Battery modules for vehicles

Abstract

The present invention provides a battery module for a vehicle, comprising: a unit module in which battery cells overlap each other and have a predetermined directionality; and a cooling channel module, which is directly joined to at least one surface perpendicular to the overlapping direction of the battery cells of the unit module, the cooling channel module having a refrigerant circulating therein, wherein a unit joining surface of the cooling channel module has a wavy cross-section bent along a curved surface formed by ends of the overlapping battery cells.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery module for a vehicle, and more particularly, to a configuration for cooling a battery module used in a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle. Background Art

[0002] A battery module for storing electric energy required to drive a vehicle is essential for a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle, and the battery module should have high energy density in order to maintain charging performance of the vehicle.

[0003] In the case where the energy density of the battery module is high as described above, in order to ensure stable operation, good cooling performance must be ensured to effectively cool the heat generated in the battery module.

[0004] The description of the related art is provided only to help understand the background of the present invention and should not be considered to correspond to the related art known to ordinary technicians in the field. Summary of the invention

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a battery module for a vehicle, which can minimize the size of the battery module through a simple layout and a small number of components, while ensuring good cooling performance by minimizing the heat transfer path of heat generated in battery cells constituting the battery module and maximizing the heat transfer area.

[0006] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a battery module for a vehicle includes: a unit module in which battery cells overlap each other and have a predetermined directionality; and a cooling channel module directly bonded to at least one surface perpendicular to the overlapping direction of the battery cells of the unit module, the cooling channel module having a refrigerant circulating therein, wherein a unit bonding surface of the cooling channel module has a wavy cross-section bent along a curvature formed by ends of the overlapping battery cells.

[0007] The unit module and the cooling channel module may be bonded to each other by the heat dissipation adhesive in a state in which the unit module and the cooling channel module are arranged such that the shortest distance from the battery cells of the unit module to the refrigerant in the cooling channel module remains consistent.

[0008] In a surface perpendicular to the overlapping direction of the battery cells of the unit module, a cover plate formed of a single plate having a corrugated cross-section bent along a curved surface formed by ends of the overlapping battery cells may be joined to at least another surface to which the cooling channel module is not joined.

[0009] The unit module and the cover plate may be bonded to each other by the heat dissipation adhesive in a state where the unit module and the cover plate are arranged such that the shortest distance from the battery cells of the unit module to the environment outside the cover plate remains consistent.

[0010] The unit modules may be overlapped in a horizontal direction; the cooling channel module may be joined to the lower side of the unit module; the cover plate may be joined to the upper side of the unit module; the side covers may be respectively disposed at both ends of the unit module along the overlapping direction; and the side covers may be connected to the cover plate and the cooling channel module along a vertical direction to surround and protect the unit module and provide structural rigidity.

[0011] The end of the cooling channel module may be integrally provided with an inlet and an outlet for circulating the refrigerant in the cooling channel module. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a battery module for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 An exploded perspective view of a battery module.

[0014] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 A three-dimensional view of the cooling channel module.

[0015] Figure 4 is along Figure 1 A cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] It is understood that the term "vehicle" or "vehicular" or other similar terms used herein generally include motor vehicles, such as passenger cars including sport utility vehicles (SUVs), buses, trucks, various commercial vehicles; marine vessels including various boats, ships, aircraft, etc., and include hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-powered vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuels from non-petroleum resources). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicle is a vehicle having two or more power sources, such as both a gasoline-powered vehicle and an electric-powered vehicle.

[0017] The terms used herein are only used to illustrate specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. Unless the context clearly indicates, the singular forms "one" and "the" used herein are also intended to include plural forms. It is further understood that when "including" and / or "comprising" are used in this specification, it is intended to illustrate the presence of the feature, integer, step, operation, element and / or component, but does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components and / or their combinations. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more related listed items. Throughout the specification, unless clearly described to the contrary, the word "including" and its variations such as "including" or "comprising" will be understood to imply the inclusion of the described elements but do not exclude any other elements. In addition, the terms "unit", "-machine", "-device" and "module" described in the specification refer to the unit that processes at least one function and operation, and can be implemented by hardware or software and a combination thereof.

[0018] In addition, the control logic of the present invention may be embodied as a non-transitory computer-readable medium on a computer-readable medium containing executable program instructions executed by a processor, controller, etc. Examples of computer-readable media include, but are not limited to, ROM, RAM, compact disk (CD)-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disk, flash drive, smart card, and optical data storage device. The computer-readable medium may also be distributed in a network-connected computer system so that the computer-readable medium is stored and executed in a distributed manner, such as by a telematics server or a controller area network (CAN).

[0019] Reference Figures 1 to 4 , a battery module M for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a unit module 1 formed by overlapping a plurality of battery cells and a cooling channel module 5. Each battery cell has a polygonal plate shape, and has two main faces and a plurality of ends, wherein electrodes are formed on two of the plurality of ends to become electrode ends. A plurality of battery cells are overlapped with each other in such a manner that the electrode ends face the same direction to form a unit module 1, and thus the unit module 1 has two module main faces formed by the main faces of the battery cells, an end face formed with an electrode terminal, and a plurality of side faces, wherein each side face is formed by overlapping the ends of a plurality of battery cells. The cooling channel module 5 can be directly joined to one or more sides of the unit module 1, and the refrigerant 3 circulates therein, wherein the joining surface 5-1 of the cooling channel module 5 with the unit module has a wavy cross section curved along the curved surface formed by the ends of the overlapping battery cells.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, the battery cells have a square plate shape and overlap each other in a predetermined direction, for example, in a horizontal direction. Figure 2As shown, the unit module 1 is thus formed, and the cooling channel module 5 is joined to the lower side of the unit module 1 to be perpendicular to the module main surface of the unit module 1, so that the heat generated in the battery cell is directly cooled by the refrigerant 3 in the cooling channel module 5.

[0021] The end of the cooling channel module 5 is integrally provided with an inlet 7 and an outlet 9 to circulate the refrigerant 3 in the cooling channel module. The refrigerant 3 is supplied to the inlet 7 and recovered through the outlet 9 so that the refrigerant 3 is cooled, and then the refrigerant is supplied to the inlet 7, so that the cooling effect can be smoothly promoted.

[0022] For reference, a cooling channel 11 is formed in the cooling channel module 5 so that the refrigerant 3 can circulate in the cooling channel module, and a partition plate 13 for ensuring rigidity is provided in the cooling channel module 5 .

[0023] As described above, the joint surface 5-1 of the cooling channel module 5 with the unit module is formed to be curved in a shape similar to the curved surface formed by the ends of the overlapping battery cells. Figure 4 It can be seen from the cross-sectional view that the unit module 1 and the cooling channel module 5 are bonded to each other through the heat dissipation adhesive 15 in a state where the unit module 1 and the cooling channel module 5 are arranged so that the shortest distance from the battery cell of the unit module 1 to the refrigerant 3 in the cooling channel module 5 is kept as consistent as possible. Preferably, the unit module 1 and the cooling channel module 5 are bonded to each other through the heat dissipation adhesive 15 in a state where the unit module 1 and the cooling channel module 5 are arranged so that the curved surface formed by the ends of the overlapping battery cells on the side to be bonded of the unit module 1 and the curved surface of the bonding surface 5-1 of the cooling channel module 5 are in contact with each other. As a result, in all battery cells, the heat transfer from the battery cell to the cooling channel module 5 is substantially consistent, the heat transfer area is maximized, and the shortest overall heat transfer path formed by conduction is ensured, so that the cooling performance of the battery cell can be maximized.

[0024] In particular, since the cooling channel module 5 is directly bonded to the end of the battery cell through the heat dissipation adhesive 15, and no other elements are inserted between the end of the battery cell and the cooling channel module 5, heat transfer from the battery cell to the refrigerant 3 can be performed directly and effectively.

[0025] The cooling channel module 5 as described above may also be additionally installed on the upper side and the lower side of the unit module 1 in the embodiment in the same manner to cope with the situation where more stable cooling is required.

[0026] In addition, as in the present embodiment, on the side of the unit module 1, or, on the side perpendicular to the main surface of the module of the unit module 1, a cover plate 17 formed by a single plate having a wavy cross-section bent along the curved surface formed by the ends of the overlapping battery cells can be joined to at least one unjoined surface of the cooling channel module 5.

[0027] In other words, the cooling channel module 5 may also be additionally installed on the upper side of the unit module 1 to further improve the cooling performance, but according to this embodiment, the cover plate 17 is installed as described above.

[0028] The unit module 1 and the cover plate 17 are bonded by the heat dissipation adhesive 15 in a state where they are arranged so that the shortest distance from the battery cells of the unit module 1 to the environment outside the cover plate 17 is substantially uniform. As a result, the heat generated from the battery cells of the unit module 1 is discharged to the environment outside the cover plate 17 through the cover plate 17 mounted on the upper side of the unit module 1, thereby cooling the battery cells.

[0029] Here, the unit module 1 and the cap plate 17 may be bonded to each other by the heat dissipation adhesive 15 as described above, and if necessary, a separate battery fixing pad is inserted between the unit module 1 and the cap plate 17 to fix the position of the battery cell relative to the cap plate 17 .

[0030] In this embodiment, the unit modules 1 overlap in the horizontal direction; the cooling channel module 5 is joined to the lower side of the unit module 1; the cover plate 17 is joined to the upper side of the unit module 1; the side cover 19 is arranged on the two module main surfaces of the unit module 1 along the overlapping direction, so that the side cover 19 is connected to the cover plate 17 and the cooling channel module 5 in the vertical direction, thereby surrounding and protecting the unit module 1 and providing structural rigidity.

[0031] Therefore, the battery module M for a vehicle according to the present invention surrounds and protects the outside of the unit module 1, autonomously ensures structural rigidity, and effectively and consistently cools and discharges the heat generated in the battery cell to the outside, thereby minimizing the total volume of the battery module and maximizing its cooling performance.

[0032] As described above, according to the embodiments of the present invention, good cooling performance can be ensured by minimizing the heat transfer path of heat generated in battery cells constituting the battery module and maximizing the heat transfer area, while minimizing the size of the battery module by adopting a simple layout and a small number of components.

[0033] While the present invention has been shown and described with reference to the particular embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A battery module for a vehicle, comprising: a unit module in which the battery cells overlap each other and have a predetermined directionality; as well as a cooling channel module, the cooling channel module being directly joined to at least one surface perpendicular to the main surface of the unit module, the cooling channel module having a refrigerant circulating therein, wherein the joint surface of the cooling channel module that is joined to the unit module has a corrugated cross section that is bent in the same phase along a curved surface formed by ends of the overlapping battery cells, and A partition plate for ensuring rigidity is provided in the cooling channel module. The unit module and the cooling channel module are bonded to each other by a heat dissipation adhesive in a state where the unit module and the cooling channel module are arranged such that the shortest distance from the battery cells of the unit module to the refrigerant in the cooling channel module remains the same.

2. The battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The unit module and the cooling channel module are joined to each other by a heat dissipation adhesive in a state in which the unit module and the cooling channel module are arranged so that a curved surface formed by ends of overlapping battery cells on a side surface of the unit module to be joined and a curved surface of a joining surface of the cooling channel module are in contact with each other.

3. The battery module according to claim 1, characterized in that: A cover plate formed of a single plate having a corrugated cross-section bent along a curved surface formed by ends of overlapping battery cells is joined to at least another unjoined side surface of the cooling channel module among the sides perpendicular to the module main surface of the unit module.

4. The battery module according to claim 3, characterized in that: The unit module and the cover plate are bonded to each other by the heat dissipation adhesive in a state where the unit module and the cover plate are arranged so that the shortest distances from the battery cells of the unit module to the environment outside the cover plate are as consistent as possible.

5. The battery module according to claim 3, characterized in that: The unit modules overlap in the horizontal direction; The cooling channel module is joined to the lower side of the unit module; The cover plate is joined to the upper side of the unit module; Side covers are respectively arranged on two module main surfaces of the unit modules along the overlapping direction; as well as The side cover is connected to the cover plate and the cooling channel module in a vertical direction to surround and protect the unit module and provide structural rigidity.

6. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein: An inlet and an outlet are integrally provided at the end of the cooling channel module for circulating the refrigerant in the cooling channel module.

7. A battery module for a vehicle, comprising: a unit module in which the battery cells overlap each other and have a predetermined directionality; as well as a cooling channel module directly joined to at least one of the faces parallel to the overlapping direction of the unit modules, the cooling channel module having a refrigerant circulating therein, The upper and lower sides of the cross-section of the joint surface of the cooling channel module that is joined to the unit module both have a wave-shaped cross-section that is bent in the same phase along the curved surface formed by the ends of the overlapping battery cells, and A plurality of partitions are provided in the cooling channel module for supporting the convex portion of the corrugated cross section of the joint surface. Wherein, one partition is provided for each at least one convex portion spanning the corrugated cross section of the joint surface.

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