Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Funai Electric Company Ltd.

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Daisuke Kishii

Keisuke Shimizu

Akira Takano

Shunsuke Yasui

Shinya Motokawa

Shinya Geshi

Toshiki Itoi

Masato Fujikawa

Tomohiko Yokoyama

Takashi Hasegawa

Yukio Nishikawa

Masatoshi Nagayama

Takuya Nakashima

Oose Okutani

Hiroshi Takasaki

Naoto Hosotani

Takeshi Enomoto

Yasuhiro Asaida

Naohisa Morimoto

Hideaki Hamada

Yoshiki Ohsawa

Nobuyuki Nakasawa

A cell module includes a plurality of battery cells each having a safety valve at a first end in a height direction, a first current collector plate including a main body having a through hole that at least partly overlaps the safety valve when viewed along the height direction and a lead extending into the through hole from the main body and being electrically connected to a first terminal of each of the battery cells, an exhaust duct disposed over a surface of the first current collector plate remote from the battery cells, and an insulating film being made of an insulating material and covering an area of the first current collector plate facing the exhaust duct. The safety valve opens when an internal pressure of any of the battery cells reaches or exceeds a predetermined level.

Cell module

A battery module includes a plurality of cylindrical batteries that each include a safety valve surrounded by an annular breaking portion configured to break when internal pressure of each of the batteries exceeds a predetermined level. The battery module further includes an exhaust duct to guide gas emitted from the cylindrical battery to outside the module when safety valve is opened, and a gas direction regulator component disposed between the cylindrical batteries and the exhaust duct. The gas direction regulator component has a plurality of openings to expose the respective safety valves. Portions of the gas direction regulator component overhang areas overlapping the respective safety valves so as to cover an end of each safety valve opposite another end of each safety valve adjacent to an exit of the exhaust duct.

Battery module

A battery module includes: a case body for storing a plurality of cells each having an exhaust gas valve; an exhaust passage for releasing, to the outside of the case body, the high-pressure and high-temperature exhaust gas having come from the cells; and a flow route changing unit that is disposed in the exhaust passage, has a hole for passing the exhaust gas, and elongates the flow route of the exhaust gas from the upstream side to the downstream side of the exhaust passage by changing the flow direction of the exhaust gas a plurality of times in a zigzag manner along at least one of the width and height directions of the exhaust passage. The flow route changing unit includes a plurality of flat plates each having a hole for passing the exhaust gas.

Battery block includes the following elements: a plurality of batteries each of which includes safety valve; positive electrode-side current collecting part for collecting current by connecting the positive electrode sides of batteries; and negative electrode-side current collecting part for collecting current by connecting the negative electrode sides of the batteries. In positive electrode-side current collecting part and negative electrode-side current collecting part, the part that includes safety valves is set to one side current collecting part. On the other side current collecting part opposite the one side current collecting part, fuse that fuses at a predetermined temperature is disposed on each of batteries.

Battery block

A battery module includes a plurality of battery blocks. Each battery block includes: a cell assembly including a plurality of cells; a block holder for holding the cell assembly; and a metal plate. The plurality of cells are held in the block holder while the positive electrodes and negative electrodes of the cells are aligned. A projection or the metal plate is disposed outside the block holder. The tip of the projection of one of adjacent battery blocks is in contact with the metal plate of the other.

Battery module and battery pack

An electrode member includes a substrate portion formed of a metal thin plate, a connection portion connected to the electrode terminal of a cell, and a fuse for electrically connecting the substrate portion to the connection portion. In the plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the cell, the length of the fuse is greater than the width of the connection portion.

Electrode member, current collecting plate, and battery block

Cells are arranged in a predetermined arrangement and are held by holding unit. The holding unit includes a first holding unit, a second holding unit, and a third holding unit. The first holding unit holds cells so as to partially cover the one side of the outer peripheral surfaces of the cells in the longitudinal direction. The second holding unit holds the cells so as to partially cover the other side of the outer peripheral surfaces of the cells in the longitudinal direction. The third holding unit holds the cells so as to cover a region that is covered with neither the first holding unit nor the second holding unit, of the outer peripheral surfaces of the cells in the longitudinal direction.

The present invention provides a battery block that accommodates unit cells having higher capacities, and, even in case of abnormal heat generation in the unit cell, does not cause abnormal heat generation in the neighboring unit cells, thereby preventing a chain reaction of degradations and abnormalities of the accommodated unit cells. The battery block of the present invention includes a battery case having a minimum thickness section satisfying the relationship 'K2/K1&#x2267;K3&#x2212;1'. K1 is the thermal conductance between the battery case and the unit cell. K2 is the thermal conductance of the minimum thickness section of the battery case between two neighboring holes for accommodating the respective unit cells. K3 is a ratio between the abnormal heat temperature of a reference cell and the ambient temperature causing abnormal heat generation in this cell.

A cooling unitis provided in the vicinity of a cell, and includes a sealed portionformed by sealing a sheet. An easy-to-open portionis provided in part of the sealed portion, and the easy-to-open portionis opened when the cellabnormally generates heat.

A battery retainment block includes a plurality of block pieces each having a battery storage unit for retaining a battery. The plurality of block pieces are aligned and, among the plurality of block pieces, two block pieces that are adjacent to each other are coupled together. A gap is provided between the two block pieces that are adjacent to each other to serve as a circulation space for circulating a medium.

Battery retainment block and battery module

A battery moduleincludes a plurality of cells, wherein a cooling unitin which a coolant is sealed is disposed in the vicinity of the cells, the coolant is liquid adjusted to have a viscosity within the range of 2 Pa&#xb7;s to 350 Pa&#xb7;s, and the cooling unitincludes an unsealable portionwhich is partially unsealed to release the coolant when at least one of the cellsabnormally generates heat.

A battery module including: a plurality of aligned cells, wherein a cooling unit accommodating a cooling agent is provided in a vicinity of the cells, part of the cooling unit is a vulnerable section having a relatively low compressive strength, and the vulnerable section is unsealed when heat is abnormally generated in at least one of the cells.

A battery module includes a first unit cell, a second unit cell, a first exhaust chamber, and a second exhaust chamber. The first unit cell is disposed so that a positive electrode terminal faces the first direction. The second unit cell is connected in series to the first unit cell, the negative electrode terminal is disposed so as to face the first direction, and the second unit is disposed so as to be adjacent to the first unit cell. The first exhaust chamber is disposed so as to face the positive electrode terminal of the first unit cell, and discharges a gas which is emitted from the positive electrode terminal of the first unit cell. The second exhaust chamber is disposed so as to face the positive electrode terminal of the second unit cell, and discharges a gas generated from the positive electrode terminal of the second unit cell. The end surface of the second unit cell in the first direction and the outer surface of the first exhaust chamber in the first direction are flush with each other. The end surface of the first unit cell in a second direction opposite to the first direction and the outer surface of the second exhaust chamber in the second direction are flush with each other.

Growing community of inventors

Osaka, Japan

Daisuke Kishii