Deformable Safety Valve Metal Coating for Battery Overcharge Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Lithium-ion battery overcharge protection devices using aluminum deformable safety valves face issues with high contact resistance and potential fire hazards due to aluminum oxidation and melt-through during short-circuits.
Innovation Solution
A deformable safety valve with a metal-coated aluminum deformable plate, where the facing surface is coated with a tin, copper, nickel, or gold layer to reduce contact resistance and prevent melt-through, ensuring safe connections and low heat generation during short-circuits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If aluminum is used as material for the deformable plate and short-circuit conductive plate, then the device structure is simple and cost is low, but contact resistance is very large and the aluminum plate is easily molten through at the moment of short-circuit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by coating the aluminum deformable plate with a metal layer (such as nickel, copper, or tin) to create a composite structure. This composite material combines the advantages of aluminum (low cost, good deformability) with the advantages of the metal coating (low contact resistance, high melting point), thereby resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reliability.
2Device complexity
If aluminum is used as material for the deformable plate, then the device structure is simple, but contact resistance is very large and sparks possibly to set fire to electrolyte in the battery cell
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses composite materials by coating the aluminum deformable plate with a metal layer to reduce contact resistance and prevent sparking. This composite structure maintains the simplicity of the device while eliminating the harmful effects of aluminum oxidation and low melting point.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal coating layer acts as an intermediary between the aluminum deformable plate and the short-circuit conductive plate, preventing direct contact between aluminum and oxygen, and providing a low-resistance electrical contact path that prevents sparking and heat generation.
3Ease of manufacture
If the deformable plate is made from aluminum without coating, then manufacturing is easy, but melt-through occurs at the moment of short-circuit
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials by coating the aluminum deformable plate with a metal layer having higher melting point and strength. This composite structure maintains the ease of manufacturing aluminum components while adding the strength and heat resistance properties of the metal coating layer.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The metal coating significantly reduces contact resistance and prevents melt-through, ensuring safe operation and low heat production during short-circuits without compromising the battery cell, thereby enhancing safety and reliability.
Implementation Method 1
aluminum is easily oxidized into aluminum oxide in air, contact resistance is very large
Implementation Method 2
contact resistance is very large, the aluminum plate of the deformable safety valve is easily molten through at the moment of short-circuit
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a lithium-ion battery and a deformable safety valve as an overcharge protection device thereof. The deformable safety valve as the overcharge protection device of the lithium-ion battery comprises a short-circuit conductive plate and a deformable plate made from aluminum, a facing surface of the deformable plate being coated with a metal layer to reduce contact resistance between the deformable plate and the short-circuit conductive plate. The lithium-ion battery comprises a first electrode post; a cap plate electrically connected to the first electrode post; an electrolyte-injection hole provided in the cap plate; a vent provided in the cap plate; a deformable safety valve provided to the cap plate; and a second electrode post assembled to the cap plate in an insulating manner; wherein the deformable safety valve is the above deformable safety valve as the overcharge protection device of the lithium-ion battery.