Patent Description:
At present, with the booming development of the new energy vehicle industry, the safety of a battery module is attracting more and more attention. In order to avoid a short circuit between the electrode connection sheet and sampling member etc. and a top cover plate of a battery cell, a battery module is usually isolated by an integral harness isolating plate, i.e., the integral harness isolating plate is used for the battery module.

<CIT> discloses a wiring module and a power storage module. The wiring module to be attached to a power storage element group in which a plurality of power storage elements having cathodes composed of a first metal and anodes composed of a second metal that is different from the first metal are aligned, includes: bus bars having first metal portions composed of the first metal and second metal portions composed of the second metal; an insulating protector for housing the bus bars; and detection terminals connected to the bus bars. The bus bars have overlapping portions at which portions of the first and second metal portions overlap, the overlapping portions have welded portions at which the first and second metal portions are welded, and the bus bars have terminal connection portions on which the detection terminals are overlaid, at positions different from the positions of the welded portions.

<CIT> discloses a lithium cell pencil division board, lithium cell pencil division board's division board body (<NUM>) including a plurality of division board subassembly (<NUM>), every division board subassembly (<NUM>) one side sets up a plurality of connect buckle (<NUM>), connection slot (<NUM>) of every division board subassembly (<NUM>) opposite side setting and connect buckle (<NUM>) position and quantity one -to -one, connection slot (<NUM>) are the concave yield structure, set up one lifting lug (<NUM>) in every connection slot (<NUM>).

<CIT> discloses a power supply device. The power supply device <NUM> includes a cell assembly <NUM>, a plurality of first bus bars <NUM>, a plate <NUM> to which the plurality of bus bars <NUM> are attached. The plate is overlapped on the cell assembly <NUM>. The cell assembly <NUM> has a plurality of cells <NUM> respectively including positive electrodes <NUM> at one ends and negative electrodes <NUM> at the other ends. The first bus bars <NUM> connect the positive electrodes <NUM> of the one cells <NUM> to the negative electrodes <NUM> of the other cells <NUM> of the cell assembly <NUM> which are mutually adjacent when the plate <NUM> is overlapped or overlaid on the cell assembly <NUM>. The power supply device <NUM> includes a positioning unit <NUM> that relatively positions the cell assembly <NUM> to the plate <NUM> and a guide unit <NUM> that guides the plurality of first bus bars <NUM> to positions where the first bus bars <NUM> connect the respectively corresponding positive electrodes <NUM> to the negative electrodes <NUM> when the plate <NUM> is attached to the cell assembly <NUM>.

<CIT> discloses a bus bar module. The bus bar module includes: a plurality of linear conductors disposed in parallel at predetermined intervals; a belt-form flat conductor disposed adjacent to the linear conductors and extending in an axial direction of the linear conductors; and an insulating resin portion that integrally covers outer peripheral portions of the plurality of linear conductors and one side edge portion of the flat conductor, the one side edge portion being adjacent to the linear conductors. A tensile strength of the flat conductor and the insulating resin portion is not less than <NUM> N/mm2.

The scope of the invention is defined by the appended set of claims.

In order to elaborate the technical content, construction feature, achieved objective and effect of the technical solution, embodiments are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawing:
In the description of the present application, unless otherwise specified and limited explicitly, the terms "first", and "second" are merely intended for a purpose of description, and shall not be understood as an indication or implication of relative importance. Unless otherwise specified or illustrated, the term "a plurality of" refers to two or more than two; the term "connection", "fixation" and like should be understood broadly, for example, the "connection" may either be a fixed connection, or a detachable connection, or an integrated connection, or an electrical connection, or a signal connection; and the "connection" may either be a direction connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediary. A person of ordinary skill in the art may understand the specific meanings of the foregoing terms in embodiments of the present application according to specific circumstances.

n the description of the specification, it should be understood that nouns of locality such as "upper", "lower", "left", and "right" described in the embodiments of the present application are described from the angles shown in the accompanying drawings, and should not be understood as limitation on the embodiments of the present application. In addition, in the context, it should be understood that, when it is mentions an element connecting to "upper" or "lower" of another element, the element can not only directly connect to the "upper" or "lower" of another element, but can connect to the "upper" or "lower" of another element by intermediate element.

In all accompanying drawings, a direction of arrow x indicates the lengthwise direction, a direction of arrow y indicates the widthwise direction, and a direction of arrow z indicates the height direction.

At present, because the size of a battery module varies according to the type of a battery cell and the arrangement of the battery cell. When the battery cell is updated, iterated or adopts a new arrangement, it means that different integral harness separator needs to be designed, which increases the time and labor cost of research. Different integral harness separators mean that different injection molds need to be manufactured, new production lines need to be established, which, in the meantime, will also increase the cost of the entire battery system.

Based on this, please refer to <FIG>. Some embodiments of the present application relate to a battery module. The battery module includes more than two battery cells <NUM> (for example, two, three, four, or ten), and more than two battery cells <NUM> are arranged in sequence. It is worth noting that the arrangement of the battery cells <NUM> is not limited to the arrangement along the widthwise direction (that is, the direction indicated by the arrow y in the figure) in the embodiment in <FIG>. The battery cells <NUM> can be arranged along the lengthwise direction (that is, the direction indicated by the arrow x in the figure) or with the method of staggered arrangement.

In some embodiments, two or more battery cells <NUM> are electrically connected through the electrode connecting sheet <NUM> so that the battery cell <NUM> and other battery cells <NUM> are connected in parallel or in series.

As shown in <FIG>, in some embodiments, the battery cell <NUM> includes a top cover plate, an electrode assembly <NUM> and a battery housing <NUM>. The top cover assembly includes a separator plate <NUM>, a top cover plate <NUM>, a pole <NUM> and a pole connecting member <NUM>. In some embodiments, the top cover plate is provided with two poles <NUM>, that is, a positive pole and a negative pole respectively.

In some embodiments, the separator plate <NUM> is provided with three sampling channels <NUM> for accommodating sampling members. In some embodiments, the sampling member may be one or more of a flexible circuit board (FPC) <NUM>, a printed circuit board (PCB) and a harness <NUM>. For example, the sampling channel <NUM> in the middle may be configured to accommodate the flexible circuit board <NUM> (FPC), and the sampling channels <NUM> on both sides may be configured to accommodate the harness <NUM>. After two or more battery cells <NUM> form the battery module, the sampling channels <NUM> between the two or more battery cells <NUM> communicate with each other.

In some embodiments, a material of the top cover <NUM> is metal, but not limited to aluminum, steel, etc., and other metal materials can also be used as well. The shape of the pole <NUM> on the top cover <NUM> is not limited to a circle, a triangle and a square, etc. The top cover <NUM> is provided with an injection hole <NUM> for injecting electrolyte into the battery cell <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the battery housing <NUM> may have a hexahedral shape or other shapes. The battery housing <NUM> has an internal space accommodating the electrode assembly <NUM> and the electrolyte, and the battery housing <NUM> has an opening <NUM>. The electrode assembly <NUM> is accommodated in the battery housing <NUM>. The top cover assembly covers the opening <NUM> and is configured to seal the electrode assembly <NUM> into the battery housing <NUM>. The electrode assembly <NUM> and the pole <NUM> are electrically connected by a pole connecting member <NUM>. In some embodiments, there are two pole connecting members <NUM>, that is, a positive connecting member and a negative connecting member. The battery housing <NUM> may be made of materials such as aluminum, aluminum alloy, or plastic etc..

In some embodiments, the electrode assembly <NUM> may be formed by stacking or winding a first electrode plate, a second electrode plate, and a membrane together to form a main body portion, where the membrane is an insulator between the first electrode plate and the second electrode plate. In some embodiments, it is exemplarily illustrated that the first electrode plate is a positive electrode plate and the second electrode plate is a negative electrode plate. Similarly, in other embodiments, the first electrode plate may also be a negative plate, while the second electrode plate is a positive plate. Besides, a positive active substance is coated on the coating region of the positive electrode plate, and a negative active substance is coated on the coating area of the negative electrode plate. The uncoated area extending from the main body portion is used as a tab. The electrode assembly <NUM> includes two tabs, namely a positive tab and a negative tab. The positive tab extends from the coating region of the positive tab; the negative tab extends from the coating region of the negative tab. The positive tab is electrically connected to the positive pole by the positive connecting member, and the negative tab is electrically connected to the negative pole by the negative connecting member.

In some embodiments, the separator plates <NUM> of the battery module are integrated to the top cover plates <NUM> of each battery cell <NUM>, and one battery cell <NUM> corresponds to one separator plate <NUM>. No matter how the arrangement of the battery cells is modified, there is no need to change the structure of the separator plate <NUM> to meet assembly requirements of the battery module, which greatly improve the efficiency of battery module assembly, reduce research and manufacturing costs.

As shown in <FIG>, in some embodiments, a top cover assembly includes a separator plate <NUM> and a top cover plate <NUM>, where the top cover plate <NUM> is provided below the separator plate <NUM>, and the separator plate <NUM> is arranged corresponding to the top cover plate <NUM> and fixed to the top cover plate <NUM>. The corresponding arrangement refers to the size and shape of the separator plate <NUM> is substantially identical to the size and shape of the top cover plate <NUM>.

In some embodiments, the separator plate <NUM> is provided with a protrusion portion <NUM>, an electrode connecting positioning structure <NUM> and a recess <NUM>.

In some embodiments, a bottom of the separator plate <NUM> is provided with four protrusion portions <NUM>, and a top of the top cover plate <NUM> is provided with four blind holes <NUM> used for accommodating the protrusion portions <NUM>. It should be noted that, the separator plate <NUM> may be provided with one protrusion portion <NUM>, and the top cover plate <NUM> may be provided with one blind hole, but the number of the protrusion portion <NUM> and the number of the blind hole <NUM> are not limited hereto.

Optionally, a bottom of the separator plate <NUM> is provided with a protrusion portion <NUM>, a top of the top cover plate <NUM> is provided with a blind hole <NUM>, and the protrusion portion <NUM> is accommodated in the blind hole <NUM> so as to fix the separator plate <NUM> to the top cover plate. Preferably, the material of the separator plate <NUM> is plastic. It can be implemented by means of integrally injection molding (that is, the top cover <NUM> is placed in a mold, and the separator plate <NUM> is formed by injection molding. During the injection molding process, the plastic will flow into the blind hole <NUM> and solidify to form the protrusion portion <NUM>). The separator plate <NUM> can also be formed by first injection molding and then introducing the protrusion portion <NUM> into the blind hole <NUM>, and melting the protrusion <NUM> by means of ultrasonic fusion, so that the solidified protrusion <NUM> and the blind hole <NUM> are tightly combined, thereby improving the bonding strength between the protrusion <NUM> and the blind hole <NUM>.

Optionally, in some embodiments, as shown in <FIG>, the top of the top cover plate <NUM> is provided with a projection portion <NUM>, the separator plate <NUM> is provided with a through hole <NUM>, and the projection part <NUM> penetrates the through hole <NUM> and rivets the separator <NUM> so as to fix the separator plate <NUM> to the top cover plate <NUM>. Alternatively, it may also be implemented by providing the top of the top cover plate <NUM> with a projection portion and providing the separator plate <NUM> with a hole (which may be a through hole or a blind hole). A diameter of the projection portion is greater than a diameter of a hole, so that the projection portion inserts the hole so as to implement an interference fit.

In other embodiments, the separator plate <NUM> may be fixed to the top cover plate <NUM> by other fixing method, for example, it may be implemented by means of bonding, bolt connection, riveting, clamping, or interference fit, where the way of bonding includes adhesive bonding, solvent borne bonding and like. Bonding and riveting are non-detachable fixed connections, and bolt connection, clamping, or interference fit are detachable fixed connections.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the electrode connecting sheet positioning structure <NUM> on the separator plate <NUM> includes a positioning buckle <NUM> and two positioning blocks <NUM>. The two positioning blocks <NUM> are disposed opposite the electrode connecting sheet <NUM>, and the two positioning blocks <NUM> are configured to limit displacement of the electrode connecting sheet <NUM> in the widthwise direction (that is, the direction indicated by the arrow y in the figure), and the positioning buckle <NUM> is configured to limit displacement of the electrode connecting sheet <NUM> in the lengthwise direction (that is, the direction indicated by the arrow x in the figure) and height direction (that is, the direction indicated by the arrow z in the figure).

It should be noted that the electrode connecting sheet positioning structure <NUM> is not limited to some embodiments in <FIG>. The electrode connecting sheet <NUM> can also be positioned by other embodiments, for example, binding positioning, bolt positioning, and clamping positioning. As long as the electrode connecting sheet <NUM> can be positioned, the method is within the scope of implementation of each embodiment.

In some embodiment, the sampling channel(s) <NUM> is disposed on an upper surface of the separator plate <NUM> and the recess <NUM> is disposed on a lower surface of the separator <NUM>. The recess <NUM> extends along the widthwise direction (that is, the direction indicated by the arrow y in the figure) and covers an explosion-proof valve, and communicates with the outside atmosphere at openings on left and right ends of the separator plate <NUM> The arrangement of the recess <NUM> can effectively lead the combustible gas emitted by rapturing the explosion-proof valve to the outside of the battery module in an unexpected situation when a single battery cell <NUM> fails, avoiding a cascading failure of other single cells in the single battery module <NUM>.

Optionally, in some embodiments, the separator plate <NUM> includes a first plate <NUM> and a second plate <NUM>. Both the first plate <NUM> and the second plate <NUM> extend in the widthwise direction (that is, the direction indicated by the arrow y in the figure) and are arranged opposite along the lengthwise direction (that is, the direction indicated by the arrow x in the figure), and a sampling channel <NUM> is formed between the first plate <NUM> and the second plate <NUM>.

Optionally, the number of the first plate <NUM> is two, and the two first plates <NUM> are disposed opposite each other along the lengthwise direction (that is, the direction indicated by the arrow x in the figure); the number of the second plate <NUM> is two, and the two second plates <NUM> are disposed opposite each other along the lengthwise direction(that is, the direction indicated by the arrow x in the figure); the two first plates <NUM> and the two second plates <NUM> form three sampling channels among them, as shown in <FIG>.

Among them, the sampling channel <NUM> in the middle can be configured to guide and constrain the flexible circuit board <NUM>, and the sampling channels <NUM> on both sides can be configured to guide and constrain the harness <NUM>, thereby achieving electrical isolation between the flexible circuit board <NUM> and the harness <NUM>.

Optionally, in some embodiments, a pole through hole <NUM> is arranged on the separator plate <NUM>, the pole through hole <NUM> corresponding to the pole <NUM> of the battery cell <NUM>. The pole through hole <NUM> is configured to penetrate the pole <NUM> of the battery cell <NUM>, and a sampling opening <NUM> is arranged on the first plate <NUM>, providing for the sampling member to penetrate, and the sampling opening <NUM> is arranged corresponding to the pole through hole <NUM>. The sampling opening <NUM> may be a through-hole structure or a recess structure that penetrates a top of the first plate <NUM>. In some embodiments, the sampling opening <NUM> is a through-hole structure. In this way, a sampling member enters the sampling channel(s) <NUM> through the sampling opening <NUM>, which facilitates the tidiness and guidance of the sampling member.

Optionally, in some embodiments, both ends of the first plate <NUM> and the second plate <NUM> are provided with harness guiding grooves <NUM>. The harness guiding groove <NUM> on the first plate <NUM> and the second plate <NUM> between the two adjacent battery cells <NUM> can tidy and guide the flexible circuit board <NUM>, so as to implement an isolation between the flexible circuit board <NUM> and other sampling members.

During the using process, as shown in <FIG>, in some embodiments, a bottom of the separator plate <NUM> is provided with four protrusion portions <NUM>, and a top of the top cover plate <NUM> is provided with four blind holes <NUM> to accommodate the protrusion portions <NUM>. The cross-sectional area of an end portion of the protrusion portion <NUM> is greater than the cross-sectional area of a middle portion of the protrusion portion <NUM>. During the process of assembling, the protrusion portion <NUM> is extended into the blind hole <NUM>, and the separator plate <NUM> and the top cover plate <NUM> are ultrasonically fused to complete the fixation of the separator plate <NUM> and the top cover plate <NUM>.

It is not difficult to see from the technical solutions of the foregoing embodiments that some embodiments of the present application further provide a manufacturing method for a top cover assembly, with reference to <FIG>, including the following steps:.

In step <NUM>, that is, in the step of covering the separator plate <NUM> on the top cover plate <NUM>, specifically includes:.

In addition, some embodiments of the present application further provide a manufacturing method for a battery cell, with reference to <FIG>, including following steps:.

In addition, some embodiments of the present application further provide a manufacturing method for a battery module, with reference to <FIG>, including following steps:.

In some embodiments, the separator plate <NUM> of each battery cell is also provided with an electrode connecting sheet positioning structure <NUM>. Therefore, after the step of arranging the plurality of battery cells <NUM> along the preset direction and before the step of welding the electrode connecting sheet <NUM> to the pole <NUM> of the plurality of battery cells <NUM>, that is, before the step <NUM>, following step is also included:
step <NUM>, positioning the electrode connecting plate <NUM> with the electrode connecting sheet positioning structure <NUM> of each battery cell <NUM>. Thus, it is more stable when welding the electrode connecting sheet <NUM> and the pole <NUM> of the plurality of battery cells <NUM>.

The foregoing manufacturing process of the battery module is as follows.

Claim 1:
A top cover assembly, for a battery cell, comprising:
a separator plate (<NUM>), wherein the separator plate (<NUM>) is provided with sampling channel(s) (<NUM>) for accommodating a sampling member; and
a top cover plate (<NUM>), wherein the top cover plate (<NUM>) is configured to seal an electrode assembly (<NUM>) of the battery cell (<NUM>) into a battery housing (<NUM>),
wherein the top cover plate (<NUM>) is provided below the separator plate (<NUM>), and the separator plate (<NUM>) is fixed to the top cover plate (<NUM>);
wherein the separator plate (<NUM>) comprises a first plate (<NUM>) and a second plate (<NUM>), the first plate (<NUM>) and the second plate (<NUM>) both extend along a widthwise direction and are disposed opposite each other along a lengthwise direction, and the sampling channel(s) is formed between the first plate (<NUM>) and the second plate (<NUM>).
wherein the number of the first plate (<NUM>) is two, and the two first plates (<NUM>) are disposed opposite each other along the lengthwise direction; the number of the second plate (<NUM>) is two, and the two second plates (<NUM>) are disposed opposite each other along the lengthwise direction;
the number of sampling channel(s) (<NUM>) is three, and three sampling channels (<NUM>) are respectively provided between the two second plates (<NUM>), between one of the two first plates (<NUM>) and one of the two second plates (<NUM>), and between the other of the two first plates (<NUM>) and the other of the two second plates (<NUM>);
wherein the separator plate (<NUM>) is provided with a pole through hole (<NUM>), the pole through hole (<NUM>) is configured to penetrate a pole (<NUM>) of the battery cell (<NUM>), and the first plate (<NUM>) is provided with a sampling opening (<NUM>) for the sampling member to penetrate.