronics 20 or, as shown in FIG. 5, power electronics 20 combined as modules 56 can be located on the top side 28 of the main board 26. These can be removed either as modules 56 or as individual power electronics 20 from the top side 28 of the mainboard 26. In the pulled-out position of the pull-out drawer 52 illustrated in FIG. 5, said drawer offers very good accessibility of all components accommodated thereon. Both the main board 26 and the components accommodated thereon in the form of the power electronics 20 can be replaced. As soon as the retractable charging device 52 is pulled out of the first forming chamber 12 of the forming unit 10 in the pull-out direction 54, the connection between the connector plug 16 and the mating plug 18, i.e. the DC supply voltage connection, is interrupted, so that the retractable charging device 52 or the components accommodated thereon, such as the main board 26 and the power electronics 20, are disconnected from the high voltage.FIG. 6 shows an exemplary embodiment of a central controller 76 for a plurality of forming units 10. According to the illustration in FIG. 6, groups of forming units 10 run to form groups of forming units 10 in each case, starting from a central server or a central controller 76, data lines 78. Merged data are transmitted via the individual data lines 78 via Ethernet or Ethercat to the central server or to the central controller 76. Advantageously, for example, in the case of forming units 10 combined to form groups of two, only one data line 78 per pair of forming units 10 can run to the central server 76. A plurality of power electronics 20 can be connected to the respective mainboards 26. A number of battery cells 40, 68 to be formed corresponding to the number of power electronics 20 is connected to the underside of each mainboard 26 via the electrical connections 34.Each power electronics 20 has a decentralized intelligence, which means that each forming stage has its own computer together with logic, as a result of which each battery cell 40, 68 can be considered and evaluated separately. The correspondingly determined data then converge subsequently and are evaluated via the data lines 78 in the central server or in the central controller 76.The illustration according to FIG. 7 shows an embodiment variant of a forming unit 10 with an electrical interface 90. In the embodiment variant according to FIG. 7, an electrical interface 90 is accommodated between the mainboard 26 and the electrical connections 34 to the battery cell 40 to be formed or to the housing 48 thereof. This electrical interface 90 makes it possible to leave the arrangement of the power electronics 20 identical for different types of batteries to be formed and not to modify them. Through the interposition of the electrical interface 90, a wide variety of formats of battery cells 40, 68 can be contacted with the respective power electronics 20. The electrical interface 90 can be connected, for example, via a pluggable connection 22 to the mainboard 26 arranged above the latter. Analogously to the illustration according to FIGS. 1 and 3, the main board 26 is provided with a contact pin strip 30, which is connected to a contact pin strip 24 of the power electronics 20 arranged above the main board 26.The invention also relates to the use of the device having at least one power electronics 20 or modules 56 of a plurality of power electronics 20 for forming battery cells 40, 68 within forming chambers 12, 14 of a forming unit 10.The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described here and the aspects emphasized therein. Rather, within the scope of the claims, a variety of modifications are possible, which are within the scope of specialist activity.References included in the specificationThis list of documents cited by the applicant has been produced in an automated manner and is only included for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent application or utility model application. The DPMA does not take any adhesion for any faults or omissions.Patent Literature citedDE 10 2014 208 225 A1

[0002] DE 10 2014 208 214 A1

[0003] DE 10 2017 217 318 A1

[0004]

Claims

Device for contacting battery cells (40, 68) of at least one power electronics (20) of a forming unit (10), wherein the at least one power electronics (20) is accommodated individually or in modules in a forming chamber (12, 14) of the forming unit (10), characterized in that the at least one power electronics (20) is accommodated on an exchangeable main board (26), to which the battery cells (40, 68) are connected and which has a detachable electrical connection (16, 18) to a DC supply voltage.Device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the mainboard (26) is connected to the DC supply voltage and is connected to a central server (76) and / or a central controller (76), and data and signals of the at least one power electronics (20) and of the battery cells (40, 68) to be formed are combined and transmitted to the central controller (76)Device according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the DC supply voltage is more than 590 volts.Device according to claims 1 to 3, characterised in that communication / data exchange between the at least one power electronics (20) and the mainboard (26) takes place via contact pin strips (24, 30) in the inserted state (50) of the contact pin strips (24, 30).Device according to Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that contact is made between the at least one power electronics system (20) and the battery cells (40, 68) via at least one electrical connection (34) which comprises a plug connector (22), a copper line (36) and a cell contact (35).Device according to claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the copper line (36) is mechanically decoupled from the mainboard (26) and fixed to a separating plate (32).Device according to claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the mainboard (26), in the inserted state (50) of the contact pin strips (24, 30), is electrically connected either to a battery cell (40) or by means of a contact-making device (62) to pouch cells (68) accommodated in a workpiece carrier (60).Device according to Claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the mainboard (26) ensures a merging of data lines (78), in particular Ethernet / Ethercat, and a data line (78) runs from the mainboard (26) to the superordinate central controller (76).Forming unit (10) with at least one device according to claims 1 to 8, characterised in that a separating plate (32) is pulled in an extraction direction (54) between a first forming chamber (12) and a second forming chamber (14), so that the at least one power electronics (20) or modules (56) with several power electronics (20) together with mainboard (26) are freely accessible on an extractable tray (52).Forming unit (10) according to claim 9, characterized in that it comprises a first forming chamber (12) and a second forming chamber (14) separated from each other by the extendable tray (52) comprising a separating plate (32) and the mainboard (26).Forming unit (10) according to Claims 9 and 10, characterized in that, when the extendable charging means (52) is pulled out in the extraction direction (54), a connector plug (16) and a mating plug (18) are disconnected and the mainboard (26) is decoupled from the DC supply voltage.Forming unit (10) according to Claims 9 to 11, characterized in that the power electronics (20) or modules (56) are electrically contacted with a plurality of power electronics (20) on an upper side (28) of the main board (26), and the battery cells (40, 68) are electrically contacted with an underside of the main board (26) via the at least one electrical connection (34).Use of the device for contacting battery cells (40, 68) according to one of Claims 1 to 8 with at least one power electronics (20) or modules (56) of a plurality of power electronics (20) for forming the battery cells (40, 68) in a forming unit (10).

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