Batteries and Powered Devices

Abstract

This application relates to the technical field of batteries, specifically to batteries and power-using devices. The battery includes a casing with a honeycomb structure, a plurality of prismatic chambers, and a plurality of electrode assemblies disposed within the chambers, with at least one electrode assembly disposed within each chamber. In the technical solution of this application, the plurality of electrode assemblies are directly disposed within the casing having a plurality of prismatic chambers, thereby forming an integrated battery, thereby increasing the battery's energy density, improving the battery's resistance to external forces, and extending the battery's service life, thereby solving the problems of low battery energy density and short service life.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] Related Applications This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202121435973.X, filed on June 25, 2021, for the invention entitled "Battery and Power-Using Device," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] TECHNICAL FIELD This application relates to the field of batteries, and more particularly to batteries and powered devices. [Background technology]

[0003] Batteries are widely used in new energy fields such as electric vehicles and new energy vehicles, which has become a new development trend in the automobile industry.

[0004] In application, the performance of power-using devices is greatly affected by the energy density and service life of the battery, and how to improve the energy density and service life of the battery is a topic that is constantly being pursued by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0005] It is an object of the present application to provide a battery and powered device to solve the problems of low battery energy density and short service life in the prior art.

[0006] An embodiment of the present application is implemented as follows.

[0007] According to a first aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a battery, the battery comprising:

[0008] A casing having a honeycomb structure and a plurality of rectangular prism-shaped chambers;

[0009] and a plurality of electrode assemblies, at least one of which is provided within the plurality of chambers.

[0010] In the technical solution of the present application, the electrode assemblies are directly disposed in a casing having a plurality of chambers to form an integrated battery, which, compared with the prior art in which each electrode assembly is separately placed in a case to form an independent battery unit, does not require a separate case to be provided outside each electrode assembly of the present application, which is equivalent to a plurality of battery units sharing a side wall, reduces the material used for the casing, reduces the stacking gap between adjacent casings, reduces the mass of the casing, reduces the volume occupied by the casing, increases the space of the chambers, increases the electrode assemblies and electrolyte contained in the chambers, and further increases the mass ratio and spatial ratio of the electrode assemblies and electrolyte in the battery, thereby achieving the effect of improving the energy density. And, when a certain position of the conventional battery is pressurized, the case of the battery unit corresponding to this position is independently pressured, so that the battery unit at this position is easily crushed, whereas the honeycomb structure casing of the present application is integrally formed, and when a certain position of the battery is pressurized, the entire casing is pressured, which plays a role of dispersing pressure, which alleviates the problem of the battery being damaged by external force, and can improve the service life of the battery.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present application, each of the chambers is filled with an electrolyte, and the electrolytes in the chambers do not communicate with each other.

[0012] In the above technical solution, each chamber in the casing is relatively independent and does not communicate with each other, and the electrode assemblies in each chamber can be charged and discharged independently, thereby avoiding uncontrollable reactions in one chamber affecting other chambers.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present application, the room is in the shape of a triangular prism, a square prism or a hexagonal prism.

[0014] In the above technical solution, when each chamber is in the shape of a triangular prism, a rectangular prism or a hexagonal prism, the chambers are simply joined closely together, there is no gap caused by other shapes, and the volume is smaller than the gap of the volume of one chamber, so that the casing mass is reduced to the maximum, the energy density is improved, and since each chamber is in the same shape, there is no gap caused by other shapes, which makes it easy to process in a unified manner.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present application, the casing has a partition wall and an outer peripheral wall surrounding the partition wall, the partition wall divides the space surrounded by the outer peripheral wall into the multiple rooms, and the partition wall is molded integrally with the outer peripheral wall.

[0016] In the above technical solution, the outer peripheral wall and the partition wall form a honeycomb structure, and since the outer peripheral wall and the partition wall are integrally molded, the structure is stable and has high strength.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present application, the thickness of the partition wall is equal to the thickness of the peripheral wall.

[0018] Different wall thicknesses result in different stress resistance capabilities of parts with different thicknesses, and different thicknesses also result in different thermal conductivity capabilities, resulting in low stress resistance capabilities in thin areas and easy heat concentration in thick areas, which are likely to cause uneven deformation of the casing. The unevenly deformed casing will apply uneven pressure to the assembly inside the battery, making the assembly inside the battery prone to deformation and damage, and may cause safety risks. In the above technical solution, the thickness of the partition wall and the thickness of the outer wall are made equal, which can effectively alleviate the safety issues of the battery.

[0019] In an embodiment of the present application, the battery comprises:

[0020] It further includes an end cap assembly connected to the casing and used to seal openings at the same ends of the chambers.

[0021] In the above technical solution, multiple electrode assemblies are disposed in each chamber through respective openings at the same end of the casing, and the openings of multiple chambers are simultaneously sealed by the same end cap assembly, thereby achieving the effect of easy installation.

[0022] In an embodiment of the present application, the end cap assembly includes a cover plate, the surface of the cover plate facing the casing being provided with a number of protrusions, the protrusions being inserted into the chambers in a one-to-one correspondence, and the outer circumferential surface of each protrusion being in close contact with the inner wall of the chamber into which it is inserted.

[0023] In the above technical solution, the cover plate and the casing are stably matched by the plurality of protrusions, and the effect of accurately positioning and sealing each chamber is achieved.

[0024] In an embodiment of the present application, said projection is a polygonal annular projection.

[0025] In the above technical solution, the central part of the protrusion is hollowed out to form a polygonal ring, thereby achieving the effects of reducing the material used in the cover plate and increasing the storage volume of the room, and effectively increasing the energy density.

[0026] In an embodiment of the present application, the casing includes a partition wall and an outer peripheral wall surrounding the partition wall, the partition wall divides the space surrounded by the outer peripheral wall into the multiple rooms, the end cap assembly includes a cover plate, a welded guide groove is provided on a surface of the cover plate facing away from the casing, the welded guide groove has a projection onto the cover plate along the thickness direction of the cover plate that overlaps with a projection onto the partition wall, and a bottom wall of the welded guide groove is welded to the partition wall.

[0027] In the above technical solution, a welding guide groove is formed on the cover plate, and the welding guide groove and the corresponding partition wall are matched to facilitate accurate installation of the cover plate on the casing. The welding guide groove also serves to guide the welding path, which is convenient for welding, and the thickness of the cover plate is thinner at the position of the welding guide groove than at other positions, so that the cover plate is easily heated and melted at the welding guide groove, and the cover plate material at the welding guide groove and the corresponding partition wall are connected to form a weld seam, which is more convenient for welding and can effectively reduce the difficulty of welding.

[0028] In an embodiment of the present application, the end cap assembly includes a cover plate and a plurality of electrode terminals, the plurality of electrode terminals are insulatively attached to the cover plate, and the plurality of electrode terminals are correspondingly connected to the plurality of electrode assemblies.

[0029] In the above technical solution, each room forms an independent power supply unit, and each power supply unit independently outputs electric energy through the corresponding electrode terminal, and each power supply unit is not influenced by each other.

[0030] According to a second aspect, an embodiment of the present application provides a power-using device including the battery.

[0031] The power-using device of the technical solution of this application includes a battery with high energy density and long service life, and has good usage performance. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0032] In order to more clearly explain the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. However, the following drawings only show some embodiments of the present application, so they should not be construed as limiting the scope, and those skilled in the art can derive other drawings based on these drawings without creative labor.

[0033] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0034] [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a battery provided in an embodiment of the present application.

[0035] [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a battery provided in an embodiment of the present application in an exploded state.

[0036] [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic top view of a casing provided in some embodiments of the present application.

[0037] [Diagram 5] 1 is a schematic top view of a casing provided in some other embodiments of the present application. FIG.

[0038] [Figure 6] 1 is a schematic top view of a casing provided in yet another embodiment of the present application.

[0039] [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a battery provided in some embodiments of the present application.

[0040] [Figure 8] 2 is a schematic top view of a cover plate assembly according to some embodiments of the present application. FIG.

[0041] [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 8.

[0042] [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a schematic bottom view of a cover plate assembly according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0043] [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of a portion B1 in FIG.

[0044] [Figure 12] 11 is a schematic bottom view of a cover plate assembly according to some alternative embodiments of the present application. FIG.

[0045] [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of part B2 in FIG.

[0046] [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an electrode terminal according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0047] [Figure 15] FIG. 13 shows another electrode terminal of an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0048] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application, but the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative labor are all included in the protection scope of the present application.

[0049] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used in this application have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art of this application, and the terms used in the specification of this application are used only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit this application, and the terms "comprises", "has" and any variations thereof described in the specification, claims and drawings of this application are intended to include a non-exclusive inclusion. Terms such as "first", "second" and the like in the specification, claims or the drawings of this application are used to distinguish different objects and do not describe a specific order or priority relationship.

[0050] An "embodiment" referred to in this application means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearances of this phrase in various places in this specification do not necessarily all refer to the same embodiment, nor to separate or alternative embodiments that are mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It is to be understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described in this application may be combined with other embodiments, either explicitly or implicitly.

[0051] In the description of this application, unless expressly specified and limited, it should be noted that the terms "attached", "connected", "coupled", and "attached" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, may be fixedly connected, may be detachably connected, may be integrally connected, may be directly connected or indirectly connected via an intermediate medium, may be internal communication between two components, etc. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in this application can be understood according to the specific situation.

[0052] As used herein, "plurality" means two or more (including two); similarly, "multiple sets" means two or more (including two sets), and "multiple sheets" means two or more (including two sheets).

[0053] In this application, the battery includes a lithium ion secondary battery, a lithium ion primary battery, a lithium-sulfur battery, a sodium lithium ion battery, a sodium ion battery, or a magnesium ion battery, and may be a solid-state battery or a semi-solid-state battery, etc., but the embodiments of this application are not particularly limited.

[0054] In the prior art, a battery is generally a single physical module that includes one or more individual cells to provide higher voltage and capacity. A battery generally includes a box for packaging one or more individual cells. The box can prevent liquids and other foreign objects from affecting the charging or discharging of the individual cells.

[0055] The battery unit includes an electrode assembly and an electrolyte. When the electrolyte is a solid electrolyte, the electrode assembly is composed of a positive electrode piece and a negative electrode piece, and when the electrolyte is a liquid electrolyte (i.e., an electrolytic solution), the electrode assembly is composed of a positive electrode piece, a negative electrode piece and a diaphragm. The battery unit mainly relies on the movement of metal ions between the positive electrode piece and the negative electrode piece to operate. The positive electrode piece includes a positive electrode current collector and a positive electrode active material layer, where the positive electrode active material layer is applied to the surface of the positive electrode current collector, and the current collector without the positive electrode active material layer protrudes from the current collector with the positive electrode active material layer applied, and the current collector without the positive electrode active material layer is called a positive electrode lug. For example, in a lithium-ion battery, the material of the positive electrode current collector is aluminum, and the positive electrode active material can be lithium cobalt oxide, lithium iron phosphate, ternary lithium or lithium manganese oxide, etc. The negative electrode piece includes a negative electrode collector and a negative electrode active material layer, the negative electrode active material layer is applied to the surface of the negative electrode collector, the collector not coated with the negative electrode active material layer protrudes from the collector coated with the negative electrode active material layer, and the collector not coated with the negative electrode active material layer is the negative electrode lug. The material of the negative electrode collector is copper, and the negative electrode active material can be carbon or silicon, etc. In order to pass a large current without melting, the number of positive electrode lugs is stacked in multiples, and the number of negative electrode lugs is stacked in multiples. The material of the diaphragm is PP or PE, etc. In addition, the electrode assembly may be a wound structure or a stacked structure, and the embodiment of the present application is not limited thereto.

[0056] In actual use, the energy density and service life of a battery are very important indicators. The service life of a battery is related to various design factors of the battery, such as energy density, cycle life, discharge capacity, charge and discharge rate, and other performance parameters.

[0057] Conventional batteries are usually composed of multiple battery units, and the multiple battery units are packaged in close contact to form a battery pack, thereby improving the energy density. According to the inventor's research, in a battery composed of multiple battery units, the casing of each battery unit occupies a certain space, and there are stacking gaps between adjacent battery units. In the presence of the stacking gaps between the casing of a battery unit and the adjacent casing, the electrode assembly and the electrolyte have a low space ratio to the battery, and the energy density is low. However, based on the prior art, it is difficult for conventional batteries to further reduce the casing and stacking gaps of the battery unit to improve the energy density.

[0058] In addition, when a conventional battery is pressurized, each battery unit is pressurized individually, and the battery case at the pressure receiving portion is easily crushed, which affects the service life of the battery. In the conventional technology, the cylindrical battery cases are designed to be integrally connected, which achieves the purpose of the pressure resistance of the battery, but it actually increases the material used for the casing, and the increased material is used to fill the stacking gap between adjacent battery units and integrally connect the cases of the adjacent battery units, which increases the total mass of the battery and reduces the mass ratio of the electrode assembly and the electrolyte to the battery, further reducing the energy density of the battery.

[0059] In view of this, in order to improve the energy density and service life of the battery, the battery as a technical solution in the embodiment of the present application includes a casing and a plurality of electrode assemblies, the casing has a honeycomb structure, the casing has a plurality of prismatic chambers, the plurality of electrode assemblies are respectively arranged in the plurality of chambers, and at least one electrode assembly is arranged in each chamber.

[0060] That is, the electrode assembly and the electrolyte are directly placed in each chamber of the casing, thereby forming a plurality of power supply units capable of independently supplying power to the casing. The plurality of rectangular prism-shaped chambers are stacked closely together, and there is no stacking gap between adjacent chambers, so that the total volume of the battery is reduced, and the spatial ratio of the electrode assembly and the electrolyte to the battery is increased, and the adjacent chambers share a side wall, so that the mass and volume of the casing are further reduced, the total volume and total mass of the battery are further reduced, and the spatial ratio and the mass ratio of the electrode assembly and the electrolyte to the battery are further increased. The reduction in the space occupied by the casing and the material used for the casing serves to improve the energy density of the battery. In other words, when the volume of the battery is the same as that of the prior art, the battery in this embodiment uses less material for its casing, there is no stacking gap between the casings, the mass of the casing is reduced, the volume occupied by the casing is reduced, the space of the chambers is increased, and the electrode assembly and electrolyte contained in the chambers are also increased, so that the mass ratio and the spatial ratio of the electrode assembly and the electrolyte to the battery are increased, and the energy density of the battery is increased.

[0061] In addition, because the casing has a honeycomb structure having prismatic chambers, when the battery is subjected to an external force along the height direction of the electrode assembly, the walls of the casing work together to disperse the external force, preventing damage to the battery due to excessive local stress. The battery has high pressure resistance and is less likely to cause safety issues due to pressure being applied to the assembly inside the battery, thereby extending the service life of the battery.

[0062] The technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present application are applicable to various battery-powered devices, such as mobile phones, portable devices, notebook computers, electric bicycles, electric toys, power tools, electric vehicles, ships and navigation devices, for example, navigation devices include airplanes, rockets, space shuttles and spacecraft, etc.

[0063] As can be understood, the technical solutions described in the embodiments of the present application are applicable to the above-mentioned power-using devices and may also be applied to all power-using devices that use batteries, but for ease of explanation, the following embodiments will be described using an electric vehicle as an example.

[0064] For example, as shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1000 of an embodiment of the present application is shown, and the vehicle 1000 can be a fuel vehicle, a gas vehicle, or a new energy vehicle, and the new energy vehicle can be a pure electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or a long-distance vehicle, etc. A controller 100, a motor 200, and a battery 300 are arranged inside the vehicle 1000, and the controller 100 controls the battery 300 to supply power to the motor 200. For example, the battery 300 may be arranged at the bottom, front, or rear of the vehicle 1000. The battery 300 supplies power to the vehicle 1000, for example, the battery 300 is used as an operating power source for the vehicle 1000, for the circuit system of the vehicle 1000, for example, for the operating power usage requirements during starting, navigation, and running of the vehicle 1000. In another embodiment of the present application, the battery 300 may be used as an operating power source for the vehicle 1000, or as a driving power source for the vehicle 1000, to provide driving force to the vehicle 1000 by replacing all or part of gasoline or natural gas.

[0065] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the external structure of the battery 300 as viewed from the front, Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the battery 300 in an exploded state as viewed from the front, and Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the casing 1 as viewed from above. Referring to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the battery 300 includes a casing 1, an end cap assembly 2 and a plurality of electrode assemblies 3.

[0066] The casing 1 has a honeycomb structure, and has a plurality of chambers 14, each of which has a prismatic shape, and each of the plurality of chambers 14 is used to accommodate an electrode assembly 3.

[0067] The electrode assembly 3 may have a shape of a prism, a cylinder, etc., and the electrode assembly 3 in this embodiment is cylindrical. The electrode assembly 3 expands during charging and discharging. When the cylindrical electrode assembly 3 expands, its outer periphery does not completely abut the inner wall of the prism-shaped chamber 14, and there is a residual space between the electrode assembly 3 and the chamber 14. This residual space serves to release the expansion stress of the electrode assembly 3, alleviating the problem of damage caused by excessive stress in the electrode assembly 3, preventing the performance degradation of the battery 300, and achieving the purpose of the power supply performance and service life of the battery 300.

[0068] At least one end of each chamber 14 is provided with an opening 11 for disposing the electrode assembly 3. One opening 11 or two openings 11 may be provided for each chamber 14. When one opening 11 is provided for each chamber 14, the openings 11 of the multiple chambers 14 may be provided at the same end of the casing 1, i.e., the openings 11 of all the chambers 14 may be provided at the same end of the casing 1. When one opening 11 is provided for each chamber 14, the openings 11 of the multiple chambers 14 are provided at different ends of the casing 1, i.e., the openings 11 of some of the chambers 14 are provided at one end of the casing 1 and the openings 11 of the remaining chambers 14 are provided at the other end of the casing 1. When two openings 11 are provided for each chamber 14, the openings 11 are formed at positions corresponding to the chambers 14 at both ends of the casing 1.

[0069] The number of end cap assemblies 2 is set according to the installation situation of the openings 11 of the multiple rooms 14. The end cap assembly 2 includes a cover plate 21, and the cover plate 21 is used to seal the openings 11 of the multiple rooms 14. In some embodiments, when the casing 1 is provided with the openings 11 communicating with the rooms 14 only at one end, and the number of end cap assemblies 2 is one, this end cap assembly 2 corresponds to one end of the casing 1, and its cover plate 21 seals the openings 11 of all the rooms 14. In some embodiments, the openings 11 of the rooms 14 are provided at both ends of the casing 1, and as shown in FIG. 3, there are two end cap assemblies 2, and the two end cap assemblies 2 correspond to both ends of the casing 1, respectively, and the cover plate 21 of one end cap assembly 2 seals the openings 11 at one end of the casing 1 of the multiple rooms 14, and the cover plate 21 of the other end cap assembly 2 seals the openings 11 at the other end of the casing 1 of the multiple rooms 14.

[0070] Specifically, the casing 1 includes a partition wall 13 and an outer peripheral wall 12, and referring to Fig. 4, the dashed line in Fig. 4 indicates the partition wall 13, and the solid line indicates the outer peripheral wall 12, and it should be noted that the dashed and solid lines in the drawings of the present application are merely used for distinction for the purpose of observation, and when the casing 1 is viewed from the top or bottom, both the partition wall 13 and the outer peripheral wall 12 are visible. The outer peripheral wall 12 surrounds the outside of the partition wall 13, and the partition wall 13 divides the space surrounded by the outer peripheral wall 12 into a plurality of prismatic spaces to form a honeycomb structure, and each prismatic space becomes a room 14.

[0071] The shape of the chambers 14 in FIG. 4 is a hexagonal prism, and in other embodiments, the shape of the chambers 14 may be a square prism or a triangular prism. As shown in FIG. 5, the shape of the chambers 14 is a square prism, and the projection of each chamber 14 along the height direction of the electrode assembly 3 is a parallelepiped. As shown in FIG. 6, the shape of the chambers 14 is a triangular prism, and the projection of each chamber 14 along the height direction of the electrode assembly 3 is a triangle. By setting all the chambers 14 to be triangular prism, square prism, or hexagonal prism, the shapes of the chambers 14 are consistent, and gaps of different shapes are formed between the adjacent chambers 14, in other words, the thicknesses of the parts of the partition wall 13 are consistent, the processing of the casing 1 is easier, the volume ratio of the chambers 14 is larger, and the energy density is higher.

[0072] If the thickness of the partition wall 13 is different, the pressure resistance and thermal conduction capacity of the different thickness parts will be different. Generally, the thin parts will have low pressure resistance and the thick parts will be prone to heat concentration, uneven deformation, and furthermore, the battery 300 will be prone to damage or thermal runaway, which may create a safety risk. In this embodiment, the thickness of each part of the partition wall 13 is the same, the pressure resistance of each part of the partition wall 13 is the same, and the thermal conduction capacity of each part of the partition wall 13 is also the same, which can effectively improve the safety performance of the battery 300 and further improve its service life.

[0073] In some embodiments, the thickness of the outer peripheral wall 12 is equal to the thickness of the partition wall 13, which can further mitigate the problems of uneven deformation and uneven heat dissipation, and improve the safety performance and service life of the battery 300.

[0074] In some embodiments, the partition wall 13 and the outer peripheral wall 12 are molded separately and then assembled and connected together, and the assembly gap between the partition wall 13 and the outer peripheral wall 12 is sealed so that each room 14 does not communicate through the assembly gap.

[0075] In some embodiments, the partition wall 13 and the outer perimeter wall 12 are integrally formed, for example by injection molding, to achieve the purpose of having no gaps or communication between the side walls of each chamber 14.

[0076] In order to prevent each chamber 14 from communicating with each other through the openings 11, a cover plate 21 of an end cap assembly 2 is connected to an end of the casing 1 and seals each opening 11 at this end; FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a top view of the battery 300, in which the outer surface of the end cap assembly 2 (i.e., the surface of the cover plate 21 facing away from the casing 1, or the surface of the cover plate 21 facing away from the electrode assembly 3) is visible.

[0077] For example, adhesive is applied to the end of the casing 1 or to the inner surface of the cover plate 21 (i.e., the surface of the cover plate 21 closer to the casing 1 or the surface of the cover plate 21 closer to the electrode assembly 3), and then the cover plate 21 and the casing 1 are aligned and attached to achieve the purpose of adhesion and fixing.

[0078] Alternatively, after the cover plate 21 and the casing 1 are aligned and attached, the portions of the cover plate 21 that correspond to the partition wall 13 and the outer peripheral wall 12 are heat-welded to the partition wall 13 and the outer peripheral wall 12 .

[0079] 8 and 9, in order to facilitate welding, a weld guide groove 211 is formed on the outer surface of the cover plate 21, and when the cover plate 21 is attached to the casing 1, at least the projection of the weld guide groove 211 on the cover plate 21 along the thickness direction of the cover plate 21 overlaps with the projection of the partition wall 13. In some embodiments, not only does the projection of the weld guide groove 211 on the cover plate 21 along the thickness direction of the cover plate 21 overlap with the projection of the partition wall 13, but also the projection of the weld guide groove 211 on the cover plate 21 along the thickness direction of the cover plate 21 overlap with the projection of the outer peripheral wall 12.

[0080] In other words, the welding guide groove 211 extends along the projection of the partition wall 13 and the outer peripheral wall 12 onto the cover plate 21 along the thickness direction of the cover plate 21, and the partition wall 13 and the outer peripheral wall 12 are disposed on the back surface of the bottom wall of the welding guide groove 211. When the bottom wall of the welding guide groove 211 is heated, the cover plate 21 and the partition wall 13 or the outer peripheral wall 12 are thermally welded together. Since the bottom wall of the welding guide groove 211 is thinner than other positions on the cover plate 21, the bottom wall of the welding guide groove 211 is easily heated and melted, and the difficulty of integrally welding the cover plate 21, the partition wall 13, and the outer peripheral wall 12 can be reduced.

[0081] During the welding operation, the welding guide groove 211 also serves to guide the welding path, avoiding blind welding when the partition wall 13 and the outer peripheral wall 12 cannot be seen, and further reducing the difficulty of the welding process.

[0082] In some embodiments, the width of the welding guide groove 211 is equal to or less than the thickness of the corresponding partition wall 13 and outer peripheral wall 12, thereby reducing the area of ​​the cover plate 21 that is easily melted, preventing the bottom wall of the welding guide groove 211 from melting and falling into the room 14, and further ensuring the welding between the bottom wall of the welding guide groove 211 and the partition wall 13 and outer peripheral wall 12.

[0083] Under the cooperation of the outer wall 12, the partition wall 13 and the cover plate 21, the multiple chambers 14 are sealed, and each chamber 14 is relatively independent and does not communicate with each other. In other words, when the multiple chambers 14 are filled with electrolyte, the electrolytes in the multiple chambers 14 do not communicate with each other. As a result, when a runaway reaction occurs in one chamber 14, the generated heat and gas do not flow to the other chambers 14, thereby blocking the raw materials for the reaction and preventing the active materials in the other chambers 14 from being affected and causing a chain reaction of runaway reactions, thereby minimizing the severity of the runaway reaction. Even if a chain reaction of runaway reactions occurs in the other chambers 14 due to the heat or shock generated by the runaway reaction in this chamber 14, the time for the chain reaction of runaway reactions is delayed, thereby increasing the user's reaction time and effectively improving the safety performance of the battery 300. Meanwhile, since the runaway reaction is contained within one chamber 14, the impact on the surrounding chambers 14 is small, and damage to the battery 300 is kept to a low level. After the runaway reaction stops, even if the chamber 14 in which the runaway reaction occurred loses its function, the remaining chambers 14 can still react in an orderly manner, thereby supplying a constant amount of electrical energy and improving the service life of the battery 300.

[0084] To improve the assembly accuracy of the end cap assembly 2 and the casing 1, as shown in Figures 10 and 11, the shaded areas in Figures 10 and 11 indicate protrusions 212, and a plurality of protrusions 212 are provided on the inner surface of the cover plate 21, and the plurality of protrusions 212 correspond one-to-one to the plurality of chambers 14 on the casing 1.

[0085] The projection of the prismatic chamber 14 onto the cover plate 21 along the thickness direction of the cover plate 21 is the same as the shape of the protrusion 212, i.e., the projections of the multiple prismatic chambers 14 onto the cover plate 21 along the thickness direction of the cover plate 21 are all polygonal projections, the multiple protrusions 212 are set onto the polygonal protrusion 212, and the polygonal projections overlap with the polygonal protrusion 212.

[0086] Between adjacent protrusions 212, there are formed mating grooves 213, which have the same width and thickness. The mating grooves 213 are used to accommodate the partition wall 13 and the outer peripheral wall 12. The mating grooves 213 on the inner surface of the cover plate 21 correspond to the position of the welding guide grooves 211 on the outer surface of the cover plate 21. During the process of attaching the cover plate 21 to the casing 1, the welding guide grooves 211 play a role in guiding the assembly, and the welding guide grooves 211 on the outer surface of the cover plate 21 correspond to the outer peripheral wall 12 and the partition wall 13, so that the cover plate 21 is accurately fitted to the casing 1.

[0087] When the cover plate 21 is assembled to the casing 1, the multiple protrusions 212 are inserted into the multiple chambers 14 in a one-to-one correspondence, the outer circumferential surface of each protrusion 212 comes into close contact with the inner wall of the inserted chamber 14, and the partition wall 13 and the outer circumferential wall 12 are inserted into the fitting groove 213, and the surfaces of the partition wall 13 and the outer circumferential wall 12 come into close contact with the inner wall of the fitting groove 213. The multiple protrusions 212 not only allow the cover plate 21 and the casing 1 to be assembled accurately and stably, but also allow the multiple chambers 14 to be sealed, improving the sealing effect.

[0088] 12 and 13, in some embodiments, the central portion of the protrusion 212 is hollowed out to form an annular shape, that is, the protrusion 212 is formed into a polygonal annular protrusion 212. By forming the protrusion 212 into a polygonal annular protrusion 212, the material used for the cover plate 21 is reduced, the space occupied by the protrusion 212 inside the chamber 14 is reduced, the chamber 14 can accommodate the electrode assembly 3, the volume of the electrolyte is increased, and the energy density of the battery 300 can be effectively improved.

[0089] At least one electrode assembly 3 is provided in each chamber 14 of the casing 1, and each chamber 14 is filled with an electrolyte to form an independent power supply unit in each chamber 14. To ensure independent power supply to each power supply unit, lugs 31 are provided at both ends of the electrode assembly 3, and each end cap assembly 2 further includes a plurality of electrode terminals 22, which correspond one-to-one to the plurality of chambers 14 and are connected to one-end lugs 31 of the electrode assembly 3 in the corresponding chamber 14. Note that the electrolyte can be replaced with a solid electrolyte, and the specific type of the electrolyte depends on the type of the battery 300 and is not particularly limited in this application.

[0090] 12 and 13 , the electrode terminals 22 are insulatedly attached to the cover plate 21, the positions of the electrode terminals 22 correspond to the positions of the chambers 14, and when the cover plate 21 is connected to one end of the casing 1 to seal the openings 11 of the chambers 14, each electrode terminal 22 is connected to one end lug 31 of the electrode assembly 3 in the corresponding chamber 14. The power supply units in the casing 1 respectively output electrical energy to the outside via the electrode terminals 22.

[0091] In some embodiments, when the cover plate 21 is assembled to the casing 1, the electrode terminals 22 are in close contact with the lugs 31 in a one-to-one correspondence, and electrical connection is achieved. As shown in FIG. 14, FIG. 14 shows a schematic diagram of an electrode assembly 3 in one chamber 14 of the casing 1 being connected to the electrode terminal 22, in which a through hole 214 is formed on the cover plate 21 to allow the electrode terminal 22 to pass through, and the electrode terminal 22 is attached to the cover plate 21 through the through hole 214. One end of the electrode terminal 22 is located inside the chamber 14 of the casing 1, and the other end is located outside the chamber 14 of the casing 1, and one end of the electrode terminal 22 contacts the lugs 31 of the electrode assembly 3 to extract electrical energy from the other end.

[0092] When the cover plate 21 is made of a conductive material, the end cap assembly 2 further includes a first insulating member 23 and a second insulating member 24, which insulate the electrode terminal 22 from the cover plate 21. The first insulating member 23 extends inward from the outer surface of the cover plate 21 (i.e., the surface of the cover plate 21 away from the casing 1 or the surface of the cover plate 21 away from the electrode assembly 3) through the gap between the electrode terminal 22 and the cover plate 21, and isolates the electrode terminal 22 from the hole wall of the through hole 214 on the cover plate 21. The second insulating member 24 is disposed between the other end of the electrode terminal 22 and the inner surface of the cover plate 21, and isolates the electrode assembly 3 from the inner surface of the cover plate 21 (i.e., the surface of the cover plate 21 closer to the casing 1 or the surface of the cover plate 21 closer to the electrode assembly 3).

[0093] In some embodiments, the end of the electrode terminal 22 close to the electrode assembly 3 is expanded in diameter to form a plate 221, which when the cover plate 21 is attached to the casing 1 is pressed against the surface of the lug 31 to effectively bring the electrode terminal 22 into contact with the lug 31 of the electrode assembly 3, thereby achieving an electrical connection.

[0094] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 15 , a plurality of through holes 214 are formed in the cover plate 21, and a plurality of electrode terminals 22 respectively pass through the plurality of through holes 214. When the cover plate 21 is attached to the casing 1, the plurality of electrode terminals 22 correspond one-to-one to the plurality of lugs 31, and the electrode terminals 22 are connected to the corresponding lugs 31 by means of penetration welding, thermal welding or the like to realize an electrical connection.

[0095] If the cover plate 21 is made of a conductive material, the end cap assembly 2 further includes a first insulating member 23 and a second insulating member 24, the first insulating member 23 covering a portion of the inner wall of the through hole 214 and the outer surface of the cover plate 21 close to the through hole 214, and the second insulating member 24 covering the inner surface of the cover plate 21 and the inner wall of the remaining portion of the through hole 214. The first insulating member 23 and the second insulating member 24 are connected to cover the entire inner wall of the through hole 214, isolating the electrode assembly 3 from the inner surface of the cover plate 21 and isolating the electrode terminal 22 from the hole wall of the through hole 214 on the cover plate 21, so that the electrode terminal 22 can be insulatively attached to the cover plate 21.

[0096] In some embodiments, the electrode terminal 22 has a structure with a recess 222, the position of the recess 222 corresponds to the position of the lug 31, and the recess 222 is formed in the electrode terminal 22, so that the thickness of the welding portion between the electrode terminal 22 and the lug 31 is reduced, and the electrode terminal 22 and the lug 31 can be easily welded. As shown in Fig. 15, when the cover plate 21 is attached to the casing 1, the bottom wall of the recess 222 is in close contact with the lug 31 of the electrode assembly 3, and the bottom wall of the recess 222 and the lug 31 of the electrode assembly 3 are welded by a welding technique such as fusion or penetration welding to realize an electrical connection.

[0097] 15, the electrode terminal 22 further includes a stopper cover 25. When the electrode terminal 22 and the lug 31 are fused, the stopper cover 25 is connected to the end of the electrode terminal 22 away from the electrode assembly 3, i.e., the stopper cover 25 is provided at the opening position of the recess 222, blocking the recess 222 and protecting the connection portion of the electrode terminal 22 and the lug 31. This stopper cover 25 may be made of an insulating material or a conductive material.

[0098] Optionally, the battery 300 may further include other structures. For example, the battery 300 may further include a bus member (not shown), which is used to realize electrical connections between the multiple electrode terminals 22, such as parallel, serial or mixed connections. Furthermore, the bus member is fixed to the electrode terminals 22 by a welding method. The electrical energy of the multiple power supply units is further extracted through a conductive mechanism. Optionally, the conductive mechanism is also included in the bus member.

[0099] For the battery 300, safety hazards also result from the charging and discharging process and proper environmental temperature design, so in order to effectively avoid unnecessary losses, the battery 300 provided in the embodiments of the present application further includes a switching device (not shown). The switching device refers to a device that stops charging or discharging the battery 300 when the temperature or resistance in the battery 300 reaches a certain threshold.

[0100] There are a plurality of switching devices, which are mounted in one-to-one correspondence in the plurality of chambers 14 of the casing 1. When the temperature or resistance in a certain chamber 14 reaches a certain threshold, the corresponding switching device stops charging or discharging the power supply unit formed in this chamber 14.

[0101] The battery 300 provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a number of pressure release mechanisms (not shown). The pressure release mechanism refers to a device or member that operates to release the internal pressure or temperature of the battery 300 when the internal pressure or temperature reaches a certain threshold. This threshold is designed according to design requirements. The threshold depends on one or more materials of the positive electrode piece, the negative electrode piece, the electrolyte, and the diaphragm of the power supply unit.

[0102] There are multiple pressure release mechanisms, all of which are attached to the cover plate 21. When the cover plate 21 is attached to the casing 1, the multiple pressure release mechanisms correspond one-to-one to the multiple chambers 14 of the casing 1. When the internal pressure or temperature of a certain chamber 14 reaches a predetermined threshold, the corresponding pressure release mechanism is activated to release the internal pressure or temperature of the chamber 14.

[0103] The above describes the preferred embodiments of the present application, but does not limit the present application, and those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications to the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements and improvements made without departing from the spirit and principles of the present application are all within the protection scope of the present application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 1000 vehicles 100 Controller 200 Motor 300 batteries 1 Casing 11 Aperture 12 Peripheral wall 13 Partition Wall 14 rooms 2 End Cap Assembly 21 Cover plate 211 Welded guide groove 212 Protrusion 213 Fitting groove 214 Through hole 22 Electrode terminal 221 Plate 222 Depression 23 First insulating member 24 Second insulating member 25 Stopper cover 3. Electrode Assembly 31 Rug

Claims

1. A casing having a honeycomb structure and a plurality of rectangular prism-shaped chambers; a plurality of electrode assemblies, at least one in each chamber of the plurality of chambers; an end cap assembly connected to the casing and used to seal openings at the same end of the chambers; The casing includes a partition wall and an outer peripheral wall surrounding the partition wall, the partition wall divides a space surrounded by the outer peripheral wall into the plurality of rooms, The end cap assembly includes a cover plate, a weld guide groove is provided on a surface of the cover plate that faces away from the casing, the weld guide groove has a projection on the cover plate along a thickness direction of the cover plate that overlaps with a projection on the partition wall, and a bottom wall of the weld guide groove is welded to the partition wall; The casing has a partition wall and an outer peripheral wall surrounding the partition wall, the partition wall divides the space surrounded by the outer peripheral wall into the plurality of chambers, the partition wall is molded integrally with the outer peripheral wall, and each of the plurality of chambers is relatively independent and does not communicate with each other.

2. The battery of claim 1 , wherein each of the chambers is filled with an electrolyte, and the electrolytes in the chambers do not communicate with each other.

3. The battery according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the chamber has a triangular prism shape, a rectangular prism shape or a hexagonal prism shape.

4. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the thickness of said partition wall is equal to the thickness of said perimeter wall.

5. 2. The battery of claim 1, wherein a surface of the cover plate facing the casing is provided with a plurality of protrusions, the plurality of protrusions are inserted into the plurality of chambers in one-to-one correspondence, and the outer peripheral surface of each protrusion is in close contact with the inner wall of the inserted chamber.

6. The battery of claim 5 , wherein the projection is a polygonal annular projection.

7. 7. The battery according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the end cap assembly includes a cover plate and a plurality of electrode terminals, the plurality of electrode terminals are insulatively attached to the cover plate, and the plurality of electrode terminals are connected to the plurality of electrode assemblies correspondingly.

8. A power-using device comprising the battery according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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