KR102256606B1 - Battery module, battery pack comprising the battery module and vehicle comprising the battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

A battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention is a battery cell including a battery case that is folded from a case rim protruding from a side surface of the case body and has a folding wing having a predetermined gap between the side surface of the case body and a side surface of the battery cell. A cooling plate connected to a heat sink for cooling the battery cell, a first heat transfer member disposed between the cooling plate and the battery cell, and a predetermined gap of the battery cell so as to increase the thermal conductivity toward the first heat transfer member. It characterized in that it comprises a second heat transfer member provided.

Description

A battery module, a battery pack including such a battery module, and a vehicle including such a battery pack {BATTERY MODULE, BATTERY PACK COMPRISING THE BATTERY MODULE AND VEHICLE COMPRISING THE BATTERY PACK}

The present invention relates to a battery module, a battery pack including such a battery module, and a vehicle including such a battery pack.

Secondary batteries with high ease of application and high energy density according to product group are not only portable devices, but also electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrid vehicles (HEVs) driven by an electric drive source. It is universally applied. These secondary batteries are attracting attention as a new energy source for eco-friendliness and energy efficiency improvement in that they do not generate any by-products from the use of energy as well as the primary advantage of being able to drastically reduce the use of fossil fuels.

Currently widely used types of secondary batteries include lithium ion batteries, lithium polymer batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydride batteries, and nickel zinc batteries. The operating voltage of such a unit secondary battery cell, that is, a unit battery cell, is about 2.5V to 4.2V. Therefore, when a higher output voltage is required, a battery pack may be configured by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series. In addition, a battery pack may be configured by connecting a plurality of battery cells in parallel according to the charge/discharge capacity required for the battery pack. Accordingly, the number of battery cells included in the battery pack may be variously set according to a required output voltage or charge/discharge capacity.

On the other hand, when configuring a battery pack by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series/parallel, a battery module consisting of at least one battery cell is first configured, and other components are added to the battery pack using at least one battery module. How to configure is common.

In the conventional battery module, in general, the case edge protruding from the case body of the battery case of the battery cell is formed to reduce the volume of the battery module according to the recent slimming trend and to secure a higher energy density than the same size. By folding at least once, the side volume of the battery module is reduced.

The portion of the case rim that is folded at least once from the case rim is also referred to as a so-called folding wing. Here, the folding wing generally forms an air gap having a predetermined gap from the side end of the case body.

However, in the conventional battery module, when cooling the battery cell, there is a problem in that cooling performance is deteriorated, such as uniform cooling is not performed due to low thermal conductivity in the air gap portion. This is because the air layer forming the air gap has a low thermal conductivity of approximately 0.025 W/mk.

Therefore, there is a need for a method of providing a battery module capable of improving cooling performance to solve the above-described problem, a battery pack including such a battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery module capable of improving cooling performance, a battery pack including the battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack.

In order to solve the above object, the present invention includes an electrode assembly and a case body accommodating the electrode assembly, and a folding wing that is folded from a case rim protruding from the side surface of the case body and has a predetermined gap with the side surface of the case body. At least one battery cell including a battery case; A cooling plate provided on a side surface of the at least one battery cell and connected to a heat sink for cooling the at least one battery cell; A first heat transfer member disposed between the cooling plate and the at least one battery cell; And a second heat transfer member provided in the predetermined gap of the at least one battery cell so as to increase the thermal conductivity toward the first heat transfer member.

The second heat transfer member may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the predetermined gap so as to fill the predetermined gap.

The second heat transfer member may be a thermal interface material.

The first heat transfer member may be a thermal interface material.

The folding wing may be folded at least once.

The folding wing may be folded multiple times.

The folding wing may include a first folding part that is folded from an edge of the case; And a second folding part that is folded from the first folding part.

The second heat transfer member may contact a side surface of the case body, a case rim, the first folding part, and the second folding part.

The folding wing may include a first folding part that is folded from an edge of the case; A second folding part that is folded from the first folding part; A third folding part that is folded from the second folding part and is in contact with the second heat transfer member; And a fourth folding part that is folded from the third folding part and disposed between the first folding part and the third folding part.

The battery module may further include a third heat transfer member provided in a folding gap formed between the first folding part, the second folding part, the third folding part, and the fourth folding part.

The third heat transfer member may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the folding gap so as to fill the folding gap.

The third heat transfer member may be a thermal interface material.

The plurality of battery cells may be provided, and the plurality of battery cells may be stacked up and down each other, and each may be connected to the cooling plate through the first heat transfer member.

In addition, the present invention provides a battery pack, comprising: at least one battery module according to the above-described embodiments; And a pack case for packaging the at least one battery module.

In addition, the present invention provides a vehicle, comprising: at least one battery pack according to the above-described embodiment.

According to various embodiments as described above, a battery module capable of improving cooling performance, a battery pack including the battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack may be provided.

The following drawings attached to the present specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and serve to further understand the technical idea of the present invention together with the detailed description of the present invention to be described later. It is limited to and should not be interpreted.
1 is a view for explaining a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 to 6 are views for explaining a manufacturing process of the battery module of FIG. 1.
7 is a diagram for describing heat transfer of the battery module of FIG. 1.
8 is a view for explaining a battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a view for explaining a battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.
10 is a view for explaining a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail a preferred embodiment of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described herein are illustratively shown to aid understanding of the invention, and it should be understood that the present invention may be variously modified and implemented differently from the embodiments described herein. In addition, in order to aid understanding of the invention, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale, but dimensions of some components may be exaggerated.

1 is a view for explaining a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the battery module 10 may include a battery cell 100, a heat sink 200, a cooling plate 300, a first heat transfer member 400 and a second heat transfer member 500. have.

The battery cell 100 may be provided as a pouch-type secondary battery. The battery cell 100 may include an electrode assembly 110, an electrode lead, and a battery case 120.

The electrode assembly 110 may include a positive electrode plate, a negative electrode plate, and a separator. Since the electrode assembly 110 is well known, a detailed description will be omitted below.

The electrode lead is connected to the electrode assembly 110 and may protrude outside the battery case 120. The electrode leads may be provided as a pair, and may be provided as an anode lead and a cathode lead, respectively. Since the electrode lead is well known, a detailed description will be omitted below.

The battery case 120 may be formed of a laminate sheet including a resin layer and a metal layer, and the electrode assembly 110 may be sealed by heat-sealing an edge while the electrode assembly 110 is embedded.

The battery case 120 may include a case body 130, a case rim 140, and a folding wing 150.

The case body 130 may accommodate the electrode assembly 110. To this end, an accommodation space capable of accommodating the electrode assembly 110 may be formed in the case body 130.

The case rim 140 protrudes from a side end of the case body 130 and may be sealed by heat fusion or the like so as to seal the inside of the case body 130.

The folding wing 150 may be folded from the case rim 140 to reduce the side volume of the battery cell 100. Accordingly, the battery module 10 may have a slimmer structure according to the recent slimming trend, and it is possible to secure the energy density of the battery cell 100 by a reduced volume, so that it is larger than the same size. The capacity of the battery cell 10 can be secured.

The folding wing 150 may be folded at least once or a plurality of circuits. According to this folding, the folding wing 150 may be disposed to have a side surface of the case body 130 and a predetermined gap (C, see FIG. 3) when the folding wing 150 is folded. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the folding wing 150 is limited to being folded twice.

Accordingly, the folding wing 150 may include a first folding part 152 and a second folding part 154.

The first folding part 152 may be folded to one side from the case rim 140, specifically, to an upper side of the case rim 140 and disposed substantially parallel to the upper side of the case body 130.

The second folding part 154 may be folded from the first folding part 152 along the length direction of the case body 130 to be disposed substantially parallel to the case rim 140.

The heat sink 200 is for cooling the battery cell 100, and may be provided on one side of the battery cell 100, specifically, under the battery cell 100.

The heat sink 200 may be made of a material having high thermal conductivity so that heat transferred from the battery cell 100 can be absorbed and discharged to the outside. In addition, a refrigerant flow path through which refrigerant flows may be formed in the heat sink 200 to increase cooling efficiency of the battery cell 100.

The cooling plate 300 may transfer heat transferred from the battery cell 100 to the heat sink 200. To this end, the cooling plate 300 is provided on a side surface of the at least one battery cell 100 and may be connected to the heat sink 200.

The first heat transfer member 400 may be disposed between the cooling plate 300 and the battery cell 100 to interconnect the cooling plate 300 and the battery cell 100.

The first heat transfer member 400 may be made of a thermally conductive material having high thermal conductivity. For example, the first heat transfer member 400 may be formed of a thermal interface material. Specifically, the first heat transfer member 400 may be provided with at least one of a thermal tape, a thermal pad, and a thermal adhesive. Heat generated from the battery cell 100 through the first heat transfer member 400 may be more effectively transferred to the cooling plate 300.

The second heat transfer member 500 is in the predetermined gap (C, see FIG. 3) of the battery cell 100 so as to increase the thermal conductivity from the battery cell 100 to the first heat transfer member 400. It can be provided.

Specifically, the second heat transfer member 500 may be filled in the predetermined gap C so as to completely fill the predetermined gap C. Accordingly, the second heat transfer member 500 may have a shape corresponding to the shape of the predetermined gap C.

Like the first heat transfer member 400, the second heat transfer member 500 may be made of a thermally conductive material having high thermal conductivity. For example, the second heat transfer member 500 may be formed of a thermal interface material. Specifically, the second heat transfer member 500 may be provided with at least one of a thermal tape, a thermal pad, and a thermal adhesive.

Hereinafter, the manufacturing process of the battery module 10 will be described in more detail.

2 to 6 are views for explaining a manufacturing process of the battery module of FIG. 1.

2 and 3, in order to form the folding wing 150 of the battery cell 100 for slimming the battery module 10 (refer to FIG. 1) and securing capacity, the battery The case rim 140 of the case 120 may be folded upward. According to this primary folding, the first folding part 152 of the folding wing 150 may be formed on the case rim 140. In addition, during the primary folding, the folding wing 150 may be disposed to have a predetermined gap C with the case body 130 of the battery case 120.

Referring to FIG. 4, the manufacturer or the like may fill the second heat transfer member 500 to completely fill the predetermined gap C. Accordingly, the second heat transfer member 500 may contact the upper side of the case body 130, the case rim 140, and the first folding part 152.

Referring to FIG. 5, the manufacturer or the like may fold the end of the first folding part 152 along the length direction of the case body 130. According to this secondary folding, the second folding part 154 of the folding wing 150 may be formed. Here, the second folding part 154 may be folded to contact the second heat transfer member 500.

Accordingly, the second heat transfer member 500 is in contact with all of the upper side of the case body 130, the case rim 140, the first folding part 152 and the second folding part 156 Can be arranged.

Referring to FIG. 6, the manufacturer or the like may connect the battery cell 100 and the cooling plate 300 to the battery cell 100 through the first heat transfer member 400, and finally, the cooling plate 300 ) May be connected to the heat sink 200.

7 is a diagram for describing heat transfer of the battery module of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 7, when the battery module 10 is cooled, heat generated from the battery cell 100 is transferred to the cooling plate 300 through a side end of the battery cell 100, and then, It may be transferred from the cooling plate 300 to the heat sink 200.

Specifically, first, the heat emitted from the lower side 132 of the side end of the case body 130 among the side ends of the battery cell 100 is the first heat transfer member 400 and the cooling plate 300 ) May be transferred to the heat sink 200.

In addition, a transfer path of heat emitted from the upper side 134 of the side end of the case body 130 among the side ends of the battery cell 100 is as follows.

The upper side 134 of the side end of the case body 130 is disposed to face the folding wing 150. In the conventional battery module, due to the air gap formed between the case body facing the folding wing and the folding wing, the thermal conductivity is relatively lower in the portion facing the folding wing compared to the portion not facing the folding wing, thereby cooling There was a problem of deteriorating performance.

However, in this embodiment, since the air gap is canceled through the second heat transfer member 500, it is discharged from the upper side 134 of the side end of the case body 130 facing the folding wing 150. The decrease in the thermal conductivity of heat can be effectively prevented.

Specifically, heat emitted from the upper side 134 of the side end of the case body 130 is the second heat transfer member 500, the folding wing 150, the first heat transfer member 400, and the cooling plate ( It may be transferred to the heat sink 200 via 300.

As such, the battery module 10 according to the present embodiment cancels the air gap due to the formation of the conventional folding wing through the second heat transfer member 500, During cooling, uniform cooling performance can be secured anywhere on the side of the battery cell 100.

Accordingly, the battery module 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment can significantly improve cooling performance when the battery module 10 is cooled, specifically, when the battery cell 100 is cooled in a lateral direction.

8 is a view for explaining a battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Since the battery module 20 according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as or similar to the battery module 10 in the previous embodiment, the same or similar configurations will not be repeatedly described, but the differences will be mainly described.

Referring to FIG. 8, the battery module 20 may include a battery cell 100, a heat sink 200, a cooling plate 350, a first heat transfer member 450 and a second heat transfer member 500. have.

A plurality of battery cells 100 may be provided. The plurality of battery cells 100 are stacked up and down each other, and may be connected to a cooling plate 350 to be described later through a first heat transfer member 450 to be described later.

Since the heat sink 200 is substantially the same as or similar to the previous embodiment, redundant descriptions will be omitted below.

The cooling plate 350 may be formed to have a height corresponding to a stacking height of the plurality of battery cells 100 in the vertical direction, and the heat transferred from the plurality of battery cells 100 may be transferred to the heat sink ( 200).

The first heat transfer member 450 may be disposed between the cooling plate 350 and the plurality of battery cells 100 to connect the cooling plate 350 and the plurality of battery cells 100.

Each of the second heat transfer members 500 may be filled in a predetermined gap according to the formation of the folding wings 150 of each battery cell 100 as in the previous embodiment. As such, the second heat transfer member 500 may be provided to fill a predetermined gap according to the formation of the folding wing 150 of each battery cell 100 when a plurality of battery cells 100 are provided. I can.

As such, in this embodiment, when cooling in the lateral direction of the plurality of battery modules 10 through the second heat transfer member 500, uniform cooling performance is provided anywhere on the side surfaces of the plurality of battery cells 100. Can be secured.

9 is a view for explaining a battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Since the battery module 30 according to the present embodiment is substantially the same as or similar to the battery module 10 in the previous embodiment, the same or similar configurations will not be repeatedly described, but differences will be mainly described.

Referring to FIG. 9, the battery module 30 includes a heat sink 200, a cooling plate 300, a first heat transfer member 400, a second heat transfer member 500, a battery cell 600, and a third heat transfer. It may include a member 700.

Since the heat sink 200, the cooling plate 300, the first heat transfer member 400, and the second heat transfer member 500 are substantially the same as or similar to those of the previous embodiment, a redundant description will be omitted below. .

The battery cell 600 may include an electrode assembly, an electrode lead, and a battery case 620.

Since the electrode assembly and the electrode lead are substantially the same as or similar to those of the previous embodiment, redundant descriptions are omitted below.

The battery case 620 may include a case body 630, a case rim 640, and a folding wing 650.

Since the case body 630 and the case rim 640 are substantially the same as or similar to the case body 130 and the case rim 140 of the previous embodiment, redundant descriptions will be omitted below.

The folding wing 650 may be folded four times. Accordingly, the folding wing 650 may include a first folding part 652, a second folding part 654, a third folding part 656, and a fourth folding part 658.

The first folding part 652 may be folded to one side of the case rim 640, specifically, an upper side of the case rim 640 and disposed substantially parallel to the upper side of the case body 630.

The second folding part 654 may be folded from the first folding part 652 along the length direction of the case body 630 to be disposed substantially parallel to the case rim 640.

The third folding part 656 is folded downward from the second folding part 654 and may be disposed substantially parallel to the first folding part 652. The third folding part 656 may be in contact with the second heat transfer member 500.

The fourth folding part 658 is folded upward from the third folding part 656 and may be disposed between the first folding part 652 and the third folding part 656. Due to the folding of the fourth folding part 658, the first folding part 662, the second folding part 654, the third folding part 656, and the fourth folding of the folding wing 650. A folding gap may be formed inside the portion 658.

The third heat transfer member 700 is a folding formed between the first folding part 652, the second folding part 654, the third folding part 656, and the fourth folding part 658. It may be provided in the gap.

The third heat transfer member 700 may be filled in the folding gap so as to completely fill the folding gap. Accordingly, the third heat transfer member 700 may have a shape corresponding to the folding gap. As such, in the present embodiment, even if the folding gap is formed during the folding through the third heat transfer member 700, it may be offset.

Like the second heat transfer member 500, the third heat transfer member 700 may be made of a thermally conductive material having high thermal conductivity. For example, the third heat transfer member 700 may be formed of a thermal interface material. Specifically, the third heat transfer member 700 may be provided with at least one of a thermal tape, a thermal pad, and a thermal adhesive.

Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the folding gap is formed during folding for the formation of the folding wing 650, the cooling performance of the battery cell 600 can be prevented from deteriorating through the third heat transfer member 700. Even when cooling the battery module 30 in the lateral direction, uniform cooling performance may be ensured anywhere on the side of the battery cell 600.

10 is a view for explaining a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, the battery pack 1 may include at least one battery module 10 according to the previous embodiment and a pack case 50 for packaging the at least one battery module 10. Here, the at least one battery module may be provided as the battery module 20 (see FIG. 8) or the battery module 30 (see FIG. 9) of the previous embodiment, and these battery modules 10, 20, 30 Of course, it may be possible to be provided with all.

The battery pack 1 may be provided in a vehicle as a fuel source for a vehicle. By way of example, the battery pack 1 may be provided in an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, and in other ways in which the battery pack 1 can be used as a fuel source. In addition, it goes without saying that the battery pack 1 may be provided in other devices, devices, and facilities, such as an energy storage system using a secondary battery in addition to the vehicle.

As described above, the battery pack 1 according to the present embodiment and the apparatus, apparatus, and equipment including the battery pack 1 such as the automobile include the battery module 10 described above, the aforementioned battery module It is possible to implement a battery pack 1 having all of the advantages due to (10) and a device, apparatus, and equipment such as a vehicle including the battery pack 1.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the present invention is generally in the technical field to which the present invention belongs without departing from the gist of the present invention claimed in the claims. Of course, various modifications can be implemented by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be understood individually from the technical idea or prospect of the present invention.

1: battery pack 10, 20, 30: battery module
50: pack case 100: battery cell
110: electrode assembly 120: battery case
130: case body 140: case frame
150: folding wing 152: first folding part
154: second folding unit 200: heat sink
300, 350: cooling plate 400, 450: first heat transfer member
500: second heat transfer member 600: battery cell
620: battery case 630: case body
640: case frame 650: folding wing
652: first folding part 654: second folding part
656: third folding part 658: fourth folding part
700: third heat transfer member

Claims (15)

At least one battery cell comprising an electrode assembly and a case body accommodating the electrode assembly, and a battery case that is folded from a case rim protruding from a side surface of the case body and has a folding wing having a predetermined gap with the side surface of the case body ;
A cooling plate provided on a side of the at least one battery cell and connected to a heat sink for cooling the at least one battery cell;
A first heat transfer member disposed between the cooling plate and the at least one battery cell; And
And a second heat transfer member provided in the predetermined gap of the at least one battery cell so as to increase thermal conductivity toward the first heat transfer member, and
The second heat transfer member,
The battery module, characterized in that it is filled to completely fill the predetermined gap and is in contact with the upper side of the side of the case body, the case rim, and the folding wing. delete The method of claim 1,
The second heat transfer member,
Battery module, characterized in that the thermal interface material. The method of claim 1,
The first heat transfer member,
Battery module, characterized in that the thermal interface material. The method of claim 1,
The folding wing,
Battery module, characterized in that the folding at least once. The method of claim 5,
The folding wing,
A battery module, characterized in that it is folded multiple circuits. The method of claim 6,
The folding wing,
A first folding part that is folded from the edge of the case; And
And a second folding part that is folded from the first folding part. The method of claim 7,
The second heat transfer member,
A battery module, characterized in that it comes into contact with a side surface of the case body, a case rim, the first folding part, and the second folding part. The method of claim 6,
The folding wing,
A first folding part that is folded from the edge of the case;
A second folding part that is folded from the first folding part;
A third folding part that is folded from the second folding part and in contact with the second heat transfer member; And
And a fourth folding part that is folded from the third folding part and disposed between the first folding part and the third folding part. The method of claim 9,
The battery module,
And a third heat transfer member provided in a folding gap formed between the first folding part, the second folding part, the third folding part, and the fourth folding part. The method of claim 10,
The third heat transfer member,
A battery module having a shape corresponding to the shape of the folding gap so as to fill the folding gap. The method of claim 10,
The third heat transfer member,
Battery module, characterized in that the thermal interface material. The method of claim 1,
The battery cell,
It is provided in plural,
The plurality of battery cells,
A battery module, which is stacked up and down each other, and is connected to the cooling plate through the first heat transfer member, respectively. At least one battery module according to claim 1; And
And a pack case for packaging the at least one battery module. A vehicle comprising a; at least one battery pack according to claim 14.

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