Bracket and battery pack

Abstract

The present invention provides a bracket and battery pack that can reduce the complexity of manual operations during the battery cell installation process and effectively reduce the impact of external impact forces and vibrations on the connection stability between the bracket and the battery cell. [Solution] The bracket 100 includes a base 110, the base having at least one mounting hole 120 and at least one communication opening 130, each mounting hole being used for mounting a corresponding battery cell, each communication opening passing through the inner wall of the corresponding mounting hole, and the base further having at least one adhesive injection hole, each adhesive injection hole communicating with the corresponding mounting hole via the corresponding communication opening.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims the priority of a Chinese utility model application with the application number 202423239795.X filed with the Chinese Patent Office on December 26, 2024, and the priority of an international application with the application number PCT / CN2025 / 073877 filed on January 22, 2025, and incorporates by reference all the contents described in those applications.

[0002] This application relates to the field of battery technology, specifically to brackets and battery packs.

Background Art

[0003] In related technologies, the installation step of a battery cell group usually first fixes one end of the battery cell group to one bracket, and then fixes the other end of the battery cell group to another bracket.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In actual applications, the above structural design usually has the following drawbacks. (1) The bracket has insufficient fixing ability for the battery cell in an environment where it is subject to vibration and impact. Therefore, the battery cell is likely to move in such an environment, which may cause poor contact between the battery cell group and other components. (2) The installation step includes sequentially fixing two brackets to both ends of the battery cell group respectively. Since each bracket needs to be positioned, adjusted, and fixed separately, the installation process becomes complicated and the installation efficiency of the battery cell group decreases.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The present invention provides a bracket to which at least one battery cell is mounted. The bracket includes a base, the base having at least one mounting hole and at least one communication opening, each mounting hole being used for mounting a corresponding battery cell, and each communication opening passing through the inner wall of the corresponding mounting hole. The base further has at least one adhesive injection hole, each adhesive injection hole communicating with the corresponding mounting hole via the corresponding communication opening.

[0006] The present invention further provides a battery pack comprising at least one battery cell and the bracket described above. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] The bracket provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a base, the base having at least one mounting hole and at least one communication opening, each mounting hole being used for mounting a corresponding battery cell, each communication opening penetrating the inner wall of the corresponding mounting hole, and the base further having at least one adhesive injection hole, each adhesive injection hole communicating with the corresponding mounting hole via the corresponding communication opening. The bracket provided in the embodiment of the present application reduces the complexity of manual operations in the battery cell mounting process by eliminating the positioning and alignment operations on the bracket during the battery cell mounting process of related art, while effectively strengthening the connection stability between the battery cell and the mounting hole by injecting adhesive material into the gap between the battery cell and the mounting hole through the adhesive injection hole, effectively reducing the effect of external impact forces and vibrations on the connection stability between the bracket and the battery cell, thereby reducing the risk of the battery cell moving or loosening of connections with other components.

[0008] According to the battery pack provided in the embodiment of the present invention, the difficulty of installation can be reduced and structural stability can be ensured by using the bracket described above. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the bracket provided in the embodiment of the present application. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the bracket and battery cell provided in the embodiment of the present application. [Figure 3] Figure 1 is a plan view of the bracket. [Figure 4] This is a cross-sectional view of section AA in Figure 3. [Figure 5] Figure 1 is a side view of the bracket. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] In a first embodiment, as shown in Figure 1, an embodiment of the present application provides a bracket 100. Referring to Figures 1 and 2, Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the bracket 100 provided in an embodiment of the present application, and Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the bracket 100 and battery cell 200 provided in an embodiment of the present application. The bracket 100 includes a base 110, the base 110 is provided with at least one mounting hole 120, at least one communication opening 130, and at least one adhesive injection hole 140, each mounting hole 120 is used for mounting a corresponding battery cell 200, each communication opening 130 penetrates the inner wall of the corresponding mounting hole 120, and each adhesive injection hole 140 communicates with the corresponding mounting hole 120 via the corresponding communication opening 130.

[0011] Exemplary, the steps for securing the battery cell 200 with the bracket 100 provided in this embodiment are as follows:

[0012] (1) Attach each battery cell 200 to the corresponding mounting hole 120, ensuring that the positions of the battery cells 200 are aligned.

[0013] (2) After all the battery cells 200 have been installed in the mounting holes 120 of the bracket 100, the position of the bracket 100 is adjusted so that the side of the bracket 100 with the adhesive injection hole 140 is facing upward in order to facilitate the injection of adhesive.

[0014] (3) An appropriate amount of adhesive is injected into the adhesive injection hole 140 of the bracket 100 using an adhesive injection device or by hand. During the injection process, the adhesive, influenced by inertia and gravity, fills the gap between the battery cell 200 and the mounting hole 120 along the direction of flow. The adhesive gradually covers the inner walls of the battery cell 200 and the mounting hole 120, and begins to bond them together. Due to its curing action, the adhesive adheres between the battery cell 200 and the inner wall of the mounting hole 120, ultimately forming a strong bonded structure.

[0015] Compared to the fixing method of related technologies, in which both ends of the battery cell 200 are sequentially attached to two brackets 100, this embodiment provides a bracket 100 and provides multiple mounting holes 120 in the base 110 of the bracket 100. As a result, the battery cell 200 installation step only requires attaching the entire battery cell 200 to the corresponding mounting hole 120, and does not require any additional positioning and adjustment operations on the bracket 100. This structural design eliminates the positioning and alignment operations on the bracket 100 during the battery cell 200 installation process of related technologies, thereby reducing the complexity of manual operations during the battery cell installation process. This simplification of the installation process reduces the risk of human error and potential damage during the installation process, and consequently improves overall manufacturing efficiency.

[0016] Furthermore, by bonding the battery cell 200 to the mounting hole 120 with an adhesive material, the connection stability between the battery cell 200 and the mounting hole 120 can be effectively enhanced. By using an adhesive material, it is also possible to fill any minute gaps that may exist between the battery cell 200 and the mounting hole 120 during the flow process, thereby further improving the fixing effect on the battery cell 200. In addition, compared to the method of fixing both ends of the battery cell 200 with two brackets 100 in related technologies, the relative area between the inner wall of the mounting hole 120 and the side surface of the battery cell 200 is larger in this structural design, so that the battery cell 200 can be tightly attached to the mounting hole 120 by the adhesive material, thereby ensuring the stability of the battery cell 200 in the mounting hole 120. With such a structural design, the influence of external impact forces and vibrations can be effectively reduced, and consequently the risk of the battery cell 200 moving or loosening of connections with other parts can be reduced.

[0017] In some embodiments, referring to Figures 1 and 2, the base 110 is provided with a plurality of mounting holes 120 arranged along a first direction, and each communication opening 130 penetrates the inner walls of two adjacent mounting holes 120 in the first direction, so that each adhesive injection hole 140 communicates with two adjacent mounting holes 120 in the first direction via the corresponding communication opening 130. The first direction may refer to the X direction in Figures 1 and 2.

[0018] To ensure that sufficient adhesive material is injected into each mounting hole 120, it is usually necessary to separately install one adhesive injection hole 140 for each mounting hole 120. While this method ensures the adhesive injection effect for each mounting hole 120, if the bracket 100 has a large number of mounting holes 120, the number of adhesive injection holes 140 will increase accordingly. As a result, the number of holes in the bracket 100 may increase, which may weaken the overall strength of the bracket 100 and ultimately affect its stability and durability. Furthermore, installing multiple adhesive injection holes 140 may increase manufacturing costs and complicate the adhesive injection process.

[0019] To resolve the above problems, in this embodiment, the communication port 130 is installed so that it penetrates the inner wall between two adjacent mounting holes 120, allowing one adhesive injection hole 140 to simultaneously inject adhesive material into the two adjacent mounting holes 120 via a flow path. This structural design, which "shares one hole," not only reduces the number of adhesive injection holes 140 but also avoids a decrease in the structural strength of the bracket 100 due to having too many adhesive injection holes 140, and simplifies the manufacturing process and adhesive injection operation of the bracket 100.

[0020] In some embodiments, referring to Figures 1 and 2, the base 110 is provided with a plurality of mounting holes 120 arranged along a second direction, and each adhesive injection hole 140 communicates with two adjacent mounting holes 120 in the second direction via two corresponding communication openings 130. The second direction may refer to the Y direction in Figures 1 and 2.

[0021] In this embodiment, each adhesive injection hole 140 communicates with two adjacent mounting holes 120 in the second direction through the corresponding two communication ports 130, so that the adhesive material can flow in through the adhesive injection hole 140 and be filled into the two adjacent mounting holes 120 in the second direction. In the conventional design, usually, one adhesive injection hole 140 needs to be separately installed in each mounting hole 120, so that sufficient adhesive material can be supplied to each mounting hole 120. However, the complexity of the overall structure of the bracket 100 increases, which may have an adverse impact on the strength and stability of the bracket 100. In this embodiment, by connecting each adhesive injection hole 140 to two adjacent mounting holes 120 through two communication ports 130, it is possible to realize liquid injection into a plurality of mounting holes 120, effectively reduce the number of adhesive injection holes 140 in the bracket structure, and solve the problem that the overall strength of the base 110 decreases due to too many adhesive injection holes 140.

[0022] In some embodiments, referring to FIG. 2, each adhesive injection hole 140 communicates with two adjacent mounting holes 120 in the second direction through the corresponding two communication ports 130. Here, the two communication ports 130 include a first communication port 131 and a second communication port 132. The second communication port 132 is located on the side of the first communication port 131 away from the adhesive injection hole 140, and the dimension of the corresponding mounting hole 120 in the circumferential direction of the second communication port 132 is smaller than the dimension of the corresponding mounting hole 120 in the circumferential direction of the first communication port 131.

[0023] That each communication port 130 penetrates the inner wall of the corresponding mounting hole 120 means that the dimension of the communication port 130 directly affects the structural strength of the inner wall of the mounting hole 120. In the design and manufacturing process, in order to prevent the installation of the second communication port 132 from excessively reducing the strength of the inner wall of the mounting hole 120, in this embodiment, the dimension of the second communication port 132 in the circumferential direction of the corresponding mounting hole 120 is made smaller than the dimension of the first communication port 131 in the circumferential direction of the corresponding mounting hole 120, so that the inner wall of the mounting hole 120 can maintain sufficient structural strength and reduce the risk of the structure of the bracket 100 being damaged or deformed.

[0024] In some embodiments, referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, FIG. 3 is a plan view of the bracket in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 3, and the dimension d of the second communication port 132 in the second direction and the radius r of the mounting hole 120 satisfy r - 0.2 mm ≤ d ≤ r + 0.2 mm.

[0025] As verified by experiments, when the dimension d of the second communication port 132 in the second direction is greater than r + 0.2 mm, the inner wall where the second communication port 132 is located may have insufficient structural strength due to d being too large. In this case, the load-bearing capacity and stability of the base 110 are affected. In particular, when subjected to external pressure or load, there is a risk that the inner wall of the corresponding mounting hole 120 cracks or deform, and consequently, the service life and reliability of the bracket 100 decrease. Also, when the dimension d of the second communication port 132 in the second direction is less than r - 0.2 mm, the flow efficiency of the adhesive material decreases, which may in turn affect the efficiency of the adhesive material to bond the battery cell 200 and the inner wall of the mounting hole 120. [[ID=IO]]

[0026] Therefore, in this embodiment, by setting the dimension d of the second communication port 132 in the second direction to be r - 0.2 mm to r + 0.2 mm, the structural strength of the inner wall of the bracket 100 can be effectively ensured, and the liquid injection efficiency can also be ensured to be relatively high.

[0027] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 5, which is a side view of the bracket of Figure 1, the base 110 is provided with a plurality of mounting holes 120, which are arranged at equal intervals along a first direction and a second direction. Here, the wall thickness L1 between two adjacent mounting holes 120 is 2 mm to 2.5 mm.

[0028] As verified by experiments, in order to ensure the structural strength of the base 110, it is necessary to ensure that the wall thickness between adjacent mounting holes 120 is 2 mm or more. If the wall thickness between adjacent mounting holes 120 is less than 2 mm, the structural strength of the base 110 may be insufficient, and the walls of the mounting holes 120 may crack or deform, especially when the bracket 100 is subjected to external pressure or vibration, which will affect the load-bearing capacity and service life of the bracket 100. For this reason, a minimum wall thickness of 2 mm effectively ensures the stability and pressure resistance of the base 110 of the bracket 100, preventing failure or damage to the battery cells 200 due to structural instability of the base 110. In addition, to avoid the base 110 being too heavy and increasing the overall weight of the bracket 100, it is necessary to ensure that the wall thickness between adjacent mounting holes 120 is 2.5 mm or less. If the wall thickness between adjacent mounting holes 120 is too large, it will not only increase the amount of material used and thus the manufacturing cost, but the overall weight of the bracket 100 will also become relatively heavy, which may affect the ease of operation.

[0029] When the wall thickness between adjacent mounting holes 120 is 2 mm to 2.5 mm, the base 110 has good structural strength in normal operation, and this wall thickness range effectively avoids the inconvenience caused by the overall weight of the bracket 100 being too heavy due to the wall being too thick.

[0030] In some embodiments, the base 110 is provided with a plurality of mounting holes 120, which are arranged along a first direction and a second direction. The base 110 is also provided with a plurality of weight-reducing holes 150, each of which is located between adjacent mounting holes 120 in the first and second directions.

[0031] In this embodiment, the weight-reducing holes 150 provided in the base 110 have several notable advantages, as follows:

[0032] (1) Reduce the weight of the base 110. The weight of the base 110 is effectively reduced by installing the weight-reducing holes 150. By adding the weight-reducing holes 150 between the mounting holes 120, not only is the use of unnecessary materials reduced, but the overall weight is reduced without affecting the load-bearing capacity of the base 110, and consequently the manufacturing and transportation costs of the bracket 100 can be reduced.

[0033] (2) Improve the structural strength of the base 110. By installing the lightweight holes 150, the wall thickness of the inner wall of the base 110 can be effectively controlled. By designing the dimensions and position of the lightweight holes 150, the thickness between the inner wall of the lightweight hole 150 and the inner wall of the adjacent mounting hole 120 can be controlled to be approximately equal to the wall thickness between two adjacent mounting holes 120. This ensures that the wall thickness of each part of the base 110 is uniform, avoiding uneven strength due to localized wall thicknesses being too thin or too thick, ensuring consistency in wall thickness, and consequently allowing the base 110 to effectively distribute external loads, reduce stress concentration phenomena, and improve the overall stability and load-bearing capacity of the base 110.

[0034] In some embodiments, the diameter of the adhesive injection hole 140 is 8 mm to 10 mm. The diameter of the adhesive injection hole 140 has a significant effect on the efficiency of adhesive injection. As verified by experiment, if the diameter of the adhesive injection hole 140 is smaller than 8 mm, the flow of the adhesive material is restricted during the adhesive injection process, resulting in a smaller amount of adhesive material being injected per unit time. Consequently, the efficiency of adhesive injection decreases, which may ultimately affect the mounting efficiency of the battery cell 200. If the diameter of the adhesive injection hole 140 is larger than 10 mm, too much adhesive may be injected, potentially resulting in excess adhesive material being generated during the adhesive injection process.

[0035] Therefore, in this embodiment, by setting the diameter of the adhesive injection hole 140 to 8 mm or 10 mm, it is possible to effectively balance the efficiency of adhesive injection with the amount of excess adhesive material. Within the above numerical range, it is possible to prevent the generation of excess adhesive material during the adhesive injection process while ensuring the efficiency of adhesive injection.

[0036] In some embodiments, referring to Figures 1 and 2, the bracket 100 further includes a plurality of fastening parts 160, each fastening part 160 connected to the base 110, and the fastening parts 160 are configured to fix the base 110 to other elements. Each fastening part 160 is provided with a threaded hole, which is configured for fastening components such as bolts to pass through so as to be aligned with the threaded holes of the box, thereby achieving fixation to the base 110. Here, the spacing between two adjacent fastening parts 160 is equal, and this design evenly distributes the stress received when fixing the base 110, preventing stress from concentrating in a particular location and thus reducing the risk of damage to the bracket 100. The equally spaced design ensures that the bracket 100 is stable under different load conditions, prevents structural failure of the base 110 due to excessive localized stress, and improves the overall durability and service life of the bracket 100.

[0037] Furthermore, there is a gap between a portion of the fastening portion 160 and the base portion 110. The purpose of this gap design is to allow a separator assembly (not shown) to be fitted between the fastening portion 160 and the base portion 110. This allows the separator assembly to serve to fix and protect the battery cell 200. By fitting the separator assembly between the fastening portion 160 and the base portion 110, movement of the battery cell 200 in a third direction is prevented, thereby ensuring the safety of the battery cell 200.

[0038] The present invention provides a bracket 100 which includes a base 110, the base 110 having at least one mounting hole 120 and at least one communication opening 130, each mounting hole 120 being used for mounting a corresponding battery cell 200, each communication opening 130 passing through the inner wall of the corresponding mounting hole 120, the base 110 further having at least one adhesive injection hole 140, each adhesive injection hole 140 communicating with the corresponding mounting hole 120 via the corresponding communication opening 130. The bracket 100 provided in this application eliminates the need for positioning and alignment operations on the bracket 100 during the battery cell 200 installation process, as in related technologies, thereby reducing the complexity of manual operations during the battery cell 200 installation process. Furthermore, by injecting adhesive material into the gap between the battery cell 200 and the mounting hole 120 through the adhesive injection hole 140, the connection stability between the battery cell 200 and the mounting hole 120 is effectively enhanced, effectively reducing the impact of external impact forces and vibrations on the connection stability between the bracket 100 and the battery cell 200. This reduces the risk of the battery cell 200 moving or becoming loose from other components.

[0039] The present invention further provides a battery pack which includes the bracket 100 described above and has all the advantages of the bracket 100, which are not described here. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0040] 100: Bracket 110: Base 120: Mounting holes 130: Connecting port 131: 1st communication port 132:Second communication port 140: Adhesive injection hole 150: Lightweight holes 160: Fastening part 200: Battery cell

Claims

1. A bracket configured to accommodate at least one battery cell, At least one mounting hole and at least one communication opening are provided, each of the mounting holes being used for mounting the corresponding battery cell, and each of the communication openings including a base that penetrates the inner wall of the corresponding mounting hole, Here, the base is further provided with at least one adhesive injection hole, each of which communicates with a corresponding mounting hole via a corresponding communication opening. bracket.

2. The battery cell is bonded to the mounting hole. The bracket according to claim 1.

3. The base portion is provided with a plurality of mounting holes, the plurality of mounting holes are arranged along a first direction, and each communication opening penetrates the inner walls of two adjacent mounting holes in the first direction, where each adhesive injection hole communicates with two adjacent mounting holes in the first direction via the corresponding communication opening. The bracket according to claim 1.

4. The base portion is provided with a plurality of mounting holes, which are arranged along a second direction, where each adhesive injection hole communicates with two adjacent mounting holes in the second direction via two corresponding communication openings. The bracket according to claim 1.

5. The two communication openings include a first communication opening and a second communication opening, wherein the second communication opening is located on the side of the first communication opening away from the adhesive injection hole, and the circumferential dimension of the corresponding mounting hole of the second communication opening is smaller than the circumferential dimension of the corresponding mounting hole of the first communication opening. The bracket according to claim 4.

6. r - 0.2 mm ≤ d ≤ r + 0.2 mm, where d is the dimension of the second communication opening in the second direction, and r is the radius of the mounting hole. The bracket according to claim 5.

7. The base portion is provided with a plurality of mounting holes, which are arranged along a first direction and a second direction, and the wall thickness between two adjacent mounting holes is 2 mm to 2.5 mm. The bracket according to claim 1.

8. The base portion is provided with a plurality of mounting holes, which are arranged along a first direction and a second direction, and the base portion is further provided with a plurality of weight-reducing holes, each of which is located between adjacent mounting holes in the first direction and the second direction. The bracket according to claim 1.

9. The wall thickness between each of the weight-reducing holes and the corresponding plurality of mounting holes is equal. The bracket according to claim 8.

10. The diameter of the adhesive injection hole is 8 mm to 10 mm. The bracket according to claim 1.

11. A bracket including the one described in any one of claims 1 to 10, Battery pack.

12. The device further includes a casing and at least one battery cell, The battery cell is attached to the bracket, and the bracket is fixed to the housing. The battery pack according to claim 11.

13. The bracket further includes at least one fastening portion, and the bracket is fixed to the box body by the fastening portion. The battery pack according to claim 12.

14. All of the fastening parts are connected to the base, and there is a gap between a part of the fastening part and the base. The battery pack further includes a separator assembly, the separator assembly being fitted between the fastening portion and the base portion. The battery pack according to claim 13.

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