Connecting assembly, battery module, battery pack, device, and manufacturing method

This application provides a connecting assembly, a battery module, a battery pack, a device, and a manufacturing method. The connecting assembly includes an insulation board and a busbar. The insulation board includes a hollow portion, a first side, and a second side. The busbar includes a first busbar and a second busbar. The first busbar is disposed on the first side of the insulation board. The second busbar is disposed from the second side into the hollow portion of the insulation board. The battery module includes a battery cell and a module frame. The battery cell is accommodated in the module frame. A device using a battery cell as a power supply includes: a power source configured to provide a driving force for the device; and a battery module configured to provide electrical energy to the power source.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a United States National Stage Application filed under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT Patent Application Serial No. PCT/CN2020/124948, entitled “CONNECTING ASSEMBLY, BATTERY MODULE, BATTERY PACK, DEVICE, AND MANUFACTURING METHOD,” filed Oct. 29, 2020, which claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201911381409.1, filed on Dec. 27, 2019 and entitled “CONNECTING ASSEMBLY, BATTERY MODULE, BATTERY PACK, DEVICE, AND MANUFACTURING METHOD”, each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the technical field of energy storage devices, and in particular, to a connecting assembly, a battery module, a battery pack, a device, and a manufacturing method.

BACKGROUND

With the development of new energy technology, battery modules and battery packs are applied more widely. A battery module or battery pack is used to supply power to a power source of, for example, a new energy vehicle. Taking a battery module as an example, the battery module generally includes a module frame and battery cells. The battery cells are accommodated in the module frame.

A connecting assembly is disposed in the battery module. The connecting assembly typically consists of a busbar and an insulation board. The insulation board is configured to fix the position of the busbar so that the connecting assembly is easy to transport and install. The busbar implements electrical connection between the battery cells in the battery module. However, in some circumstances, the connecting assembly is hardly shockproof and likely to shake.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of this application provide a connecting assembly, a battery module, a battery pack, a device, and a manufacturing method to mitigate the problem that a busbar is hardly shockproof and is likely to shake.

An embodiment of this application provides a connecting assembly, applicable to a battery module and including:

an insulation board, where insulation board includes a hollow portion, a first side, and a second side; and

a busbar, where the busbar includes a first busbar and a second busbar.

The first busbar is disposed on the first side of the insulation board.

The second busbar is disposed from the second side into the hollow portion of the insulation board.

In some embodiments, the connecting assembly further includes a circuit board disposed on the first side. The circuit board is connected to a plurality of sampling pins, and the plurality of sampling pins are indirectly connected to the second busbar and the first busbar respectively.

In some embodiments, the connecting assembly further includes a connecting piece. At least a part of the connecting piece is embedded into insulation board. The second busbar is connected to the sampling pins by the connecting piece. The connecting piece connects the second busbar to the sampling pins, thereby solving the problem of inability of sampling a remote busbar and ensuring proper risk control during the sampling.

In some embodiments, the connecting piece includes a first extension, an inset, and a second extension. The inset is connected to the first extension and the second extension, and is embedded in the insulation board. The first extension is located in the hollow portion. The first extension is connected to a surface of the second busbar, the surface being close to the first side. The connecting piece is fixed to the insulation board by the inset, and is connected to the second busbar and the sampling pins through the first extension and the second extension respectively in one-to-one correspondence, so as to ensure a reliable connection between the circuit board and the second busbar and sample the second busbar.

In some embodiments, a first snap-fit portion and a first prop are disposed in the hollow portion. The first snap-fit portion is located in the hollow portion away from the first side, and the first prop is located in the hollow portion near the first side.

The second busbar is located between the first snap-fit portion and the first prop. In this way, the second busbar is fixed to the insulation board by the first snap-fit portion and the first prop, thereby preventing the second busbar from falling off from the insulation board.

In some embodiments, a recess is disposed on the second busbar.

The first prop abuts against the recess.

In some embodiments, a side of the first snap-fit portion, the side that is away from the second busbar in a thickness direction of the insulation board, is a sloping side. The sloping side makes it easier to install the second busbar from bottom to top along the thickness direction of the insulation board, and reduces the difficulty of installing the second busbar.

In some embodiments, a communicating hole, a second snap-fit portion, and a second prop are disposed on the insulation board. The second prop partitions the hollow portion to form a plurality of communicating holes, and the second snap-fit portion is disposed on the first side.

The first busbar is located between the second snap-fit portion and the second prop.

An embodiment of this application further provides a battery module, including a battery cell and a module frame. The battery cell is accommodated in the module frame.

The battery module further includes a connecting assembly.

The connecting assembly is connected to an electrode lead of the battery cell by the busbar.

An embodiment of this application further provides a battery pack, including a box body and a battery module.

An embodiment of this application further provides a device using a battery cell as a power supply. The device includes: a power source configured to provide a driving force for the device; and a battery module configured to provide electrical energy to the power source.

An embodiment of this application further provides a method for manufacturing a connecting assembly, including:

installing a first busbar onto a first side of an insulation board from top to bottom in a thickness direction of the insulation board; and

installing a second busbar into a hollow portion of the insulation board from bottom to top in the thickness direction of the insulation board.

In some embodiments, the manufacturing method further includes: connecting the connecting piece to the sampling pins of the circuit board;

fixing a circuit board equipped with the sampling pins to a first side of the insulation board; and

connecting the first busbar to a part of the sampling pins.

In some embodiments, the manufacturing method further includes:

embedding a connecting piece into the insulation board to form an inset, a first extension, and a second extension;

connecting the second busbar to the first extension; and

connecting another part of the sampling pins to the second extension.

The technical solutions provided in this application achieve the following beneficial effects:

The connecting assembly according to this application includes the busbar and the insulation board. The insulation board includes the hollow portion and the first side. The busbar includes the first busbar and the second busbar. The first busbar is installed on the first side of the insulation board from top to bottom, and the second busbar is installed in the hollow portion of the insulation board from bottom to top, and is connected to the sidewall of the hollow portion. Because the first busbar and the second busbar are disposed on different sides, an acting force on the first busbar counteracts an acting force on the second busbar, thereby reducing the shake of the assembly. Compared with the arrangement in which the first busbar and the second busbar are on the same side, the arrangement in this application has the advantage of being more shockproof.

A battery module provided in this application includes a connecting assembly. The connecting assembly is connected to the electrode lead of the battery cell by the busbar. The battery module adopts the foregoing connecting assembly, and therefore, has the advantage of being more shockproof.

A battery pack provided in this application contains a battery module. The battery pack adopts the foregoing battery module, and therefore, has the advantage of being more shockproof.

An embodiment of this application further provides a device using a battery cell as a power supply, and the device includes a battery module. The device adopts the foregoing battery module, and therefore, has the advantage of being more shockproof.

A method for manufacturing a connecting assembly according to this application includes: installing a first busbar onto a first side of an insulation board from top to bottom in a thickness direction of the insulation board; and installing a second busbar into a hollow portion of the insulation board from bottom to top. Because the first busbar and the second busbar are disposed on different sides, an acting force on the first busbar counteracts an acting force on the second busbar, thereby reducing the shake of the assembly. Compared with the arrangement in which the first busbar and the second busbar are on the same side, the arrangement in this application has the advantage of being more shockproof.

Understandably, the above general description and the following detailed description are merely exemplary without limiting this application.

The drawings are not drawn to scale.

REFERENCE NUMERALS

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following gives a more detailed description of implementations of this application with reference to accompanying drawings and embodiments. The detailed description of the following embodiments and the accompanying drawings are intended to exemplarily describe the principles of this application, but not to limit the scope of this application. Therefore, this application is not limited to the described embodiments.

In the description of this application, unless otherwise specified, “a plurality of” means two or more; the terms such as “upper”, “lower”, “left”, “right”, “inner”, and “outer” indicating a direction or a position relationship are merely intended for ease or brevity of description of this application, but do not indicate or imply that the device or component referred to must be located in the specified direction or constructed or operated in the specified direction. Therefore, such terms shall not be understood as a limitation on this application. In addition, the terms “first”, “second”, and “third” are merely intended for descriptive purposes, but are not intended to indicate or imply relative importance. “Perpendicular” is not exactly perpendicular, but within an error tolerance range. “Parallel” is not exactly parallel, but within an error tolerance range.

The directional terms appearing in the following description indicate the directions shown in the drawings, but are not intended to limit specific structures in this application. In the context of this application, unless otherwise expressly specified, the terms “mount”, “concatenate”, and “connect” are understood in a broad sense. For example, a “connection” may be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integrated connection, and may be a direct connection or an indirect connection implemented through an intermediary. A person of ordinary skill in the art can understand the specific meanings of the terms in this application according to specific situations.

As shown inFIG.1toFIG.3, an embodiment of this application provides a device that uses a battery cell as a power supply. The device may be a mobile device such as a vehicle, a ship, or a small aircraft. The device includes a power source, and the power source is used to provide a driving force for the device. The power supply may be configured as a battery module M that provides electrical energy to the power source. The driving force of the device may be sole electrical energy, or may include electrical energy and other types of energy (such as mechanical energy). The power source may be a battery module M (or a battery pack P), or may be a combination of a battery module M (or battery pack P) and an engine, or the like. Therefore, all devices that can use a battery cell3as a power supply fall within the protection scope of this application.

Using a vehicle as an example, a vehicle according to an embodiment of this application may be a new energy vehicle. The new energy vehicle may be a battery electric vehicle, or may be a hybrid electric vehicle, a range-extended electric vehicle, or the like. The vehicle may include a battery pack P and a vehicle body. The battery pack P is disposed in the vehicle body. A driving motor is further disposed in the vehicle body, and the driving motor is electrically connected to the battery pack P. The battery pack P provides electrical energy. The driving motor is connected to wheels of the vehicle body through a transmission mechanism to drive the vehicle to run. Specifically, the battery pack P may be horizontally disposed at a bottom of the vehicle body.

As shown inFIG.2, a battery pack P according to this embodiment includes a box body5and a battery module M disposed in the box body5. The box body5may be made of aluminum, an aluminum alloy or another metal material. The box body5includes an accommodation cavity. In a possible design, the box body5includes an upper box51and a lower box52. The upper box51fits the lower box52to form the accommodation cavity. One battery module M or at least two battery modules M may be accommodated in the accommodation cavity. Each battery module M is fixed to the box body5.

As shown inFIG.3, an embodiment of this application provides a battery module M, including a connecting assembly1, a module frame2, a battery cell3, and an upper cover plate4. The module frame2may include an end plate21and a side plate22. The end plate21and the side plate22define an accommodation space. There may be a plurality of battery cells3. The plurality of battery cells3are stacked alongside each other in the accommodation space defined by the module frame2. The battery cell3may be a secondary battery that is rechargeable. The battery cell3according to this embodiment includes an electrode lead31. Specifically, each battery cell3includes two electrode leads31of opposite polarities, that is, a positive electrode lead and a negative electrode lead. Along a height direction Z of the battery module M, the connecting assembly1is disposed above a position where the electrode lead31of the battery cell3is located, and is located between the upper cover plate4and the battery cell3. The upper cover plate4is connected to the module frame2or the connecting assembly1to cover the plurality of battery cells3and the connecting assembly1to serve an insulation function.

As shown inFIG.4, the connecting assembly1according to this embodiment of this application includes an insulation board11and a busbar12. The busbar12is fixed onto the insulation board11to form the connecting assembly1. The busbar12is configured to connect to the electrode lead31of the battery cell3, so that the plurality of battery cells3are connected by the busbar12in series and/or in parallel.

As shown inFIG.4,FIG.5, andFIG.8, the insulation board11includes a first side112and a second side113. During invention and creation, the inventor finds that: when all busbars12are fixed on one side of the insulation board11(the first side112shown inFIG.4or the second side113shown inFIG.8), the busbars12differ from the insulation board11in weight. Therefore, in a transport process and in a process of connecting to the battery cell3, shake usually occurs due to a large mass difference between different parts of the connecting assembly1. The shake is likely to damage the connecting assembly. Therefore, a solution is to place the busbars12on the two sides of the insulation board11(the first side112shown inFIG.4and the second side113shown inFIG.8) respectively to form a sandwich structure to improve stability of the connecting assembly1. However, this solution increases an overall size of the connecting assembly1, and is adverse to increase of an energy density of the battery module M.

In view of the foregoing problem, the inventor further improves the structure. As shown inFIG.4andFIG.5, the insulation board11further includes a hollow portion111, and the busbar12includes a first busbar122and a second busbar121. The first busbar122is disposed on the first side112of the insulation board11. The second busbar121is disposed from the second side113into the hollow portion111of the insulation board11. Specifically, the first busbar122is installed on the first side112of the insulation board11from top to bottom, and the second busbar121is installed in the hollow portion111of the insulation board11from bottom to top.

Because the first busbar122and the second busbar121are disposed on different sides, the acting force on the first busbar122counteracts the acting force on the second busbar121, thereby reducing the shake of the assembly and being highly shockproof. In addition, the second busbar121is accommodated in the hollow portion111of the insulation board11, thereby reducing both the weight of the connecting assembly1and the thickness of the connecting assembly1, and increasing the energy density of the battery module M.

Further, the connecting assembly1may include a circuit board13. Specifically, the circuit board13may be an FPC, a PCB, or the like. The circuit board13further includes a plurality of sampling pins131. The sampling pins131are connected to the busbar12to sample and transmit data such as voltage and temperature of the battery cell3. The circuit board13may be bonded and fixed to the insulation board11to form the connecting assembly1, or may be fixed to the insulation board11by means of a hot-melt rivet or the like.

The first busbar122and the second busbar121are located at different positions. Therefore, after the sampling pin131and the first busbar122are connected (specifically, by means of welding, riveting, or the like) on the first side112, the connecting needs to be performed for a second time on the second side113. The connecting steps are complicated and difficult to perform. If two circuit boards13are disposed on the first side112and the second side113of the insulation board respectively, the sampling precision will be reduced, and it is not convenient to connect sampling connection wires. Therefore, the circuit board13is disposed on the first side112of the connecting assembly1, and the circuit board13is connected to a plurality of sampling pins131. The plurality of sampling pins131are connected to the first busbar122and the second busbar121respectively (that is, among the plurality of sampling pins131, a part of the sampling pins131are connected to the first busbar122, and another part of the sampling pins131are connected to the second busbar121). By reducing the quantity of the circuit board13, this solution improves the sampling precision of a sampling control system and simplifies the connection of the sampling connection wires.

As shown inFIG.4, the first busbar122and the second busbar121are arranged alternately. In addition, the first busbar122and the second busbar121do not interfere with each other. To be specific, intervals exist in a length direction X, a width direction Y, and a thickness direction Z of the insulation board11to prevent the first busbar122from contacting the second busbar121, thereby reducing the risk of short circuits and improving the safety performance of the battery module M.

Further, as shown inFIG.4, the first busbar122includes a first busbar body122aand a busbar extension122bthat are connected to each other. The busbar extension122bis approximately perpendicular to the first busbar body122a. The first busbar body122ais connected to the sampling pin131. The sampling pin131connects the circuit board13to the busbar12. Alternatively, the circuit board13may be connected to the busbar extension122bby the sampling pin131. The busbar extension122bis located between the second busbar121and the circuit board13, and the busbar extension122bdoes not interfere with the second busbar121. To be specific, intervals exist in the length direction X, the width direction Y, and the thickness direction Z of the insulation board11to prevent the second busbar121from contacting the busbar extension122b, thereby reducing the risk of short circuits of the connecting assembly1. However, when the sampling pin131on the circuit board13is connected to the second busbar121, because the busbar extension122bof the first busbar122is located between the circuit board13and the second busbar121, if the sampling pin131is directly connected to the second busbar121, the sampling pin131may become connected to the busbar extension122b, thereby leading to incorrect sample values taken from the second busbar121.

As shown inFIG.4, the first busbars122are disposed alternately between the second busbar121and the circuit board13, so that the circuit board13is unable to accurately sample the second busbar121. Therefore, further, a connecting piece14needs to be disposed. At least a part of the connecting piece14is embedded into the insulation board11. The second busbar121is connected to the sampling pin131by the connecting piece14. The connecting piece14connects the second busbar121to the sampling pin131, thereby solving the problem of inability of sampling a remote busbar12, and ensuring proper risk control during the sampling. In addition, it is ensured that the connecting piece14connected to the second busbar121and the sampling pin131connected to the first busbar122are all located on the first side112. The foregoing connecting process is performed at just one processing work station, thereby facilitating the connecting process. Alternatively, the connecting piece14may be disposed without interfering with the first busbar122, and at least a part of the connecting piece14is embedded into the insulation board11to improve stability of a sampling structure.

In practice, when the first busbar122and the second busbar121are disposed on the same side of the insulation board11, it is prone to short circuits and leading to a non-conformity creepage distance between a first busbar122and a second busbar121that are adjacent to each other. In contrast, in the embodiments of this application, as shown inFIG.4,FIG.6, andFIG.14, the connecting piece14includes a first extension141, an inset (not marked with a reference numeral in the drawing), and a second extension142. The inset is connected to the first extension141and the second extension142, and is embedded in the insulation board11. The first extension141is located in the hollow portion111. The first extension141is connected to a surface of the second busbar121, the surface being close to the first side112. The first extension141extends to the hollow portion111and is configured to connect to the second busbar121. The second extension142is configured to connect to the sampling pin131. Therefore, the second busbar121can conduct current through the connecting piece14to the sampling pin131, thereby solving the problem of inability of sampling the remote busbar12and reducing the risk of short circuits of the connecting assembly1.

The connecting piece14and the insulation board11are made of highly compatible insulation materials to prevent the connecting piece14from detaching during a life cycle and ensure that the structural strength, voltage withstand strength, and insulation performance meet requirements.

As shown inFIG.6,FIG.8, andFIG.10, a first snap-fit portion114and a first prop115are disposed in the hollow portion111. The first snap-fit portion114is located in the hollow portion111and away from the first side112. The first prop115is located in the hollow portion111and close to the first side112. The second busbar121is located between the first snap-fit portion114and the first prop115. The second busbar121is installed from bottom to top in the thickness direction Z of the insulation board11, passes through the first snap-fit portion114first, and then abuts against the first prop115. To be specific, an upper surface of the second busbar121abuts against a lower surface of the first prop115, and a lower surface of the second busbar121abuts against an upper surface of the first snap-fit portion114. In this way, the second busbar121is fixed onto the insulation board11to prevent the second busbar121from falling off from insulation board11.

Specifically, as shown inFIG.4, a recess121ais disposed on the second busbar121, and the first prop115abuts against the recess121a. The recess121amakes the entire second busbar121be located on the insulation board11.

Further, as shown inFIG.10, a side of the first snap-fit portion114, the side that is away from the second busbar in the thickness direction Z of the insulation board11, is a sloping side. This facilitates installation of the second busbar121when the second busbar121is installed from bottom to top in the thickness direction Z of the insulation board11.

As shown inFIG.5, communicating holes116, a second snap-fit portion117, and a second prop118are disposed on the insulation board11. The second prop118partitions the hollow portion111to form a plurality of communicating holes116. The second snap-fit portion117is disposed on the first side112. The first busbar122is located between the second snap-fit portion117and the second prop118. The first busbar122is installed from top to bottom in the thickness direction Z of the insulation board11. The first busbar122is fixed onto the upper surface of the insulation board11by the second snap-fit portion117and the second prop118to prevent the first busbar122from falling off from the insulation board11.

An embodiment of this application provides a method for manufacturing a connecting assembly, including: installing a first busbar122onto a first side112of an insulation board11from top to bottom in a thickness direction Z of the insulation board11; and installing a second busbar121into a hollow portion111of the insulation board11from bottom to top in the thickness direction Z of the insulation board11.

Further, in the thickness direction Z of the insulation board11, a circuit board13equipped with sampling pins131is installed on the first side112of the insulation board11from top to bottom, and the first busbar122is connected to a part of the sampling pins131.

When a connecting piece14is disposed on the connecting assembly, the connecting piece14is embedded into the insulation board11to form an inset, a first extension141, and a second extension142. The second busbar121is connected to the first extension141. Another part of the sampling pins131are connected to the second extension142.

To improve manufacturing efficiency, specifically, a method for manufacturing a connecting assembly is:

embedding a connecting piece14into an insulation board11to form an inset, a first extension141, and a second extension142;

installing a first busbar122onto a first side112of the insulation board11from top to bottom in a thickness direction Z of the insulation board11; and installing a second busbar121into a hollow portion111of the insulation board11from bottom to top in the thickness direction Z of the insulation board11;

installing, to the first side112of the insulation board11from top to bottom, a circuit board13equipped with sampling pins131; and

connecting a part of the sampling pins131to the first busbar122; connecting another part of the sampling pins131to the second extension142; and connecting the first extension141to the second busbar121.

In conclusion, in this embodiment of this application, the first busbar122is installed on the first side112of the insulation board11from top to bottom, and the second busbar121is installed on the hollow portion111of the insulation board11from bottom to top. Because the first busbar122and the second busbar121are disposed on different sides, the acting force on the first busbar122counteracts the acting force on the second busbar121, thereby reducing the shake of the assembly and being highly shockproof. In addition, the second busbar121is accommodated in the hollow portion111of the insulation board11, thereby reducing both the weight of the connecting assembly1and the thickness of the connecting assembly1, and increasing the energy density of the battery module M. The first busbar122is welded to a part of the sampling pins131, and the second busbar121is welded to the first extension141. In this way, the first busbar122and the second busbar121can be welded on the same side. Therefore, just one processing work station is needed for welding the first busbar122and the second busbar121to the circuit board13, thereby facilitating the welding.

Although this application has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, various improvements may be made to the embodiments without departing from the scope of this application, and the parts therein may be replaced with equivalents. Particularly, to the extent that no structural conflict exists, various technical features mentioned in various embodiments can be combined in any manner. This application is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.