Double-layered thermal interface material structure, manufacturing method thereof, and battery device having the same

Abstract

A double-layered thermal interface material (TIM) structure is disclosed. The double-layered TIM structure is adopted for being sandwiched between each two adjacentN rows of battery cells of a battery module. According to the present invention, the double-layered TIM structure comprises a layer structure comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, of which the top surface and the bottom surface both have a plurality of concave portions. Moreover, there is a supporting mesh plate buried in the layer structure for making the layer structure simultaneously possess advantages of softness, good malleability and good support capability. Therefore, when this novel double-layered TIM structure is adopted in assembling N rows of battery cells to become a battery module, there are no interfacial gaps between the two adjacent rows of battery cells and the double-layered TIM structure.

Claims

1. A double-layered thermal interface material structure, comprising: a layer structure, being made of a thermal interface material, and comprising a body thickness; and a supporting mesh plate, being buried in the layer structure, and comprising a plate thickness that is smaller than the body thickness; wherein the layer structure comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and the top surface and the bottom surface both comprising a plurality of concave portions; wherein the supporting mesh plate comprises a plurality of pores, and each of the pores being fully filled with the thermal interface material.

2. The double-layered thermal interface material structure of claim 1, wherein the body thickness is in range between 0.2 mm and 30 mm, and the plate thickness being in range between 0.01 mm and 20 mm.

3. The double-layered thermal interface material structure of claim 1, wherein the supporting mesh plate is made of at least one material selected from a group consisting of fiberglass, carbon fiber, polyvinylamine, carbon steel, stainless steel, copper alloy, and aluminum alloy

4. The double-layered thermal interface material structure of claim 1, wherein the thermal interface material comprises a polymer matrix and a plurality of thermal conductive filler spread in the polymer matrix, and the thermal conductive filler comprising at least one selected from a group consisting of metal oxide particles, nitride particles, carbide particles, diboride particles, graphite particles, and metal particles.

5. The double-layered thermal interface material structure of claim 1, wherein the top surface and the bottom surface are both provided with a heat conductive protection layer thereon, and the heat conductive protection layer being made of a material selected from a group consisting of paraffin, epoxy resin, polyurethane, silicone, rubber, polypropylene, and thermally conductive phase change material.

6. The double-layered thermal interface material structure of claim 1, wherein the layer structure comprises a first hardness, and the heat conductive protection layer comprising a second hardness that is greater than the first hardness.

7. A battery device, being selected from a group consisting of battery pack and battery module, and being characterized in that the battery device comprises a double-layered thermal interface material structure, comprising: a layer structure, being made of a thermal interface material, and comprising a body thickness; and a supporting mesh plate, being buried in the layer structure, and comprising a plate thickness that is smaller than the body thickness; wherein the layer structure comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and the top surface and the bottom surface both comprising a plurality of concave portions; wherein the supporting mesh plate comprises a plurality of pores, and each of the pores being fully filled with the thermal interface material.

8. A double-layered thermal interface material structure manufacturing method, comprising the steps of: (1) providing a first mould comprising a first moulding recess, wherein a bottom surface of the first moulding recess is formed with M units of first protrusion member, M being an integer, and each of the first protrusion member comprising a convex surface; (2) filling a first thermal interface material into the first moulding recess; (3) disposing a supporting mesh plate in the first moulding recess; (4) filling a second thermal interface material into the first moulding recess, and being positioned on the supporting mesh plate; (5) providing a second mould comprising a second moulding recess, wherein a bottom surface of the second moulding recess is formed with M units of second protrusion member, and each of the second protrusion members comprising a convex surface; (6) stacking the second mould on the first mould, so as to make the second moulding recess receive the second thermal interface material; (7) curing the first thermal interface material and the second thermal interface material to become a layer structure; and (8) demoulding the second mould and the first mould, thereby obtaining a double-layered thermal interface material structure.

9. The double-layered thermal interface material structure manufacturing method of claim 8, wherein the first thermal interface material and the second thermal interface material both comprise a polymer matrix and a plurality of thermal conductive filler spread in the polymer matrix, and the thermal conductive filler comprising at least one selected from a group consisting of metal oxide particles, nitride particles, carbide particles, diboride particles, graphite particles, and metal particles.

10. The double-layered thermal interface material structure manufacturing method of claim 9, wherein the polymer matrix is selected from a group consisting of thermosetting polymer, photocureable polymer and mixture of polymer and curing agent.

11. The double-layered thermal interface material structure manufacturing method of claim 8, wherein the layer structure comprises a body thickness in range between 0.2 mm and 30 mm, and the supporting mesh plate comprising a plate thickness in range between 0.01 mm and 20 mm.

12. The double-layered thermal interface material structure manufacturing method of claim 8, wherein the supporting mesh plate is made of at least one material selected from a group consisting of fiberglass, carbon fiber, polyvinylamine, carbon steel, stainless steel, copper alloy, and aluminum alloy.

13. The double-layered thermal interface material structure manufacturing method of claim 8, wherein the top surface and the bottom surface are both provided with a heat conductive protection layer thereon, and the heat conductive protection layer being made of a material selected from a group consisting of paraffin, epoxy resin, polyurethane, silicone, rubber, polypropylene, and thermally conductive phase change material.

14. The double-layered thermal interface material structure manufacturing method of claim 13, wherein the layer structure comprises a first hardness, and the heat conductive protection layer comprising a second hardness that is greater than the first hardness.

15. A battery device manufacturing method, comprising the steps of: providing a double-layered thermal interface material structure comprising a layer structure made of a thermal interface material and a supporting mesh plate buried in the layer structure, wherein the layer structure comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and the top surface and the bottom surface both comprising a plurality of concave portions; and disposing a first battery module consisting of M pieces of battery cell on the top surface, and disposing a second battery module also consisting of M pieces of battery cell on the bottom surface, wherein M is an integer.

16. The battery device manufacturing method of claim 15, wherein two adjacent battery cells are spaced by a gap, and two adjacent concave portions being connected by a protuberance spacer, therefore the protuberance spacer is embedded into the gap after the M pieces of battery cell are disposed on the plurality of concave portions.

17. The battery device manufacturing method of claim 15, wherein the top surface and the bottom surface are both provided with a heat conductive protection layer thereon, the layer structure comprising a first hardness, and the heat conductive protection layer comprising a second hardness that is greater than the first hardness.

18. The battery device manufacturing method of claim 15, wherein the layer structure comprises a body thickness in range between 0.2 mm and 30 mm.

19. The battery device manufacturing method of claim 15, wherein the supporting mesh plate comprising a plate thickness in range between 0.01 mm and 20 mm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The invention as well as a preferred mode of use and advantages thereof will be best understood by referring to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0033] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a conventional battery pack;

[0034] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of a battery device comprising a double-layered thermal interface material structure according to the present invention;

[0035] FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the battery device;

[0036] FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of the double-layered thermal interface material structure according to the present invention;

[0037] FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the double-layered thermal interface material structure according to the present invention;

[0038] FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B show flowcharts of a double-layered thermal interface material structure manufacturing method according to the present invention;

[0039] FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B show diagrams for describing manufacturing processes of the double-layered thermal interface material structure;

[0040] FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a battery device manufacturing method according to the present invention;

[0041] FIG. 9 shows a diagram for describing manufacturing processes of a battery device; and

[0042] FIG. 10 shows a diagram for describing how to assembly a battery device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0043] To more clearly describe a double-layered thermal interface material structure applied to the manufacture of a battery module or a battery pack according to the present invention, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings hereinafter.

[0044] Double-layered thermal interface material structure and battery device comprising the same are provided.

[0045] With reference to FIG. 2, it shows a perspective view of a battery device comprising a double-layered thermal interface material structure according to the present invention. Moreover, FIG. 3 shows an exploded view of the battery device. As FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 show, the present invention discloses a double-layered thermal interface material (TIM) structure 11 for application in a battery device 1, so as to make the double-layered TIM structure 11 be sandwiched between two adjacent rows of battery cells 10 of the battery device 1. As explained in more detail below, when manufacturing the battery device 1, multiple battery cells 10 are firstly assembled to be a battery module (i.e. a row of battery cells 10), and then at least one battery module and a battery management circuit are integrated to become the battery device 1.

[0046] FIG. 4 shows an exploded view of the double-layered thermal interface material structure according to the present invention. Moreover, FIG. 5 shows a sectional view of the double-layered thermal interface material structure according to the present invention. As FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show, the double-layered TIM structure 11 comprises a layer structure 111 and a supporting mesh plate 112 buried in the layer structure 111. In which, the layer structure 111 is made of a thermal interface material, and comprises a body thickness. On the other hand, the supporting mesh plate 112 comprises a plurality of pores, and comprises a plate thickness that is smaller than the body thickness. In addition, the body thickness is in range between 0.2 mm and 30 mm, and the plate thickness is in range between 0.01 mm and 20 mm.

[0047] According to the present invention, the layer structure 111 comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and the top surface and the bottom surface both have a plurality of concave portions 11O. Moreover, because the battery cell 10 is a cylindrical battery cell, therefore the concave portion 11O is designed to have a curvature radius so as to match the cylindrical battery cell 10.

[0048] In one embodiment, the supporting mesh plate can be made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, polyvinylamine, carbon steel, stainless steel, copper alloy, aluminum alloy, or a combination of any two or more of the foregoing. On the other hand, the thermal interface material comprises a polymer matrix and a plurality of thermal conductive filler spread in the polymer matrix. According to the disclosures of China patent publication No. CN101351755A, the thermal conductive filler can be metal oxide particles, nitride particles, carbide particles, diboride particles, graphite particles, or metal particles.

[0049] Furthermore, in a practicable embodiment, the top surface and the bottom surface are both provided with a heat conductive protection layer thereon, and the heat conductive protection layer is made of paraffin, epoxy resin, polyurethane, silicone, rubber, polypropylene, thermally conductive phase change material, or a combination of any two or more of the foregoing. As such, the layer structure 111 comprises a first hardness, and the heat conductive protection layer comprises a second hardness that is greater than the first hardness. In addition, it can be further mixed a with ceramic filler within the heat conductive protection layer, and the ceramic filler can be alumina, magnesium oxide, zinc oxide, zirconium oxide, aluminum nitride, boron nitride, or silicon nitride. Moreover, it can also be further mixed with a carbon-based filler within the heat conductive protection layer, and the carbon-based filler can be graphite, graphene, silicon carbide, tungsten carbide, carbon nanotubes, graphite, carbon black.

[0050] In brief, the present invention discloses a double-layered thermal interface material (TIM) structure 11 for application in a battery device 1, so as to make the double-layered TIM structure 11 be sandwiched between each two adjacent battery cells 10 of the battery device 1. According to the present invention, the layer structure 111 comprising a top surface and a bottom surface is manufactured according to a plurality of gaps existing in the two adjacent rows of battery cells 10, therefore the top surface and the bottom surface both comprise a plurality of concave portions 11O. Particularly, there is a supporting mesh plate 112 buried in the layer structure 111 for making the layer structure 111 comprise all the advantages of softness, good malleability and good support capability. In such arrangement, when this novel double-layered TIM structure 11 is adopted in assembling N rows of battery cells 10 to become the battery device 1, the double-layered TIM structure 11 is firstly stacked on a first row of battery cells 10, and then a second row of battery cells 10 is tacked on the double-layered TIM structure 11. Subsequently, another double-layered TIM structure 11 is firstly stacked on the second row of battery cells 10, and then a third row of battery cells 10 is tacked on the double-layered TIM structure 11. And so on, N−1 numbers of the double-layered TIM structure 11 and N rows of battery cells 10 are therefore assembled to one battery device. Herein, it is worth explained that, two adjacent battery cells 10 are spaced by a gap, and two adjacent concave portions 11O are connected by a protuberance spacer, therefore the protuberance spacer is embedded into the gap after the M pieces of battery cell 10 are disposed on the plurality of concave portions 11O.

[0051] The method for manufacturing double-layered thermal interface material structure is provided.

[0052] With reference to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, they are flowcharts of a double-layered thermal interface material structure manufacturing method according to the present invention. Moreover, FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B show diagrams for describing manufacturing processes of the double-layered thermal interface material structure. According to FIG. 6A and the manufacturing process diagram (a) shown in FIG. 7A, the method firstly proceeds to step S1, so as to provide a first mould M1 comprising a first moulding recess M11. In which, a bottom surface of the first moulding recess is formed with M units of first protrusion member M1P, M is an integer, and each of the first protrusion member M1P comprises a convex surface. According to FIG. 6A and the manufacturing process diagram (b) shown in FIG. 7A, the method subsequently proceeds to step S2. In step S2, a first thermal interface material TM1 is filled in the first moulding recess. Moreover, according to FIG. 6A and the manufacturing process diagram (c) shown in FIG. 7A, a supporting mesh plate 112 is disposed in the first moulding recess M11 after step S3 is completed.

[0053] According to FIG. 6A and the manufacturing process diagram (a) shown in FIG. 7B, the method subsequently proceeds to step S4, so as to fill a second thermal interface material TM2 into the first moulding recess M11, therefore the second thermal interface material TM2 is positioned on the supporting mesh plate 112. Moreover, according to FIG. 6B and the manufacturing process diagram (b) shown in FIG. 7B, the method is then proceeded to step S5, so as to provide a second mould M2 comprising a second moulding recess M21. In which, a bottom surface of the second moulding recess M21 is formed with M units of second protrusion member M2P, and each of the second protrusion member M2P comprises a convex surface. Furthermore, according to FIG. 6B and the manufacturing process diagram (c) shown in FIG. 7B, the second mould M2 is stacked on the first mould 2M in step S6, therefore the second moulding recess M21 receives the second thermal interface material TM2. As a result, after curing the first thermal interface material TM1 and the second thermal interface material TM2 to become a layer structure 111 by completing step S7, it is able to obtain a double-layered thermal interface material structure 11 by demoulding the second mould M2 and the first mould M1 (i.e., completing step S8).

[0054] It is worth further explaining that, the first thermal interface material TM1 and the second thermal interface material TM2 both comprise a polymer matrix and a plurality of thermal conductive filler spread in the polymer matrix, and the thermal conductive filler comprises a plurality of particles. The particles can be metal oxide particles, nitride particles, carbide particles, diboride particles, graphite particles, metal particles, or a combination of any two or more of the foregoing. Moreover, the polymer matrix is a curable polymer, and the curable polymer can be thermosetting polymer, photocureable polymer, or a mixture of polymer and curing agent.

[0055] According to FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, it should be understood that, the first mould M1 and the second mould M2 are used to build up an upper part and a lower part of the layer structure 111. Therefore, it can be extrapolated that, the convex surface of the first protrusion member M1P and the convex surface of the second protrusion member M2P both have a curvature radius.

[0056] As explained in more detail below, the supporting mesh plate 112 used in the step S3 can be made of fiberglass, carbon fiber, polyvinylamine, carbon steel, stainless steel, copper alloy, aluminum alloy, or a combination of any two or more of the foregoing. Moreover, the mesh plate 112 has a plurality of pores, and each pore is fully filled with the thermal interface material during the manufacturing processes of the double-layered thermal interface material structure 11 shown as FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B.

[0057] Furthermore, it is able to form the top surface and the bottom surface of the layer structure 111 with a heat conductive protection layer thereon. In one embodiment, the heat conductive protection layer is made of a material, and the material can be paraffin, epoxy resin, polyurethane, silicone, rubber, polypropylene, thermally conductive phase change material, or a combination of any two or more of the foregoing. As such, the layer structure 111 comprises a first hardness, and the heat conductive protection layer comprises a second hardness that is greater than the first hardness.

[0058] The method for manufacturing battery device is provided

[0059] With reference to FIG. 8, it shows a flowchart of a battery device manufacturing method according to the present invention. Moreover, FIG. 9 shows a diagram for describing manufacturing processes of a battery device. As FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show, the method firstly proceeds to step S1a, so as to provide a double-layered thermal interface material structure 11 comprising a layer structure 111 made of a thermal interface material and a supporting mesh plate 112 buried in the layer structure 111, wherein the layer structure 111 comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and the top surface and the bottom surface both comprising a plurality of concave portions 11O. Then, the method subsequently proceeds to step S2a, so as to dispose a first battery module BM1 consisting of M pieces of battery cell 10 on the top surface, and to dispose a second battery module BM2 also consisting of M pieces of battery cell 10 on the bottom surface, wherein M is an integer.

[0060] As FIG. 9 shows, two adjacent battery cells 10 are spaced by a gap S, and two adjacent concave portions 11O are connected by a protuberance spacer P, therefore the protuberance spacer p is embedded into the gap S after the M pieces of battery cell 10 are disposed on the plurality of concave portions 11O. According to above descriptions, it is known that the top surface and the bottom surface are both provided with a heat conductive protection layer thereon, the layer structure comprises a first hardness, and the heat conductive protection layer comprises a second hardness that is greater than the first hardness.

[0061] On the other hand, FIG. 10 shows a diagram for describing how to assembly a battery device. As FIG. 8 and FIG. 10 show, the battery device manufacturing method can also adopted for manufacturing a specific battery device comprising two battery modules and one double-layered thermal interface material structure, of which the battery module consists of M pieces of prismatic battery cell. The method firstly proceeds to step S1a, so as to provide a double-layered thermal interface material structure 11 comprising a layer structure 111 made of a thermal interface material and a supporting mesh plate 112 buried in the layer structure 111, wherein the layer structure 111 comprises a top surface and a bottom surface, and the top surface and the bottom surface both comprising a plurality of concave portions 11O. Then, the method subsequently proceeds to step S2a, so as to dispose a first battery module BM1a consisting of M pieces of prismatic battery cell 14 on the top surface, and to dispose a second battery module BM2a also consisting of M pieces of prismatic battery cell 14 on the bottom surface, wherein M is an integer. As FIG. 10 shows, two adjacent prismatic battery cells 14 are spaced by a gap S, and two adjacent concave portions 11O are connected by a protuberance spacer P, therefore the protuberance spacer p is embedded into the gap S after the M pieces of prismatic battery cell 10 are disposed on the plurality of concave portions 11O.

[0062] Therefore, through the above descriptions, all embodiments of the double-layered thermal interface material structure according to the present invention have been introduced completely and clearly. Moreover, the above description is made on embodiments of the present invention. However, the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, and all equivalent implementations or alterations within the spirit of the present invention still fall within the scope of the present invention.