End Cap Sealing Structure for Battery Cell Electrode Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
During the manufacturing of secondary batteries, electrolyte solution can flow into gaps between electrode terminals and cover plates, causing safety hazards due to electronic conduction and potential corrosion.
Innovation Solution
An end cap assembly with a sealing element, including a sealing portion and a connecting portion, is used to form a sealing region around the electrode terminal, preventing electrolyte solution from entering the gap and enhancing safety performance by blocking electronic conduction and improving structural reliability through a fixed fit relationship.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the electrode terminal is directly connected to the cover plate without additional sealing structures, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability deteriorates due to electrolyte solution leakage and electronic conduction hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing element is nested within the accommodation recess formed by the cover plate and first insulation component, creating a compact integrated sealing structure that prevents electrolyte solution leakage without adding external components
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element acts as an intermediary component between the electrode terminal and the cover plate, forming a sealing region that blocks the gap and prevents harmful electrolyte solution contact while maintaining electrical connection functionality
2Reliability
If a sealing element is added to form a sealing region, then the reliability improves by preventing electrolyte leakage, but the device complexity increases due to additional components
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing element integrates multiple functions into a single component: it provides sealing to prevent electrolyte leakage, structural support through the connecting portion, and electrical insulation, thereby improving reliability without proportionally increasing component count
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing element serves multiple purposes simultaneously: sealing the gap between electrode terminal and cover plate, providing mechanical support, and preventing electronic conduction, making it a multi-functional component that addresses multiple problems with one solution
3Strength
If the connecting portion is made larger to increase bonding strength, then the reliability improves, but the manufacturing precision requirements worsen due to tighter fit constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The connecting portion features a larger cross-sectional area specifically at the accommodation recess interface to maximize bonding strength where it is most needed, while maintaining a smaller profile elsewhere to reduce manufacturing precision requirements and facilitate assembly
Data Source
AI summary
An end cap assembly applicable to a battery cell includes a cover plate configured to close a housing, a terminal plate located on a side of the cover plate away from the housing, a first insulation component at least partially located between the terminal plate and the cover plate, an electrode terminal penetrating the cover plate and the first insulation component and connected to the terminal plate, and a sealing element including a sealing portion and a connecting portion connected to the sealing portion. The sealing portion is disposed between a first insulation component and the cover plate to form a sealing region around the electrode terminal.