Patent Description:
Energy saving and emission reduction are crucial to the sustainable development of the automotive industry. Electric vehicles, with their advantages in energy saving and emission reduction, have become an important part of sustainable development of the automobile industry. For electric vehicles, battery technology is an important factor in connection with their development.

A battery cell includes a housing, an end cover, and an electrode assembly disposed in the housing, where the end cover is provided with a pole. During assembly of the battery cell, the electrode assembly needs to be placed into the housing and connected to the pole on the end cover, and then the end cover and the housing are welded to complete the assembly. It can be seen that the assembly procedures of the battery cell are complicated. <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT> disclose different cell assembly arrangements.

In view of the foregoing problem, this application provides a battery cell, a battery, an electric apparatus, and a manufacturing method and device of battery cell to simplify assembly of the battery cell.

According to a first aspect, this application provides a battery cell. The battery cell includes a housing, an electrode assembly, and a pole. The housing is integrally formed and includes two first side walls arranged opposite each other in a first direction and two second side walls arranged opposite each other in a second direction, the two first side walls and the two second side walls enclose an accommodating cavity, the housing has at least one opening in a third direction, and the first direction, the second direction, and the third direction are perpendicular to each other. The electrode assembly is accommodated in the accommodating cavity, and the electrode assembly includes a body portion and a tab protruding out of the body portion. The pole is disposed on the first side wall and electrically connected to the tab.

In the technical solution in this embodiment of this application, the pole is integrated and assembled on the side wall of the housing. In this way, the electrode assembly does not need to be connected to an end cover beforehand when being placed into the housing, which facilitates placement into the housing and simplifies assembly procedures of the battery cell. In addition, the pole of the battery cell is disposed on the first side wall, so that water cooling components can be arranged on upper and lower sides of the battery cell, which enlarges an area for arranging the water cooling components and improves heat dissipation performance of the battery.

In some embodiments, the housing further includes a bottom wall disposed opposite the opening, and the battery cell further includes an end cover, where the end cover is disposed at the opening to close the accommodating cavity. After the electrode assembly is placed in the housing, only one end cover needs to be welded to the housing to close the housing, which simplifies the assembly procedures of the battery cell compared with the need to weld two end covers in the prior art.

In some embodiments, the housing has two openings arranged opposite each other in the third direction, and the battery cell further includes two end covers, where the two end covers are correspondingly disposed at the two openings to close the accommodating cavity. The housing is run through in the third direction, and therefore it can be formed by one-time stretching, and a stretching forming process is simple.

In some embodiments, an area of the first side wall is smaller than an area of the second side wall. In this way, the second side wall of the housing and a larger surface of the electrode assembly are disposed in a same direction, and the first side wall of the housing is disposed in a same direction as a thickness direction of the electrode assembly, thereby facilitating placement of the electrode assembly into the housing.

In some embodiments, the pole is disposed on the first side wall through riveting or injection molding.

In the invention, the tab protrudes from the body portion to one side of the opening, and the battery cell further includes an adapting component, where the adapting component includes a first adapting piece and a second adapting piece that are disposed separately, the first adapting piece is configured to be connected to the pole, the second adapting piece is configured to be connected to the tab, the first adapting piece substantially extends along the third direction, the second adapting piece substantially extends along the first direction, and the first adapting piece is connected to the second adapting piece through a conductive structure. The adapting component is disposed as the first adapting piece and the second adapting piece that are disposed separately, so that during assembly, the first adapting piece may be connected to the pole in advance, and after the second adapting piece is connected to the tab of the electrode assembly, the electrode assembly is placed into the housing. In this case, end portions of the first adapting piece and the second adapting piece are connected through the conductive structure, thereby enabling placement of the electrode assembly into the housing. After the end portions of the first adapting piece and the second adapting piece are connected through the conductive structure, the end cover and the housing are welded for completing sealing of the battery cell.

In some embodiments, the first adapting piece includes a first body segment and a first connecting segment disposed at an end portion of the first body segment, where the first body segment is configured to be connected to the pole, the first body segment extends along the third direction, the first connecting segment extends along the first direction, and the first connecting segment is connected to the second adapting piece. A connecting area between the first adapting piece and the second adapting piece can be increased by disposing the first connecting segment, thereby facilitating connection.

In some embodiments, the second adapting piece includes a second body segment and a second connecting segment connected to the first connecting segment, where the second body segment is configured to be connected to the tab, and the first connecting segment extends, relative to the first body segment, toward a side approaching the second body segment; or the first connecting segment extends, relative to the first body segment, toward a side leaving the second body segment; or in the first direction, the first connecting segment extends toward two sides relative to the first body segment.

According to a second aspect, this application provides a battery, including the foregoing battery cell.

According to a third aspect, this application provides an electric apparatus, including the foregoing battery.

According to a fourth aspect, this application provides a manufacturing method of battery cell, including the following steps:.

In the invention, the tab of the electrode assembly protrudes from the body portion to one side of the opening, and the placing the electrode assembly in the accommodating cavity and electrically connecting the tab to the pole includes:.

According to a fifth aspect, this application provides a manufacturing device of battery cell, including:.

In the invention, the manufacturing device of battery cell further includes a third providing module, where the third providing module is configured to provide an adapting component, where the adapting component includes a first adapting piece and a second adapting piece that are disposed separately, and the assembling module is further configured to connect the first adapting piece to the pole, connect the second adapting piece to the tab, and conductively connect the first adapting piece to the second adapting piece.

The foregoing description is merely an overview of the technical solution of this application. For a better understanding of the technical means in this application such that they can be implemented according to the content of the specification, and to make the above and other objectives, features and advantages of this application more obvious and easier to understand, the following describes specific embodiments of this application.

To describe the technical solutions in the examples of this application more clearly, the following briefly describes the accompanying drawings required for describing the examples of this application. Apparently, the accompanying drawings in the following descriptions show merely some examples of this application, and persons of ordinary skill in the art may still derive other drawings from the accompanying drawings without creative efforts.

The accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale.

The following describes in detail the embodiments of technical solutions of this application with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are merely intended for a clearer description of the technical solutions of this application and therefore are used as just examples which do not constitute any limitations on the protection scope of this application.

Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein shall have the same meanings as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this application relates. The terms used herein are intended to merely describe the specific embodiments rather than to limit this application. The terms "include", "comprise", and "have" and any other variations thereof in the specification, claims and brief description of drawings of this application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions.

In the description of the embodiments of this application, the terms "first", "second" and the like are merely intended to distinguish between different objects, and shall not be understood as any indication or implication of relative importance or any implicit indication of the number, sequence or primary-secondary relationship of the technical features indicated. In the description of this application, "a plurality of" means at least two unless otherwise specifically stated.

In this specification, reference to "embodiment" means that specific features, structures or characteristics described with reference to the embodiment may be incorporated in at least one embodiment of this application. The word "embodiment" appearing in various places in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or an independent or alternative embodiment that is exclusive of other embodiments. It is explicitly or implicitly understood by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein may be combined with other embodiments.

In the description of the embodiments of this application, the term "and/or" is only an associative relationship for describing associated objects, indicating that three relationships may be present. For example, A and/or B may indicate the following three cases: presence of only A, presence of both A and B, and presence of only B. In addition, the character "/" in this specification generally indicates an "or" relationship between contextually associated objects.

In the description of the embodiments of this application, the term "a plurality of" means more than two (inclusive). Similarly, "a plurality of groups" means more than two (inclusive) groups, and "a plurality of pieces" means more than two (inclusive) pieces.

In the description of the embodiments of this application, the orientations or positional relationships indicated by the technical terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "perpendicular", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", " radial", "circumferential", and the like are based on the orientations or positional relationships as shown in the accompanying drawings. These terms are merely for ease and brevity of description of the embodiments of this application rather than indicating or implying that the apparatuses or components mentioned must have specific orientations or must be constructed or manipulated according to specific orientations, and therefore shall not be construed as any limitations on embodiments of this application.

In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise specified and defined explicitly, the terms "mount", "connect", "join", and "fasten" should be understood in their general senses. For example, they may refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection, may refer to a mechanical connection or electrical connection, any may refer to a direct connection, an indirect connection via an intermediate medium, or an interaction between two elements. Persons of ordinary skill in the art can understand specific meanings of these terms in this application as appropriate to specific situations.

A current battery cell typically includes a housing, an end cover, and an electrode assembly accommodated in the housing, and the housing is filled with electrolyte. The electrode assembly is a component in which electrochemical reactions take place in the battery cell. The housing is an assembly that forms the internal environment of the battery cell. The end cover is a component that covers an opening of the housing to isolate the internal environment of the battery cell from the external environment thereof. In some existing battery cells, positive and negative poles are generally arranged on a same end cover, and an arrangement direction of the pole is the same as a protruding direction of a tab of an electrode assembly. Such design makes positive and negative electrodes in the battery cell be connected only on a same side. To resolve this problem, housings of some other existing battery cells have two openings arranged opposite each other in a length direction and end covers respectively disposed on the two openings, and positive and negative poles are respectively disposed on the two end covers. The inventors of this application have found through research that, during assembling of these battery cells, an electrode assembly needs to be placed into a housing from one opening and move to another opening, causing a long moving stroke of the electrode assembly when being placed into the housing. Moreover, before the electrode assembly is placed into the housing, a tab of the electrode assembly needs to be connected to a pole on an end cover, and then the electrode assembly is placed into the housing before the end cover and the housing are welded, and therefore the assembly procedures are complicated and difficult.

To resolve the above problem of complex assembly of battery cell, the inventors have found through research that the battery cell can include an integrally formed housing, and two poles can be integrated and assembled on two opposite side walls of the housing. In this way, the electrode assembly does not need to be connected to the end cover beforehand when being placed into the housing, which facilitates placement into the housing and simplifies assembly procedures of the battery cell.

The battery cell disclosed in the embodiments of this application may be used without limitation in electric apparatuses such as vehicles, ships, or aircrafts. The battery cell, the battery, and the like disclosed in this application may be used to constitute a power supply system of such electric apparatus.

An embodiment of this application provides an electric apparatus that uses a battery as a power source. The electric apparatus may be, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a notebook computer, an electric toy, an electric tool, an electric bicycle, an electric car, a ship, or a spacecraft. The electric toy may be a fixed or mobile electric toy, for example, a game console, an electric toy car, an electric toy ship, and an electric toy airplane. The spacecraft may include an airplane, a rocket, a space shuttle, a spaceship, and the like.

For ease of description, the electric apparatus of an embodiment of this application being a vehicle <NUM> is used as an example for description of the following embodiments.

Referring to <FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of the vehicle <NUM> according to some embodiments of this application. The vehicle <NUM> may be a fossil fuel vehicle, a natural-gas vehicle, or a new energy vehicle, where the new energy vehicle may be a battery electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a range-extended vehicle, or the like. The vehicle <NUM> is provided with a battery <NUM> inside, where the battery <NUM> may be disposed at the bottom, front or rear of the vehicle <NUM>. The battery <NUM> may be configured to supply power to the vehicle <NUM>. For example, the battery <NUM> may be used as an operational power source for the vehicle <NUM>. The vehicle <NUM> may further include a controller <NUM> and a motor <NUM>, where the controller <NUM> is configured to control the battery <NUM> to supply power to the motor <NUM>, for example, to satisfy power needs of start, navigation, and driving of the vehicle <NUM>.

In some embodiments of this application, the battery <NUM> can be used as not only the operational power source for the vehicle <NUM> but also a driving power source for the vehicle <NUM>, replacing or partially replacing fossil fuel or natural gas to provide driving traction for the vehicle <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG> is an exploded view of the battery <NUM> according to some embodiments of this application. The battery <NUM> includes a box <NUM> and a battery cell <NUM>. The battery cell <NUM> is accommodated in the box <NUM>. The box <NUM> is configured to provide an accommodating space for the battery cell <NUM>, and the box <NUM> may be a variety of structures. In some embodiments, the box <NUM> may include a first portion <NUM> and a second portion <NUM>. The first portion <NUM> and the second portion <NUM> fit together to jointly define the accommodating space for accommodating the battery cell <NUM>. The second portion <NUM> may be a hollow structure with one end open, and the first portion <NUM> may be a plate structure, where the first portion <NUM> covers the open side of the second portion <NUM> so that the first portion <NUM> and the second portion <NUM> jointly define the accommodating space. The first portion <NUM> and the second portion <NUM> may both be a hollow structure with one side open, where the open side of the first portion <NUM> is engaged with the open side of the second portion <NUM>. Certainly, the box <NUM> formed by the first portion <NUM> and the second portion <NUM> may have a variety of shapes, for example, cylinder or cuboid.

In the battery <NUM>, a plurality of battery cells <NUM> may be provided, and the plurality of battery cells <NUM> may be connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel, where being connected in series-parallel means a combination of series and parallel connections of the plurality of battery cells <NUM>. The plurality of battery cells <NUM> may be directly connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel, and then an entirety of the plurality of battery cells <NUM> is accommodated in the box <NUM>; or certainly, the battery <NUM> may be formed by a plurality of battery cells <NUM> being connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel first to form a battery module and then a plurality of battery modules being connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel to form an entirety which is accommodated in the box <NUM>. The battery <NUM> may further include other structures. For example, the battery <NUM> may further include a busbar configured to implement electrical connection between the plurality of battery cells <NUM>.

Each battery cell <NUM> may be a secondary battery or a primary battery, or may be a lithium-sulfur battery, a sodium-ion battery, or a magnesium-ion battery, but is not limited thereto. The battery cell <NUM> may be cylindrical, flat, cuboid, or of other shapes.

Referring to <FIG> is a schematic three-dimensional structural diagram of the battery cell <NUM> according to some embodiments of this application. As shown in <FIG> and referring to <FIG>, the battery cell <NUM> includes a housing <NUM>, an electrode assembly <NUM>, a pole <NUM>, and other functional components.

The housing <NUM> is a component configured to form the internal environment of the battery cell <NUM>, where the formed internal environment may be used to accommodate the electrode assembly <NUM>, electrolyte, and other components. The housing <NUM> may be of various shapes and sizes, such as a rectangular shape, a cylindrical shape, and a hexagonal prism shape. Specifically, a shape of the housing <NUM> may be determined based on a specific shape and size of the electrode assembly <NUM>. The housing <NUM> may be made of various materials, such as copper, iron, aluminum, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, and plastic, which are not particularly limited in this embodiment of this application.

The electrode assembly <NUM> is a component in which electrochemical reactions take place in the battery cell <NUM>. The housing <NUM> may include one or more electrode assemblies <NUM>. The electrode assembly <NUM> is mainly formed by winding or stacking a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate, and a separator is generally disposed between the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate. Parts of the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate with active substances constitute a body portion <NUM> of the electrode assembly, while parts of the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate without active substances separately constitute a tab <NUM>. During charging and discharging of the battery, a positive electrode active substance and a negative electrode active substance react with an electrolyte, and the pole <NUM> is configured to be electrically connected to the electrode assembly <NUM> for outputting or inputting electric energy of the battery cell <NUM>.

The end cover <NUM> is a component that covers an opening of the housing <NUM> to isolate the internal environment of the battery cell <NUM> from the external environment thereof. A shape of the end cover <NUM> is not limited and may be adapted to a shape of the housing <NUM> to fit the housing <NUM>. Optionally, the end cover <NUM> may be made of a material (such as aluminum alloy) with specified hardness and strength, so that the end cover <NUM> is not prone to deform under extrusion and collision, allowing the battery cell <NUM> to have a higher structural strength and higher safety performance. In some embodiments, the end cover <NUM> may further be provided with a pressure relief mechanism for releasing internal pressure when the internal pressure or temperature of the battery cell <NUM> reaches a threshold. The end cover <NUM> may also be made of various materials, such as copper, iron, aluminum, stainless steel, aluminum alloy, plastic, which are not particularly limited in this embodiment of this application.

Referring to <FIG>, <FIG> is a schematic three-dimensional structural diagram of a battery cell according to some embodiments of this application, and <FIG> is a schematic three-dimensional structural diagram of a housing of a battery cell according to some embodiments of this application. <FIG> is a schematic structural vertical view of a battery cell according to some embodiments of this application. <FIG> is a schematic structural cross-sectional view of the battery cell shown in <FIG> along a direction A-A. A battery cell <NUM> includes a housing <NUM>, an electrode assembly <NUM>, and a pole <NUM>. The housing <NUM> is integrally formed and includes two first side walls <NUM> arranged opposite each other in a first direction X and two second side walls <NUM> arranged opposite each other in a second direction Y, and the two first side walls <NUM> and the two second side walls <NUM> enclose an accommodating cavity. The housing <NUM> has at least one opening <NUM> in a third direction Z, and the first direction X, the second direction Y, and the third direction Z are perpendicular to each other. The electrode assembly <NUM> is accommodated in the accommodating cavity, the electrode assembly <NUM> includes a body portion <NUM> and a tab <NUM> protruding out of the body portion <NUM>, and the pole <NUM> is disposed on the first side wall <NUM> and electrically connected to the tab <NUM>. In some embodiments, the electrode assembly <NUM> includes the body portion <NUM> and two tabs <NUM> with opposite polarities protruding out of the body portion <NUM>. Two poles <NUM> are respectively disposed on the two first side walls <NUM> and electrically connected to the two tabs <NUM> respectively.

As shown in <FIG>, the first direction X is a length direction of the battery cell <NUM>, the second direction Y is a thickness direction of the battery cell <NUM>, and the third direction Z is a height direction of the battery cell <NUM>. Disposing the first side wall <NUM> in the first direction X means that the first side wall <NUM> is in an extending direction of the first direction X and the first side wall <NUM> is perpendicular to the first direction X. Similarly, disposing the second side wall <NUM> in the second direction Y means that the second side wall <NUM> is in an extending direction of the second direction Y and the second side wall <NUM> is perpendicular to the second direction Y. The opening <NUM> being in the third direction Z means that at least one surface of the housing <NUM> in the third direction Z is disposed to be open.

As shown in <FIG>, a pole mounting hole 211a is disposed on the first side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM>, and the pole <NUM> is mounted at the pole mounting hole 211a. As shown in <FIG>, two tabs <NUM> of the electrode assembly <NUM> protrude from a same side of the body portion <NUM>. In another embodiment, the two tabs <NUM> of the electrode assembly <NUM> may also protrude from different sides of the body portion <NUM> respectively. For example, referring to <FIG>, the two tabs <NUM> may protrude from the left and right ends of the body portion <NUM> respectively, which can facilitate connection of the tab <NUM> to the pole <NUM>. For example, the pole <NUM> may be connected to the tab <NUM> by penetration welding or the like.

Two poles <NUM> are respectively disposed on the two first side walls <NUM> of the integrally formed housing <NUM>. In this way, when the electrode assembly <NUM> is being placed into the housing, a stroke that the electrode assembly <NUM> needs to move is in a width direction of the housing <NUM>, which shortens the stroke to facilitate placement into the housing. Moreover, the two poles are integrated and assembled on the two opposite side walls of the housing. In this way, the electrode assembly does not need to be connected to an end cover beforehand when being placed into the housing, which facilitates placement into the housing and simplifies assembly procedures of the battery cell. In addition, the two poles of the battery cell <NUM> are disposed on the two first side walls <NUM>, so that water cooling components can be arranged on upper and lower sides of the battery cell <NUM>, which enlarges an area for arranging the water cooling components and improves heat dissipation performance of the battery.

In some embodiments, the housing <NUM> is integrally formed through aluminum extrusion or drawing process.

According to some embodiments of this application, the housing <NUM> further includes a bottom wall disposed opposite the opening <NUM>. The battery cell <NUM> further includes an end cover <NUM>, and the end cover <NUM> is disposed at the opening <NUM> to close the accommodating cavity.

As shown in <FIG>, an area of the first side wall <NUM> is smaller than an area of the second side wall <NUM>, so that the housing <NUM> includes five surfaces: two larger surfaces (second side walls <NUM>), two smaller surfaces (first side walls <NUM>), and a bottom surface. The poles <NUM> are directly assembled on the two smaller surfaces of the housing <NUM>, that is, the first side walls <NUM>. In this way, after the electrode assembly <NUM> is placed in the housing <NUM>, only one end cover <NUM> needs to be welded to the housing <NUM> to close the housing <NUM>, which simplifies the assembly procedures of the battery cells, as compared with the prior art in which two end covers needs to be welded.

According to some embodiments of this application, the housing <NUM> has two openings <NUM> arranged opposite each other in the third direction Z, and the battery cell <NUM> further includes two end covers <NUM>, where the two end covers <NUM> are correspondingly disposed at the two openings <NUM> to close the accommodating cavity.

In this case, the housing <NUM> has four surfaces: two larger surfaces and two smaller surfaces. The housing <NUM> is run through from top to bottom in the third direction Z and has two openings located in the third direction Z. The housing <NUM> is run through in the third direction Z, and therefore it can be formed by one-time stretching, and a stretching forming process is simple.

According to some embodiments of this application, an area of the first side wall <NUM> is smaller than an area of the second side wall <NUM>. In this way, the second side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM> and a larger surface of the electrode assembly <NUM> are disposed in a same direction, and the first side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM> is disposed in a same direction as a thickness direction of the electrode assembly <NUM>, thereby facilitating placement of the electrode assembly <NUM> into the housing.

According to some embodiments of this application, the pole <NUM> is disposed on the first side wall <NUM> through riveting or injection molding. As shown in <FIG>, the pole mounting hole 211a is disposed on the first side wall <NUM>. Before the electrode assembly <NUM> is placed into the housing, the poles <NUM> have been directly assembled on the pole mounting holes 211a of the two first side walls <NUM> through riveting or injection molding.

Referring to <FIG>, the pole <NUM> includes an inner pole <NUM>, an outer pole <NUM>, a sealing sleeve <NUM>, a sealing ring <NUM>, a first insulating sheet <NUM>, and a second insulating sheet <NUM>. The inner pole <NUM> runs through the pole mounting hole 211a of the first side wall <NUM> and is partially exposed outside the first side wall <NUM>. The outer pole <NUM> sleeves outside the inner pole <NUM>. The sealing sleeve <NUM> sleeves outside the inner pole <NUM> to isolate the first side wall <NUM> from the inner pole <NUM>. The sealing ring <NUM> is pressed against an outer wall of the sealing sleeve <NUM> so that an inner wall of the sealing sleeve <NUM> is in contact with an outer wall of the inner pole <NUM>. The figure shows a state in which the sealing sleeve <NUM> is not in contact with the inner pole <NUM> during assembly, but after the assembly is completed, the inner wall of the sealing sleeve <NUM> and the outer wall of the inner pole <NUM> are in contact with each other. To prevent the pole <NUM> from being conductively connected to the housing <NUM>, the first insulating sheet <NUM> is provided between the inner pole <NUM> and an inner wall surface of the first side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. Both sides of the inner pole <NUM> are provided with the first insulating sheet <NUM>. The second insulating sheet <NUM> is provided between the outer pole <NUM> and an outer wall surface of the first side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. The second insulating sheet <NUM> has a groove for fastening the outer pole <NUM>.

The sealing ring <NUM> may be made of fluorine rubber.

According to some embodiments of this application, as shown in <FIG>, the tab <NUM> protrudes from the body portion <NUM> to one side of the opening <NUM>. The battery cell <NUM> further includes an adapting component <NUM>. The adapting component <NUM> includes a first adapting piece <NUM> and a second adapting piece <NUM> that are disposed separately. The first adapting piece <NUM> is configured to be connected to the pole <NUM>, and the second adapting piece <NUM> is configured to be connected to the tab <NUM>. The first adapting piece <NUM> substantially extends along the third direction Z, the second adapting piece <NUM> substantially extends along the first direction X, and the first adapting piece <NUM> is connected to the second adapting piece <NUM> through a conductive structure.

As shown in <FIG>, the tab <NUM> protrudes from the body portion <NUM> to one side of the opening <NUM>. The pole <NUM> is disposed on the first side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM>, that is, protruding directions of the tab <NUM> and the pole <NUM> are inconsistent, and therefore the tab <NUM> needs to be connected to the pole <NUM> through the adapting component <NUM>. During the research, the inventors found that if the integrated adapting component <NUM> is used to connect the tab <NUM> and the pole <NUM>, for example, the adapting component <NUM> is first connected to the tab <NUM>, and then the electrode assembly <NUM> connected to the adapting component <NUM> is placed into the housing <NUM>, there will be no extra space for welding the adapting component <NUM> and the pole <NUM>; for another example, the adapting component <NUM> and the pole <NUM> are welded first, and the adapting component <NUM> prevents the electrode assembly <NUM> from being placed into the housing, causing the placement of electrode assembly <NUM> into the housing to fail. To resolve this problem, the inventors of this application propose to dispose the adapting component <NUM> as the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> that are disposed separately.

The adapting component <NUM> is disposed as the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> that are disposed separately, so that during assembly, the first adapting piece <NUM> may be connected to the pole <NUM> in advance, and after the second adapting piece <NUM> is connected to the tab <NUM> of the electrode assembly <NUM>, the electrode assembly <NUM> is placed into the housing <NUM>. In this case, end portions of the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> are connected through the conductive structure, thereby enabling placement of the electrode assembly <NUM> into the housing. After the end portions of the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> are connected through the conductive structure, the end cover <NUM> and the housing <NUM> are welded for completing sealing of the battery cell <NUM>.

According to some embodiments of this application, the conductive structure includes welding structure, conductive glue bonding structure, or riveting structure. Conductive connection through the welding structure means that the first adapting piece <NUM> is connected to the second adapting piece <NUM> by welding means such as laser welding. Conductive connection through the conductive glue bonding structure means that the first adapting piece <NUM> are bonded with the second adapting piece <NUM> by using conductive glue. The conductive glue may be a conductive film, and the conductive glue can not only achieve electrical connection but also mechanical connection between the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM>. Conductive connection through the riveting structure means that the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> are connected to each other by using a rivet.

According to some embodiments of this application, as shown in <FIG>, the first adapting piece <NUM> includes a first body segment <NUM> and a first connecting segment <NUM> disposed at an end portion of the first body segment <NUM>. The first body segment <NUM> is configured to be connected to the pole <NUM>, the first body segment <NUM> extends along the third direction Z, the first connecting segment <NUM> extends along the first direction X, and the first connecting segment <NUM> is connected to the second adapting piece <NUM>.

The first adapting piece <NUM> includes the first body segment <NUM> and the first connecting segment <NUM> disposed at the end portion of the first body segment <NUM>. The first connecting segment <NUM> is configured to be connected to the second adapting piece <NUM>. Therefore, a connecting area between the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> is increased to facilitate connection.

The first connecting segment <NUM> and the first body segment <NUM> are integrally formed, for example, by bending, relative to the first body segment <NUM>, the first connecting segment <NUM> to one side by using a bending tool.

Certainly, in another embodiment, the first adapting piece <NUM> may also include only the first body segment <NUM>, and the first body segment <NUM> is directly connected to the second adapting piece <NUM>.

According to some embodiments of this application, the second adapting piece <NUM> includes a second body segment <NUM> and a second connecting segment <NUM> connected to the first connecting segment <NUM>, where the second body segment <NUM> is configured to be connected to the tab <NUM>, and the first connecting segment <NUM> extends, relative to the first body segment <NUM>, toward a side approaching the second body segment <NUM>. Alternatively, the first connecting segment <NUM> extends, relative to the first body segment <NUM>, toward a side leaving the second body segment <NUM>.

In a possible embodiment, the first connecting segment <NUM> extends, relative to the first body segment <NUM>, toward a side approaching the second body segment <NUM>. In another possible embodiment, the first connecting segment <NUM> extends, relative to the first body segment <NUM>, toward a side leaving the second body segment <NUM>. Cross-sections of the first adapting piece <NUM> in the two embodiments are both L-shaped, and the difference is that the directions in which the first connecting segment <NUM> extends relative to the first body segment <NUM> are opposite.

According to some embodiments of this application, in the first direction X, the first connecting segment <NUM> extends toward two sides relative to the first body segment <NUM>. In this case, a cross-section of the first adapting piece <NUM> formed by the first connecting segment <NUM> and the first body segment <NUM> is T-shaped, which can further increase a connecting area between the first connecting segment <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM>.

In another embodiment, the first adapting piece <NUM> may also include only the first body segment <NUM> disposed extending in the third direction Z. The second adapting piece <NUM> includes the second body segment <NUM> extending in the first direction X and the second connecting segment <NUM> connected to the first adapting piece <NUM>. The second connecting segment <NUM> may be disposed to be bent relative to the second body segment <NUM>, for example, the second connecting segment <NUM> extends along the third direction Z.

According to some embodiments of this application, this application further provides a battery that includes the battery cell of any one of the foregoing solutions.

According to some embodiments of this application, this application further provides an electric apparatus that includes the battery of any one of the foregoing solutions, and the battery is configured to provide electric energy for the electric apparatus.

The electric apparatus may be any one of the foregoing devices or systems using a battery.

Referring to <FIG>, according to some embodiments of this application, this application further provides a manufacturing method of battery cell, including the following steps:.

Provide an integrally formed housing <NUM> and a pole <NUM>. The housing <NUM> includes two first side walls <NUM> arranged opposite each other in a first direction X and two second side walls <NUM> arranged opposite each other in a second direction Y, and the two first side walls <NUM> and the two second side walls <NUM> enclose an accommodating cavity. The housing <NUM> has at least one opening <NUM> in a third direction Z.

Provide an electrode assembly <NUM>, where the electrode assembly <NUM> includes a body portion <NUM> and a tab <NUM> protruding out of the body portion <NUM>; and.

Dispose the pole <NUM> on the first side wall <NUM>, place the electrode assembly <NUM> in the accommodating cavity, and electrically connect the pole <NUM> to the tab <NUM>.

In the manufacturing method of battery cell, the pole <NUM> is disposed on the first side wall <NUM> of the integrally formed housing <NUM>. In this way, the electrode assembly does not need to be connected to an end cover beforehand when being placed into the housing, which facilitates placement into the housing and simplifies assembly procedures of the battery cell.

According to some embodiments of this application, the tab <NUM> of the electrode assembly <NUM> protrudes from the body portion <NUM> to one side of the opening <NUM>. The manufacturing method of battery cell further includes:.

Referring to <FIG>, according to some embodiments of this application, this application further provides a manufacturing device <NUM> of battery cell. The manufacturing device includes a first providing module <NUM>, a second providing module <NUM>, and an assembling module <NUM>.

The first providing module <NUM> is configured to provide an integrally formed housing <NUM> and a pole <NUM>. The housing <NUM> includes two first side walls <NUM> arranged opposite each other in a first direction X and two second side walls <NUM> arranged opposite each other in a second direction Y, and the two first side walls <NUM> and the two second side walls <NUM> enclose an accommodating cavity. The housing <NUM> has at least one opening <NUM> in a third direction Z. The second providing module <NUM> is configured to provide an electrode assembly <NUM>, where the electrode assembly <NUM> includes a body portion <NUM> and a tab <NUM> protruding out of the body portion <NUM>. The assembling module <NUM> is configured to dispose the pole <NUM> on the first side wall <NUM>, place the electrode assembly <NUM> in the accommodating cavity, and electrically connect the tab <NUM> of the electrode assembly <NUM> to the pole.

In the manufacturing device of battery cell, the pole <NUM> is disposed on the first side wall <NUM> of the integrally formed housing <NUM>. In this way, the electrode assembly does not need to be connected to an end cover beforehand when being placed into the housing, which facilitates placement into the housing and simplifies assembly procedures of the battery cell.

According to some embodiments of this application, referring to <FIG>, the manufacturing device <NUM> of battery cell further includes a third providing module <NUM>, where the third providing module <NUM> is configured to provide an adapting component <NUM>, where the adapting component <NUM> includes a first adapting piece <NUM> and a second adapting piece <NUM> that are disposed separately. The assembling module <NUM> is further configured to connect the first adapting piece <NUM> to the pole <NUM>, connect the second adapting piece <NUM> to the tab <NUM>, and the assembling module <NUM> is further configured to connect the first adapting piece <NUM> that is connected to the pole <NUM> to the second adapting piece <NUM> that is connected to the tab <NUM>.

The following describes in detail a structure of a battery cell in a specific embodiment of this application according to <FIG>.

As shown in <FIG>, a battery cell <NUM> includes a housing <NUM>, an end cover <NUM>, and two poles <NUM> disposed on the housing <NUM>. A length direction of the battery cell <NUM> extends along a first direction X, a thickness direction extends along a second direction Y, and a height direction extends along a third direction Z.

As shown in <FIG>, the housing <NUM> includes two first side walls <NUM> arranged opposite each other, two second side walls <NUM> arranged opposite each other, a bottom wall, and an opening <NUM> disposed opposite the bottom wall.

As shown in <FIG>, the battery cell <NUM> further includes an electrode assembly <NUM> disposed in the housing <NUM> and an adapting component <NUM> for connecting the electrode assembly <NUM> to the pole <NUM>. The electrode assembly <NUM> includes a body portion <NUM> and two tabs <NUM> protruding from the body portion <NUM> to one side of the opening. The two tabs <NUM> have opposite polarities. One is a positive tab and the other is a negative tab. Each of the tabs <NUM> is connected to a corresponding pole <NUM> through one adapting component <NUM>.

In another embodiment, the battery cell <NUM> includes two or more electrode assemblies <NUM>. Positive tabs of the two or more electrode assemblies <NUM> can be connected to corresponding positive poles through one adapting component, and negative tabs of the two or more electrode assemblies <NUM> can be connected to corresponding negative poles through another adapting component.

As shown in <FIG>, the adapting component <NUM> includes a first adapting piece <NUM> and a second adapting piece <NUM> that are disposed separately. The first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> are arranged perpendicular to each other, the first adapting piece <NUM> is disposed on an inner side of the first side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM> and connected to the pole <NUM>, and the second adapting piece <NUM> is disposed on an inner side of an end cover <NUM> and connected to the tab <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, the pole <NUM> includes an inner pole <NUM>, an outer pole <NUM>, a sealing sleeve <NUM>, a sealing ring <NUM>, a first insulating sheet <NUM>, and a second insulating sheet <NUM>.

An inner pole <NUM> includes a pole body disposed in a pole mounting hole 211a and an adapting piece for connecting to the first adapting piece <NUM>. The adapting piece is connected to an end portion of the pole body. The sealing sleeve <NUM> sleeves outside the inner pole <NUM> to isolate the first side wall <NUM> from the inner pole <NUM>. The sealing ring <NUM> is pressed against an outer wall of the sealing sleeve <NUM> so that an inner wall of the sealing sleeve <NUM> is in contact with an outer wall of the inner pole <NUM>. The figure shows a state in which the sealing sleeve <NUM> is not in contact with the inner pole <NUM> during assembly, but after the assembly is completed, the inner wall of the sealing sleeve <NUM> and the outer wall of the inner pole <NUM> are in contact with each other. To prevent the pole <NUM> from being conductively connected to the housing <NUM>, the first insulating sheet <NUM> is provided between the adapting piece of the inner pole <NUM> and an inner wall surface of the first side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. The first insulating sheet <NUM> extends along the third direction Z and extends to a position close to the end cover <NUM>. In this way, the first insulating sheet <NUM> can not only prevent the inner pole <NUM> from being conductively connected to the housing <NUM>, but also prevent the first adapting piece <NUM> from being conductively connected to the housing.

As shown in <FIG>, the pole body runs through the pole mounting hole 211a of the first side wall <NUM> and is partially exposed outside the first side wall <NUM>. An outer pole <NUM> is a pole ring with an inner hole. The outer pole <NUM> sleeves outside the inner pole <NUM>. The second insulating sheet <NUM> is provided between the outer pole <NUM> and an outer wall surface of the first side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM>. The second insulating sheet <NUM> has a groove for fastening the outer pole <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the adapting component <NUM> includes the first adapting piece <NUM> and the second adapting piece <NUM> that are disposed separately. The first adapting piece <NUM> is configured to be connected to the pole <NUM>, and the second adapting piece <NUM> is configured to be connected to the tab <NUM>. The first adapting piece <NUM> includes a first body segment <NUM> extending in the third direction Z and a first connecting segment <NUM> extending in the first direction X. The second adapting piece <NUM> includes a second body segment <NUM> disposed extending in the first direction X and a second connecting segment <NUM>. The first body segment <NUM> is connected to the pole <NUM>, and the first connecting segment <NUM> is connected to the second adapting piece <NUM>.

A manufacturing method of the battery cell <NUM> in this embodiment includes providing the integrally formed housing <NUM>, two poles <NUM>, the electrode assembly <NUM>, two adapting components <NUM>, and the end cover <NUM>, assembling the two poles <NUM> on the first side wall <NUM> of the housing <NUM>, and connecting (for example, through welding) the first adapting piece <NUM> of one of the adapting components <NUM> to one of the poles <NUM>, and specifically, the first adapting piece <NUM> is connected to the inner pole <NUM>; and welding (for example, through ultrasonic welding or laser welding) the second adapting piece <NUM> of one of the adapting components <NUM> to one tab <NUM>, placing the electrode assembly <NUM> welded to the second adapting piece <NUM> into the housing <NUM>, and conductively connecting the first adapting piece <NUM> to an end portion of the second adapting piece <NUM>, thereby completing conductive connection between one pole <NUM> and one tab <NUM>. The other pole <NUM> and tab <NUM> are connected in the same manner. Finally, the end cover <NUM> is welded to the housing <NUM> to seal the battery cell <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A battery cell (<NUM>), comprising:
a housing (<NUM>), integrally formed and comprising two first side walls (<NUM>) arranged opposite each other in a first direction (X) and two second side walls (<NUM>) arranged opposite each other in a second direction (Y), wherein the two first side walls (<NUM>) and the two second side walls (<NUM>) enclose an accommodating cavity, the housing (<NUM>) has at least one opening (<NUM>) in a third direction (Z), and the first direction (X), the second direction (Y), and the third direction (Z) are perpendicular to each other;
an electrode assembly (<NUM>), accommodated in the accommodating cavity and comprising a body portion (<NUM>) and a tab (<NUM>) protruding out of the body portion (<NUM>); and
a pole (<NUM>), wherein the pole (<NUM>) is disposed on the first side wall (<NUM>) and electrically connected to the tab (<NUM>),
characterized in that:
the tab (<NUM>) protrudes from the body portion (<NUM>) to one side of the opening (<NUM>), and the battery cell (<NUM>) further comprises an adapting component (<NUM>), wherein the adapting component (<NUM>) comprises a first adapting piece (<NUM>) and a second adapting piece (<NUM>) that are disposed separately, the first adapting piece (<NUM>) is configured to be connected to the pole (<NUM>), the second adapting piece (<NUM>) is configured to be connected to the tab (<NUM>), the first adapting piece (<NUM>) substantially extends along the third direction (Z), the second adapting piece (<NUM>) substantially extends along the first direction (X), and the first adapting piece (<NUM>) is connected to the second adapting piece (<NUM>) through a conductive structure.