Batteries and power receiving devices

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of battery energy technology, and provides a battery and a power receiving device. The battery includes a battery cell, a thermal management device, and an insulating assembly, the thermal management device and the insulating assembly being respectively provided on the battery cell. The battery cell is provided with electrode terminals, and the insulating assembly is connected to the electrode terminals. The insulating assembly isolates the battery terminals from the thermal management device, thereby preventing condensation generated during operation of the thermal management device from affecting the electrode terminals and improving battery safety.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This application claims priority to a Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on August 21, 2020, application number 202021767491.X, entitled "Battery and Power Receiving Device," the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present application relates to the field of battery energy technology, and in particular to batteries and power receiving devices. [Background technology]

[0003] With the development of new energy technologies, the energy density of batteries is increasing and the scope of their applications is also expanding. Batteries are extremely sensitive to temperature. When the temperature is too low, the electrolyte in the battery is difficult to move due to the low temperature and solidifies at the battery electrodes, affecting the charging and discharging ability of the battery. When the temperature is too high, the chemical nature of the electrolyte in the battery becomes very active and prone to combustion. In order to precisely control the temperature of the battery, a thermal management device is usually provided on the top cover of the battery. The thermal management device is used to perform a temperature-reducing process on the battery when the temperature of the battery is too high, and to perform a temperature-raising process on the battery when the temperature of the battery is too low, thereby ensuring that the operation of the battery is performed at a predetermined temperature and avoiding the battery temperature from being too high or too low. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The inventors of the present application discovered, in the process of realizing the present application, that condensation is likely to occur on the surface of the thermal management device when the device performs a temperature lowering process, and that it is therefore necessary to solve safety problems caused by condensation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the embodiments of the present application provide a battery and a power receiving device that can avoid the problem of poor insulation of the battery due to condensation.

[0006] In order to solve the technical problem, the embodiments of the present application employ the following technical solutions.

[0007] A first aspect provides a battery including a battery cell provided with an electrode terminal, a thermal management device provided on the battery cell for performing temperature control on the battery cell, and an insulation assembly provided on the battery cell and connected to the electrode terminal for insulating the thermal management device from the electrode terminal.

[0008] In some embodiments, the number of the battery cells is plural, each battery cell includes a cover plate, the electrode terminal is provided on the cover plate, and the thermal management device is bonded to the cover plate.

[0009] In some embodiments, the number of electrode terminals of each battery cell is at least two, and the thermal management device is disposed between the at least two electrode terminals.

[0010] In some embodiments, the insulating assembly includes a waterproof member, which covers the outside of the electrode terminal.

[0011] In some embodiments, the number of waterproof members is the same as the number of electrode terminals, and each waterproof member is wrapped around a corresponding one of the electrode terminals.

[0012] In some embodiments, the insulating assembly further includes a separator provided with a through hole for passing the electrode terminal therethrough, the separator being provided on the waterproof member and for fixing the waterproof member onto the battery cell.

[0013] In some embodiments, a mounting groove is provided on a surface of the separator facing the battery cell, and the waterproof member is provided within the mounting groove.

[0014] In some embodiments, the waterproofing member is a foam.

[0015] In some embodiments, a surface of the thermal management device is provided with a layer of insulating spray.

[0016] In some embodiments, a thermally conductive adhesive is provided between the thermal management device and the battery cells.

[0017] In some embodiments, the battery cell is provided with an explosion-proof valve, the thermal management device at least partially covers the explosion-proof valve, and the battery further includes an adhesive prevention member provided between the battery cell and the thermal management device to prevent the thermally conductive adhesive from entering the explosion-proof valve.

[0018] In a second aspect, there is provided a power receiving device comprising the battery according to any one of the above claims. Effect of the Invention

[0019] Compared with the prior art, an insulating assembly is provided on a battery cell in an embodiment of the present application, and the insulating assembly is connected to the electrode terminals. The insulating assembly isolates the electrode terminals from the thermal management device, thereby preventing condensation generated during operation of the thermal management device from affecting the electrode terminals, and improving the safety of the battery. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] In order to more clearly describe the technical methods in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the drawings necessary for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art are briefly introduced below. The drawings in the following description are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that other drawings can be further obtained based on these drawings under the premise of not performing creative labor.

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a power receiving device provided in one embodiment of the present application. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of a battery of the power receiving device shown in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the structure of the battery shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a battery cell in the battery shown in FIG. 2. [Diagram 5] FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of an insulating assembly in the battery shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a thermal management device in the battery shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the battery shown in FIG. 2 in the A direction, with some elements omitted. [Figure 8] FIG. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of a battery cell and a thermal management device in the battery shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a battery provided in another embodiment of the present application. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the structure of the battery shown in FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a structural schematic diagram of an insulating assembly, a bus bar, and a circuit board of the battery shown in FIG. 10. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] For the sake of convenience of understanding the present application, the present application will be described in more detail below with reference to the drawings and specific examples. When an element is described as being "fixed" / "attached" to another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be one or more intermediate elements therebetween. When an element is described as being "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be one or more intermediate elements therebetween. The orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer", "vertical", "horizontal", etc. used in this specification is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings and is used merely for the convenience of the description and simplified description of the present application, and does not indicate or imply that the device or element it refers to necessarily has a specific orientation and needs to be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present application. In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used merely for the purpose of explanation and cannot be understood as indicating or implying a relative importance.

[0023] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art of the present application. The terms used in the present application are only for the purpose of describing specific examples and are not intended to be limiting of the present application. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0024] Furthermore, the technical features of the various embodiments of the present application described below can be combined with each other unless there is a contradiction between them.

[0025] As shown in Fig. 1, one embodiment of the present application provides a power receiving device including a battery 100 for providing electric energy to the power receiving device. The power receiving device may be a ship, an aircraft, a vehicle, etc., the vehicle may be a gasoline vehicle, a natural gas vehicle, a new energy vehicle, etc., the new energy vehicle may be a pure electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a range extender electric vehicle, etc. In the following, an example in which the power receiving device is a vehicle 400 will be described.

[0026] A battery 100 is provided inside the vehicle 400, and the battery 100 may be provided at the bottom, front or rear of the vehicle 400, and the battery 100 is used to supply power to the vehicle 400. The battery 100 may provide driving power to the vehicle 400 as an operating power source for the vehicle 400, instead of gasoline or natural gas, or as a part of them, as a driving power source for the vehicle 400. Furthermore, the vehicle 400 may further include a controller 200 and a motor 300, and the battery 100, the controller 200 and the motor 300 are connected in sequence, and the controller 200 is used to control the power supply from the battery 100 to the motor 300, and is used to realize the operating power requirements during starting, navigation and driving of the vehicle 400.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the battery 100 includes a battery cell 10, an insulating assembly 20, and a thermal management device 30. The insulating assembly 20 and the thermal management device 30 are respectively provided on the battery cell 10, and the thermal management device 30 is used to perform temperature management for the battery cell 10. For example, when the temperature of the battery is too high, the thermal management device 30 performs heat dissipation to cool the battery, and when the temperature of the battery is too low, the thermal management device 30 performs heating to heat the battery. In the process in which the thermal management device 30 dissipates heat from the battery cell 10, condensation may occur due to a temperature difference. Therefore, the insulating assembly 20 is used to isolate and insulate the battery cell 10 and the thermal management device 30, thereby preventing the condensation from flowing to the electrode terminal 11 of the battery cell 10 and causing conduction between the electrode terminal 11 and the thermal management device 30, or conduction between two or more electrode terminals 11, thereby preventing safety issues and ensuring the safe use of the battery 100.

[0028] In some embodiments, the number of battery cells 10 is more than one, and the battery cells 10 are arranged in parallel, the thermal management device 30 simultaneously performs temperature management for the battery cells 10, and the insulating assembly 20 is used to insulate the battery cells 10 from the thermal management device 30. Of course, the battery cells 10 may be arranged in multiple rows to better perform temperature management for the battery cells 10 and maintain insulation performance between the thermal management device 30 and the battery cells 10. Accordingly, multiple insulating assemblies 20 may be arranged, and one or more insulating assemblies 20 may be provided on the battery cells 10 in each row to isolate the electrode terminals 11 of the battery cells 10 in that row from the thermal management device 30. One thermal management device 30 may be arranged to simultaneously perform temperature management for the battery cells 10 in multiple rows, or multiple thermal management devices 30 may be arranged to perform temperature management for the battery cells 10 in one row. As shown in FIG. 2, the following description takes two rows of battery cells 10, two thermal management devices 30 and two insulation assemblies 20 as an example.

[0029] A plurality of battery cells 10 are arranged to form two sets of battery units, and the two sets of battery units are arranged along a first direction and abut against each other. A plurality of battery cells 10 in each set of battery units are arranged along a second direction, and the plurality of battery cells 10 abut against each other in sequence and are electrically connected. Two corresponding insulation assemblies 20 and one corresponding thermal management device 30 are provided on each battery cell 10, and the thermal management device 30 is provided between the two insulation assemblies 20. Here, the first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other.

[0030] 2 to 4, each battery cell 10 includes a cell (not shown), a cell case, and an electrode terminal 11, and the cell case includes a cover plate 12 and a housing 13. The housing 13 is provided with an accommodation space (not shown), the cell is accommodated in the accommodation space, the cover plate 12 is placed on the housing 13, and the cover plate 12 is provided on the cell. The electrode terminal 11 is provided on the cover plate 12, and the electrode terminal 11 is electrically connected to the cell. The electrode terminal 11 is connected to an insulating assembly 20, and the cover plate 12 is attached to a thermal management device 30, and the thermal management device 30 performs temperature management for the battery cell 10 by performing heat exchange within the battery cell 10 via the cover plate 12.

[0031] In this embodiment, the number of electrode terminals 11 of each battery cell 10 is two, and the two electrode terminals 11 are provided on both sides of the cover plate 12, respectively, and the two electrode terminals 11 are electrically connected to the cells, respectively. Of the two electrode terminals 11, one electrode terminal 11 is a positive terminal, and the other electrode terminal 11 is a negative terminal. The thermal management device 30 is mounted on the multiple battery cells 10, and the thermal management device 30 is provided between the two electrode terminals 11 of each battery cell 10. It should be understood that in some other embodiments, the number of electrode terminals of each battery cell only needs to be at least two, such as three, four, etc., and may be increased according to actual needs, and the thermal management device 30 is provided between at least two electrode terminals 11.

[0032] An explosion-proof valve 14 is further provided on each battery cell 10. The explosion-proof valve 14 is provided between the two electrode terminals 11, and the port of the explosion-proof valve 14 is provided on the cover plate 12. When thermal runaway occurs in a cell, a large amount of high-temperature and high-pressure gas is generated, and the high-temperature and high-pressure gas at the location where thermal runaway occurs breaks through the explosion-proof valve 14 and is discharged to the outside of the battery cell 10, thereby preventing a large amount of high-temperature and high-pressure gas from accumulating inside the battery cell 10 in a short period of time and causing the battery cell 10 to explode.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, the insulating assembly 20 includes a waterproof member 21, which has a ring structure, is disposed around the electrode terminal 11, and is abutted against the cover plate 12 to prevent condensation from contacting the electrode terminal 11. In this embodiment, the number of the waterproof members 21 is the same as the number of the electrode terminals 11, and each waterproof member 21 is disposed around a corresponding electrode terminal 11. The waterproof member 21 may be an insulating material such as foam, rubber, plastic, silica gel, etc., and in this embodiment, the waterproof member 21 is foam, which has advantages such as shock-absorbing, vibration resistance, heat insulation, moisture resistance, and chemical corrosion resistance. It should be understood that in some other embodiments, the number of the waterproof members 21 may be provided according to actual needs, and each waterproof member 21 may correspond to two or more electrode terminals 11, for example, two waterproof members 21 may be provided, and each waterproof member 21 may cover a plurality of electrode terminals 11 on the same side. Such an installation form can simplify the assembly process of the insulation assembly 20 and increase the efficiency of attaching the insulation assembly 20 to the battery cell 10.

[0034] In some embodiments, the insulating assembly 20 further includes a separator 22 disposed on the waterproof member 21 and used to fix the waterproof member 21 onto the cover plate 12, thereby ensuring that the waterproof member 21 can be in close contact with the cover plate 12, thereby effectively avoiding condensation and contact with the electrode terminal 11.

[0035] Specifically, the separator 22 is provided with a through hole 222 penetrating the separator 22. When the separator 22 is mounted on the cover plate 12, the electrode terminal 11 passes through the through hole 222. In this embodiment, the number of the through holes 222 is the same as the number of the electrode terminals 11, and each electrode terminal 11 passes through one corresponding through hole 222. It should be understood that in some other embodiments, the number of the through holes 222 may be provided according to actual needs, and each through hole 222 may correspond to two or more electrode terminals 11, for example, only one through hole 222 may be provided on the separator 22, and multiple electrode terminals 11 may pass through one through hole 222, as long as the mounting requirements between the insulating assembly 20 and the electrode terminals 11 are met.

[0036] The separator 22 has a mounting groove 224 on its surface facing the cover plate 12 for mounting the waterproof member 21. In this embodiment, the number of mounting grooves 224 is the same as the number of the waterproof members 21, and each waterproof member 21 is disposed in a corresponding one of the mounting grooves 224. It should be understood that in some other embodiments, the number of mounting grooves 224 may be provided according to actual needs, and each mounting groove 224 may correspond to two or more waterproof members 21, for example, only one mounting groove 224 may be provided on the separator 22, and multiple waterproof members 21 may be disposed in one mounting groove 224, as long as the mounting requirements between the separator 22 and the waterproof members 21 can be met.

[0037] For convenience in installing the insulation assembly 20, the waterproof member 21 may be first installed in the installation groove 224, and the waterproof member 21 may be connected to the separator 22 by adhesive, heat fusion or other methods, and then the waterproof member 21 and the separator 22 may be installed together on the cover plate 12.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, the thermal management device 30 includes a cooling plate 31 bonded to the cover plate 12 of the battery cell 10, and the cooling plate 31 at least partially covers the explosion-proof valve 14 of the battery cell 10. A condensation passage (not shown) is provided inside the cooling plate 31, and the condensation passage is filled with a heat exchange medium used for heat exchange with the battery cell 10. Optionally, the heat exchange medium inside the cooling plate 31 further has a fire-extinguishing property, and when thermal runaway occurs in the cell, high-temperature and high-pressure gas destroys the cooling plate 31, and the heat exchange medium flows into the battery cell 10 from the mouth of the explosion-proof valve 14 to extinguish the fire, thereby effectively suppressing the spread of fire in the battery cell. The heat exchange medium is selected from substances having properties such as flame retardancy, temperature reduction, and heat exchange, such as alkyl halides, phosphate esters, or hydrofluoroethers. In this embodiment, the heat exchange medium is a fluorine-based liquid in order to quickly extinguish the fire and increase safety. The fluorine-based liquid can lower the temperature of the battery cell 10 in which thermal runaway occurs by boiling and exchanging heat, and the large amount of gas generated during the boiling phase change process of the fluorine-based liquid can lower the temperature of the exhaust gas from the battery cell 10, thereby improving the safety of the battery. In addition, the gas generated after the phase change of the fluorine-based liquid can effectively block the air, which can further improve the effect of preventing the spread of fire after the thermal runaway of the battery cell. In some embodiments, the surface of the cooling plate 31 is further provided with an insulating spray layer (not shown) that can further insulate between the thermal management device 30 and the battery cell 10 and reduce the possibility of corrosion of the thermal management device 30.

[0039] Connectors 32 are provided on both ends of the cooling plate 31, and the two connectors 32 are each connected to a condensation passage and an external heat exchange medium storage device, thereby allowing the heat exchange medium to circulate between the condensation passage and the external heat exchange medium storage device.

[0040] In some embodiments, in order to realize the automatic operation of the thermal management device 30, the thermal management device 30 further includes a heat exchanger (not shown) in communication with the condensation passage, a temperature sensor (not shown), and a controller (not shown) connected to the heat exchanger and the temperature sensor. The temperature sensor is provided on the battery cell 10 and is used to sense a temperature change of the battery cell 10, and is in communication with the controller. When the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the battery cell 10 is higher than a predetermined temperature, the controller controls the heat exchanger to cool the heat exchange medium, thereby causing the heat exchange medium to cool the battery cell 10. When the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the battery cell 10 is lower than a predetermined temperature, the controller controls the heat exchanger to heat the heat exchange medium, thereby causing the heat exchange medium to heat the battery cell 10. This allows the thermal management device 30 to realize an automatic temperature management function of the battery cell 10.

[0041] In some embodiments, a thermally conductive adhesive (not shown) is provided between the thermal management device 30 and the battery cells 10 to enhance the thermal conductivity between the thermal management device 30 and the battery cells 10. Specifically, the thermally conductive adhesive is bonded between the cover plate 12 and the cooling plate 31, which can enhance the thermal conductivity between the cover plate 12 and the cooling plate 31 and also ensure a stable connection between the cooling plate 31 and the cover plate 12.

[0042] 9 to 11, in some other embodiments, the battery 100 further includes an adhesive prevention member 50 between the battery cell 10 and the thermal management device 30 to prevent the thermal conductive adhesive from entering the explosion-proof valve 14 and blocking the explosion-proof valve 14, preventing the gas from being discharged smoothly. Specifically, the adhesive prevention member 50 is provided between the cover plate 12 and the cooling plate 31 and around the explosion-proof valve 14, and the thermal conductive adhesive is provided around the adhesive prevention member 50.

[0043] In some embodiments, the adhesive prevention member 50 includes a stopper 51, the number of the stoppers 51 is multiple, and the multiple stoppers 51 are connected in sequence. The number of the stoppers 51 is the same as the number of the explosion-proof valves 14, and each stopper 51 is covered on a corresponding one explosion-proof valve 14. It should be understood that in some other embodiments, the multiple stoppers 51 of the adhesive prevention member 50 may not be connected to each other, and the number of the stoppers 51 on each adhesive prevention member 50 may be provided according to actual needs, and each stopper 51 may correspond to two or more explosion-proof valves 14, for example, only one stopper 51 is provided on the adhesive prevention member 50, and the stopper 51 may be around the multiple explosion-proof valves 14 of the battery cell, as long as it can prevent the thermal conductive adhesive from blocking the explosion-proof valve 14.

[0044] In some embodiments, the battery 100 further includes a bus bar 60 provided on the insulating assembly 20 and connected to the battery cells 10. The number of the bus bars 60 is plural, and each bus bar 60 corresponds to two electrode terminals 11. Each bus bar 60 is connected to the electrode terminals 11 of two adjacent battery cells 10, thereby electrically connecting the two battery cells 10.

[0045] In some embodiments, for the convenience of mounting the bus bar 60 on the insulating assembly 20, the separator 22 is further provided on a surface thereof not facing the battery cell 10 with an accommodation groove 226 communicating with the through hole 222, and the bus bar 60 is mounted in the accommodation groove 226. The bus bar 60 is soldered to the electrode terminal 11, and the separator 22 is fixed on the battery cell 10.

[0046] In some embodiments, the battery 100 further includes a circuit board 70 that electrically connects between the multiple battery cells 10 by connecting the multiple bus bars 60. Optionally, the circuit board 70 is a flexible printed circuit board, which is small in volume and convenient to arrange.

[0047] In some embodiments, the battery 100 further includes end plates 80, the number of end plates 80 is two, and the two end plates 80 are provided at both ends of the multiple battery cells 10, respectively, and are used to fix the multiple battery cells 10.

[0048] It should be noted that, finally, the above embodiments are merely for illustrating the technical methods of the present application, and are not intended to limit the same. Under the concept of the present application, the technical features in the above embodiments or various embodiments may be combined, the procedures may be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations such as the various aspects of the present application described above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of simplicity. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should still be able to understand that the technical methods described in the above embodiments can still be modified or equivalently replaced for some of the technical features, and these modifications or replacements do not deviate from the essence of the corresponding technical methods from the scope of the technical methods of the embodiments of the present application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 10 Battery Cells 11 Electrode terminal 12 Cover plate 13. Housing 14 Explosion-proof valve 20 Insulation Assembly 21 Waterproofing materials 22 Separator 30 Thermal management equipment 31 Cooling plate 32 Connectors 50 Adhesive prevention material 51 Stopper 60 Busbar 70 Circuit Board 80 End Plate 100 Battery 200 Controller 222 Through hole 224 Mounting groove 226 Storage Groove 300 Motor 400 vehicles

Claims

1. A battery cell is provided with an electrode terminal, an explosion-proof valve, and a cover plate, the explosion-proof valve and the electrode terminal being provided on the cover plate; a thermal management device provided on the battery cell for controlling a temperature of the battery cell, the thermal management device including a cooling plate bonded to the cover plate, at least a portion of the cooling plate covering the explosion-proof valve, a condensation passage provided inside the cooling plate, the condensation passage being filled with a heat exchange medium, the heat exchange medium having fire-extinguishing properties, the cooling plate being used to be destroyed by high-temperature, high-pressure gas discharged from inside the battery cell when thermal runaway occurs in the battery cell; an insulating assembly provided on the battery cell, connected to the electrode terminal, and for insulating the thermal management device from the electrode terminal, the insulating assembly including a waterproof member covering the outside of the electrode terminal.

2. The battery of claim 1 , wherein the battery cells are plural in number, and each of the battery cells includes a cover plate.

3. 3. The battery according to claim 2, wherein the number of the electrode terminals of each of the battery cells is at least two, and the thermal management device is provided between the at least two of the electrode terminals.

4. The battery according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the number of the waterproof members is the same as the number of the electrode terminals, and each of the waterproof members is provided around a corresponding one of the electrode terminals.

5. The insulating assembly further includes a separator having a through hole therein; The battery according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the separator is provided on the waterproof member and is used to fix the waterproof member onto the battery cell, and the through hole is used to pass the electrode terminal through.

6. The battery according to claim 5 , wherein an attachment groove is provided on a surface of the separator facing the battery cell, and the waterproof member is provided within the attachment groove.

7. The battery according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the waterproof member is a foam.

8. The battery of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a surface of the thermal management device is provided with an insulating spray layer.

9. The battery of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a thermally conductive adhesive is provided between the thermal management device and the battery cells.

10. 10. The battery of claim 9, further comprising an adhesive prevention member disposed between the battery cell and the thermal management device to prevent the thermally conductive adhesive from entering the explosion-proof valve.

11. A power receiving device comprising the battery according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

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