Battery module and battery pack and vehicle each comprising the same

Abstract

A battery module and a battery pack and a vehicle each including the battery module are provided. The battery module includes a frame, a plurality of battery cells arranged in the frame, a heat sink in contact with one side of the battery cells, and a heat sink fin in contact with the heat sink and in contact with the other side of the battery cells.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0161650, filed in Korea on November 26, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] This disclosure relates to a battery module and a battery pack and a vehicle respectively including the battery module, and more specifically, to a battery module capable of improving cooling performance and a battery pack and a vehicle respectively including the battery module. Background Technology

[0003] With the technological advancements in mobile devices and the increasing demand for them, the need for rechargeable batteries as an energy source has grown rapidly. Although nickel-cadmium or hydrogen-ion batteries have been used as rechargeable batteries in existing technologies, lithium-ion batteries, which offer free charging and discharging, very low self-discharge rates, and high energy density, have recently become widely used due to their near-absence of memory effect compared to nickel-based batteries.

[0004] This type of lithium secondary battery mainly uses lithium-based oxide and carbon materials as positive and negative electrode active materials, respectively. The lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly and a sheath material (i.e., battery case). In the electrode assembly, positive and negative electrode plates coated with positive and negative electrode active materials are arranged, respectively. A separator is inserted between the positive and negative electrode plates. The sheath material seals and contains the electrode assembly and electrolyte.

[0005] Lithium-ion batteries, depending on the positive and negative active materials used, include a positive electrode, a negative electrode, a separator inserted between them, and an electrolyte, and include lithium-ion batteries (LIB), polymer lithium-ion batteries (PLIB), etc. Generally, the electrodes of a lithium-ion battery are formed by coating the positive or negative active material onto a current collector (such as an aluminum or copper sheet, mesh, film, or foil), and then drying the positive or negative active material.

[0006] In addition, various secondary batteries have covers that can protect multiple battery cells, and include multiple battery modules (in which multiple battery cells are stacked and inserted into the covers) and battery packs that include multiple battery modules.

[0007] Battery cells can be electrically connected to each other via busbars that act as conductors. Generally, the positive lead is made of aluminum, the negative lead is made of copper, and the busbars are also made of copper.

[0008] In the case of existing battery modules, the battery cell is integrated with a heat sink, the heat sink integrated with the battery cell is integrated with a heat sink, and the heat generated by the battery cell is dissipated through the heat sink integrated with the heat sink, thus forming indirect cooling.

[0009] However, this indirect cooling method for battery cells has the following problems: as the capacity of the battery cells increases, the cooling efficiency decreases, and the variation in cooling performance increases depending on the adhesion between the heat sink and the heat radiator. Summary of the Invention

[0010] Technical issues

[0011] This disclosure is designed to address the problems of the prior art, and therefore aims to provide a battery module that can improve cooling performance even when the capacity of a single battery cell increases, as well as a battery pack and a vehicle that respectively include the battery module.

[0012] These and other objects and advantages of this disclosure may be understood from the following detailed description and will become more apparent from the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure. Furthermore, it will be readily understood that the objects and advantages of this disclosure may be achieved by the manner shown in the appended claims and combinations thereof.

[0013] Technical solution

[0014] In one aspect of this disclosure, a battery module is provided, comprising: a frame; a plurality of battery cells disposed in the frame; a heat sink in contact with one side of the battery cells; and a heat sink fin in contact with the heat sink and with the other side of the battery cells.

[0015] The battery cell can be a pouch cell and is arranged vertically such that the widest surface of the battery cell faces the upper and lower sides of the frame.

[0016] The plurality of battery cells can be arranged symmetrically relative to the heat sink.

[0017] Regarding the heat sink, the lower part of any one of the battery cells can contact the heat sink from the upper side, and the upper part of the other battery cell can contact the heat sink from the lower side.

[0018] The heat sink may include: a first portion that contacts the opposite side of a portion of the battery cell that contacts the heat sink; a second portion that extends from the first portion toward the heat sink; and a third portion that extends from the second portion and is fixed to contact the heat sink.

[0019] The heat sink may be made of a metallic material to cool the battery cell and to contact the battery cell to support it.

[0020] The battery module may further include a busbar configured to connect the electrode leads of the plurality of battery cells, and the busbar may be in direct contact with the heat sink.

[0021] The battery cell can be bonded to the heat sink or the heat fin using thermally conductive adhesive.

[0022] In another aspect of this disclosure, a battery pack including the aforementioned battery module and a vehicle including the aforementioned battery module are provided.

[0023] Beneficial effects

[0024] The embodiments of this disclosure improve cooling performance even as the capacity of individual battery cells increases by directly cooling the heat sink and indirectly cooling the heat fins. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic overall perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic exploded perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] Figure 3 The illustration shows a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in which multiple battery cells are separated from the heat sink.

[0028] Figure 4 It is along Figure 2 A sectional view taken by line A-A'.

[0029] Figure 5 It is along Figure 2 The sectional view taken by line B-B'. Detailed Implementation

[0030] Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Before description, it should be understood that the terminology used in the specification and appended claims should not be construed as limited to its general or dictionary meaning, but rather is interpreted according to the meaning and concept corresponding to the technical aspects of the present disclosure, based on the principle that inventors are allowed to appropriately define terms for the best interpretation. Therefore, the descriptions presented herein are merely preferred examples for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure; thus, it should be understood that other equivalents and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

[0031] In the accompanying drawings, for ease of description and clarity, the dimensions of individual elements or specific portions constituting elements are exaggerated, omitted, or shown schematically. Therefore, the sizes of the individual elements do not necessarily reflect their actual sizes. Detailed descriptions defining relevant known functions or configurations will be omitted if they would unnecessarily obscure the gist of this disclosure.

[0032] As used herein, the terms “joint” or “connection” include not only cases where one component is directly joined or directly connected to another component, but also cases where one component is indirectly joined or indirectly connected to another component via a connector.

[0033] Figure 1 This is a schematic overall perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 2 This is a schematic exploded perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 The illustration shows a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure in which multiple battery cells are separated from the heat sink. Figure 4 It is along Figure 2 The sectional view taken by line A-A'. Figure 5 It is along Figure 2 The sectional view taken by line B-B'.

[0034] Reference Figures 1 to 5 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the battery module 10 includes a frame 100, a battery cell 200, a heat sink 300, and a heat sink 400.

[0035] The frame 100 can be formed in a shape that is approximately square to rectangular, but is not limited thereto. The frame 100 can be deformed into various shapes such as circles, ellipses, rhombuses, and triangles without departing from the scope of this disclosure. When the frame 100 is formed in a rectangular shape, the length and width of the frame 100 can be changed according to the location where the frame 100 will be installed or the dimensions of the location where the frame 100 will be used.

[0036] The battery cell 200 can be configured in various types, such as cylindrical, prismatic, or pouch. For ease of description, the following text will primarily focus on the case where the battery cell 200 is pouch-type.

[0037] Multiple battery cells 200 are provided, and the multiple battery cells 200 are arranged in the frame 100. (Refer to...) Figure 2 Multiple battery cells 200 can be arranged vertically, such that the widest surface of the pouch battery cell 200 faces the upper and lower sides of the frame 100. That is, the battery cells 200 are arranged in the frame 100 in a way that they are laid out in a relatively long horizontal direction.

[0038] The battery cell 200 includes an electrode lead 220, and the electrode lead 220 disposed in the battery cell 200 is a terminal exposed to the outside and connected to an external device and may be made of conductive material.

[0039] The electrode leads may include positive leads and negative leads. The positive leads and negative leads may be arranged in opposite directions relative to the longitudinal direction of the battery cell 200, or the positive leads and negative leads may be arranged in the same direction relative to the longitudinal direction of the battery cell 200.

[0040] The positive and negative leads can be made of various materials. For example, the positive lead can be made of aluminum, and the negative lead can be made of copper.

[0041] Electrode leads 220 can be electrically connected to busbars 210. The battery cell 200 can have a structure of multiple single cells or multiple stacked dual cells, depending on its capacity. In a single cell, a positive electrode plate, a separator, and a negative electrode plate are arranged sequentially, and in a dual cell, a positive electrode plate, a separator, a negative electrode plate, a separator, a positive electrode plate, a separator, and a negative electrode plate are arranged sequentially.

[0042] In addition, a housing (not shown) for accommodating the battery cell 200 can be provided. The housing (not shown) can be manufactured by injection molding of plastic.

[0043] Connection elements or terminal elements may be provided on the housing. For example, connection elements may include various electrical connection parts or connection components for connecting to a battery management system (BMS, not shown) that can provide data on the voltage or temperature of the battery cell 200.

[0044] Furthermore, the terminal element includes a positive terminal and a negative terminal (as main terminals) connected to the battery cell 200, and terminal bolts are provided on the terminal element for electrical connection to the outside. Meanwhile, the battery cell 200 can have various shapes.

[0045] The cover 500 can be attached to the battery cell 200. Here, the cover 500 surrounds at least a portion of the battery cell 200 and protects the battery cell 200 from external forces.

[0046] The heat sink contacts one side of the battery cell 200. Figure 3 In the middle, when each battery cell 200 located on the upper and lower sides moves towards the heat sink located at its center in the direction of the arrow, as... Figure 4 As shown, the battery cell 200 is in contact with the heat sink 300.

[0047] Reference Figure 4 One side of the battery cell 200 is in direct contact with the heat sink 300. For example, with respect to the heat sink 300, the battery cell 200 can be configured such that the lower part of any one battery cell 200a contacts the heat sink 300 on the upper side of the heat sink, and the upper part of another battery cell 200b contacts the heat sink 300 on the lower side of the heat sink 300.

[0048] As mentioned above, when the battery cell 200 is in direct contact with the heat sink 300, the cooling efficiency is improved compared to the indirect cooling method.

[0049] Here, refer to Figure 4 The other side of the battery cell 200 is in contact with the heat sink 400, and the heat sink 400 is in contact with the heat radiator 300. Therefore, direct cooling is performed on one side of the battery cell 200 through the heat sink 300, and indirect cooling is performed on the other side of the battery cell 200 through the heat sink 400 and the heat radiator 300.

[0050] That is, since the two cooling methods, including direct cooling and indirect cooling, according to the embodiments of this disclosure can be applied to a battery cell 200 in the battery module 10, they have the effect of improving cooling efficiency compared to battery cells that rely solely on indirect cooling.

[0051] Specifically, as mentioned above, refer to Figure 2 The battery cells 200 can be arranged vertically so that the widest surface of the pouch battery cell 200 faces the upper and lower sides of the frame 100. Therefore, the contact area between the battery cell 200 and the heat sink 300 is increased, thereby improving the cooling efficiency.

[0052] The heat sink 300 can contact each of the plurality of battery cells 200 on its upper and lower sides. For example, as Figure 3 As shown, after multiple battery cells 200 are configured symmetrically with respect to the heat sink 300, as Figure 4 As shown, the heat sink 300 can be configured to contact each of the plurality of battery cells 200 on its upper and lower sides.

[0053] The heat sink 400 also contacts the other side of the battery cell 200 and the heat sink 300. That is, the heat sink 400 indirectly cools the other side of the battery cell 200. In addition, the heat sink 400 also functions as a support member that structurally supports the battery cell 200.

[0054] Reference Figure 3 and Figure 4 The heat sink 400 includes a first part 410, a second part 420 and a third part 430.

[0055] The first part 410 contacts the opposite side of the portion of the battery cell 200 that contacts the heat sink 300 (i.e., the other side of the battery cell 200). That is, regarding... Figure 4 The heat sink 300 contacts the lower part of the battery cell 200a, and the first portion 410 of the heat sink 400 contacts the upper part of the battery cell 200a. Furthermore, regarding... Figure 4The heat sink 300 contacts the upper part of the battery cell 200b and the first part 410 of the heat sink 400 contacts the lower part of the battery cell 200b.

[0056] The second part 420 extends from the first part 410 toward the radiator 300.

[0057] Furthermore, the third part 430 extends from the second part 420 and is fixed to contact the heat sink 300.

[0058] As mentioned above, since the heat sink 400 is in contact with both the heat sink 300 and the battery cell 200, the battery cell 200 can be indirectly cooled by the heat sink 400. In addition, since the heat sink 400 is in contact with the battery cell 200 on the upper side to support the battery cell 200, the battery cell 200 can be firmly fixed by the heat sink 400.

[0059] In the prior art, the heat sink used in the battery cell is in contact with the battery cell and only has the function of indirectly cooling the battery cell. However, the heat sink 400 of the battery module 10 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure has a structure for configuring the heat sink differently from the prior art, and not only has the function of cooling the battery cell 200, but also has the function of structurally supporting the battery cell 200.

[0060] That is, the battery module 10 according to the embodiments of the present disclosure can be configured such that the battery cell 200 contacts the heat sink 300 and is directly cooled, and the battery cell 200 is structurally supported by the heat sink 400.

[0061] For this purpose, the heat sink 400 can be made of a metallic material. That is, since the heat sink 400 needs to have excellent thermal conductivity to cool the battery cell 200, and the heat sink 400 also needs to be in contact with the battery cell 200 to have rigidity to support the battery cell 200, the heat sink 400 can be made of a metallic material such as aluminum. However, the material of the heat sink 400 is not limited to this.

[0062] Reference Figure 5 Busbar 21 is configured to connect electrode leads 220 to each of the multiple battery cells 200. Here, busbar 210 can be configured to be in direct contact with the heat sink 300, which results in the effect of directly cooling busbar 210.

[0063] Meanwhile, the battery cell 200 can be bonded to the heat sink 300 or the heat sink 400 using thermally conductive adhesive. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto, and the battery cell 200 can also be bonded to the heat sink 300 or the heat sink 400 by bonding or using double-sided tape.

[0064] In the following description, the operation and effects of the battery module 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0065] Reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 The system is provided with multiple battery cells 200, and the multiple battery cells 200 can be arranged in the vertical direction such that the widest surface of the battery cell 200 faces the upper and lower sides of the frame 100, that is, the battery cells 200 are arranged to be laid out in a longer horizontal direction.

[0066] In addition, refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 Since one side of the battery cell 200 is in direct contact with the heat sink 300, and the other side of the battery cell 200 is in direct contact with the heat sink 400 and thus in contact with the heat sink 300, the battery cell 200 is cooled by both direct cooling through the heat sink 300 and indirect cooling through the heat sink 400, i.e., direct contact and indirect contact.

[0067] Furthermore, since the heat sink 400 contacts the battery cell 200 on the other side of the battery cell 200 to support the battery cell 200, the battery cell 200 can be structurally supported by the heat sink 400.

[0068] In addition, refer to Figure 5 Since the busbar 210 is in direct contact with the radiator 300, it has the effect of directly cooling the busbar 210.

[0069] Meanwhile, the battery pack (not shown) according to the embodiments of this disclosure may include one or more battery modules 10 as described above according to the embodiments of this disclosure. In addition, the battery pack (not shown) may include, in addition to the battery modules 10, a housing for accommodating the battery modules 10 and various devices for controlling the charging and discharging of the battery modules 10, such as a BMS, a current sensor, a fuse, etc.

[0070] Furthermore, a vehicle (not shown) according to embodiments of this disclosure may include the battery module 10 or battery pack (not shown) as described above. The battery pack (not shown) may include the battery module 10. Additionally, the battery module 10 according to embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to a vehicle (not shown), such as a predetermined vehicle (not shown) configured to use electricity, such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle.

[0071] This disclosure has been described in detail. However, it should be understood that while the detailed description and specific examples indicate preferred embodiments of this disclosure, they are given by way of example only, as various variations and modifications within the scope of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

[0072] Industrial applicability

[0073] This disclosure relates to a battery module and battery packs and vehicles respectively including the battery module, and more specifically, it can be applied to industries related to secondary batteries.

Claims

1. A battery module, comprising: frame; Multiple battery cells are arranged in the frame; A heat sink contacts one side of the battery cell to perform direct cooling on the battery cell. With respect to the heat sink, the lower part of one of the battery cells contacts the heat sink on the upper side, and the upper part of another battery cell contacts the heat sink on the lower side. as well as A heat sink, in contact with the heat sink and with the opposite side of the battery cell, performs indirect cooling of the battery cell. The heat sink includes a first portion, a second portion, and a third portion. The first portion contacts the opposite side of the portion of the battery cell that contacts the heat sink. The second portion extends from the first portion toward the heat sink. The third portion extends from the second portion and is fixed in contact with the heat sink. The widest surface of the battery cell extends horizontally and faces the upper and lower sides of the frame.

2. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein, The battery cell is a pouch cell.

3. The battery module according to claim 2, wherein, The plurality of battery cells are arranged symmetrically with respect to the heat sink.

4. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein, The heat sink is made of metal to cool the battery cell and is in contact with the battery cell to support it.

5. The battery module according to claim 1, further comprising a busbar configured to connect the electrode leads of the plurality of battery cells. in, The busbar is in direct contact with the radiator.

6. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein, The battery cell is bonded to the heat sink or the heat fin by thermally conductive adhesive.

7. A battery pack comprising a battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. A vehicle comprising a battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

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