Safety valve, battery top cover, integrated battery box and battery

Abstract

We offer a safety valve, a battery top cover, an integrated battery housing, and a battery. The safety valve comprises a main body and a pressure relief portion. A rupture groove is formed between the pressure relief portion and the main body, and this rupture groove is created by a laser engraving process. The pressure relief portion is designed to move relative to the main body when the rupture groove between the pressure relief portion and the main body breaks due to the internal pressure of the safety valve exceeding the external pressure. This movement creates a pressure relief gap, allowing the pressure inside the safety valve to be released.During the manufacturing process of the safety valve as described in this disclosure, laser engraving can be used to form the rupture groove. In this way, the raw material can be directly laser-etched during the manufacturing process, without causing compression or mechanical stress on the material. This allows the resulting safety valve to have a precise overall shape and conform to the dimensions of a processed product. Consequently, the processing efficiency of the resulting safety valve can be significantly improved, and processing costs can be reduced. (See Figure 1 for abbreviations.)

Description

Title of the invention: SAFETY VALVE, BATTERY TOP COVER, INTEGRATED BATTERY HOUSING AND BATTERY

[0001] The present application claims priority from Chinese patent application No. 202421803314.0, entitled "SAFETY VALVE, BATTERY TOP COVER, INTEGRATED BATTERY HOUSING AND BATTERY", filed on July 26, 2024 with the National Intellectual Property Administration, People's Republic of China. DOMAIN

[0002] This disclosure relates to the technical field of power batteries, and in particular to a safety valve and a power battery. CONTEXT

[0003] With the development of the new energy industry, market demand for various batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries, is increasing. The safety valve is an important component in batteries. High-temperature and high-pressure gases can be produced during battery use. When the pressure inside the battery cell becomes too high due to excess gas, the safety valve can automatically open to reduce the pressure, preventing battery explosions and other situations, effectively eliminating the danger and improving battery safety.

[0004] However, in the conventional manufacturing process of a safety valve for batteries, a stamping process is commonly used, which is tedious, and the resulting products cannot meet safety requirements. SUMMARY

[0005] According to the present disclosure, a safety valve, a battery top cover, an integrated battery housing and a battery are proposed, in order to solve the problems of the prior art.

[0006] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, a safety valve is proposed that comprises a main body portion and a pressure relief portion. A rupture groove is formed between the pressure relief portion and the main body portion, and the rupture groove is formed by a laser engraving process. The pressure relief portion is configured to move relative to the main body portion in the event that the rupture groove between the pressure relief portion and the main body portion breaks due to an internal pressure of the safety valve exceeding a certain pressure external to the safety valve, to form a pressure relief gap, in order to release pressure inside the safety valve.

[0007] In an embodiment according to this disclosure, the break groove is configured to have an overall depth ranging from 0.1mm to 0.2mm.

[0008] In an embodiment according to this disclosure, the rupture groove is configured to have a longitudinal section of a square groove.

[0009] In an embodiment according to this disclosure, the rupture groove is formed on an external side of the safety valve; and a portion of an internal side of the safety valve corresponding to the rupture groove is formed as a flat surface.

[0010] In an embodiment according to this disclosure, the rupture groove is configured to have a smooth overall arc-shaped contour.

[0011] In an embodiment according to this disclosure, the break groove comprises a straight line segment and arc segments of a circle positioned on both sides of the straight line segment.

[0012] In an embodiment according to this disclosure, a rupture groove is formed at a part between the main body part and the pressure relief part, and another part between the main body part and the pressure relief part is formed as a whole.

[0013] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, a battery top cover is provided, which includes a substrate and the safety valve. The substrate is provided with an installation hole. The safety valve is installed on the installation hole, and the main body portion of the safety valve is connected, in a leak-proof manner, to an edge of the installation hole.

[0014] According to a third aspect of this disclosure, an integrated battery housing is provided, comprising a main body portion and a pressure relief portion. The main body is provided with a housing chamber. A rupture groove is formed between the pressure relief portion and the main body portion, and this rupture groove is formed by a laser engraving process. The pressure relief portion is configured to move relative to the main body portion in the event that the rupture groove between the pressure relief portion and the main body portion breaks due to the internal pressure of the housing chamber exceeding the external pressure of the housing chamber, thereby forming a pressure relief gap and releasing pressure inside the housing chamber.

[0015] According to a fourth aspect of this disclosure, a battery is envisaged which includes at least one of the safety valve, the battery top cover and the integrated battery housing.

[0016] According to this disclosure, a safety valve is proposed that can be applied to structures such as batteries. Specifically, the safety valve comprises a main body portion and a pressure relief portion. A rupture groove is formed between the pressure relief portion and the main body portion, and this rupture groove is formed by a laser engraving process. The pressure relief portion is configured to move relative to the main body portion in the event that the rupture groove between the pressure relief portion and the main body portion breaks due to an internal pressure of the safety valve exceeding an external pressure of the safety valve, thus forming a pressure relief gap and releasing pressure inside the safety valve.

[0017] In this way, during the manufacturing process of the safety valve according to this disclosure, laser engraving can be used to form the rupture groove. The raw material can be directly detached by the laser during the manufacturing process, without causing compression or mechanical stress on the raw material, thus allowing the resulting safety valve to have a precise overall shape and conform to the dimensions of the processed product. Consequently, the processing efficiency of the resulting safety valve can be effectively improved, and processing costs can be saved.

[0018] When using the safety valve according to this disclosure, in a case where an internal pressure of the safety valve is greater than an external pressure of the safety valve, the material inside the safety valve may press and break the rupture groove between the safety valve and the main body part when the rupture groove is formed by the laser engraving process.The pressure relief portion moves relative to the main body portion, and a pressure relief gap can be formed between the main body portion and the pressure relief portion, so that the material inside the safety valve can be discharged through the pressure relief gap, thus releasing the pressure inside the safety valve to prevent general explosion and other situations caused by excessive internal pressure, effectively eliminating the danger and improving the safety of a structure in which the safety valve is located.

[0019] Other features and advantages of this disclosure will become clearer from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure with reference to the drawings. Brief description of the drawings

[0020] The drawings, which are incorporated into and form part of the description, illustrate embodiments of this disclosure and are used in conjunction with the description to explain the principles of this disclosure.

[0021] [Fig-1] The [Fig. 1] is a perspective view of an integrated battery housing with a safety valve according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] [Fig.2] The [Fig.2] is a front view of an integrated battery housing with a safety valve according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] [Fig.3] The [Fig.3] is a front view of an integrated battery housing with a safety valve according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] The corresponding relationship between the component names and the reference numbers in Figures 1 to 3 is described as follows:

[0025] 10. Safety valve; 11. Main body part; 12. Discharge part Pressure; 13. Break groove; 20. Battery top cover; 30. Integrated battery housing. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION METHODS

[0026] The relative arrangement, numerical expressions, and values ​​concerning the components and steps described in the embodiments do not limit the scope of this disclosure. In all examples shown and described herein, any specific value should be interpreted as purely illustrative and not restrictive. Therefore, other examples of exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0027] Many specific details are described in the following description to facilitate a thorough understanding of this disclosure. However, this disclosure can be implemented in many different ways than those described herein, and a person skilled in the art can make similar promotions without violating the core of this disclosure. Accordingly, this disclosure is not limited by the specific embodiments described below. Techniques, processes, and equipment known to a person skilled in the art in the relevant field may not be addressed in detail, but in appropriate circumstances, such techniques, processes, and equipment should be considered as forming part of the specification.

[0028] The terms used in one or more embodiments according to this disclosure are intended solely to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit one or more embodiments according to this disclosure. The singular forms "a," "said," and "the" used in one or more embodiments of this disclosure and the claims are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It should also be understood that The term "and / or" used in one or more embodiments of this disclosure refers to and includes any or all possible combinations of one or more associated listed items.

[0029] It should be understood that although terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe different types of information in one or more embodiments of this disclosure, such information should not be limited to these terms. These terms are used only to distinguish information of the same type from other types. For example, without departing from the scope of one or more embodiments according to this disclosure, "first..." may also be referred to as "second..." and similarly, "second..." may also be referred to as "first...". Depending on the context, the term "if" used here may be interpreted as "when," "in a case where," or "in response to a determination." In this specification, "top," "bottom," "front," "back," "left," "right," etc.are used solely to represent the relative positional relationship between the relevant parts, rather than to constrain the absolute positions of those parts. In this specification, terms like "equal" and "identical" are not strictly mathematical and / or geometric limits, but also include permissible errors that can be understood by a person skilled in the art and are permitted for manufacture or use. Unless otherwise stated, the numeric range in this specification includes not only the entire range including its two endpoints, but also several subranges contained within it.

[0030] According to this disclosure, a safety valve is proposed that can be applied to structures such as batteries. Specifically, the safety valve comprises a main body portion and a pressure relief portion. A rupture groove is formed between the pressure relief portion and the main body portion, and this rupture groove is formed by a laser engraving process. The pressure relief portion is configured to move relative to the main body portion in the event that the rupture groove between the pressure relief portion and the main body portion breaks due to an internal pressure of the safety valve exceeding an external pressure of the safety valve, thereby forming a pressure relief gap and releasing pressure inside the safety valve.

[0031] In this way, during a manufacturing process of the safety valve according to the present disclosure, the laser engraving process can be used to form the rupture groove. In this way, the raw material can be directly detached by laser during the manufacturing process, which does not cause compression or mechanical stress on the raw material, thus allowing the The safety valve obtained has a precise overall shape and conforms to the size of the product being processed. Consequently, the processing efficiency of the resulting safety valve can be effectively improved, and processing costs can be saved.

[0032] When using the safety valve according to this disclosure, in a case where an internal pressure of the safety valve is greater than an external pressure of the safety valve, the material inside the safety valve may press and break the rupture groove between the pressure relief part and the main body part when the rupture groove is formed by the laser engraving process.The pressure relief portion moves relative to the main body portion, and a pressure relief gap can be formed between the main body portion and the pressure relief portion, so that the material inside the safety valve can be discharged through the pressure relief gap, thus releasing the pressure inside the safety valve to prevent a global explosion and other situations caused by excessive pressure inside, effectively eliminating the danger and improving the safety of a structure in which the safety valve is located.

[0033] To facilitate understanding, a specific structure and the operating principle of the safety valve according to this disclosure are described in detail with reference to Figures 1 to 3, together with an embodiment. It should be noted that a battery top cover, an integrated battery housing, and a battery are further provided according to this disclosure. To simplify the text, the battery top cover, the integrated battery housing, and the battery are also described when describing the safety valve.

[0034] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a safety valve 10 is proposed according to the present disclosure, which can be applied to structures such as batteries. Specifically, the safety valve 10 comprises a main body portion 11 and a pressure relief portion 12; a rupture groove 13 is formed between the pressure relief portion 12 and the main body portion 11, and the rupture groove 13 is formed by a laser engraving process.The pressure relief portion 12 is configured to move relative to the main body portion 11 in a case where the rupture groove 13 between the pressure relief portion 12 and the main body portion 11 ruptures due to the fact that an internal pressure of the safety valve 10 is greater than an external pressure of the safety valve 10, in order to form a pressure relief gap, to release pressure inside the safety valve 10.

[0035] In this way, during a manufacturing process of the safety valve 10 according to this disclosure, the laser engraving process can be used to form the rupture groove 13. In this way, the raw material can be directly detached by laser during the manufacturing process, which does not cause compression or mechanical stress on the raw material, thus allowing the resulting safety valve 10 to have a precise overall shape and conform to the size of the processed product. Consequently, the processing yield of the resulting safety valve 10 can be effectively improved and processing costs can thus be saved.

[0036] When using the safety valve 10 according to this disclosure, in a case where an internal pressure of the safety valve 10 is greater than an external pressure of the safety valve 10, the material inside the safety valve 10 can press and break the rupture groove 13 between the pressure relief part 12 and the main body part 11, when the rupture groove 13 is formed by the laser engraving process.The pressure relief portion 12 moves relative to the main body portion 11, and a pressure relief gap can be formed between the main body portion 11 and the pressure relief portion 12, so that the material inside the safety valve 10 can be discharged through the pressure relief gap, thus releasing the pressure inside the safety valve 10 to prevent overall explosion and other situations caused by excessive internal pressure, effectively eliminating the danger and improving the safety of a structure in which the safety valve 10 is located.

[0037] Specifically, during the manufacturing process of the safety valve 10 according to this disclosure, a 50 W infrared picosecond laser may be used. In one embodiment according to this disclosure, the processing power is 45 W, the travel speed is 5000 mm / s, the defocusing depth is 1 mm, and the laser engraving time for a single product is 37.67 s. The entire manufacturing process of the safety valve 10 according to this disclosure may include laser cutting, sheet metal bending, blue film removal, laser welding, helium detection, corner cutting, laser engraving of the break groove 13, cleaning, appearance inspection, packaging and storage, etc. This process may refer to a conventional manufacturing process for a safety valve 10 and will not be repeated here.

[0038] As shown in [Fig. 1], in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the overall depth of the rupture groove 13 is 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm. Compared to a rupture groove 13 structure obtained by a stamping process, the rupture groove 13 in the safety valve 10 according to the present disclosure is formed by a laser engraving process, which can efficiently Reduce the overall depth of the rupture groove 10 to the range of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm. In this way, the rupture sensitivity of the rupture groove 13 is improved, so that it can be guaranteed that the rupture groove 13 can break in a timely manner, avoiding the situation in which the internal pressure of the safety valve 10 is high, but in which the rupture groove 13 does not break, thus further improving the safety of the structure in which the safety valve 10 is located.

[0039] As shown in [Fig. 1], in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the rupture groove 13 is formed to have a longitudinal cross-section of a square groove. Compared to a V-shaped rupture groove and rupture grooves of other shapes 13 obtained by the stamping process, the square-shaped rupture groove 13 according to the present disclosure can further improve the rupture sensitivity of the rupture groove 13, so that it can be ensured that the rupture groove 13 can rupture in a timely manner, avoiding the situation in which the internal pressure of the safety valve 10 is high but in which the rupture groove 13 does not rupture, thus further improving the safety of the structure in which the safety valve 10 is located.

[0040] As shown in [Fig. 1], in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the rupture groove 13 is formed on an external side of the safety valve 10, and a portion of an internal side of the safety valve 10 corresponding to the rupture groove 13 is formed as a flat surface. Since the rupture groove 13 in the safety valve 10 according to the present disclosure is formed by the laser engraving process, the rupture groove 13 can be formed on the external side of the safety valve 10, and the portion of the internal side of the safety valve 10 corresponding to the rupture groove 13 can be formed as a flat surface that does not exert any force on a structure inside the safety valve 10.

[0041] As shown in [Fig. 1], in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the rupture groove 13 is formed to have an overall smooth arc shape. Due to the smooth arc shape of the overall contour of the rupture groove 13, if the internal pressure of the safety valve 10 is greater than the external pressure of the safety valve 10, the material inside the safety valve 10 can uniformly compress and rupture the rupture groove 13 between the pressure relief portion 12 and the main body portion 11, thus forming a pressure relief gap that is seamlessly connected. In this way, there will be no occurrence of partial rupture of the rupture groove 13, effectively ensuring the pressure relief performance of the valve safety valve 10 according to this disclosure, thereby improving the safety of the structure in which safety valve 10 is located.

[0042] Specifically, as shown in [Fig. 1], in one embodiment of the present disclosure, the rupture groove 13 comprises a straight line segment and circular arc segments positioned on both sides of the straight line segment. As shown in [Fig. 1], the rupture groove 13 of the present disclosure is C-shaped. Therefore, during the operation of the safety valve 10 of the present disclosure, an O-shaped pressure relief orifice can be formed if the rupture groove 13 is compressed as a whole, so that the material inside the safety valve 10 can be rapidly discharged through the O-shaped pressure relief orifice, thus quickly releasing the pressure inside the safety valve 10 and further improving the pressure relief performance of the safety valve 10 of the present disclosure.

[0043] Furthermore, in an embodiment according to this disclosure, a rupture groove 13 is formed at a portion between the main body portion 11 and the pressure relief portion 12, and another portion between the main body portion 11 and the pressure relief portion 12 is formed as a whole. In this way, during the operation of the safety valve 10 according to this disclosure, if the rupture groove 13 is compressed and ruptured as a whole, an O-shaped pressure relief orifice can be formed, but the pressure relief portion 12 does not completely detach from the main body portion 11, thus preventing the pressure relief portion 12 from colliding with other structures once detached from the main body portion 11, thereby improving the safety of the structure in which the safety valve 11 is located.

[0044] As shown in [Fig. 3], a battery top cover 20 is further provided according to this disclosure, which includes: a substrate and the safety valve 10 described above. The substrate is provided with an installation hole. The safety valve 10 is installed on the installation hole, and the main body 11 of the safety valve 10 is connected, in a leak-proof manner, to an edge of the installation hole.

[0045] In a case where the upper battery cover 20 according to this disclosure is applied to the battery, if the internal pressure of the safety valve 10 is greater than the external pressure of the safety valve 10, the material inside the safety valve 10 may be compressed and break the rupture groove 13 between the pressure relief portion 12 and the main body portion 11. The pressure relief portion 12 moves relative to the main body portion 11, and a pressure relief gap may be formed between the part of main body 11 and pressure relief part 12, so that the material inside the safety valve 10 can be discharged through the pressure relief gap, thus releasing the pressure inside the safety valve 10 to prevent overall explosion and other situations caused by excessive internal pressure, effectively eliminating the hazard and improving the safety of the structure in which the safety valve 10 is located.

[0046] As shown in Figures 1 and 2, an integrated battery housing 30 is further provided according to this disclosure, comprising a main body portion 11 and a pressure relief portion 12. The main body 11 is provided with a housing chamber. A rupture groove 13 is formed between the pressure relief portion 12 and the main body portion 11. The rupture groove 13 is formed by a laser engraving process. The pressure relief portion 12 is configured to move relative to the main body portion 11 in the event that the rupture groove 13 between the pressure relief portion 12 and the main body portion 11 ruptures due to an internal pressure in the housing chamber exceeding an external pressure in the housing chamber, thereby forming a pressure relief gap and releasing pressure inside the housing chamber.

[0047] In a case in which the integrated battery housing 30 according to this disclosure is applied to a battery, if the internal pressure of the safety valve 10 is greater than the external pressure of the safety valve 10, the material inside the safety valve 10 may press and break the rupture groove 13 between the pressure relief portion 12 and the main body portion 11.The pressure relief portion 12 moves relative to the main body portion 11, and a pressure relief gap can be formed between the main body portion 11 and the pressure relief portion 12, so that the material inside the safety valve 10 can be discharged through the pressure relief gap, thus releasing the pressure inside the safety valve 10 to prevent overall explosion and other situations caused by excessive internal pressure, effectively eliminating the danger and improving the safety of the structure in which the safety valve 10 is located.

[0048] A battery is further provided according to this disclosure, which includes at least one element from the safety valve 10 described above, the battery top cover 20 and the battery case.

[0049] During a battery operating process according to this disclosure, if the internal pressure of the safety valve 10 is greater than the external pressure of the safety valve 10, the material inside the safety valve 10 may press and rupture the rupture groove 13 between the discharge portion pressure 12 and the main body part 11. The pressure relief part 12 moves relative to the main body part 11 and a pressure relief gap can be formed between the main body part 11 and the pressure relief part 12, so that the material inside the safety valve 10 can be discharged through the pressure relief gap, thus releasing the pressure inside the safety valve 10 to prevent overall explosion and other situations caused by excessive internal pressure, effectively eliminating the danger and improving the safety of the structure in which the safety valve 10 is located.

[0050] Various embodiments of this disclosure have been described above. These are exemplary, not exhaustive, and not limited to the embodiments described in this disclosure. Without departing from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments described, many modifications and changes will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. The selection of terms used in this specification is intended to better explain the principles of the embodiments, practical applications, or technological improvements available on the market, or to enable those skilled in the art to understand the various embodiments described in this disclosure. The scope of this disclosure is limited by the claims.

Claims

Demands

1. Safety valve (10), characterized in that it comprises: a main body portion (11); and a pressure relief portion (12), in which a rupture groove (13) is formed between the pressure relief portion (12) and the main body portion (11), the rupture groove (13) is formed by a laser engraving process, and the pressure relief portion (12) is configured to move relative to the main body portion (11) in a case in which the rupture groove (13) between the pressure relief portion (12) and the main body portion (11) ruptures due to the fact that an internal pressure of the safety valve (10) is greater than an external pressure of the safety valve (10), to form a pressure relief gap, in order to release pressure inside the safety valve (10).

2. Safety valve (10) according to claim 1, wherein the rupture groove (13) is configured to have an overall depth of 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm.

3. Safety valve (10) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the rupture groove (13) is configured to have a longitudinal section of a square groove.

4. Safety valve (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rupture groove (13) is formed on an external side of the safety valve (10); and a portion of an internal side of the safety valve (10) corresponding to the rupture groove (13) is formed in the form of a flat surface.

5. Safety valve (10) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the rupture groove (13) is configured to have an overall smooth arc-shaped contour.

6. Safety valve (10) according to claim 5, wherein the rupture groove (13) comprises a straight line segment and arc segments of a circle positioned on both sides of the straight line segment.

7. Safety valve (10) according to claim 6, wherein a rupture groove (13) is formed at a portion between the main body portion (11) and the pressure relief portion (12), and another part between the main body part (11) and the pressure relief part (12) is formed as a whole.

8. Battery top cover (20) characterized in that it comprises: a substrate, in which the substrate is provided with an installation hole; and the safety valve (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, in which the safety valve (10) is installed on the installation hole, and the main body part (11) of the safety valve (10) is connected in a leak-proof manner to an edge of the installation hole.

9. Integrated battery housing (30) characterized in that it comprises: a main body part (11), in which the main body part (11) is provided with a housing chamber; and a pressure relief part (12), in which a rupture groove (13) is formed between the pressure relief part (12) and the main body part (11), the rupture groove (13) is formed by a laser engraving process, and the pressure relief part (12) is configured to move relative to the main body part (11), in a state in which the rupture groove (13) between the pressure relief part (12) and the main body part (11) ruptures due to the fact that an internal pressure of the housing chamber is greater than an external pressure of the housing chamber, to form a pressure relief gap, in order to release pressure inside the housing chamber.

10. Battery characterized in that it comprises at least one element from the safety valve (10) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the battery top cover (20) according to claim 8 and the integrated battery housing (30) according to claim 9.

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