Battery pack having a structure with increased mobility and easy assembly and a structure with improved safety, and energy storage system including the battery pack

Abstract

A battery pack according to one embodiment of the present invention includes: a pair of battery modules having a plurality of first partition walls extending downward from the lower surface of the battery modules; a support plate including a plurality of second partition walls and a gas discharge hole, the plurality of second partition walls extending upward from the upper surface of the support plate, the gas discharge hole being formed at the longitudinal center of the support plate, the support plate being connected to the bottom end of the pair of battery modules so that the plurality of first partition walls are adjacent to and intersect with the plurality of second partition walls in a one-to-one pairing manner; and a BMS assembly, which is connected to the upper portion of the pair of battery modules in a plug-in manner.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery pack having a structure with improved convenience of carrying and assembling and improved safety and an energy storage system (ESS) including the battery pack, and more particularly, to a battery pack having a structure for fastening a plurality of battery modules by using a module fastening plate and a BMS assembly and a structure for preventing a flame generated at a battery cell disposed therein from leaking out of the battery pack, and an ESS including the battery pack.

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0034081 filed in Korea on March 19, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] A battery pack used as an energy storage system (ESS) is an energy storage system that is configured to eliminate risks caused by external physical factors during use and to operate normally in consideration of the installation environment and usage conditions. The battery pack used as the energy storage system may have a form in which a plurality of battery modules are coupled with a BMS assembly electrically connected to the battery modules.

[0004] Among various battery packs used as energy storage systems, in particular, household battery packs often need to be moved through narrow stairs and / or passages. Battery packs used as energy storage systems are relatively large in size and heavy in weight in many cases, so convenience of carrying and installation should be considered when making the battery pack. In addition, since the battery pack used as an energy storage system includes a plurality of battery cells to ensure sufficient capacity and output, the battery pack needs to be designed to ensure the safety of the user in the event of an abnormality during use. Summary of the invention

[0005] Technical issues

[0006] The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and thus the present disclosure aims to provide a battery pack having a structure that improves convenience of carrying and installation and improves safety during use.

[0007] However, the technical problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the above contents, and those skilled in the art will understand other purposes not mentioned herein through the following description.

[0008] Technical Solution

[0009] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a battery pack is provided, comprising: a pair of battery modules, the pair of battery modules having a plurality of first partition walls, the plurality of first partition walls being formed to extend downward from the lower surface of the pair of battery modules; a support plate, the support plate having a plurality of second partition walls and gas discharge holes, the plurality of second partition walls being formed to extend upward from the upper surface of the support plate, the gas discharge holes being formed at the longitudinal center of the support plate, the support plate being connected to the bottom of the pair of battery modules so that the plurality of first partition walls are adjacent to and overlap with the plurality of second partition walls one-to-one; and a BMS assembly, the BMS assembly being connected to the upper portion of the pair of battery modules in a plug-in manner.

[0010] The plurality of first partition walls may be spaced apart from the support plate, and the plurality of second partition walls may be spaced apart from the battery module.

[0011] The plurality of first partition walls may be spaced apart from the support plate, and at least a portion of the plurality of second partition walls may have a partition wall hole formed in a region contacting a lower surface of the battery module and facing the first partition walls.

[0012] The battery module may include: a cell stack having a plurality of battery cells; a module housing configured to accommodate the cell stack; a lower cover configured to cover a bottom opening of the module housing; and an upper cover assembly configured to cover a top opening of the module housing.

[0013] A gas passage may be formed between the cell stack and the module housing.

[0014] The lower cover may have lower cover holes respectively formed on both longitudinal sides of the lower cover to communicate with the gas passage.

[0015] A mesh filter may be inserted into at least one of the gas discharge hole and the lower cover hole.

[0016] The upper cover assembly may include: an upper cover configured to cover a top opening of the module housing, the upper cover having a connector and an upper cover groove, the connector being formed at one longitudinal side of the upper cover, the upper cover groove being formed to be recessed downward at the center of the upper cover; a fuse fixed in the upper cover groove and electrically connected to the battery cell; a fuse cover configured to cover the fuse inside the upper cover groove; and a cover plate configured to cover the top of the upper cover groove and be connected to the upper cover.

[0017] The cover plate may have at least one pair of cover plate holes, and the cover plate is spaced apart from the fuse cover such that a first gripping groove is formed between the cover plate and the fuse cover.

[0018] The BMS assembly may include a BMS body coupled to the paired battery modules; and a BMS cover coupled to an upper portion of the BMS body.

[0019] The battery pack may have second catching grooves formed between one longitudinal side and the other longitudinal side of the BMS cover and the BMS body, respectively.

[0020] The BMS body may include a guide protrusion formed at a lower surface of the BMS body and inserted into the first catching groove through the cap plate to guide coupling between the BMS assembly and the battery module.

[0021] The battery pack may further include a gasket interposed between the guide protrusion and an inner surface of the cap plate hole.

[0022] The support plate may be fixed to the ground.

[0023] Meanwhile, in another aspect of the present disclosure, an ESS is further provided, the ESS comprising at least one battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0024] Beneficial effects

[0025] According to the embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a battery pack having a structure in which convenience of carrying and installation is improved and safety during use is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] 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. Therefore, the present disclosure is not interpreted as being limited to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional view of a battery pack in an assembled state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] Figure 2 It is shown Figure 1 An exploded perspective view of a battery pack.

[0029] Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a battery module applied to the present disclosure.

[0030] Figure 4 It is along Figure 2 Cross-sectional view taken along line XX.

[0031] Figure 5 It is along Figure 2 Cross-sectional view taken along line YY.

[0032] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing a coupling relationship between a pair of battery modules and a BMS assembly applied to the present disclosure.

[0033] Figure 7 It is along Figure 1 Cross-sectional view taken along line ZZ.

[0034] Figure 8 and Fig. 9 It is shown Figure 7 Magnified view of area A.

[0035] Fig.10 The figure shows the movement path of the flame and gas generated inside the battery module.

[0036] Figures 11 to 13 It is along Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view taken along line ZZ of FIG. 1 , which shows the detailed structure of the coupling area between the battery module and the support plate. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Before the description, it should be understood that the terms used in the specification and the appended claims should not be interpreted as limited to the general meaning and dictionary meaning, but are interpreted based on the meaning and concept corresponding to the technical aspects of the present disclosure based on the principle of allowing the inventor to appropriately define the terms to obtain the best interpretation. Therefore, the description proposed herein is only a preferred example for illustrative purposes and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure, so it should be understood that other equivalent schemes and modifications may also be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0038] First, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 A schematic structure of a battery pack 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and a coupling relationship between its respective components are described.

[0039] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The battery pack 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of battery modules 100, a support plate 200, and a BMS assembly 300. The battery pack 1 may be, for example, an energy storage system (ESS) battery pack for energy storage.

[0040] The bottom of the battery module 100 is inserted / fixed to the support plate 200 , and the BMS assembly 300 is coupled to the top of the battery module 100 .

[0041] The support plate 200 may be fixed to the ground, thereby functioning as a bracket for fixing the plurality of battery modules 100. Here, the ground refers to a floor surface where the battery pack 1 is used for energy storage. That is, the ground may refer to a bottom plate surface of a container or a floor surface of an indoor space of a building.

[0042] The BMS assembly 300 includes at least one BMS (Battery Management System), and the BMS assembly 300 may be coupled to the top of the plurality of battery modules 100 in a plug-in manner to mechanically fasten the plurality of battery modules 100 to each other and control charging and discharging of the plurality of battery modules 100. In addition, the BMS assembly 300 may realize electrical connection between the plurality of battery modules 100.

[0043] By combining the first connector C1 provided at the upper surface of the battery module 100 and the second connector C2 provided at the lower surface of the BMS assembly 300 (see Figure 7 ), the battery module 100 and the BMS assembly 300 may be coupled. In addition, a plurality of first gripping grooves G1 may be formed in the upper surface of the battery module 100, and a plurality of guide protrusions 311 (see Figure 8 ) may be formed at the lower surface of the BMS assembly 300 to guide the connection between the battery module 100 and the BMS assembly 300, and the plurality of guide protrusions 311 are arranged in a shape and number corresponding to the plurality of first grasping grooves G1 and are inserted into the first grasping grooves G1.

[0044] Next, we will refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 A detailed structure of the battery module 100 is described.

[0045] Reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 The battery module 100 includes a cell stack 110 , a module housing 120 , a lower cover 130 and an upper cover assembly 140 .

[0046] The cell stack 110 may include a plurality of battery cells electrically connected to each other, and may include additional components for mechanically and / or electrically coupling the plurality of battery cells. As a battery cell for configuring the cell stack 110 , for example, a pouch-type battery cell may be applied.

[0047] The module housing 120 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, with openings formed at the top and bottom thereof, respectively, and accommodates the cell stack 110 in its inner space. The module housing 120 may have a form in which a front plate 121 and a rear plate 122 are combined. However, the structure of the module housing 120 is not limited thereto, and in addition to a structure in which multiple components are combined, the module housing 120 may have an integrated structure, and alternatively, the module housing 120 may have a form in which three or more components are combined.

[0048] The lower cover 130 covers the bottom opening of the module housing 120 and supports the cell stack 110. The lower cover 130 has a special structure to facilitate downward discharge of gas and also minimize external discharge of flame when internal gas and flame are generated due to abnormality of the battery pack 1. Fig.10 and Fig.11 The structure and the specific structure of the support plate 200 are described in detail.

[0049] The upper cover assembly 140 covers the top opening of the module case 120 and ensures airtightness of the top opening of the module case 120 so that gas and flame generated due to abnormality of the battery pack 1 are not discharged upward.

[0050] The upper cover assembly 140 may include an upper cover 141 , a fuse 142 , a fuse holder 143 , a fuse cover 144 and a cover plate 145 .

[0051] The upper cover 141 covers the top opening of the module housing 120 and has a first connector C1 formed in the longitudinal direction of the upper cover 141 (parallel to Figure 3 The upper cover 141 is formed at one side of the upper cover 141 (in the direction of the X-axis in the upper cover 141). In addition, the upper cover groove 141a is formed at the center of the upper cover 141 and is recessed downward. The upper cover groove 141a is connected to the accommodation space in the module housing 120 for accommodating the cell stack 110 through a hole formed in the upper cover 141. This is for electrical connection between the cell stack 110 accommodated in the module housing 120 and the fuse 142 installed in the cover groove 141a.

[0052] The fuse holder 143 is fixed in the upper cover groove 141a and fixes the fuse 142. However, in the present disclosure, the fuse holder 143 may not be included, in which case the fuse 142 may be directly fixed to the inner surface of the upper cover groove 141a by using an adhesive, or fixed inside the upper cover groove 141a using a fixing structure formed integrally with the upper cover 141.

[0053] The fuse cover 144 has a length and a width corresponding to the upper cover groove 141 a and covers the fuse 142 and the fuse seat 143 inside the upper cover groove 141 a .

[0054] The cover plate 145 covers the top of the upper cover groove 141a and is connected to the upper cover 141. The cover plate 145 has at least one pair of cover plate holes 145a and is installed to be spaced apart from the fuse cover 144 so that a first gripping groove G1 is formed between the cover plate 145 and the fuse cover 144. The cover plate holes 145a and the first gripping groove G1 provide a space for workers to grip the battery module 100 by inserting fingers or a gripping device when transporting the battery module 100, thereby providing convenience in transporting the battery module 100. In addition, in addition to the above functions, as described above, the cover plate holes 145a and the first gripping groove G1 also provide guide protrusions 311 (see Figure 8 ) provides an insertion space to guide the connection between the BMS assembly 300 and the battery module 100.

[0055] That is, Figures 6 to 8 As shown, in the connection between the battery module 100 and the BMS assembly 300, if the guide protrusion 311 (see Figure 8 ) and the cover plate hole 145a are aligned and connected, then the first connector C1 of the battery module 100 and the second connector C2 of the BMS assembly 300 are naturally connected.

[0056] At the same time, refer to Figure 8 and Fig.10 The guide protrusion 311 has a size and shape corresponding to the cover plate hole 145a, thereby preventing gas and / or flame generated from the cell stack 110 located at the lower portion of the upper cover assembly 140 from leaking toward the BMS assembly 300 through the upper portion of the battery module 100.

[0057] In addition, refer to Fig. 9 and Fig.10 The gasket 400 may be placed between the guide protrusion 311 and the inner surface of the cap plate hole 145a. This is to further increase the airtightness so as to more reliably prevent the gas and / or flame generated from the cell stack 110 from leaking toward the BMS assembly 300 through the upper portion of the battery module 100.

[0058] Reference Figures 5 to 7 , the BMS assembly 300 includes a BMS body 310 and a BMS cover 320 .

[0059] The BMS body 310 includes at least one BMS and has at least two second connectors C2, which are provided at the lower surface of the BMS body 310 and are electrically connected to the BMS. Each second connector C2 is coupled to a first connector C1 provided on top of a plurality of battery modules 100 in a one-to-one relationship, so that each battery module 100 is electrically connected to the BMS. In addition, according to the circuit configuration of the BMS, the battery modules 100 may be electrically connected to each other in series and / or in parallel.

[0060] The BMS cover 320 is coupled to the upper portion of the BMS body 310. The BMS cover 320 may be used as a handle of the BMS assembly 300. That is, the longitudinal direction (parallel to the longitudinal direction) of the BMS cover 320 is Figure 5 One side and the other side in the direction of the X-axis in the BMS cover 320 are spaced apart from the upper surface of the BMS body 310 by a predetermined distance, and thus, second gripping grooves G2 are respectively formed at both longitudinal sides of the BMS cover 320. The second gripping grooves G2 provide a space for a worker to insert fingers or a gripping device to move the BMS assembly 300 and / or transport the battery pack 1.

[0061] Next, we will refer to Fig.10 and Fig.11 A detailed structure of the bottom of the battery module 100 and a detailed structure of the support plate 200 are described.

[0062] A structure capable of smoothly discharging gas generated from the cell stack 110 to the outside and preventing flame from being discharged to the outside is formed at the bottom of the battery module 100 .

[0063] The lower cover 130 includes a pair of lower cover holes 130a and a plurality of first partition walls 131. The lower cover holes 130a are formed in the longitudinal direction of the lower cover 130 (parallel to Fig.11 In addition, the lower cover 130 may further include a pair of mesh filters M. The lower cover hole 130a is connected to the gas passage P formed between the cell stack 110 and the module housing 120. Therefore, the gas and / or flame generated from the cell stack 110 can be discharged downward (in parallel to the direction of the X-axis) through the lower cover hole 130a. Fig.11 The mesh filter M is inserted / fixed in the lower cover hole 130a. The mesh filter M allows the gas generated in the battery module 100 to pass as it is, but reduces the amount of flame and the flame jet speed discharged downward through the lower cover hole 130a. The first partition wall 131 has a shape extending downward from the lower surface of the lower cover 130 and is spaced apart from the upper surface of the support plate 200 so that the gas can flow along the lower cover hole 130a. Fig.11 The first partition wall 131 together with the second partition wall 210 described later increases the movement path of the flame so that the flame can be extinguished inside the battery pack 1 without leaking to the outside.

[0064] The support plate 200 is located below the plurality of battery modules 100 and provides a space into which the plurality of battery modules 100 can be inserted. The support plate 200 includes a plurality of second partition walls 210 formed to extend upward (in parallel to the Fig.11 and a gas discharge hole 200a, the gas discharge hole 200a is formed in the longitudinal direction of the support plate 200 (parallel to Fig.11 The plurality of second partition walls 210 are spaced apart from the lower surface of the battery module 100, that is, the lower surface of the lower cover 130, so that the gas can flow along the Fig.11 The arrow shown moves.

[0065] Among the plurality of first partition walls 131 and the plurality of second partition walls 210, the first partition walls 131 and the second partition walls 210 formed at positions corresponding to each other overlap each other. That is, the support plate 200 is connected to the bottom of the paired battery modules 100 so that the plurality of first partition walls 131 and the plurality of second partition walls 210 are adjacent to and overlap each other in a one-to-one manner. Therefore, when the flame introduced into the space between the lower cover 130 and the support plate 200 through the mesh filter M moves toward the gas discharge hole 200a, the movement path of the flame is increased, and therefore, the flame can be extinguished without being discharged to the outside through the gas discharge hole 200a. That is, the support plate 200 is used as a component for fixing the battery module 100 and a component for simultaneously providing a structure for extinguishing the flame.

[0066] Reference Fig.12 ,and Fig.11 The difference is that the mesh filter M can be inserted into the gas discharge hole 200a. That is, the mesh filter M can be installed in at least one of the lower cover hole 130a of the lower cover 130 and the gas discharge hole 200a of the support plate 200. If the mesh filter (M) is installed in these two positions, the risk of flame leaking from the battery pack 1 can be further reduced.

[0067] Reference Fig.13 ,and Fig.11Unlike the above, at least a portion of the plurality of second partition walls 210 may be in contact with the lower surface of the battery module 100, that is, the lower surface of the lower cover 130. In this case, the partition wall holes 210a are formed in the second partition walls 210 in contact with the lower surface of the lower cover 130 to allow gas to flow along the Fig.13 If at least a portion of the plurality of second partition walls 210 contacts the lower surface of the lower cover 130 as described above, the contact area between the lower cover 130 and the support plate 200 increases, thereby improving the structural strength.

[0068] Meanwhile, the ESS according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes at least one battery pack 1 according to the present disclosure as described above.

[0069] The present disclosure has been described in detail. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the present disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Claims

1. A battery pack comprising: A pair of battery modules, the pair of battery modules comprising: a cell stack having a plurality of battery cells; a module housing configured to accommodate the cell stack, and a gas channel formed between the cell stack and the module housing; a lower cover configured to cover a bottom opening of the module housing, the lower cover having a pair of lower cover holes and a plurality of first partition walls, the lower cover holes being respectively formed at two longitudinal sides of the lower cover to communicate with the gas channel, the plurality of first partition walls being formed to extend downward from a lower surface of the battery module; and an upper cover assembly configured to cover a top opening of the module housing; a support plate having a plurality of second partition walls and a gas discharge hole, the plurality of second partition walls being formed to extend upward from an upper surface of the support plate, the gas discharge hole being formed at a longitudinal center of the support plate, the support plate being coupled to the bottom of the paired battery modules so that the plurality of first partition walls and the plurality of second partition walls are adjacent to and overlap each other one-to-one in a longitudinal direction of the lower cover; and A battery management system assembly is connected to the upper part of the paired battery modules in a plug-in manner, Wherein, the upper cover assembly comprises: an upper cover configured to cover the top opening of the module housing, the upper cover having a connector and an upper cover groove, the connector being formed at one longitudinal side of the upper cover, the upper cover groove being formed at the center of the upper cover to be recessed downward; a fuse fixed in the upper cover groove and electrically connected to the battery cell; a fuse cover configured to cover the fuse inside the upper cover groove; and A cover plate is configured to cover the top of the upper cover groove and is connected to the upper cover, wherein the cover plate has at least one pair of cover plate holes and is spaced apart from the fuse cover so that a first gripping groove is formed between the cover plate and the fuse cover.

2. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of first partition walls are spaced apart from the support plate, and the plurality of second partition walls are spaced apart from the battery module.

3. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein: The plurality of first partition walls are spaced apart from the support plate, and at least a portion of the plurality of second partition walls has a partition wall hole formed in a region contacting the lower surface of the battery module and facing the first partition walls.

4. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein: A mesh filter is inserted into at least one of the gas discharge hole and the lower cover hole.

5. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein: The battery management system components include: a battery management system main body coupled to the paired battery modules; and A battery management system cover is coupled to an upper portion of the battery management system body.

6. The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein: The battery pack has second catching grooves formed between one longitudinal side and the other longitudinal side of the battery management system cover and the battery management system body, respectively.

7. The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein: The BMS body includes a guide protrusion formed at a lower surface of the BMS body and inserted into the first catch groove through the cover plate to guide coupling between the BMS assembly and the battery module.

8. The battery pack according to claim 7, further comprising: A gasket is disposed between the guide protrusion and an inner surface of the cover plate hole.

9. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein: The support plate is fixed to the ground.

10. An energy storage system comprising at least one battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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