Battery pack and vehicle including the battery pack

Abstract

A battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a plurality of battery modules, the plurality of battery modules having at least one battery cell, and having a heat sink unit respectively arranged to the upper and lower sides of the at least one battery cell, the heat sink unit having a cooling channel through which a coolant flows; at least one anti-compression beam, the at least one anti-compression beam being arranged between the plurality of battery modules; a battery pack tray, the battery pack tray being configured to support the at least one anti-compression beam and the plurality of battery modules; and a plurality of drainage holes, the plurality of drainage holes being arranged in the battery pack tray to discharge the coolant from the battery pack when the coolant leaks.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery pack and a vehicle including the battery pack.

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0094572 filed in Korea on August 2, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] Secondary batteries are highly applicable to various products and exhibit excellent electrical characteristics such as high energy density, so secondary batteries are not only commonly used in portable devices, but also in electric vehicles (EV) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) driven by electric power sources. Secondary batteries are attracting attention as a new energy source that improves energy efficiency and environmental friendliness because they can greatly reduce the use of fossil fuels and do not produce byproducts during energy consumption.

[0004] Currently widely used secondary batteries include lithium-ion batteries, lithium polymer batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, etc. The operating voltage of a unit secondary battery cell (i.e., a unit battery cell) is about 2.5V to 4.5V. Therefore, if a higher output voltage is required, a plurality of battery cells can be connected in series to form a battery pack. In addition, depending on the charge / discharge capacity required for the battery pack, a plurality of battery cells can be connected in parallel to form a battery pack. Thus, the number of battery cells included in the battery pack can be set differently according to the required output voltage or the required charge / discharge capacity.

[0005] Meanwhile, when a plurality of battery cells are connected in series or in parallel to form a battery pack, a battery module composed of at least one battery cell is usually first constructed, and then a battery pack or battery rack is constructed by using at least one battery module and adding other components. Here, according to various voltage and capacity requirements, the energy storage system may be configured to include at least one battery rack including at least one battery module.

[0006] In the case of battery packs, in recent years, as the demand for large-capacity battery packs has increased, the demand for battery packs with thinner and compact sizes and larger energy density is increasing. Moreover, in the case of large-capacity battery packs, cooling performance is also important, so it is also important to have high cooling efficiency.

[0007] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a battery pack capable of improving cooling efficiency and energy density and a vehicle including the battery pack. Summary of the invention

[0008] Technical issues

[0009] The present disclosure is directed to providing a battery pack that can improve cooling efficiency and energy density, and a vehicle including the battery pack.

[0010] In addition, the present disclosure is also directed to providing a battery pack that can prevent coolant from flowing into a battery module when the coolant leaks, and a vehicle including the battery pack.

[0011] Technical Solutions

[0012] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a battery pack is provided, comprising: a plurality of battery modules, the plurality of battery modules having at least one battery cell, and having a heat sink unit respectively arranged to the upper and lower sides of the at least one battery cell, the heat sink unit having a cooling channel through which a coolant flows; at least one anti-compression beam, the at least one anti-compression beam being arranged between the plurality of battery modules; a battery pack tray, the battery pack tray being configured to support the at least one anti-compression beam and the plurality of battery modules; and a plurality of drainage holes, the plurality of drainage holes being arranged in the battery pack tray to discharge the coolant from the battery pack when the coolant leaks.

[0013] The plurality of drainage holes may be formed in a bottom of a space between each of the battery modules and the at least one anti-compression beam.

[0014] A guide channel for guiding the coolant toward the plurality of drain holes when the coolant of the radiator unit provided to the upper side of each battery module leaks may be formed in a space between each battery module and the at least one anti-compression beam.

[0015] The radiator unit may include: a lower radiator configured to support a lower side of the at least one battery cell and having a cooling channel formed therein so that a coolant flows through the cooling channel; and an upper radiator disposed opposite to the lower radiator to support an upper side of the at least one battery cell and having a cooling channel formed therein so that a coolant flows through the cooling channel.

[0016] Each of the plurality of battery modules may include: the at least one battery cell; a radiator unit having a lower radiator and an upper radiator; and a pair of side plates, the pair of side plates being arranged between the lower radiator and the upper radiator so that at least one side plate of the pair of side plates faces the at least one compression beam.

[0017] At least one drainage guide slit may be formed at the pair of side plates to face the plurality of drainage holes.

[0018] The at least one drainage guide slit may be elongated in a height direction of the pair of side plates.

[0019] The at least one drainage guide slit may be formed to have a predetermined length along a length direction of the pair of side plates.

[0020] The drainage guide slit may be provided in plural, and the plurality of drainage guide slits may be provided in a number corresponding to the plurality of drainage holes.

[0021] In addition, the present disclosure also provides a vehicle including at least one battery pack according to the aforementioned embodiment.

[0022] Beneficial effects

[0023] According to the various embodiments described above, it is possible to provide a battery pack that can improve cooling efficiency and energy density, and a vehicle including the battery pack.

[0024] In addition, according to the various embodiments described above, it is possible to provide a battery pack that can prevent coolant from flowing into a battery module when the coolant leaks, and a vehicle including the battery pack. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the foregoing disclosure, are used to provide a further understanding of the technical features of the present disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure should not be construed as being limited to the accompanying drawings.

[0026] Figure 1 is a view for illustrating a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A plan view of the battery pack.

[0028] Figure 3 It is used to show Figure 2 A view of the main parts of the battery pack.

[0029] Figure 4 It is shown Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the main parts of a battery pack.

[0030] Figure 5 It is used to show Figure 1 0014] A view of a drainage structure in a battery pack for preventing leaked coolant from flowing into a battery module when the coolant leaks.

[0031] Figure 6 is a view for illustrating a battery pack according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] Figure 7It is shown Figure 6 A plan view of the battery pack.

[0033] Figure 8 It is used to show Figure 7 A view of the main parts of the battery pack.

[0034] Fig. 9 It is shown Figure 6 A cross-sectional view of the main parts of a battery pack.

[0035] Fig.10 It is used to show Figure 6 0014] A view of a drainage structure in a battery pack for preventing leaked coolant from flowing into a battery module when the coolant leaks.

[0036] Fig.11 is a view for illustrating a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] By describing the embodiments of the present disclosure in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present disclosure will become more apparent. It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are only for a better understanding of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure can be modified in various ways. In addition, in order to easily understand the present disclosure, the accompanying drawings are not drawn according to the actual scale, but may exaggerate the size of some parts.

[0038] Figure 1 is a view for illustrating a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 A plan view of the battery pack, Figure 3 It is used to show Figure 2 A view of the main parts of the battery pack, and Figure 4 It is shown Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the main parts of a battery pack.

[0039] refer to Figures 1 to 4 , the battery pack 10 may include a battery module 100 , a compression beam 200 , a battery pack tray 300 , a drainage hole 400 , and a guide channel 500 .

[0040] The battery module 100 may be provided in plural.

[0041] Each of the plurality of battery modules 100 may include a battery cell 110 , a heat sink unit 130 , 140 , and a pair of side plates 150 .

[0042] The battery cell 110 is a secondary battery, and may be provided as a pouch-type secondary battery, a rectangular secondary battery, or a cylindrical secondary battery. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the battery cell 110 will be described as a pouch-type secondary battery.

[0043] At least one battery cell 110 or a plurality of battery cells 110 may be provided. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, providing a plurality of battery cells 110 will be described.

[0044] The radiator units 130, 140 cool the plurality of battery cells 110 and may cover upper and lower sides of the plurality of battery cells 110. Here, the radiator units 130, 140 may directly cover upper and lower sides of the plurality of battery cells 110, respectively, without any additional members.

[0045] In this embodiment, since the heat sink units 130 , 140 directly cover the upper and lower sides of the battery cells 110 without a separate member, the battery module 100 may be designed to be thinner, and the energy density of the battery module 100 may be improved.

[0046] Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the radiator units 130 , 140 are respectively provided to and directly cover the upper and lower sides of the battery cells 110 , the cooling efficiency of the battery cells 110 may also be significantly improved.

[0047] The radiator unit 130 , 140 may include an upper radiator 130 and a lower radiator 140 .

[0048] The upper radiator 130 is disposed opposite to the lower radiator 140, and the upper radiator 130 may directly cover and support the upper side of at least one battery cell 110 or, in the case of this embodiment, the upper sides of a plurality of battery cells 110. A cooling channel 135 through which a coolant for cooling the battery cells 110 flows may be disposed in the upper radiator 130.

[0049] The lower radiator 140 may be provided on the battery pack tray 300 explained later to directly cover and support the lower side of at least one battery cell 110 or, in the case of this embodiment, the lower sides of the plurality of battery cells 110. A cooling channel 145 through which a coolant for cooling the battery cells 110 flows may be provided in the lower radiator 140.

[0050] A pair of side plates 150 are disposed between the upper radiator 130 and the lower radiator 140 , and may be coupled to the upper radiator 130 and the lower radiator 140 to encapsulate the battery cells 110 .

[0051] At least one of the pair of side plates 150 may be disposed to face the anti-compression beam 200 explained later, and may be disposed to be spaced apart from the anti-compression beam 200 explained later by a predetermined distance.

[0052] The anti-compression beam 200 is disposed between the plurality of battery modules 100, and specifically, may be disposed to face the side plates 150 of the plurality of battery modules 100. At least one anti-compression beam 200 or a plurality of anti-compression beams 200 may be provided.

[0053] When an impact occurs outside the battery pack 10 , the anti-compression beam 200 may prevent the impact from being transferred to the battery module 100 or buffer the impact.

[0054] The battery pack tray 300 may support a plurality of battery modules 100 and at least one compression beam 200. The battery pack tray 300 may be mounted to the vehicle 1 explained later.

[0055] The drain hole 400 is provided in the pack tray 300 , and when the coolant or the like leaks out from the radiator units 130 , 140 , the drain hole 400 may drain the coolant from the battery pack 10 .

[0056] The drain hole 400 may be provided in plural. A plurality of drain holes 400 may be formed in the bottom of the space between each battery module 100 and at least one anti-compression beam 200.

[0057] The guide channel 500 may be formed in a space between each battery module 100 and at least one anti-compression beam 200. When the coolant of the radiator unit 130 (i.e., the upper radiator 130) disposed at the upper side of each battery module 100 leaks, the guide channel 500 may guide the coolant toward the plurality of drain holes 400.

[0058] Hereinafter, a drainage structure for preventing the leaked coolant from flowing toward the battery cells 110 inside the battery module 100 when the coolant of the battery pack 10 according to this embodiment leaks will be described in more detail.

[0059] Figure 5 It is used to show Figure 1 0014] A view of a drainage structure in a battery pack for preventing leaked coolant from flowing into a battery module when the coolant leaks.

[0060] refer to Figure 5 In the battery pack 10 , when an external impact or the like occurs, specifically, when an external impact or the like occurs in a portion not covered by the anti-compression beam 200 , in particular, the upper radiator 130 of the radiator units 130 , 140 may be damaged.

[0061] When the upper radiator 130 is damaged, the coolant in the cooling channel 135 inside the upper radiator 130 may leak out from the upper radiator 130. In this case, if the leaked coolant flows into the battery cells 110 inside the battery module 100, the entire battery pack 10 including the battery module 100 may be damaged, so it is important to quickly discharge the leaked coolant from the battery pack 10.

[0062] In this embodiment, if the coolant in the cooling channel 135 of the upper radiator 130 leaks out of the upper radiator 130 , the coolant may be quickly guided toward the drain hole 400 through the guide channel 500 and discharged from the battery pack 10 .

[0063] Thus, in this embodiment, even if the coolant of the radiator units 130, 140 leaks, the leaked coolant can be quickly discharged from the battery pack 10 through the guide channel 500 and the drain hole 400, thereby effectively preventing the battery module 100 or the entire battery pack 10 from being damaged by the coolant.

[0064] Figure 6 is a view for illustrating a battery pack according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 7 It is shown Figure 6 A plan view of the battery pack, Figure 8 It is used to show Figure 7 A view of the main parts of the battery pack, and Fig. 9 It is shown Figure 6 A cross-sectional view of the main parts of a battery pack.

[0065] The battery pack 20 according to this embodiment is similar to the battery pack 10 of the aforementioned embodiment, and thus hereinafter, features substantially the same as or similar to those of the aforementioned embodiment will not be described in detail, but features different from those of the aforementioned embodiment will be described in detail.

[0066] refer to Figures 6 to 9 , the battery pack 20 may include a battery module 105 , an extruded beam 200 , a battery pack tray 300 , a drainage hole 400 , and a guide channel 500 .

[0067] The battery module 105 may be provided in plural numbers.

[0068] Each of the plurality of battery modules 105 may include a plurality of battery cells 110 , heat sink units 130 , 140 , and a pair of side plates 160 .

[0069] The plurality of battery cells 110 and the heat sink units 130 , 140 are substantially the same as or similar to the previous embodiment and will not be described again.

[0070] Drain guide slits 165 may be formed in the pair of side plates 160 .

[0071] The drainage guide slit 165 is elongated in a height direction of the pair of side plates 160 , and may be formed to have a predetermined length in a length direction of the pair of side plates 160 .

[0072] There may be formed at least one drainage guide slit 165 or a plurality of drainage guide slits 165. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the formation of a plurality of drainage guide slits 165 will be described.

[0073] The plurality of drainage guide slits 165 may be provided to face a plurality of drainage holes 400 explained later, and may be provided in a number corresponding to the plurality of drainage holes 400 explained later.

[0074] The compression beam 200 and the battery pack tray 300 are substantially the same or similar to the previous embodiment and thus will not be described again.

[0075] The drain hole 400 is provided in plurality and may be formed in the battery pack tray 300. The plurality of drain holes 400 may be provided to the lower side of the plurality of drain guide slits 165 and may be provided in a number corresponding to the plurality of drain guide slits 165.

[0076] The guide passage 500 is substantially the same as or similar to the guide passage of the previous embodiment and thus will not be described again.

[0077] Hereinafter, a drainage structure for preventing the leaked coolant from flowing into the battery cells 110 inside the battery module 105 when the coolant of the battery pack 20 according to this embodiment leaks will be described in more detail.

[0078] Fig.10 It is used to show Figure 6 0014] A view of a drainage structure in a battery pack for preventing leaked coolant from flowing into a battery module when the coolant leaks.

[0079] refer to Fig.10 , in the battery pack 20 , as in the aforementioned embodiment, when the upper radiator 130 is damaged, the coolant in the cooling channel 135 inside the upper radiator 130 may leak out from the upper radiator 130 .

[0080] In this embodiment, if the coolant in the cooling channel 135 of the upper radiator 130 leaks out from the upper radiator 130 , the coolant may be guided to flow toward the drain hole 400 not only through the guide channel 500 but also through the drain guide slit 165 .

[0081] Thus, in this embodiment, the leaked coolant may be more quickly and efficiently discharged from the battery pack 20 through the drainage guide slits 165 and the guide passage 500 .

[0082] Fig.11 is a view for illustrating a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0083] refer to Fig.11 The vehicle 1 may include at least one of the battery packs 10, 20 of the aforementioned embodiments. The vehicle 1 may be an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or other vehicle including the battery packs 10, 20 as a fuel source.

[0084] Since the vehicle 1 according to the present embodiment includes the battery packs 10, 20 of the aforementioned embodiments, it is possible to provide the vehicle 1 having all the advantages of the battery packs 10, 20 of the aforementioned embodiments. In addition to the vehicle 1, the battery packs 10, 20 may also be provided to an energy storage system or other equipment or appliances using the battery packs 10, 20 as an energy source.

[0085] According to the various embodiments described above, it is possible to provide the battery pack 10 , 20 that can improve cooling efficiency and energy density, and the vehicle 1 including the battery pack 10 , 20 .

[0086] In addition, according to the various embodiments described above, it is possible to provide the battery pack 10 , 20 and the vehicle including the battery pack 10 , 20 which can prevent the coolant from flowing into the battery modules 100 , 105 when the coolant leaks.

[0087] Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described, and that those skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications within the scope of the present disclosure, and that these modifications should not be understood separately from the technical ideas and viewpoints of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A battery pack comprising: a plurality of battery modules having at least one battery cell and having heat sink units respectively provided to upper and lower sides of the at least one battery cell, the heat sink units having cooling channels through which a coolant flows; at least one anti-compression beam, the at least one anti-compression beam being disposed between the plurality of battery modules; a battery pack tray configured to support the at least one compression beam and the plurality of battery modules; as well as a plurality of drain holes provided in the battery pack tray to drain the coolant from the battery pack when the coolant leaks, wherein the plurality of drainage holes are formed in the bottom of the space between each battery module and the at least one compression beam, and A guide channel is formed in the space between each battery module and the at least one compression beam, and the guide channel is used to guide the coolant toward the plurality of drainage holes when the coolant of the radiator unit provided to the upper side of each battery module leaks.

2. The battery pack according to claim 1, in, The radiator unit comprises: a lower radiator configured to support a lower side of the at least one battery cell and having a cooling channel formed therein so that the coolant flows through the cooling channel; and An upper radiator is disposed opposite to the lower radiator to support an upper side of the at least one battery cell and has a cooling channel formed therein so that the coolant flows through the cooling channel.

3. The battery pack according to claim 2, in, Each of the plurality of battery modules comprises: the at least one battery cell; the radiator unit, the radiator unit having the lower radiator and the upper radiator; and A pair of side plates are disposed between the lower radiator and the upper radiator such that at least one of the pair of side plates faces the at least one compression beam.

4. The battery pack according to claim 3, in, At least one drainage guide slit is formed at the pair of side plates to face the plurality of drainage holes.

5. The battery pack according to claim 4, in, The at least one drainage guide slit is elongated along a height direction of the pair of side plates.

6. The battery pack according to claim 4, in, The at least one drainage guide slit is formed to have a predetermined length along a length direction of the pair of side plates.

7. The battery pack according to claim 4, in, The drainage guide slits are provided in plural numbers, and The plurality of drainage guide slits are provided in a number corresponding to the plurality of drainage holes.

8. A vehicle comprising at least one battery pack according to claim 1.

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