Cell assemblies and battery modules and battery packs containing them.

Abstract

The present invention relates to a self-aligning battery cell, and more particularly, to a self-aligning battery cell that can automatically align multiple cells by printing magnets on the surfaces of each of the multiple cells, and that can improve stacking workability by preventing inconsistent cell attachment during alignment and improving the structure to better locate the physical positions of the cells. The self-aligning battery cell according to the present invention includes a first cell that is one of multiple cells and a second cell facing the first cell, the first cell having a first surface facing the second cell, the second cell having a second surface facing the first surface, a first magnet having a first polarity disposed on the first surface, and a second magnet having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity disposed on the second surface, the first magnet and the second magnet being disposed in positions corresponding to each other.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0121206 filed on September 23, 2022, and all contents disclosed in the document of said Korean patent application are incorporated herein as part of the present specification.

[0002] The present invention relates to a self-aligning cell assembly, and more particularly to a self-aligning cell assembly which can automatically align cells, prevents the cells from being unstably adhered during alignment, has an improved structure that enables better physical positioning, and can improve stacking workability. [Background Art]

[0003] In recent years, due to the increase in price of energy sources caused by the depletion of fossil fuels and growing concern about environmental pollution, the demand for environmentally friendly alternative energy sources has become an essential factor for future life. Accordingly, research on various power production technologies such as solar power, wind power, tidal power and the like has been continuously conducted, and much attention has also been paid to power storage devices such as batteries for more efficient use of the electric energy produced in this way.

[0004] Furthermore, with technological development and increasing demand for electronic mobile devices and electric vehicles using batteries, the demand for batteries as an energy source has increased sharply, and accordingly, various studies on batteries that can meet various needs have been conducted.

[0005] Secondary batteries have attracted much attention as an energy source in various product groups such as various mobile devices and electric vehicles. Such a secondary battery is an excellent energy source that can be used in place of existing products using fossil fuels, does not generate by-products accompanying the use of energy, and is in the spotlight as an environmentally friendly energy source.

[0006] To manufacture such a secondary battery, unit cells, which are formed by stacking electrodes and separators, are first fabricated. These unit cells can then be manufactured as secondary batteries through the manufacturing process of each step. The unit cells are stacked during the manufacturing process to form cell assemblies, battery modules, and battery packs, and this may require the alignment of the unit cells.

[0007] Traditionally, in the process of manufacturing battery modules by stacking battery cells, the pouch cells were fixed in place with double-sided tape or similar to prevent them from moving. However, if the machine misinterpreted the length of the cells during the process, the cells would not be aligned evenly, and this could not be corrected. [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] The present invention was derived to solve the above-mentioned problems and provides an automatic cell assembly that can automatically align cells, prevent cells from adhering uniformly during alignment, and improve the structure to better locate physical positions, thereby improving stacking workability. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The cell assembly according to the present invention is formed by stacking a plurality of cells. The cell assembly may include a first cell, which is one of the plurality of cells, and a second cell facing the first cell.

[0010] The first cell may contain a first face opposite the second cell. The second cell may contain a second face opposite the first face.

[0011] A first magnet having a first polarity can be placed on the first surface, and a second magnet having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity can be placed on the second surface. The first and second magnets can be placed in positions corresponding to each other.

[0012] Multiple first magnets can be placed on the first surface, and multiple second magnets can be placed on the second surface. The multiple first magnets and multiple second magnets can be placed in positions corresponding to each other.

[0013] A first' magnet having a second polarity may be further arranged on the first surface, and a second' magnet having a first polarity may be further arranged on the second surface. The first' and second' magnets may be positioned in corresponding positions to each other.

[0014] The first and second surfaces are formed from a pouch material, the first magnet can be printed on the surface of the first surface, and the second magnet can be printed on the surface of the second surface.

[0015] The second cell may further include a second' surface formed on the opposite side of the second surface, on which at least one second'' magnet may be placed.

[0016] The cell assembly according to the present invention may further include a third cell, which is any one of the multiple cells.

[0017] The third cell includes a third surface opposite to the second' surface, and a third magnet having the opposite polarity to the second'' magnet may be positioned on the third surface at a location corresponding to the second'' magnet.

[0018] On the second' surface, a second''' magnet with the opposite polarity to the second'' magnet may be further arranged, and on the third surface, a third' magnet with the opposite polarity to the second''' magnet may further be arranged. The second''' magnet and the third' magnet may be positioned in corresponding positions to each other.

[0019] The second magnet and the second'' magnet can be positioned in corresponding positions to each other, and the second' magnet and the second''' magnet can be positioned in corresponding positions to each other.

[0020] The second magnet and the second'' magnet can be arranged at different positions from each other, and the second' magnet and the second''' magnet can be arranged at different positions from each other.

[0021] The second' surface and the third surface are formed of a pouch material, the second'' magnet can be printed on the surface of the second' surface, and the third magnet can be printed on the surface of the third surface.

[0022] The battery module according to the present invention can include a cell assembly formed by stacking a plurality of cells, and a frame that accommodates the cell assembly.

[0023] The battery pack according to the present invention can include a battery module including a cell assembly and a frame, and a housing.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

[0024] The present invention has the effect of improving stacking workability by printing magnets on the surfaces of a plurality of battery cells respectively to enable automatic alignment of the cells, preventing the cells from being unstably attached during alignment, improving the structure to better find physical positions, and improving stacking workability. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0025] [Figure 1] It is a perspective view showing a cell assembly in which battery cells of the present invention are stacked. [Figure 2] It is a cross-sectional view illustrating first and second cells in a cell assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] It is a cross-sectional view illustrating first, second and third cells in a cell assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] It is a cross-sectional view illustrating first, second and third cells in a cell assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Description of Embodiments

[0026] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, so that they can be easily implemented by a person with ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. However, the present invention can be realized in a variety of different forms and is not limited or restricted by the following embodiments.

[0027] For the purpose of clearly describing the present invention, detailed descriptions of relevant prior art that are irrelevant to the description or that could obscure the gist of the invention have been omitted. In this specification, when assigning reference numerals to components in the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals are used for components that are the same or similar throughout the specification.

[0028] Furthermore, the terms and words used in this specification and the claims should not be interpreted in a manner limited to their general or dictionary meanings, but rather should be interpreted in a manner consistent with the technical idea of ​​the present invention, in accordance with the principle that inventors may appropriately define the concepts of terms in order to best describe their invention.

[0029] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a cell assembly in which the battery cells of the present invention are stacked.

[0030] Referring to Figure 1, it can be seen that battery cells are stacked to form cell assembly 1. Below, the cell assembly 1 and the method for forming cell assembly 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the first, second, and third embodiments.

[0031] First Embodiment Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the first and second cells in a cell assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Referring to Figure 2, the cell assembly 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention may include a first cell 10 and a second cell 20. The cell assembly 1 can be formed by stacking multiple cells. Referring to Figure 2, the first surface 11 of the first cell 10 is shown at the lower left end, and the second surface 21, which is opposite the first surface 11, is shown at the upper right end. The second' surface 22 is shown at the lower right end.

[0033] The first cell 10 may include a first surface 11. A first magnet 111 can be placed on the first surface 11. Although the first surface 11 is shown as a rectangle, it is not limited to this and can have various shapes.

[0034] The first magnet 111 may have a first polarity. Multiple first magnets 111 can be arranged on the first surface 11.

[0035] The second cell 20 may include a second surface 21. The second surface 21 may be positioned opposite the first surface 11. The second surface 21 may be formed to the same size as the first surface 11. A second magnet 211 may be placed on the second surface 21. The second magnet 211 may have a second polarity. The second polarity may be the opposite of the first polarity. Multiple second magnets 211 may be placed on the second surface 21. The first and second polarities are arbitrarily specified, and the first polarity may be a north pole or a south pole, and correspondingly the second polarity may also be a south pole or a north pole.

[0036] The second cell 20 may further include a second' surface 22. The second' surface 22 may be formed on the opposite side of the second surface 21. A second'' magnet 221 may be placed on the second' surface 22. At least one second'' magnet 221 may be placed on the second' surface 22. The second' surface 22 may be formed in a shape corresponding to the second surface 21.

[0037] The first magnet 111 and the second magnet 211 can be positioned in corresponding positions to each other. They can be positioned in corresponding positions to each other so that the first cell 10 and the second cell 20 adhere well to each other. When forming the cell assembly 1, the first magnet 111 and the second magnet 211 are illustrated in a rectangular shape, but are not limited thereto.

[0038] A first' magnet 112 can be further arranged on the first surface 11. The first' magnet 112 may have a second polarity. Since the first magnet 111 and the first' magnet 112 exhibit different polarities, they can be arranged at a predetermined distance apart. A second' magnet 212 can be further arranged on the second surface 21. The second' magnet 212 may have a first polarity. Since the second magnet 211 and the second' magnet 212 exhibit different polarities, they can be arranged at a predetermined distance apart. The first' magnet 112 and the second' magnet 212 can be arranged in corresponding positions. The first' magnet 112 and the second' magnet 212 are illustrated in a rectangular shape, but are not limited to this.

[0039] The first surface 11 and the second surface 21 can be formed from pouch material. The second' surface 22 can also be formed from pouch material. The first magnet 111 can be printed on the surface of the first surface 11. The second magnet 211 can be printed on the surface of the second surface 21. The first' magnet 112 and the second' magnet 212 can be printed on the surfaces of the first surface 11 and the second surface 21, respectively. The first magnet 111, the first' magnet 112, the second magnet 211, and the second' magnet 212 can be printed and placed on the surface of the pouch of the cell before the negative electrode material, positive electrode material, separator electrolyte, etc. are constructed and manufactured in the pouch cell.

[0040] The present invention may include a battery module (not shown) which includes a cell assembly 1 according to the first embodiment and a frame (not shown) that houses the cell assembly 1.

[0041] The present invention may include a battery pack (not shown) which includes a battery module (not shown) comprising a cell assembly 1 of the first embodiment and a housing (not shown) for housing the battery module.

[0042] Conventionally, in the process of manufacturing cell assemblies and modules by stacking battery cells, the pouch cells were fixed with double-sided tape or the like to prevent them from moving. However, a problem arose in that the machine would sometimes misinterpret the length of the cells during the process, resulting in the cells not being aligned uniformly, and it was impossible to correct this misalignment. Referring to the first embodiment, in the present invention, when cells are stacked and aligned, the cells can be aligned by magnets printed on each cell. For example, if the first magnet 111 printed on the first surface 11 is an N pole, then the second magnet 211 which is an S pole is printed on the second surface 21, and the first cell 10 and the second cell 20 can be attached and aligned by the magnets. Furthermore, if the first' magnet 112 is further printed on the first surface 11 and the second' magnet 212 is further printed on the second surface 21, and in this case the first' magnet 112 is an S pole, then the second' magnet 212 is printed as an N pole and connects with each other, further increasing the bonding force between the first cell 10 and the second cell 20. Since the magnets do not adhere completely, it is possible to readjust the alignment of the cells if they are misaligned.

[0043] Second Embodiment Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the first, second, and third cells in a cell assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0044] The second embodiment of the present invention may differ from the first embodiment in that, in addition to the first cell 10 and the second cell 20, it may also include a third cell 30. The second embodiment will be described focusing on the differences, with common elements with the first embodiment being omitted as much as possible.

[0045] Referring to Figure 3, the cell assembly 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention may further include a third cell 30.

[0046] The third cell 30 may include a third face 31. The third face 31 may face the second' face 22. A third magnet 311 may be placed on the third face 31. Multiple third magnets 311 may be placed on the third face 31. The third face 31 is illustrated as a rectangle, but is not limited to this.

[0047] A second'' magnet 221 can be placed on the second' surface 22. A third magnet 311 may have the opposite polarity to the second'' magnet 221. The third magnet 311 can be placed in a position corresponding to the second'' magnet 221.

[0048] A second''' magnet 222 can be further arranged on the second' surface 22. The second''' magnet 222 may have the opposite polarity to the second'' magnet 221. Multiple second''' magnets 222 can be arranged on the second' surface 22.

[0049] A third' magnet 312 may be further arranged on the third surface 31. The third' magnet 312 may have polarity opposite to that of the second''' magnet 222. Multiple third' magnets 312 may be arranged on the third surface 31.

[0050] The second magnet 211 and the second'' magnet 221 can be positioned in corresponding positions to each other. The second' magnet 212 and the second''' magnet 222 can be positioned in corresponding positions to each other. The third magnet 311, the third' magnet 312, the second'' magnet 221, and the second''' magnet 222 are illustrated as rectangles, but are not limited to this.

[0051] The second embodiment further includes a second' surface 22 and a third cell 30 compared to the first embodiment. The third surface 31 and the second' surface 22 of the third cell 30 are attached by magnets. As a result, the first cell 10, the second cell 20 and the third cell 30 are attached to each other by magnets to form a cell assembly 1, and multiple cells can be joined in sequence to form a cell assembly 1 containing even more cells.

[0052] Third Embodiment Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the first, second, and third cells in a cell assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0053] In the third embodiment of the present invention, there may be differences from the second embodiment in that the arrangement of magnets in the second cell 20 and the third cell 30 is different. The third embodiment will be described focusing on the differences, with common elements with the second embodiment being omitted as much as possible. In other words, it goes without saying that any information not described in the second embodiment can be supplemented by the information in the first embodiment.

[0054] Referring to Figure 4, the cell assembly 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention may further include a third cell 30. The third cell 30 may include a third magnet 311 and a third' magnet 312. The second cell 20 may include a second'' magnet 221 and a second'' magnet 222.

[0055] The second magnet 211 and the second'' magnet 221 can be positioned at different locations from each other. The second' magnet 212 and the second''' magnet 222 can be positioned at different locations from each other. Corresponding to the positions of the second'' magnet 221 and the second''' magnet 222, the third magnet 311 and the third' magnet 312 can be positioned on the third surface 31.

[0056] The third embodiment differs from the second embodiment in the arrangement of the second'' magnet 221, the second''' magnet 222, the third magnet 311, and the third' magnet 312. This is because the second'' magnet 221 and the second''' magnet 222 are positioned differently from the second magnet 221 and the second' magnet 212 positioned on the second surface 21, thereby further increasing the attractive force between the magnets. The second magnet 211 and the third magnet 311 exhibit the same polarity, and the second' magnet 212 and the third' magnet 312 also exhibit the same polarity. Here, if the second magnet 211 and the third magnet 311 were positioned in the same location with respect to a direction perpendicular to the surface of the cell, the repulsive force between the magnets may slightly weaken the bonding force. To prevent this, the positions of the magnets are different, which reduces the influence between the magnets and thus strengthens the bonding force.

[0057] The magnets mentioned above are not limited to a specific type of magnet, but can be any magnetic material that exhibits polarity.

[0058] Although the present invention has been described above with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various implementations are possible by persons with ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, within the equivalent scope of the technical concept of the present invention and the claims described below. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0059] 1 Cell Assembly 10 Cell 1 11 Page 1 111 First Magnet 112 First Magnet 20 Cell 2 21 Side 2 211 Second Magnet 222 Second Magnet 30 Cell 3 31 Page 3 311 Third Magnet 312 Third Magnet

Claims

1. A cell assembly formed by stacking multiple cells, The aforementioned cell assembly is A first cell which is one of the aforementioned plurality of cells, Including a second cell opposite the first cell, The first cell is, Including a first surface facing the second cell, The second cell is, Including a second surface opposite to the first surface, A first magnet having a first polarity is placed on the first surface. A second magnet having a second polarity opposite to the first polarity is arranged on the second surface. The first magnet and the second magnet are arranged in positions corresponding to each other. A first' magnet having the second polarity is further arranged on the first surface. A second' magnet having the first polarity is further arranged on the second surface. A cell assembly in which the first' magnet and the second' magnet are positioned in corresponding positions to each other.

2. Multiple first magnets are arranged on the first surface, Multiple second magnets are arranged on the second surface. The cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of first magnets and the plurality of second magnets are arranged at positions corresponding to each other.

3. The first and second surfaces are formed of pouch material, and the first magnet is printed on the surface of the first surface. The cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein the second magnet is printed on the surface of the second surface.

4. The second cell is, Further including a second' surface formed on the opposite side of the second surface, The cell assembly according to claim 1, wherein at least one or more second'' magnets are arranged on the second' surface.

5. The aforementioned cell assembly is It further includes a third cell which is one of the aforementioned plurality of cells, The third cell is, Including a third surface opposite to the second' surface, The cell assembly according to claim 4, wherein a third magnet having the opposite polarity to the second'' magnet is disposed on the third surface at a position corresponding to the second'' magnet.

6. On the second' surface, a second'' magnet having the opposite polarity to the second'' magnet is further arranged. On the third surface, a third magnet having the opposite polarity to the second magnet is further arranged. The cell assembly according to claim 5, wherein the second''' magnet and the third' magnet are arranged in corresponding positions to each other.

7. The second magnet and the second'' magnet are arranged in positions corresponding to each other. The cell assembly according to claim 6, wherein the second' magnet and the second''' magnet are arranged in corresponding positions to each other.

8. The second magnet and the second'' magnet are positioned at different locations from each other. The cell assembly according to claim 6, wherein the second' magnet and the second''' magnet are arranged in different positions from each other.

9. The second' surface and the third surface are formed of pouch material, and the second'' magnet is printed on the surface of the second' surface. The cell assembly according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the third magnet is printed on the surface of the third surface.

10. The cell assembly according to claim 4, wherein the second'' magnet has the second polarity.

11. The cell assembly according to claim 5, wherein the second'' magnet has the second polarity and the third magnet has the first polarity.

12. The cell assembly according to claim 6, wherein the second'' magnet has the second polarity, the second''' magnet has the first polarity, and the third' magnet has the second polarity.

13. The cell assembly according to claim 1, A battery module, including a frame that houses the cell assembly.

14. The battery module according to claim 13, A battery pack, including a housing for the aforementioned battery module.

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