Battery pack and vehicle including the same

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery pack comprising: a plurality of battery modules, each battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells; a pack case provided to accommodate the plurality of battery modules; an exhaust device provided in the pack case and configured to exhaust gas generated in the battery modules to the outside of the pack case; and an inflator configured to discharge the carbon dioxide stored therein toward the exhaust device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery pack and a vehicle including the same. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a battery pack capable of suppressing a flame generated in a battery pack case by recognizing an internal pressure of the battery pack case and a vehicle including the same.

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0074502, filed on June 9, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] Secondary batteries that are easy to apply according to product groups and have electrical characteristics such as high energy density are generally used in electric vehicles (EV) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) driven by electric drive sources and in portable devices. These secondary batteries are attracting attention as new energy sources for improving eco-friendliness and energy efficiency due to the main advantage of significantly reducing the use of fossil fuels and another advantage of not producing byproducts generated by energy use.

[0004] Currently, widely used secondary batteries include lithium-ion batteries, lithium polymer batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, etc. If a higher output voltage is required, a battery module or battery pack can be configured by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series. In addition, a battery module or battery pack can be configured by connecting a plurality of battery cells in parallel to increase the charge / discharge capacity. Therefore, the number of battery cells included in the battery module or battery pack can be set in various ways according to the required output voltage or charge / discharge capacity.

[0005] In addition, a common method for configuring a battery pack by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series / parallel is to preferentially configure a battery module including at least one battery cell and then add other elements using the at least one battery module to configure a battery pack or a battery rack.

[0006] In the case of a conventional battery pack, the internal temperature may rise due to abnormality or misuse of the battery cell, which may cause the internal pressure of the battery cell to increase. Due to this internal pressure, high-temperature gas may be discharged from the battery cell, which is very dangerous because the high-temperature exhaust gas may spread to adjacent battery modules and cause thermal runaway.

[0007] In addition, generally, when gas is ejected from the battery cell, the electrode plate sheet or active material sheet inside the battery cell may be heated to a high temperature and discharged to the outside, and these high-temperature particles may appear in the form of sparks. In this case, if the spark reacts with oxygen when discharged, the oxygen may ignite to produce a flame or develop into a fire. In particular, as the pressure inside the battery pack housing increases, it may cause an explosion rather than gradual ignition, leading to greater problems.

[0008] Since battery cells or battery modules are densely packed inside a battery pack, when a thermal event occurs in any one battery cell or battery module, if its propagation is not delayed or suppressed, thermal runaway may occur, resulting in flames and, in severe cases, explosions. It is necessary to delay or suppress the propagation by removing at least one element that causes the flame (e.g., fuel, oxygen, and heat) to prevent high-temperature gases or sparks from reacting with oxygen and generating flames. Summary of the invention

[0009] Technical issues

[0010] The present disclosure has been designed to solve the problems of the related art, and thus the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery pack capable of ensuring safety and reliability by suppressing fire occurring inside a battery pack case in the event of an abnormality in a battery cell or a battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack.

[0011] However, the technical problems that the present disclosure is intended to solve are not limited to the above problems, and other problems not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the present invention described below.

[0012] Technical Solution

[0013] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a battery pack is provided, comprising: a plurality of battery modules, the battery modules comprising a plurality of battery cells; a battery pack housing, the battery pack housing being configured to accommodate the plurality of battery modules; an exhaust device, the exhaust device being disposed in the battery pack housing and being configured to discharge gas generated from the battery modules to the outside of the battery pack housing; and a gas cylinder, the gas cylinder being configured to release carbon dioxide stored therein toward the exhaust device.

[0014] The gas cylinder may be disposed inside the battery pack case, and the gas cylinder and the exhaust device may be disposed in a straight line in a horizontal direction.

[0015] The battery pack housing may include: a side frame configured to surround the plurality of battery modules and connected to the exhaust device; and a partition configured to separate the plurality of battery modules within the side frame, and at least a portion of the gas cylinder may be connected to the partition facing a side of the side frame on which the exhaust device is disposed.

[0016] The battery pack of the present disclosure may further include an internal pressure sensor disposed inside the battery pack housing and configured to measure the pressure inside the battery pack housing, and if the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor is equal to or greater than a first value, the carbon dioxide stored in the gas cylinder may be released toward the exhaust device.

[0017] The vent may be configured to operate when a pressure within the battery pack housing is equal to or greater than a second value, and the first value may be defined as greater than the second value.

[0018] For example, the first value may be defined as 0.2 bar.

[0019] A plurality of air cylinders and a plurality of exhaust devices may be provided, and a plurality of units consisting of one air cylinder and one exhaust device may be provided, and the plurality of units may be symmetrically arranged with respect to the center of the side frame.

[0020] The battery pack case may further include a cross beam configured to connect at least portions of the side frames to each other and to separate the plurality of battery modules, and the plurality of cells may be symmetrically disposed on both sides of the cross beam.

[0021] The internal pressure sensor may be disposed in a space between the battery module and the side frame.

[0022] A plurality of internal pressure sensors may be symmetrically arranged on both sides of the crossbeam.

[0023] The gas cartridge may include a cylinder unit including a storage portion having a space for storing carbon dioxide and a release portion extending from the storage portion and discharging carbon dioxide through the release portion.

[0024] The diameter of the release portion may be configured to be smaller than the diameter of the storage portion.

[0025] The gas cylinder may further include an operation unit connected to the cylinder unit and configured to release carbon dioxide from the cylinder unit when the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor is equal to or greater than the first value.

[0026] In addition, the present disclosure provides a vehicle including the battery pack according to the present disclosure.

[0027] Beneficial Effects

[0028] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the occurrence of flame within a battery pack case may be suppressed by removing elements that may generate flames when abnormalities occur in battery cells or battery modules, thereby ensuring safety and reliability.

[0029] Furthermore, according to an aspect of the present disclosure, in the event of an abnormality in a battery cell or a battery module, sparks emitted from a battery cell may be prevented from igniting oxygen, thereby suppressing a flame.

[0030] In addition, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, in the event of an abnormality in a battery cell or battery module, the exhaust gas can be quickly discharged to the outside of the battery pack housing to suppress flames and minimize thermal damage to other battery modules, thereby effectively ensuring the heat propagation prevention performance in the battery pack.

[0031] Furthermore, the present disclosure may have various other effects, and these effects will be described in the corresponding embodiments, or descriptions of effects that can be easily inferred by those skilled in the art will be omitted. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] The accompanying drawings illustrate preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the detailed description of the present invention, serve to provide further understanding of the technical concept of the present disclosure, and therefore, the present disclosure is not to be construed as being limited to the accompanying drawings.

[0033] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0034] Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0035] Figure 3 is a perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] Figure 4 is a diagram showing the position of a gas cartridge in a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] Figure 5 is a diagram showing a direction in which a gas pump according to an embodiment of the present disclosure operates in a battery pack.

[0038] Figure 6 It is along Figure 5 A cross-sectional view taken along line AA' in FIG.

[0039] Figure 7is a diagram showing a detailed structure of a gas cylinder according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the position of an operating unit of a gas cylinder according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0041] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the position of an operating unit of a gas cylinder according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0042] Fig.10 is a perspective view of a vehicle including a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] 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 and dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted based on the meanings and concepts corresponding to the technical aspects of the present disclosure on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed to appropriately define the terms for the best interpretation.

[0044] Therefore, the embodiments of this specification and the configurations proposed in the drawings only indicate the most preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and do not represent all technical concepts of the present disclosure, and therefore it should be understood that various equivalents and modifications may be made thereto when an application is filed.

[0045] For ease of explanation and illustration, the sizes of the corresponding elements shown in the drawings or the sizes of specific parts of each element are exaggerated, omitted or simplified. Therefore, the sizes of the corresponding elements do not fully reflect their actual sizes. The description of related known functions or configurations that may obscure the subject matter of the present disclosure will be omitted. For reference, in this specification, the terms indicating directions are based on the elements shown in the drawings and are relative terms that can vary according to the posture or position of the actual elements.

[0046] In addition, although terms indicating directions such as upward, downward, left, right, forward, and backward directions are used in this specification, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that these terms are merely for convenience of explanation and may vary depending on the position of the target object or the position of the observer.

[0047] For example, in an embodiment of the present disclosure, the X-axis direction shown in the figure can represent the front-to-back direction on the plane (XY plane), the Y-axis direction can represent the left-right direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction on the plane (XY plane), and the Z-axis direction can represent the up-down direction (vertical direction) perpendicular to both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

[0048] Figure 1is a perspective view of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Figure 3 is a perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0049] Reference Figures 1 to 3 , a battery pack 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a battery module 100 , a pack case 200 , an exhaust device 300 , and a gas cylinder 400 .

[0050] The battery module 100 may include a plurality of battery cells 110. The battery cells 110 may be any type of secondary battery, such as a square, cylindrical, or pouch-type battery cell. Figure 3 As shown, the present embodiment will be described based on the battery cell 110 which is a pouch-type battery cell.

[0051] The present disclosure is not limited to a specific type or form of battery cells 110, and various battery cells 110 known at the time of filing the present disclosure may be used to constitute the battery module 100 of the present disclosure. As shown in the figure, although the present embodiment shows a pouch-type secondary battery having high energy density and easy to stack by way of example, a cylindrical secondary battery or a square secondary battery may be applied to the battery cell 110.

[0052] A plurality of battery cells 110 may be arranged in columns and rows within the battery module 100. For example, Figure 3 As shown, the plurality of battery cells 110 may be arranged side by side in the left / right direction (Y-axis direction) while standing in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction).

[0053] The battery pack 10 may include a plurality of battery modules 100 including the plurality of battery cells 110 described above. Figure 2 As shown, a plurality of battery modules 100 may be arranged side by side in a horizontal direction (X-axis direction and Y-axis direction).

[0054] The battery pack 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a pack case 200. The pack case 200 may be configured to accommodate a plurality of battery modules 100. A detailed structure of the pack case 200 will be described later.

[0055] In addition, the battery pack 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include an exhaust device 300. The exhaust device 300 may be configured to exhaust gas generated inside the battery module 100 to the outside of the battery pack case 200 in the event of an abnormality of the battery module 100. Exhaust gas generated inside the battery module 100 may be exhausted to the outside of the battery pack case 200 through the exhaust device 300.

[0056] The battery pack 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a gas cylinder 400. The gas cylinder 400 may be configured to store carbon dioxide therein. Carbon dioxide may be stored in a liquid state under high pressure inside the gas cylinder 400. For example, the gas cylinder 400 may be a commercially available product for inflating a tire of a bicycle by injecting carbon dioxide. The gas cylinder 400 may be used together with an inflator or an adapter.

[0057] The gas cylinder 400 may be configured to release carbon dioxide stored therein toward the exhaust device 300. The gas cylinder 400 may be disposed at a position facing the exhaust device 300, and when a thermal event occurs in a specific battery cell 110 or battery module 100, high-temperature gas or the like may be discharged more quickly through the exhaust device 300. As a result, the discharge of high-temperature gas may be promoted, thereby obtaining a cooling effect, so that the internal pressure inside the battery pack housing 200 may be reduced to avoid the risk of explosion.

[0058] In addition, according to the above-described implementation configuration of the present disclosure, the generation of flames inside the battery pack housing 200 can be suppressed by removing high-temperature gas, which is one of the elements that generate flames, thereby ensuring safety and reliability. In addition, according to the above-described implementation configuration of the present disclosure, the heat propagation prevention performance in the battery pack 10 can be effectively ensured by preventing thermal damage to other battery modules 100 to the greatest extent.

[0059] In addition, when the gas is ejected from the battery cell 110, the electrode plate sheet or active material sheet inside the battery cell 110 may be heated to a high temperature and discharged to the outside, and these high-temperature particles may appear in the form of sparks. In this case, if oxygen ignites when the sparks are discharged to the outside of the battery module 100, flames may be generated or a fire may occur.

[0060] The carbon dioxide stored inside the gas cylinder 400 is heavier than oxygen, so when it is released into the combustible material, it forms a non-combustible layer on the surface of the combustible material. Therefore, when the carbon dioxide is released from the gas cylinder 400, it can block the supply of oxygen, which is one of the elements that cause the flame. Therefore, according to the above-mentioned implementation configuration of the present disclosure, the carbon dioxide released from the gas cylinder 400 can remove oxygen from the battery pack housing 200. Therefore, by removing oxygen, which is one of the elements that cause the flame, it is possible to prevent sparks from reacting with oxygen in the battery pack housing 200 and generating flames.

[0061] In addition, reference will be made to Figure 3 A detailed structure of the battery module 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is described. The battery module 100 according to the present embodiment may include a case body 120 and end plates 130 provided on the front and rear surfaces of the case body 120 .

[0062] The housing body 120 may be configured in the shape of a square tube, presenting a hollow structure having open ends O at both ends in the longitudinal direction and having an empty space therein. For example, the housing body 120 may be configured in the form of a tube having upper, lower, left and right surfaces, and having openings formed at the front and rear ends, respectively.

[0063] In addition, the housing body 120 can be formed into various other shapes. For example, the housing body 120 can be configured in a form in which the left plate, the right plate and the bottom plate are integrated with each other. In this case, the integrated housing part can be referred to as a U-shaped frame. The top plate can be welded to the top of the U-shaped frame, thereby configuring a tubular shape. Alternatively, the housing body 120 can include a box-shaped lower housing in which the left plate, the right plate, the front plate and the rear plate are integrated with each other and an upper cover that closes the top opening of the lower housing.

[0064] In addition, the housing body 120 may be configured so that the battery cell 110 can be inserted thereinto in one direction. For example, the battery cell 110 may be inserted into the housing body 120 in the front / rear direction (X-axis direction). That is, the housing body 120 may be configured to insert the battery cell 110 thereinto using a sliding or press-fitting method. For the press-fitting, there may be almost no gap between the upper and lower surfaces of the housing body 120 and the upper and lower ends of the battery cell 110, and there may also be almost no gap between the two side surfaces of the housing body 120 and the two side surfaces of the battery cell 110.

[0065] Such a case body 120 may be made of a metal material having rigidity and heat resistance so as to physically or chemically protect the accommodated battery cells 110 .

[0066] In addition, the housing body 120 may be provided with exhaust holes H to achieve directional exhaust in one direction. Figure 3 As shown, a plurality of exhaust holes H may be formed on the upper surface of the case body 120 so that directional exhaust in an upward direction of the battery module 100 may be performed through the exhaust holes H. Specifically, high-temperature gas exhausted from the battery cells 110 through the exhaust holes H may be exhausted to the outside of the battery pack case 200 through the exhaust device 300.

[0067] The end plate 130 may be provided to be coupled to the open end O of the housing body 120. For example, the end plate 130 may have an inner side (facing the open end O) made of an insulating material and an outer side (constituting the exterior of the battery module 100) made of a metal material. In addition, the end plate 130 may at least partially have a hole or a slit through which the positive and negative terminals or connectors of the battery module 100 are exposed to the outside.

[0068] Figure 4is a diagram showing the position of a gas cylinder in a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, Figure 5 is a diagram showing a direction in which a gas pump according to an embodiment of the present disclosure operates in a battery pack, and Figure 6 It is along Figure 5 A cross-sectional view taken along line AA' in FIG.

[0069] The gas cylinder 400 may be disposed inside the battery pack housing 200. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the gas cylinder 400 and the exhaust device 300 may be disposed in a straight line in a horizontal direction. Figures 4 to 6 As shown, the gas cylinder 400 and the exhaust device 300 may be arranged in a straight line in the Y-axis direction. According to the above-described embodiment configuration of the present disclosure, the carbon dioxide stored inside the gas cylinder 400 may be released directly toward the exhaust device 300, thereby purifying the high-temperature gas or oxygen discharged through the exhaust device 300. Therefore, the occurrence of a flame in the battery pack housing 200 may be suppressed by removing the element causing the flame in the event of an abnormality in the battery cell 110 or the battery module 100, thereby ensuring safety and reliability.

[0070] In addition, refer to Figures 2 to 6 , the battery pack case 200 may include a base frame 210. The base frame 210 may be provided to constitute a lower surface of the battery pack case 200. Therefore, a plurality of battery modules 100 may be mounted on the base frame 210. In this implementation configuration, the base frame 210 may be configured in the form of a square plate.

[0071] In addition, the battery pack housing 200 may include a side frame 220. The side frame 220 may be provided to extend upward from the corresponding edge of the base frame 210. The side frame 220 may be provided to surround the plurality of battery modules 100. For example, in this implementation configuration, the side frame 220 may include a wall extending in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

[0072] The exhaust device 300 may be provided to be coupled to the side frame 220. Figure 2 and Figure 4 The exhaust device 300 is disposed on the right side wall (in the -Y axis direction), but the side frame 220 may be disposed on any wall. The exhaust device 300 may be disposed on the side frame 220 in the corresponding row where the plurality of battery modules 100 are arranged. According to the above-described implementation configuration of the present disclosure, in the event of an abnormality in the battery cell 110, high-temperature gas or sparks may be discharged in various directions of the battery pack housing 200, so that gas or the like may be easily discharged to the outside of the battery pack housing 200.

[0073] In addition, the battery pack housing 200 may further include a partition 250. The partition 250 may be configured to separate a plurality of battery modules 100 inside the side frame 220. The partition 250 may be configured to be spaced apart from the side frame 220. A plurality of partitions 250 may be configured to be spaced apart from each other at regular intervals. For example, the partition 250 may include a plurality of walls extending in the X-axis or Y-axis direction inside the side frame 220. According to the above-described implementation configuration of the present disclosure, since a plurality of battery modules 100 are separated by the partition 250, even if an abnormality occurs in one battery module 100, heat propagation to other battery modules 100 can be prevented.

[0074] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, at least a portion of the gas cylinder 400 may be coupled to the partition 250. For example, Figures 4 to 6 As shown, at least a portion of the gas cylinder 400 may be coupled to the partition 250 facing the side of the side frame 220 on which the exhaust device 300 is disposed. The remaining portion of the gas cylinder 400 may be located between the partition 250 and the side frame 220. According to the above-described implementation configuration of the present disclosure, even if high-pressure carbon dioxide is quickly and instantaneously released from the gas cylinder 400, the position of the gas cylinder 400 may be constrained and securely fixed.

[0075] In addition, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the battery pack case 200 may include a battery pack cover 230 configured to cover the top of the battery module 100 .

[0076] In addition, refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 The battery pack 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include an internal pressure sensor 500. The internal pressure sensor 500 may be configured to measure the pressure inside the battery pack case 200. The internal pressure sensor 500 may be disposed inside the battery pack case 200. The position of the internal pressure sensor 500 will be described in detail later.

[0077] If high-temperature exhaust gas is discharged from the battery cell 110 or the battery module 100, as the pressure inside the battery pack housing 200 increases, it may cause the explosion of the adjacent battery module 100 instead of gradually igniting, thereby causing a greater problem. Therefore, the battery pack 10 of the present disclosure may be configured so that if the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 is greater than or equal to the first value, the carbon dioxide stored inside the gas cylinder 400 is released toward the exhaust device 300. That is, it can be determined whether the gas cylinder 400 is operated based on the pressure inside the battery pack housing 200 measured by the internal pressure sensor 500. According to the above-mentioned implementation configuration of the present disclosure, depending on the pressure inside the battery pack housing 200 measured by the internal pressure sensor 500, the gas cylinder 400 can be selectively operated only when there is a serious risk such as explosion, thereby effectively discharging the exhaust gas to the outside of the exhaust device 300.

[0078] In addition, if the high temperature gas is discharged from the battery cell 110 through the exhaust hole H, the pressure inside the battery pack housing 200 may increase, so that the exhaust device 300 can operate. Specifically, the exhaust device 300 can be configured to operate when the pressure inside the battery pack housing 200 is equal to or greater than the second value. The second value for triggering the exhaust device 300 can be differently defined according to the type of the exhaust device 300. For example, the second value can be differently defined in the range of 0.02 bar to 0.2 bar, so that when the pressure within the above range is recognized, the exhaust device 300 can operate.

[0079] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, if the pressure inside the battery case 200 measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 is higher than the pressure at which the exhaust device 300 operates, the gas cylinder 400 may operate to release carbon dioxide stored inside the gas cylinder 400. That is, the first value may be defined as greater than the second value.

[0080] For example, if thermal runaway occurring in a specific battery module 100 causes heat propagation to other adjacent battery modules 100, the pressure within the battery pack case 200 may be 0.2 bar to 0.6 bar. Therefore, if the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 (ie, the first value) is 0.2 bar, carbon dioxide may be released from the gas cylinder 400.

[0081] According to the above-described implementation configuration of the present disclosure, if the internal pressure of the battery pack case 200 is higher than the pressure at which the exhaust device 300 operates due to thermal runaway or the like, thereby causing a risk of explosion, the gas cylinder 400 may be operated sequentially or independently of the exhaust device 300. Therefore, the pressure inside the battery pack case 200 may be reduced by discharging high-temperature gas or the like to the outside of the battery pack case 200 through carbon dioxide released from the gas cylinder 400. Furthermore, according to the above-described implementation configuration of the present disclosure, safety may be ensured by removing heat and / or gas, which are elements that may cause a flame, and suppressing the occurrence of a flame.

[0082] In addition, refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 , a plurality of gas cylinders 400 and a plurality of exhaust devices 300 may be provided. In addition, a plurality of units U including one gas cylinder 400 and one exhaust device 300 may be provided.

[0083] Each of the plurality of units U may be disposed on the side frame 220 of the battery pack case 200. In this case, the plurality of units U may be symmetrically disposed with respect to the center of the side frame 220. According to the above-described embodiment configuration of the present disclosure, carbon dioxide may be released from the gas cylinder 400 included in the unit U disposed on the battery module 100 regardless of the portion of the battery module 100 that discharges exhaust gas, thereby easily suppressing the occurrence of flame.

[0084] In addition, if Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, the battery pack housing 200 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a crossbeam 240. The crossbeam 240 may be configured to connect at least portions of the side frames 220 to each other. Figure 2 As shown, the crossbeam 240 can be arranged to extend in the Y-axis direction. In this case, the crossbeam 240 can separate a plurality of battery modules 100. A plurality of battery modules 100 can be arranged side by side on both sides of the crossbeam 240 inside the battery pack housing 200. In this case, a plurality of units U can be symmetrically arranged on both sides of the crossbeam 240 relative to the side frame 220. According to the above-mentioned implementation configuration of the present disclosure, carbon dioxide can be quickly released from the gas cylinder 400 included in the unit U provided on the battery module 100, regardless of the portion of the battery module 100 that discharges exhaust gas, thereby easily suppressing the occurrence of flames.

[0085] In addition, reference will be made to Figure 5The position of the internal pressure sensor 500 is described. The internal pressure sensor 500 may be disposed outside the battery module 100. The internal pressure sensor 500 may be disposed in a space between the battery module 100 and the side frame 220. For example, the internal pressure sensor 500 may be disposed between one side of the side frame 220 on which the exhaust device 300 is mounted and the partition plate 250 facing the side frame 220.

[0086] A plurality of internal pressure sensors 500 may be provided. A plurality of internal pressure sensors 500 may be provided inside the battery pack housing 200. Figure 5 As shown, a plurality of internal pressure sensors 500 may be symmetrically disposed on both sides of the beam 240. The plurality of internal pressure sensors 500 may be wirelessly connected (e.g., electrically connected) to the gas cylinders 400 of the units U respectively disposed on both sides of the beam 240. In this case, the plurality of internal pressure sensors 500 and the units U may be independently operated according to the portion of the battery module 100 that discharges exhaust gas, etc.

[0087] For example, in Figure 5 In the embodiment, if an abnormal condition occurs in the battery module 100 on the left side of the crossbeam 240, the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 disposed on the left side of the crossbeam 240 may reach the first value earlier than the other side. Therefore, carbon dioxide may be released from the gas cylinder 400 disposed on the left side of the crossbeam 240 toward the exhaust device 300.

[0088] According to the above-described implementation configuration of the present disclosure, if high temperature gas or the like is discharged from any battery cell 110 or battery module 100 , the gas cylinder 400 provided on the battery module 100 may independently operate to sequentially reduce the internal pressure of the pack case 200 .

[0089] Figure 7 is a diagram showing a detailed structure of a gas cylinder according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0090] The gas cartridge 400 may include a cylinder unit 410. The cylinder unit 410 may include a storage portion 411 having a space for storing carbon dioxide therein and a release portion 412 extending from the storage portion 411 to release carbon dioxide. Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the storage portion 411 may be coupled to the pack case 200 , such as the partition 250 , and in this case, the release portion 412 may be provided to protrude from the storage portion 411 toward the exhaust device 300 .

[0091] The diameter d of the release portion 412 may be configured to be smaller than the diameter D of the storage portion 411. The release portion 412 may be made of a material having a lower melting point than the storage portion 411. The melting point of the release portion 412 may be similar to the temperature of a flame, so that the release portion 412 melts when a flame occurs and carbon dioxide is released. According to the above-described implementation configuration of the present disclosure, the occurrence of a flame can be suppressed by immediately purging and removing exhaust gas and oxygen, which are elements causing the flame, using carbon dioxide quickly released through the release portion 412 of the gas cylinder 400.

[0092] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the position of an operating unit of a gas cylinder according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0093] In addition, the gas cylinder 400 may further include an operating unit 420. If the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 is equal to or greater than the first value, the operating unit 420 may be connected to the cylinder unit 410 and configured to release carbon dioxide from the cylinder unit 410. The operating unit 420 may be set to any configuration that allows carbon dioxide to be released from the cylinder unit 410.

[0094] For example, the battery pack 10 may include a battery management system (BMS) or a battery management unit (BMU) to process various information. The BMS or BMU may exchange information with various control devices through a communication bus such as an SPI or CAN interface. In addition, the BMS or BMU may exchange information with each battery module 100 or a cell monitoring circuit (CSC) of each battery module 100.

[0095] The pressure information measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may constitute the sensing data of the CSC. With this implementation configuration, the pressure information measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 may be transmitted to the BMS or BMU. The BMS or BMU may be connected to the operating unit 420 via a communication bus such as an SPI or CAN interface. If the pressure information measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 is sent to the BMS or BMU, and if the BMS or BMU determines that the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 is equal to or greater than the first value, the BMS and the BMU may send a drive signal of the operating unit 420 to the operating unit 420. The operating unit 420 receiving the drive signal may be configured to release carbon dioxide from the cylinder unit 410.

[0096] according to Figure 8 In the implementation configuration, the operation unit 420 may be provided in a space between the side frame 220 and the plurality of battery modules 100. For example, a plurality of cylinder units 410 may be provided, and the plurality of operation units 420 may be provided to be connected to the plurality of cylinder units 410, respectively.

[0097] According to the above-mentioned implementation configuration of the present disclosure, since multiple operating units 420 are respectively connected to multiple cylinder units 410, carbon dioxide can be released from specific cylinder units 410 according to the part of the battery module 100 that generates exhaust gas, etc., thereby effectively suppressing the occurrence of flames.

[0098] Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating the position of an operating unit of a gas cylinder according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0099] The battery pack housing 200 may have a space in which the operation unit 420 is disposed. A space for accommodating the operation unit 420 may be provided inside the side frame 220 or the cross member 240. For example, Fig. 9 As shown, a space for installing the operating unit 420 may be provided inside the crossbeam 240 .

[0100] The operation unit 420 may be connected to the cylinder units 410 disposed on both sides of the beam 240 and configured to release carbon dioxide from the cylinder units 410 disposed on both sides of the beam 240 if the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor 500 is equal to or greater than a first value.

[0101] According to the above-mentioned implementation configuration of the present disclosure, the operating unit 420 can be connected to at least one or more cylinder units 410, and can enable carbon dioxide to be released from several cylinder units 410 simultaneously when a thermal event occurs in a specific battery cell 110 or battery module 100, thereby suppressing the occurrence of flames more quickly.

[0102] Fig.10 is a perspective view of a vehicle including a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0103] Reference Fig.10 According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a vehicle 1 may include one or more battery packs 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The vehicle 1 according to the present disclosure may be, for example, an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid vehicle. The vehicle 1 includes a four-wheel vehicle and a two-wheel vehicle. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the vehicle 1 is operated by receiving power from the battery pack 10.

[0104] Since the battery pack 10 has the above-mentioned various effects, the vehicle 1 including the battery pack 10 can also have these effects. Specifically, the battery pack 10 can suppress the occurrence of flames in the battery pack housing 200 by removing factors that may cause flames in the case of abnormalities in the battery cells 110 or the battery modules 100. In addition, in the case of abnormalities in the battery cells 110 or the battery modules 100, the exhaust gas can be quickly discharged to the outside of the battery pack housing 200, thereby suppressing the flames, and preventing thermal damage to other battery modules 100 to the greatest extent, thereby effectively ensuring the heat propagation prevention performance in the battery pack. Therefore, the vehicle 1 including the battery pack 10 also has the advantages of safety and reliability.

[0105] As described above, although the present disclosure has been described with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and various modifications and variations are possible within the technical concept of the present disclosure and those skilled in the art to which the present disclosure belongs, within the equivalent scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A battery pack, comprising: A plurality of battery modules, each battery module comprising a plurality of battery cells; a battery pack housing configured to accommodate the plurality of battery modules; an exhaust device disposed in the battery pack case and configured to discharge gas generated from the battery module to the outside of the battery pack case; as well as A gas cartridge is configured to release carbon dioxide stored therein toward the exhaust device.

2. The battery pack according to claim 1, in, The gas cylinder is disposed inside the battery pack housing, and Wherein, the air cylinder and the exhaust device are arranged along a straight line in the horizontal direction.

3. The battery pack according to claim 2, in, The battery pack housing comprises: a side frame configured to surround the plurality of battery modules and coupled to the exhaust device, and a partition plate configured to separate the plurality of battery modules within the side frame, and wherein at least a portion of the air cylinder is coupled to the partition plate facing a side of the side frame on which the exhaust device is disposed.

4. The battery pack according to claim 3, The battery pack further includes an internal pressure sensor disposed inside the battery pack case and configured to measure a pressure within the battery pack case. in, If the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor is equal to or greater than a first value, the carbon dioxide stored in the gas cylinder is released toward the exhaust device.

5. The battery pack according to claim 4, in, The vent is configured to operate when the pressure within the battery pack housing is equal to or greater than a second value, and Wherein, the first value is defined to be greater than the second value.

6. The battery pack according to claim 5, in, The first value is defined as 0.2 bar.

7. The battery pack according to claim 4, in, Set up multiple air cylinders and multiple exhaust devices, Therein, a plurality of units consisting of a gas cylinder and an exhaust device are provided, and Wherein, the plurality of units are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the side frame.

8. The battery pack according to claim 7, in, The battery pack housing further comprises: a cross beam configured to connect at least portions of the side frames to each other and to separate the plurality of battery modules, and Wherein, each of the plurality of units is symmetrically arranged on both sides of the beam.

9. The battery pack according to claim 8, in, The internal pressure sensor is disposed in a space between the battery module and the side frame.

10. The battery pack according to claim 9, in, A plurality of internal pressure sensors are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the crossbeam.

11. The battery pack according to claim 4, in, The gas cylinder comprises A cylinder unit includes a storage portion having a space for storing carbon dioxide and a release portion extending from the storage portion and discharging carbon dioxide through the release portion.

12. The battery pack according to claim 11, in, The diameter of the release portion is configured to be smaller than the diameter of the storage portion.

13. The battery pack according to claim 11, in, The gas cylinder also includes: An operation unit is connected to the cylinder unit and is configured to release carbon dioxide from the cylinder unit when the pressure measured by the internal pressure sensor is equal to or greater than the first value.

14. A vehicle comprising the battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 13.

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