The present disclosure relates to the technical field of batteries, and specifically to an explosion-proof valve, a battery, a battery module, a battery pack, and a vehicle.
In the related art, an explosion-proof valve of a battery is usually welded to a cover plate of the battery. When the gas pressure in the battery exceeds the opening pressure of the explosion-proof valve, the explosion-proof valve can be opened to release the gas generated inside the battery, thereby preventing safety accidents such as explosion of the battery. However, when the pressure in the battery changes and the pressure in the battery becomes too high, the pressure cannot be relieved in a timely manner if the area of opening of the explosion-proof valve is unreasonable, affecting the safety of the battery and the entire battery system.
The present disclosure aims to resolve at least one of the technical problems in the related art. Therefore, a first objective of the present disclosure is to provide an explosion-proof valve, which can make the area of opening of the explosion-proof valve body more reasonable, and can increase the speed of pressure relief when the explosion-proof valve is applied to a battery, thereby improving the safety of using the explosion-proof valve.
A second objective of the present disclosure is to provide a battery using the explosion-proof valve.
A third objective of the present disclosure is to provide a battery module using the battery.
A fourth objective of the present disclosure is to provide a battery pack using the battery module or the battery.
A fifth objective of the present disclosure is to provide a vehicle using the battery or the battery pack.
An embodiment of a first aspect of the present disclosure provides an explosion-proof valve, including: an explosion-proof valve body, the explosion-proof valve body having a scored groove, the scored groove including two first scored grooves, two second scored grooves, and a third scored groove, one end of each of the two first scored grooves and one end of each of the two second scored grooves being respectively connected to two ends of the third scored groove, an other end of one of the two first scored grooves extending away from an other end of the other of the two first scored grooves, an other end of one of the two second scored grooves extending away from an other end of the other of the two second scored grooves, a length of the third scored groove being defined as a, a distance between the other end of the first scored groove and the other end of the second scored groove being defined as b, a length of each of the first scored grooves and a length of each of the second scored grooves being equal and being both defined as c, an angle between the two first scored grooves and an angle between the two second scored grooves being equal and being both defined as a, the explosion-proof valve body including an opening region, an outer edge of an orthographic projection of the opening region being a predetermined opening boundary in a depth direction of the scored groove, an area of the orthographic projection of the opening region being defined as S, S, c, and α respectively satisfying:
S≥80 mm2, c≥4 mm, and α≥30°, in the depth direction of the scored groove, a first arc being defined between free ends of orthographic projections of the two first scored grooves, the first arc being centered at a vertex of the angle α between the two first scored grooves, a second arc being defined between free ends of orthographic projections of the two second scored grooves, the second arc being centered at a vertex of the angle α between the two second scored grooves, a first straight line being defined between free ends of the orthographic projections of the first scored groove and the second scored groove that are on the same side of the third scored groove, and the first arc, the second arc, and the two first straight lines jointly forming the predetermined opening boundary.
According to the explosion-proof valve of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the area S of opening of the explosion-proof valve body is reasonably designed by defining the value ranges of S, c, and a. When the explosion-proof valve is applied to a battery and the internal pressure of the battery increases and needs to be relieved, the explosion-proof valve can be opened in a timely manner, so that the pressure can be relieved in a timely manner, thereby ensuring the usage safety of the battery.
An embodiment of a second aspect of the present disclosure provides a battery, including the explosion-proof valve according to the embodiment of the first aspect.
An embodiment of a third aspect of the present disclosure provides a battery module, including the battery according to the embodiment of the second aspect of the present disclosure.
An embodiment of a fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a battery pack, including the battery according to the embodiment of the second aspect of the present disclosure or the battery module according to the embodiment of the third aspect of the present disclosure.
An embodiment of a fifth aspect of the present disclosure provides a vehicle, including the battery according to the embodiment of the second aspect of the present disclosure or the battery pack according to the embodiment of the fourth aspect of the present disclosure.
Additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be partly given in and partly apparent from the description below, or understood through practice of the present disclosure.
The above and/or other additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure become apparent and comprehensible from the description of embodiments in connection with accompanying drawings, in which:
In the drawings: explosion-proof valve body 100; opening region 10; scored groove 11; first scored groove 111; second scored groove 112; third scored groove 113; first straight line 12; first arc 13; predetermined opening boundary 131; second arc 132, notch 14; connection section 20; buffer section 30; support section 40; explosion-proof valve 200; battery 300; battery module 400; battery pack 500; vehicle 600.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below. The embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings are merely examples. An explosion-proof valve 200 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to
As shown in
Specifically, the explosion-proof valve body 100 has a scored groove 11. In a depth direction of the scored groove 11 (i.e., a direction from a groove top to a groove bottom of the scored groove 11), a thickness of the explosion-proof valve body 100 at a position corresponding to the scored groove 11 is less than thicknesses of other portions of the explosion-proof valve body 100. When the explosion-proof valve 200 is applied to the battery 300, and the internal pressure of the battery 300 increases to reach an opening pressure of the explosion-proof valve 200, the pressure can blow open the scored groove 11 first to quickly discharge the gas, thereby realizing smooth pressure relief. When the explosion-proof valve body 100 is fixed to a housing of the battery 300 by welding, a welding seam is formed between the explosion-proof valve body 100 and the housing. Alternatively, when the explosion-proof valve body 100 is fixed to a cover plate of the battery 300 by welding, a welding seam is formed between the explosion-proof valve body 100 and the cover plate of the battery 300. An outer peripheral edge of the explosion-proof valve body 100 is at one-half a width of the welding seam. The width of the welding seam is a distance between an outer contour and an inner contour of an orthographic projection of the welding seam in the depth direction of the scored groove 11.
The scored groove 11 includes two first scored grooves 111, two second scored grooves 112, and a third scored groove 113. One end of each of the two first scored grooves 111 and one end of each of the two second scored grooves 112 are respectively connected to two ends of the third scored groove 113. An other end of one of the two first scored grooves 111 extends away from an other end of the other of the two first scored grooves 111. An other end of one of the two second scored grooves 112 extends away from an other end of the other of the two second scored grooves 112.
For example, in the example of
A length of the third scored groove 113 is defined as a, and a maximum distance between the other end of the first scored groove 111 (i.e., the second end) and the other end of the second scored groove 112 (i.e., the fourth end) is defined as b. For example, in the example of
A length of each of the first scored grooves 111 and a length of each of the second scored grooves 112 are equal and are both defined as c. An angle between the two first scored grooves 111 and an angle between the two second scored grooves 112 are equal and are both defined as a. The explosion-proof valve body 100 includes an opening region 10. An outer edge of an orthographic projection of the opening region 10 is a predetermined opening boundary 131 in the depth direction of the scored groove 11. An area of the orthographic projection of the opening region 10 is defined as S, where S, c, and α respectively satisfy:
S≥80 mm2, c≥4 mm, and α≥30°.
In the depth direction of the scored groove 11, a first arc 13 is defined between free ends E of orthographic projections of the two first scored grooves 111. The first arc 13 is centered at a vertex of the angle α between the two first scored grooves 111. A second arc 132 is defined between free ends F of orthographic projections of the two second scored grooves 112. The second arc 132 is centered at a vertex of the angle α between the two second scored grooves 112. A first straight line 12 is defined between free ends G of the orthographic projections of the first scored groove 111 and the second scored groove 112 that are on the same side of the third scored groove 113. The first arc 13, the second arc 132, and the two first straight lines 12 jointly form the predetermined opening boundary 131.
It can be understood that an area of the orthographic projection of the opening region 10 in the depth direction of the scored groove 11 is an area of a region defined within the predetermined opening boundary 131. It should be noted that because widths of the first scored groove 111 and the second scored groove 112 are relatively small and can be ignored, the first arc 13 and the first straight line 12 approximately intersect at one point. The first arc 13 may be understood as: being defined by free ends closed to each other in the orthographic projections of the two first scored grooves 111. For example, in
The explosion-proof valve 200 may be arranged on one side surface of the housing of the prismatic battery 300. The opening region 10 in an oblong shape can better adapt to the shape of the housing of the battery 300, so that the area of the opening region 10 can be increased, and therefore the amount of gas discharged can be increased. Alternatively, the opening region 10 may be in an oval shape, etc. It can be understood that the specific shape of the opening region 10 may be set according to actual requirements to better meet practical applications.
The area of the orthographic projection of the opening region 10 of the explosion-proof valve body 100 can be designed more reasonably by defining the value ranges of S, c, and a, so that the amount of gas discharged through the explosion-proof valve 200 per unit time can be effectively increased, thereby achieving a more ideal pressure relief effect. In addition, defining the area S of the orthographic projection of the opening region 10 of the explosion-proof valve body 100 can ensure the area of opening of the explosion-proof valve body 100 when the internal pressure of the battery 300 increases, to facilitate effective pressure relief to increase the safety of the battery 300, thereby reducing the possibility that the entire explosion-proof valve 200 cannot be opened in a timely manner and is blown open due to an excessively small area of opening, or avoiding dangerous situations such as explosion of the battery 300 due to the failure to relieve the pressure in a timely manner.
According to the explosion-proof valve 200 of the embodiment of the present disclosure, the area S of opening of the explosion-proof valve body 100 is reasonably designed by limiting the value ranges of S, c, and a. When the explosion-proof valve 200 is applied to the battery 300 and the internal pressure of the battery 300 increases and needs to be relieved, the explosion-proof valve 200 can be opened in a timely manner, so that the pressure can be relieved in a timely manner, thereby ensuring the usage safety of the battery 300.
It can be understood that a cross-section of the scored groove 11 may be rectangular or inverted trapezoidal. “Cross-section” herein refers to: a plane parallel to the depth direction of the scored groove 11. When the cross-section of the scored groove 11 is inverted trapezoidal, the width of the scored groove 11 gradually decreases toward the groove bottom of the scored groove 11. In this case, a may be understood as a length of an outer edge at a groove top or opening of the third scored groove 113. b may be understood as a maximum distance between opposing sides at groove openings of the first scored groove 111 and the second scored groove 112 on the same side of the third scored groove 113. α may be understood as an angle between opposing outer edges at the groove openings of the first scored grooves 111, or an angle between opposing outer edges at the groove openings of the second scored grooves 112.
Further, c and a further satisfy: c≤10 mm, and α≤150°. Therefore, by defining the upper limits of c and a, the area S of the orthographic projection of the opening region 10 can be effectively ensured to avoid the phenomenon that a part of the area of the explosion-proof valve body 100 cannot be normally opened due to an excessively large value of a, and the impact on the pressure relief capability of the explosion-proof valve 200 can also be avoided, thereby improving the structural stability of the explosion-proof valve 200.
In some embodiments, a and b respectively satisfy: 10 mm≤a≤40 mm, and 15 mm≤b≤50 mm. Therefore, by defining the ranges of a and b, the position of the scored groove 11 on the explosion-proof valve body 100 can be made more reasonable, so that the area of opening of the explosion-proof valve body 100 can be increased during pressure relief of the battery 300, thereby improving the usage safety of the battery 300.
Comparative Examples 1 to 3 (i.e., related art) and Examples 1 to 6 (i.e., embodiments of the present disclosure) will be described below. Batteries in Comparative Examples 1 to 3 and batteries 300 in Examples 1 to 6 were tested respectively using a method specified in GB/T 31485-2015, and the pressure relief rate curves of the corresponding batteries 300 were recorded. Values of a, b, c, α, and S of Comparative Examples 1 to 3 are selected from Table 1 below. Values of a, b, c, α, and S of Examples 1 to 6 are selected from Table 2 below. The final test results are shown in
As can be seen from the above,
Therefore, based on Examples 1 to 6, with the value ranges of a, b, c, and a that the embodiments of the present disclosure seek to protect, the area S of the orthographic projection of the opening region 10 of the explosion-proof valve body 100 can be effectively increased, to increase the amount of gas discharged through the explosion-proof valve 200 per unit time, thereby improving the safety of the battery 300 using the explosion-proof valve 200.
In some embodiments, a length of the scored groove 11 is defined as L, and L satisfies: L=a+4c. That is, the length of the scored groove 11 includes the lengths of two first scored grooves 111, the lengths of two second scored grooves 112, and the length of the third scored groove 113. The length of the first scored groove 111 is the same as the length of the second scored groove 112.
According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, referring to
Optionally, the scored groove 11 is of a centrosymmetric structure. That is, the two first scored grooves 111 and the two second scored grooves 112 are respectively symmetrically distributed in the length direction of the third scored groove 113, and the two first scored grooves 111 and the two second scored grooves 112 are symmetrically distributed in the width direction of the third scored groove 113. Therefore, the distribution of the scored groove 11 on the explosion-proof valve body 100 is increased, thereby achieving rapid pressure relief.
In some embodiments, referring to
Therefore, through the formation of the notch 14 on the explosion-proof valve body 100 and the formation of the scored groove 11 on the bottom wall of the notch 14, the thickness of the scored groove 11 and the thickness of the region defined within the scored groove 11 can be reduced, to facilitate the opening of the explosion-proof valve 200. In addition, the scored groove 11 can be protected to avoid the unintentional opening of the explosion-proof valve 200 caused by impact on the scored groove 11.
In some specific embodiments, as shown in
Therefore, with the arrangement of the buffer section 30, the direction of stress transmission in the connection section 20 can be changed, to prevent the stress from being directly transmitted to the support section 40 to lead to a decrease in the structural stability of the opening region 10. Specifically, for example, the buffer section 30 may be configured to absorb thermal stress generated when the explosion-proof valve 200 is welded to the housing or the cover plate of the battery 300, and prevent the explosion-proof scored groove 11 from being broken by thermal deformation during welding. In addition, the explosion-proof valve 200 can also be prevented from being twisted synchronously with the housing or the cover plate to damage the explosion-proof scored groove 11 and affect the opening pressure of the explosion-proof valve 200.
Further, referring to
Optionally, the explosion-proof valve body 100 is an aluminum alloy part or a steel part. Therefore, the weight of the explosion-proof valve body 100 can be reduced, thereby achieving a lightweight design of the explosion-proof valve body 100. In addition, the aluminum alloy part or the steel part has good structural strength, which can improve the reliability of the explosion-proof valve body 100.
An embodiment of a second aspect of the present disclosure provides a battery 300, which, as shown in
Specifically, the battery 300 further includes a housing (not shown) and a cover plate (not shown). At least one end of the housing is open for mounting the cover plate, a mounting hole (not shown) is formed in the housing or the cover plate, and the explosion-proof valve 200 is connected at the mounting hole. The connection section 20 of the explosion-proof valve 200 may be connected to the housing or the cover plate by welding.
According to the battery 300 of the embodiment of the present disclosure, with the use of the explosion-proof valve 200, a reliable connection between the explosion-proof valve 200 and the battery 300 and a good pressure relief capability can both be achieved, and the usage safety of the battery 300 can be improved.
In some embodiments, an energy density of the battery 300 is defined as E. E satisfies: 200 wh/kg≤E≤280 wh/kg. For example, E=250 wh/kg. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto. Therefore, the energy density of the battery 300 is increased, and the overall performance of the battery 300 is improved. Moreover, the greater the energy of the battery 300, the larger the amount of active material or the higher the activity of material is required inside the battery 300. Such a battery 300 requires a more accurate design of the amount of gas discharged through the explosion-proof valve 200, so as to ensure timely opening in extreme cases, and avoid unintentional starting. The explosion-proof valve 200 of the above embodiment of the present disclosure can well meet this requirement.
An embodiment of a third aspect of the present disclosure provides a battery module 400, which, as shown in
Specifically, the battery module 400 may include a plurality of batteries 300 arranged side by side, and the plurality of batteries 300 may be connected in series or in parallel. Therefore, with the use of the battery 300 in the battery module 400, the safety of the battery module 400 can be improved. The battery module 400 may further include two end plates (not shown) and two side plates (not shown). The two end plates are distributed at two ends of each of the plurality of batteries 300 in a first direction. The two side plates are distributed at two sides of each of the plurality of batteries 300 in a second direction. The end plates and the side plates are fixedly connected to fix the batteries 300. The first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. Of course, in other embodiments, the battery module 400 may further include two end plates and a cable tie (not shown), and the two end plates are distributed at two ends of each of the plurality of batteries 300 and fixed by the cable tie.
An embodiment of a fourth aspect of the present disclosure provides a battery pack 500, which, as shown in
An embodiment of a fifth aspect of the present disclosure provides a vehicle 600, which, as shown in
In addition, when the battery pack 500 is applied to the vehicle 600, the explosion-proof valve 200 may be arranged to face downward to prevent the discharged high-temperature gas from injuring occupants inside the vehicle 600.
In the description of the present disclosure, it should be understood that orientation or position relationships indicated by the terms such as “center”, “length”, “width”, “thickness”, “on”, “below”, “front”, “rear”, “left”, “right”, “top”, “bottom”, “inner”, “outer”, “axial”, “radial”, and “circumferential” are based on orientation or position relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are used only for ease and brevity of illustration and description, rather than indicating or implying that the mentioned apparatus or component need to have a particular orientation or need to be constructed and operated in a particular orientation. Therefore, such terms should not be construed as limiting the present disclosure.
In the description of the present disclosure, “first feature” and “second feature” may include one or more features. In the description of the present disclosure, “multiple” and “a plurality of” mean two or more. In the description of the present disclosure, a first feature being “over” or “below” a second feature may mean that the first feature and the second feature are in direct contact, or the first feature and the second feature are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature there between. In the description of the present disclosure, the first feature being “over”, “above”, and “on” the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or merely means that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than the horizontal height of the second feature.
In the description of the specification, the description with reference to the terms “an embodiment”, “some embodiments”, “exemplary embodiments”, “example”, “specific example”, or “some example” and so on means that specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are embraced in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. In this specification, exemplary descriptions of the foregoing terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example.
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, a person of ordinary skill in the art should understand that various changes, modifications, replacements and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present disclosure, and the scope of the present disclosure is as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 202221128933.5 | May 2022 | CN | national |
This application is a continuation application of PCT application No. PCT/CN2023/093638, filed on May 11, 2023, which claims priority to and benefits of Chinese Patent Application No. 202221128933.5, filed on May 12, 2022. The entire content of all of the above-referenced applications is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/CN2023/093638 | May 2023 | WO |
| Child | 18899136 | US |