Patent Description:
With the advent of the <NUM> era, the power consumption of cell phones and other terminals has increased, and the battery life time has shortened. Therefore, the demand for rapid charging is becoming stronger.

A polymer lithium ion battery is taken as an example. The battery anode material is generally lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) and the cathode material is graphite (C). The charging mode is generally divided into two stages, in the first stage, it is charged with a constant current and a rising voltage (CC), and in the second stage, it is charged with a constant voltage and a dropping current (CV). In order to increase the charging speed, high-current charging of a single cell is mostly used. In this charging manner, on one hand, it is required to reduce the coating weight of the active substance, thereby reducing the energy density of the battery. On the other hand, the high-current charging process will quickly reach the limiting voltage and start to the dropping current charging, the duration of the real high-current charging lasts for a very short time, and the optimization of the full charging time is not obvious.

Due to the limitations of the LCO and graphite material structures, the CV stage voltage of a single cell is limited, and is usually required to be less than <NUM>. Therefore, high-power charging of a single cell with high voltage and low current cannot be realized, thereby limiting the charging speed.

<CIT> relates to an auxiliary battery module in which a user can freely adjust the capacity of an auxiliary battery as needed. <CIT> discloses cell sets, connected in series and juxtaposed in perpendicular directions.

The present invention is defined in the independent claims, and the preferable features according to the present invention are defined in the dependent claims. Any embodiment in the present disclosure that does not fall within the scope of protection of the present invention shall be regarded as an example for understanding the present invention but not belonging to the present invention. The present application provides a battery pack and a terminal.

According to a first aspect of the present application, there is provided a battery pack comprising:.

Optionally, a positive pole lug of the first cell forms a positive pole lug of the battery pack, and a negative pole lug of the second cell forms a negative pole lug of the battery pack. The positive pole lug of the third cell is connected to a negative pole lug of the first cell set, and the negative pole lug of the third cell is connected to a positive pole lug of the second cell set.

Optionally, multiple first cells are stacked onto one another in the second direction; and/or multiple second cells are stacked onto one another in the second direction.

Optionally, a difference between a sum of a width of the first cell set in the first direction and a width of the second cell set in the first direction, and a width of the third cell in the first direction, is within a predetermined range.

Optionally, multiple first cells are connected in series or in parallel; and/or multiple second cells are connected in series or in parallel.

Optionally, a positive pole lug of the first cell is attached to a center portion of a positive pole piece of the first cell, and a negative pole lug of the first cell is attached to a center portion of a negative pole piece of the first cell.

Optionally, a positive pole lug of the second cell is attached to a center portion of a positive pole piece of the second cell, and a negative pole lug of the second cell is attached to a center portion of a negative pole piece of the second cell.

According to the invention, the battery pack further comprising an encapsulation housing in which each of the first cell set, the second cell set and the third cell is located.

According to a second aspect of the present application, there is provided a terminal comprising:.

The technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present application comprises the following advantages:
As can be seen from the above, the present application provides multiple cells in a battery pack, and the first cell set, the third cell and the second cell set are sequentially connected in series, thereby increasing a maximum withstand voltage of a single battery pack, and enabling rapid charging of the single battery pack in a high voltage and low current state. Meanwhile, with respect to the configuration in which the positive pole lug of the third cell and the negative pole lug of the third cell are respectively distributed at different ends of the third cell, the present application the positive pole lug of the third cell and the negative pole lug of the third cell are distributed at the same end of the third cell in the present application, thereby reducing the height of at least one of the pole lugs, and further reducing the space occupied by the third cell. The cells are stacked in a manner forming a structure in a shape like an inverted tripod (i.e., the cells are stacked in inverted triangular arrangement), which allows a compact and steady structure while increasing the withstand voltage of the battery pack by connecting more cells in series.

It is should be understood that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the application.

Optionally, each of a positive pole lug of the third cell and a negative pole lug of the third cell is located at an end of the third cell facing toward the first cell and the second cell. A positive pole lug of the first cell and a negative pole lug of the first cell are located at different ends of the first cell. A positive pole lug of the second cell and a negative pole lug of the second cell are located at different ends of the second cell.

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with the present application, and together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application.

The implementations set forth in the following description of exemplary embodiments do not represent all implementations consistent with the present application. Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses and methods consistent with aspects related to the present application as recited in the appended claims.

<FIG> is a schematic structural diagram of a battery pack comprising: a first cell set comprising at least one first cell <NUM>; a second cell set juxtaposed with the first cell set in a first direction and comprising at least one second cell <NUM>; and a third cell <NUM> juxtaposed with the first cell set and the second cell set in a second direction. Each of a positive pole lug <NUM> of the third cell <NUM> and a negative pole lug <NUM> of the third cell <NUM> is located at an end of the third cell <NUM> facing toward the first cell <NUM> and the second cell <NUM>. The first cell set, the third cell <NUM> and the second cell set are sequentially connected in series. The first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

In the disclosed embodiment, by arranging multiple cells in the battery pack, and by successively connecting the first cell set, the third cell <NUM>, and the second cell set in series, the maximum withstand voltage of the single battery pack is increased, and rapid charging of the single battery pack at a high voltage and low current state can be realized.

In addition, compared to the configuration in which the positive pole lug of the third cell and the negative pole lug of the third cell are distributed at different ends of the third cell, both the positive pole lug of the third cell and the negative pole lug of the third cell are distributed at the same end of the third cell in the present application, thus the height of at least one of the pole lugs is reduced, and the space occupied by the third cell is also reduced. Such arrangement of the first cell set, the second cell set, and the third cell <NUM> is compact in structure and easy to package. As shown in <FIG>, multiple cells stacked in a manner forming a structure in a shape like an inverted tripod (i.e., the cells are stacked in inverted triangular arrangement). By stacking the cells in this structure, more cells are connected in series to improve the withstand voltage of the battery pack, while a stable and compact structure is achieved.

By way of example only, the first cell <NUM>, the second cell <NUM>, and the third cell <NUM> are all polymer lithium ion cells. For example, the anode material of the cell is lithium cobalt oxide (LCO), and the cathode material is graphite (C). In an example, as shown in <FIG>, the first cell set comprises a first cell <NUM>, and the second cell set comprises a second cell <NUM>. The first cell set, the second cell set, and the third cell <NUM> together form a rectangular shape.

The battery pack further comprises an encapsulation housing. Each of the first cell set, the second cell set, and the third cell <NUM> is located within the encapsulation housing. By way of example only, the encapsulation housing is an aluminum-plastic film <NUM>. When encapsulating the cells, a corresponding shape can be punched out in the film according to the structure of the cells, and then the cells are placed into the aluminum-plastic film <NUM> for encapsulation. As shown in <FIG>, the aluminum-plastic film <NUM> comprises a first punched pit <NUM> corresponding to the first cell set, a second punched pit <NUM> corresponding to the second cell set, and a third punched pit <NUM> corresponding to the third cell <NUM>. When the cells are placed in the aluminum-plastic film <NUM>, the corresponding cells are aligned with the corresponding punched pits, and then the cells are sealed in the aluminum-plastic film <NUM>.

Further, the encapsulation housing is filled with an electrode liquid. The cells (comprising the first cell set, the second cell set, and the third cell <NUM>) are immersed in the electrode liquid, which serves as a carrier for ion transport in the battery pack. The encapsulated battery pack is shown in <FIG>.

In other alternative embodiments, the battery pack further comprises:
a positive pole lug <NUM> of the first cell <NUM> forms a positive pole lug of the battery pack; and a negative pole lug <NUM> of the second cell <NUM> forms a negative pole lug of the battery pack; the positive pole lug <NUM> of the third cell <NUM> is connected to a negative pole lug <NUM> of the first cell set, and the negative pole lug <NUM> of the third cell <NUM> is connected to a positive pole lug <NUM> of the second cell set.

As shown in <FIG>, when the first cell set comprises one first cell <NUM> and the second cell set comprises one second cell <NUM>, the positive pole lug <NUM> of the first cell <NUM> forms the positive pole lug of the battery pack, and the negative pole lug <NUM> of the second cell <NUM> forms the negative pole lug of the battery pack. The positive pole lug <NUM> of the third cell <NUM> is connected to the negative pole lug <NUM> of the first cell <NUM>, and the negative pole lug <NUM> of the third cell <NUM> is connected to the positive pole lug <NUM> of the second cell <NUM>.

By way of example only, when the first cell set comprises at least two first cells <NUM>, the negative pole lug <NUM> of one of the first cells <NUM> are connected to the positive pole lug <NUM> of an adjacent first cell <NUM>, and the at least two first cells <NUM> may be connected in series in an end-to-end manner. When the second cell set comprises at least two second cells <NUM>, the at least two second cells <NUM> may also be connected in series in the same manner, i.e., connected in series in an end-to-end manner. At this time, the positive pole lug <NUM> of a first one in the first cell set serves as the positive pole lug of the battery pack; the negative pole lug <NUM> of the last one in the first cell set after the series connection is connected to the positive pole lug <NUM> of the third cell; the negative pole lug <NUM> of the first one in the second cell set serves as a negative pole lug of the battery pack; the positive pole lug <NUM> of the last one in the second cell set after the series connection is connected to the negative pole lug <NUM> of the third cell.

In other alternative embodiments, multiple first cells <NUM> are stacked onto one another in a second direction; and/or multiple second cells <NUM> are stacked onto one another in a second direction.

When manufacturing the battery pack, the multiple first cells <NUM> and the multiple second cells <NUM> may be arranged in another manner according to actual requirements.

In other alternative embodiments, a difference between a sum of a width of the first cell set in the first direction and a width of the second cell set in the first direction, and a width of the third cell <NUM> in the first direction, is within a predetermined range.

When the multiple first cells <NUM> are stacked onto one another in the second direction, the width of the first cell set in the first direction is equal to the width of a single first cell <NUM> in the first direction. Similarly, when the multiple second cells <NUM> are stacked onto one another in the second direction, the width of the second cell set in the first direction is equal to the width of the single second cell <NUM> in the first direction. In the case that the predetermined range is in the vicinity of <NUM>, the closer the predetermined range is to <NUM>, the closer the width of the third cell <NUM> in the first direction is to the sum of the width of the first cell <NUM> in the first direction and the width of the second cell <NUM> in the first direction, and the more regular the shape of the combination of the multiple cells in the battery pack, the easier it is to encapsulated.

In other alternative embodiments, the positive pole lug of the first cell <NUM> and the negative pole lug of the first cell <NUM> are located at different ends of the first cell <NUM>;
the positive pole lug of the second cell <NUM> and the negative pole lug of the second cell <NUM> are located at different ends of the second cell <NUM>.

By way of example only, as shown in <FIG>, the different ends may be opposite ends.

By way of example only, as shown in <FIG>, when the first cell set and the third cell <NUM> are connected in series, the positive lug <NUM> of the third cell <NUM> may be aligned with the negative lug <NUM> of one of the first cells <NUM>. When the second cell and the third cell <NUM> are connected in series, the negative lug <NUM> of the third cell <NUM> may be aligned with the positive lug <NUM> of one of the second cells <NUM>. When connecting the lugs in series, the lugs at the connection position of the cells are closer to one another, which facilitates the assembly of the cells, and which further reduces the overall space occupied by the first cell set, the second cell set and the third cell <NUM> after the stacked connections.

Further, as shown in <FIG>, the positive pole lug <NUM> of the first cell <NUM> is attached to a positive pole piece <NUM> of the first cell <NUM>, and the negative pole lug <NUM> of the first cell <NUM> is attached to a negative pole piece <NUM> of the first cell <NUM>. The positive pole lug of the second cell <NUM> is attached to a positive pole piece of the second cell, and the negative pole lug of the second cell <NUM> is attached to a negative pole piece of the second cell <NUM>.

The structure of the second cell <NUM> may be the same as that of the first cell <NUM>. The manner of the attaching comprises, but is not limited to, welding. When the pole lug and pole piece are set in this manner and the pole piece is winded, the positive pole lug and negative pole lug can be distributed at different ends of the first cell <NUM>.

In other alternative embodiments, the positive pole lug <NUM> of the first cell <NUM> is attached to a center portion of the positive pole piece <NUM> of the first cell <NUM> and the negative pole lug <NUM> of the first cell <NUM> is attached to a center portion of the negative pole piece <NUM> of the first cell <NUM>.

The position of the lugs will affect the impedance of the cell. The lugs attached to a center portion of the pole piece are more conducive to obtain lower impedance and to ensure the capacity of the cell, relative to the lugs attached to the other positions such as the edge of the pole piece.

In other alternative embodiments, the positive pole lug of the second cell <NUM> is attached to a center portion of the positive pole piece of the second cell <NUM> and the negative pole lug of the second cell <NUM> is attached to the center portion of the negative pole piece of the second cell <NUM>.

Likewise, the lugs attached to the center portion of the pole piece are more conducive to obtain lower impedance and ensure the capacity of the cell, relative to the lugs attached to the other positions such as the edge of the pole piece.

In an example, the lug of the first cell <NUM> and the lug of the second cell <NUM> are both located in the center portion of the respective corresponding pole pieces. The AC internal resistance of each cell is ensured to be within 5mQ, and the phenomenon of the battery pack fever is reduced while the fast charging effect of the battery pack is ensured.

In other alternative embodiments, the positive pole piece of the third cell <NUM> comprises a positive pole substrate <NUM> and a positive pole coating <NUM>. Herein, an edge of the positive pole substrate <NUM> protrudes upwardly to form the positive pole lugs <NUM> of the third cell <NUM>. The positive pole coating <NUM> is located in a region of the positive pole substrate <NUM> that does not comprise the positive pole lugs <NUM> of the third cell <NUM>. The negative pole piece of the third cell <NUM> comprises a negative pole substrate <NUM> and a negative pole coating <NUM>. An edge of the negative pole substrate <NUM> protrudes upwardly to form negative pole lugs <NUM> of the third cell <NUM>. The negative pole coating <NUM> is located in a region of the negative pole substrate <NUM> that does not comprise the negative pole lugs <NUM> of the third cell <NUM>.

As shown in <FIG>, in an actual application, the positive pole lugs <NUM>, which are integrated with the positive pole substrate <NUM>, or the negative pole lugs <NUM>, which are integrated with the negative pole substrate <NUM>, can be formed by cutting. When the negative pole piece of the third cell <NUM> is attached to the positive pole piece of the third cell <NUM>, the positive pole lug of the third cell <NUM> and the negative pole lug of the third cell <NUM> are oriented in the same direction, and the positive pole lugs of the third cell <NUM> are spaced apart from the negative pole lugs of the third cell <NUM> in the first direction. When the pole lugs and the pole pieces are provided in this manner and the cells are formed by winding, both of the positive pole lugs <NUM> and the negative pole lugs <NUM> of the third cell <NUM> are located at the same end.

In other alternative embodiments, the multiple first cells <NUM> are connected in series or in parallel; and/or multiple second cells <NUM> are connected in series or in parallel.

Specifically, if the multiple first cells <NUM> are connected in series to form a first cell set and the multiple second cells <NUM> are connected in series to form a second cell set, the charging voltage can be further increased after the first cell set, the third cell, and the second cell set are connected in series. If the multiple first cells <NUM> are connected in parallel to form a first cell set and the multiple second cells <NUM> are connected in parallel to form a second cell set, the charging current can be increased after the first cell set, the third cell, and the second cell set are connected in series. However, in this case, the charging current of the battery pack does not exceed minimum value of the charging current of the first cell set, the charging current of the third cell and the charging current of the second cell set, so as to ensure the safety of charging the battery pack.

In the present embodiment, when the first cell set comprises at least two first cells <NUM>, the at least two first cells <NUM> may be connected in series, or may be connected in parallel, or some of the first cells may be connected in series and then connected in series with the rest. Similarly, when the second cell set comprises at least two second cells <NUM>, the at least two second cells <NUM> may be connected in series, or may be connected in parallel, or some of the second cells may be connected in series and then connected in series with the rest.

In an example, as shown in <FIG>, according to size and capacity requirements of the battery pack, the pack length and width are divided into two equal parts, and the axes are established with the center of the pack. The bare cell JR1 (i.e., the first cell set) having pole lugs at head and tail ends thereof and the bare cell JR3 (i.e., the second cell set) having pole lugs at head and tail ends thereof are placed in first and fourth quadrants respectively. The bare cell JR2 (i.e., the third cell <NUM>) which has a positive pole lug and a negative pole lug at a head end thereof is placed in second and third quadrants. So that the cells are stacked to form a shape like an inverted tripod (i.e., the cells are stacked in inverted triangular arrangement), and AC internal resistance of the bare cells is required to be within 5mQ. As shown in <FIG>, the first cell <NUM> and the second cell <NUM>, which have pole lugs at head and tail ends thereof, adopt the lug-centered winding structure, that is, the positive pole lug and the negative pole lug are welded to the center portion of the pole pieces, and then are wound to form the first cell <NUM> and the second cell <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the third cell <NUM>, of which the positive pole lug and the negative lug are both located at the head end, adopts a multi-lug structure. That is, a base material (i.e., a current collector) is cut at intervals, and protruding portions formed after the cutting form the lugs, and then are wound to form the bare cell. The bare cell JR1 in the fourth quadrant is placed in such a way that the positive pole lug faces upwards and the negative pole lug faces downwards, and the negative pole lug of JR1 is welded to the positive pole lug of the bare cell JR2 in the second quadrant and third quadrant by ultrasonic welding. During encapsulation, the negative pole lug of the bare cell JR3 in the first quadrant is oriented upwardly and the positive pole lug is oriented downwardly, the positive pole lug of JR3 is welded to the negative lug of bare cell JR2 in the second and third quadrant by ultrasonic welding, so that a single cell structure with internal series connection is formed. Corresponding pits are punched out in the aluminum-plastic film <NUM> according to the structure of the cells, and then the cells are placed into the aluminum-plastic film <NUM> for encapsulation. The final battery pack can meet that the single battery pack achieves the fast charging demand of 50W and above output power at high voltage of <NUM>~20V and low current of less than 5A.

A terminal according to an embodiment of the present application comprises: a housing, having a battery compartment; and the battery pack of any one of the above embodiments, located in the battery compartment.

The terminal comprises, but is not limited to, a product having a battery pack such as a mobile phone, a tablet, a notebook computer, a desktop computer, or a wearable device.

An embodiment of the present application further provides a method of manufacturing a battery pack, comprising the following:.

In the present application, the manufacturing method refers to a method of manufacturing the battery pack according to any one of the above embodiments.

Multiple cells are arranged in the battery pack, and the first cell set, the third cell and the second cell set are sequentially connected in series, so that the maximum withstand voltage of the single battery pack is increased, and rapid charging of the single battery pack at a high voltage and low current state can be realized. At the same time, multiple cells stacked in a manner forming a structure in a shape like an inverted tripod (i.e., the cells are stacked in inverted triangular arrangement). By stacking the cells in this structure, more cells are connected in series to improve the withstand voltage of the battery pack, while a stable and compact structure is achieved.

In other alternative embodiments, the step of juxtaposing the third cell <NUM> with the first cell set and the second cell set in a second direction comprises:.

In actual applications, when the first cell set is connected in series to the third cell <NUM>, the negative lug of the third cell <NUM> may be aligned with the positive pole lug of one of the first cells <NUM>. When the second cell set is connected in series to the third cell <NUM>, the positive pole lug of the third cell <NUM> may be aligned with the negative pole lug of one of the second cells <NUM>. When connecting the lugs in series, the lugs at the connection position of the cells are closer to one another, which facilitates the assembly of the cells.

In other alternative embodiments, the step of sequentially connecting the first cell set, the third cell <NUM>, and the second cell set in series, comprising:.

By way of example only, the welding is ultrasonic welding.

In other alternative embodiments, the method of manufacturing a battery pack further comprises:.

Alternatively, the multiple first cells <NUM> and the multiple second cells <NUM> may be arranged in other manners according to actual requirements when performing the battery pack design.

Further, a difference between a sum of a width of the first cell set in the first direction and a width of the second cell set in the first direction, and a width of the third cell <NUM> in the first direction, is within a predetermined range.

When the multiple of first cells <NUM> are stacked onto one another in the second direction, the width of the first cell set in the first direction is equal to the width of the single first cell <NUM> in the first direction. Similarly, when the multiple second cells <NUM> are stacked onto one another in the second direction, the width of the second cell set in the first direction is equal to the width of the single second cell <NUM> in the first direction. In the case that the predetermined range is in the vicinity of <NUM>, the closer the preset range is to <NUM>, the closer the width of the third cell <NUM> in the first direction is to the sum of the width of the first cell <NUM> in the first direction and the width of the second cell <NUM> in the first direction, and the more regular the shape of the combination of the cells in the battery pack, the easier it is to encapsulate.

In other alternative embodiments, a method for manufacturing a battery pack further comprises:.

Claim 1:
A battery pack, the battery pack comprises
a first cell set, comprising at least one first cell (<NUM>);
a second cell set, juxtaposed with the first cell set in a first direction and comprising at least one second cell (<NUM>);
a third cell (<NUM>), juxtaposed with the first cell set and the second cell set in a second direction, each of a positive pole lug (<NUM>) of the third cell (<NUM>) and a negative pole lug (<NUM>) of the third cell (<NUM>) being located at an end of the third cell (<NUM>) facing toward the first cell (<NUM>) and the second cell (<NUM>);
the first cell set, the third cell (<NUM>) and the second cell set are sequentially connected in series;
the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction;
characterized in that
a positive pole lug (<NUM>) of the first cell (<NUM>) and a negative pole lug (<NUM>) of the first cell (<NUM>) are located at different ends of the first cell (<NUM>);
a positive pole lug (<NUM>) of the second cell (<NUM>) and a negative pole lug (<NUM>) of the second cell (<NUM>) are located at different ends of the second cell (<NUM>);
the battery pack further comprises:
an encapsulation housing in which each of the first cell set, the second cell set and the third cell (<NUM>) is located.