Secondary battery

Abstract

There is provided a secondary battery including: an electrode assembly; a case accommodating the electrode assembly; a cap plate coupled to the opening in the housing; and a spacer in the housing. The case has an exhaust member extending through a surface facing the cap plate, and the spacer is accommodated in the case between a lower portion of the electrode assembly and the exhaust member. The spacer has: a surface portion that contacts the electrode assembly, and the space portion is located below the surface portion; an opening in a region of the surface portion corresponding to the exhaust member; and gas discharge holes disposed around the opening. Gas generated in the housing is discharged to the outside through the exhaust member via the space portion in the spacer and the gas discharge hole.

Description

[0001] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0152311 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on November 7, 2023, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Technical Field

[0002] Aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a secondary battery. Background Art

[0003] Unlike primary batteries, secondary batteries are designed to be rechargeable and dischargeable.

[0004] Small-capacity secondary batteries may be used in small portable electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptop computers, and camcorders, while high-capacity secondary batteries may be used as power sources for driving motors in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles.

[0005] Generally, a secondary battery includes an electrode assembly performing charge / discharge operations, a case accommodating the electrode assembly, a cap plate coupled to an opening in the case, and an electrode terminal leading the electrode assembly to the outside of the cap plate.

[0006] In some secondary batteries, a venting component is provided in the housing, which is designed to rupture in response to the increased pressure inside the housing before the rest of the housing ruptures, thereby ensuring that the gas flows out of the secondary battery safely. Typically, the venting component is provided on the upper surface of the housing adjacent to the electrode terminal. Recent secondary battery designs have placed the venting component at the bottom of the housing opposite to the electrode terminal (also referred to as a downward venting structure). However, the spacer is typically included at the bottom of the housing in order to fix the jelly-roll electrode assembly, and when the spacer is arranged at the bottom of the housing, it hinders the gas from flowing smoothly from the inside of the housing to the outside of the housing through the venting component.

[0007] The above information disclosed in the Background section provided as the background of the present disclosure is for enhancement of understanding of the background of the present disclosure and therefore may contain information that does not constitute the prior art. Summary of the invention

[0008] An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a secondary battery including a spacer that fixes an electrode assembly (e.g., fixes the position of the electrode assembly) and has (or provides) an exhaust channel for smoothly exhausting gas when an exhaust component is disposed at a lower portion of a shell opposite to an electrode terminal (also referred to as a downward exhaust structure).

[0009] However, aspects and features of the present disclosure are not limited to those described above, and other aspects and features not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the present disclosure described below.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a secondary battery includes: an electrode assembly; a shell that accommodates the electrode assembly; a cover plate that is coupled to an opening in the shell; and a spacer that is located in the shell. The shell has an exhaust component that extends through a surface facing the cover plate, and the spacer is accommodated in the shell between the lower part of the electrode assembly and the exhaust component. The spacer has: a surface portion that contacts the electrode assembly, and a space portion that is located below the surface portion; an opening in a region of the surface portion corresponding to the exhaust component; and a gas exhaust hole that is arranged around the opening. The gas generated in the shell is discharged to the outside through the exhaust component via the space portion and the gas exhaust hole in the spacer.

[0011] The gas discharge hole may extend through the surface portion of the spacer and may be provided in plural, and the plural gas discharge holes may be arranged in the surface portion in the longitudinal direction and the lateral direction.

[0012] The spacer may have an outer wall protruding downward along the periphery of the surface portion and an inner wall protruding downward along the periphery of the opening in the spacer. The surface portion may be separated from the lower bottom surface of the housing by the outer wall and the inner wall, the exhaust component is formed in the lower bottom surface, and the space portion may be surrounded by the surface portion, the outer wall, the inner wall and the lower bottom surface of the housing.

[0013] The outer wall may be continuously arranged along the long and short sides of the partition, a plurality of discharge holes may be located in the outer wall and the inner wall on the short sides, and the interior of the housing may communicate with the space portion of the partition via the discharge holes.

[0014] The discharge holes in the outer wall and the discharge holes in the inner wall may correspond to each other one-to-one, and the corresponding discharge holes may be arranged in a straight line.

[0015] The gas discharge holes arranged in the longitudinal direction may be arranged above a straight path connecting the discharge holes in the outer wall to the discharge holes in the inner wall.

[0016] The spacer may be spaced apart a distance from an inner surface of the housing in the longitudinal direction. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] The accompanying drawings attached to this specification illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure to further describe aspects and features of the present disclosure together with the detailed description of the present disclosure, and therefore, the present disclosure should not be limited to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 shows a projection perspective view of a secondary battery according to an embodiment; Figure 2 Shows Figure 1A cross-sectional view of a secondary battery shown in ; Figure 3 Shows Figure 1 A perspective view of a separator of a secondary battery shown in FIG. Figure 4 Shows Figure 3 Views of the spacer shown in from different angles; Figure 5 is a comparison diagram of experimental results of gas flow distribution in a secondary battery including a separator according to the prior art and a secondary battery including a separator according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; Fig. 6A shows a perspective view of a secondary battery according to the prior art; Figure 6B A projection perspective view showing a secondary battery according to the prior art; and Figure 6C Shows Figure 6B A cross-sectional view of a prior art secondary battery is shown in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The terms used in the following description and claims are not limited to their dictionary meanings, but are only used to achieve a clear and consistent understanding of the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be clear to those skilled in the art that the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure is provided for illustrative purposes, not for the purpose of limiting the present disclosure, and the present disclosure is defined by the attached claims and their equivalents. Therefore, because the embodiments described in this specification and the constructions shown in the accompanying drawings are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and do not represent all embodiments, aspects or features of the present disclosure, it should be understood that various equivalents and modifications that can replace them may exist when submitting this application.

[0019] It will be understood that when an element or layer is referred to as being "on," "connected to," or "coupled to" another element or layer, the element or layer may be directly on, directly connected to, or directly coupled to the other element or layer, or one or more intervening elements or layers may also be present. When an element or layer is referred to as being "directly on," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to" another element or layer, there are no intervening elements or layers. For example, when a first element is described as being "coupled to" or "coupled to" a second element, the first element may be directly coupled to or directly coupled to the second element, or the first element may be indirectly coupled to or indirectly coupled to the second element via one or more intervening elements.

[0020] In the accompanying drawings, for clear illustration, the sizes of various elements, layers, etc. may be exaggerated. The same reference numerals represent the same elements. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any combination and all combinations of one or more of the relevant listed items. In addition, when describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, the use of "may" relates to "one or more embodiments of the present disclosure". When expressions such as "at least one (kind / person) in ... " and "any one (kind / person) in ... " are placed after a column of elements, the entire column of elements is modified without modifying the individual elements in the column. For example, the expression "at least one of a, b or c" means only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, all of a, b and c, or its variants. As used herein, the term "use" and its variants can be considered to be synonymous with the term "utilize" and its variants, respectively. As used herein, the terms "substantially", "about" and similar terms are used as approximate terms rather than degree terms, and are intended to explain the inherent deviations of measured values ​​or calculated values ​​that will be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art.

[0021] It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. can be used here to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and / or parts, these elements, components, regions, layers and / or parts should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish an element, component, region, layer or part from another element, component, region, layer or part. Therefore, without departing from the teaching of the exemplary embodiment, the first element, first component, first region, first layer or first part discussed below can be referred to as the second element, second component, second region, second layer or second part.

[0022] For ease of description, spatially relative terms such as "under", "below", "below", "above", "on", etc. may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element or feature to another element or feature as shown in the accompanying drawings. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to cover different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the accompanying drawings. For example, if the device in the accompanying drawings is turned over, the elements described as "under" or "below" other elements or features will then be oriented as "above" or "on" the other elements or features. Therefore, the term "under" can cover both above and below orientations. The device can be oriented otherwise (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and the spatially relative descriptors used herein should be interpreted accordingly.

[0023] The terms used herein are for the purpose of describing the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms "one" and "an" are also intended to include plural forms. It will be further understood that when the terms "include" and variations thereof and / or "comprise" and variations thereof are used in this specification, the stated features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and / or components are indicated, but the presence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, parts and / or groups thereof are not excluded.

[0024] In some embodiments of [cylindrical / prismatic / pouch] type batteries according to embodiments of the present disclosure, one of the prismatic / pouch / cylindrical batteries is selected, and the selected battery is described as having a general structure, and for common techniques, the general structure of the prismatic / pouch / cylindrical batteries is described.

[0025] Referring to the secondary battery according to the comparative example Fig. 6A , the exhaust component 17 may be provided in the case 15 of the secondary battery. In the exhaust component 17, an exhaust plate may be coupled to a lower portion of an exhaust hole defined in the case 15. Because the exhaust plate is thinner than a portion of the case 15, if the internal pressure of the case 15 increases due to overcharge, the exhaust plate is cracked (or ruptured) prior to other portions of the case 15 to exhaust high-temperature gas and pressure to the outside, thereby ensuring the safety of the secondary battery.

[0026] Reference Figure 6B and Figure 6C , a structure has been proposed in which the exhaust component 17 is provided at the bottom surface of the housing 15 instead of the upper portion of the housing 15. For example, the exhaust component 17 is provided at one side of the housing 15 opposite to the electrode terminals 21, 22, an exhaust hole is defined in the bottom surface of the housing 15, and a notched exhaust plate is sealed and coupled to the exhaust hole. If high-pressure gas is generated inside the secondary battery, the exhaust plate provided at the lower portion of the housing 15 is cracked (e.g., ruptured) to generate a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the housing, and therefore, the gas moves toward the lower side of the housing 15 due to the pressure difference and is then discharged to the outside through the exhaust hole.

[0027] The spacer 20 may be interposed between the lower end of the electrode assembly 10 and the bottom surface of the case 15. The spacer 20 fixes the core electrode assembly 10 so that the electrode assembly 10 does not shake or move within the case 15. In addition, the spacer 20 is made of an insulating material to maintain insulation between the electrode assembly 10 and the case 15, and protect the electrode assembly 10 by buffering external impact.

[0028] However, when the exhaust component 17 is provided on the bottom surface of the housing 15, the spacer 20 provided on the bottom surface of the housing 15 covers the exhaust component 17, thereby blocking the gas exhaust path toward the exhaust component 17, and causing smooth gas exhaust to be restricted. In addition, since the spacer 20 does not have a separate gas flow path, it is difficult to exhaust the gas smoothly.

[0029] In this case, there is a risk that the internal pressure of the battery rises rapidly and causes the weld surface of the secondary battery to explode, thereby accelerating the explosion of surrounding batteries. Therefore, a flow path should be ensured to provide smooth gas discharge.

[0030] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in , a secondary battery 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an electrode assembly 110 , a case 130 , and a cap plate 150 .

[0031] The electrode assembly 110 may be provided by winding or stacking a stack of a first electrode plate, a separator, and a second electrode plate, each of which is provided in the form of a thin plate or a film. If the electrode assembly 110 is a wound stack, the winding axis may be parallel to the length direction of the housing 130. In some embodiments, the electrode assembly 110 may be a stacked type rather than a wound type, and the shape of the electrode assembly 110 is not limited to the embodiment. In some embodiments, the electrode assembly 110 may include an electrode assembly 110 of a Z stack, wherein the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate are inserted into both sides of the separator bent in the form of a Z stack. In some embodiments, the electrode assembly 110 may be stacked so that one or more electrode assemblies 110 are adjacent to each other and accommodated in the housing 130. In some embodiments, the number of electrode assemblies 110 may be unlimited. In some embodiments, the first electrode plate of the electrode assembly 110 may be used as a negative electrode, and the second electrode plate may be used as a positive electrode. In other embodiments, the first electrode plate may be used as a positive electrode, and the second electrode plate may be used as a negative electrode.

[0032] The first electrode plate may be formed by applying a first electrode active material such as graphite or carbon to a first electrode current collector plate made of a metal foil such as copper, a copper alloy, nickel, or a nickel alloy. The first electrode plate may include a first electrode terminal tab (e.g., a first uncoated portion) as a portion of the first electrode current collector plate that is not coated with the first electrode active material. The first electrode terminal tab may be used as a path for current flow between the first electrode plate and the first current collector. In some embodiments, the first electrode terminal tab may be provided by being pre-cut to protrude to one side when manufacturing the first electrode plate, and may protrude more to one side than the diaphragm (e.g., may protrude beyond the diaphragm) without the need for separate cutting.

[0033] The second electrode plate may be provided by applying a second electrode active material such as a transition metal oxide to a second electrode current collector plate made of a metal foil such as aluminum or an aluminum alloy. The second electrode plate may include a second electrode terminal tab (e.g., a second uncoated portion) as a portion of the second electrode current collector plate that is not coated with the second electrode active material. The second electrode terminal tab may be a channel through which current flows between the second electrode plate and the second current collector. In some embodiments, the second electrode terminal tab may be provided by being pre-cut to protrude to the other side when manufacturing the second electrode plate, and may protrude more to the other side than the diaphragm (e.g., may protrude beyond the diaphragm) without requiring a separate cut.

[0034] In some embodiments, the first electrode tab may be disposed on a side surface at the left end of the electrode assembly 110, and the second electrode tab may be disposed on a side surface at the right end of the electrode assembly 110, or may be disposed on one surface in the same direction as the first electrode tab. Figure 2 , for convenience of explanation, an embodiment based on the left and right sides of the electrode assembly 110 of the secondary battery 100 is shown, but when the secondary battery 100 is rotated left and right or up and down, the position of the secondary battery 100 may be changed.

[0035] As described above, the first electrode tab of the first electrode plate and the second electrode tab of the second electrode plate may be respectively disposed at both ends (e.g., opposite ends) of the electrode assembly 110. In some embodiments, the electrode assembly 110 may be housed in the housing 130 together with the electrolyte. In some embodiments, in the electrode assembly 110, the first current collector and the second current collector may be respectively welded and connected to the first electrode tab of the first electrode plate and the second electrode tab of the second electrode plate, and the first electrode tab of the first electrode plate and the second electrode tab of the second electrode plate are exposed at both sides.

[0036] Then, the housing 130 may accommodate the electrode assembly 110. For example, the housing 130 may have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape to provide a space for accommodating the electrode assembly 110 and the electrolyte therein, and may have an opening defined in one surface of the rectangular parallelepiped shape to connect the external space and the internal space to each other. The opening may allow the electrode assembly 110 to be inserted into the housing 130.

[0037] However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the housing 130 may have various suitable shapes, such as a cylindrical shape or a bag shape. In some embodiments, the housing 130 may be made of a metal such as aluminum, aluminum alloy, or nickel-plated steel, or may be a laminated film or plastic constituting a bag or housing.

[0038] The cover plate 150 may be installed in the opening of the housing 130 to seal the opening in the housing 130. For example, the housing 130 and the cover plate 150 may be made of aluminum and welded to each other.

[0039] In some embodiments, the cap plate 150 may further include terminal holes (eg, terminal openings) H1, H2 and an electrolyte injection port. The electrolyte injection port may allow the electrolyte to be injected into the case 130 after the cap plate 150 is coupled and welded to the case 130.

[0040] The negative terminal 21 and the positive terminal 22 may be electrically and mechanically connected to the electrode assembly 110, and are installed in the terminal holes H1, H2 in the cap plate 150. In some embodiments, the negative terminal 21 and the positive terminal 22 may be electrically connected to the negative terminal and the positive terminal of the electrode assembly 110, respectively. In some embodiments, the electrode assembly 110 may be led out to the outside of the case 130 through the negative terminal 21 and the positive terminal 22.

[0041] The exhaust component 170 may be defined as passing through the surface of the housing 130 opposite to the cap plate 150. For example, the cap plate 150 may be coupled to the upper opening in the housing 130, and the exhaust component 170 may be provided in the lower bottom surface of the housing 130 opposite to the cap plate 150 on the housing 130. The high temperature gas and pressure generated inside the housing 130 may be discharged to the outside of the housing 130 through the exhaust component 170. In some embodiments, the exhaust component 170 may have an exhaust hole (e.g., an exhaust opening) and an exhaust plate sealed and coupled (or sealed and coupled to the exhaust hole) around the exhaust hole. A recessed portion may be provided in the above-mentioned exhaust component forming surface of the housing 130 (e.g., in the lower bottom surface), and the exhaust hole may be defined inside the recessed portion. The exhaust plate may seal the exhaust hole, and may be installed so that if a battery event (e.g., thermal runaway) occurs, the exhaust plate is disconnected (or ruptured) to discharge the internal pressure of the secondary battery 100. In some embodiments, if the internal pressure reaches a reference (or set) pressure, the exhaust plate may be disconnected (or may be ruptured) to open the exhaust hole. The vent plate may have notches that guide (or facilitate) the breaking (or rupturing).

[0042] like Figure 2As shown in , the spacer 200 may be disposed between the lower portion (or lower surface) of the electrode assembly 110 and the exhaust component 170 (i.e., disposed between the electrode assembly 110 and the exhaust component forming surface in the shell 130). When the electrode assembly 110 is accommodated in the shell 130, a gap (e.g., a space may exist) may be generated between the lower end of the electrode assembly 110 and the exhaust component forming surface of the shell 130 (i.e., the lower bottom surface of the shell 130), and the spacer 200 may be inserted into the gap space to fix the electrode assembly 110 in the shell 130 to prevent the electrode assembly 110 from shaking and suppress vibration in the height direction. In some embodiments, the spacer 200 may be made of a material having resistance to electrolyte and absorbs external impact due to the characteristics of the material itself or the morphological characteristics. In addition, the spacer 200 may be made of an insulating material to maintain insulation (e.g., electrical insulation) between the electrode assembly 110 and the shell 130.

[0043] Figure 3 Shows Figure 1 A perspective view of a spacer 200 of a secondary battery 100 shown in FIG. Figure 4 Shown from various angles Figure 3 A view of the spacer 200 shown in FIG. Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the separator 200 may have a surface portion (eg, upper surface) 210 contacting the electrode assembly 110 and a space portion (eg, space or gap) 230 below the surface portion 210. Hereinafter, the structure of the separator 200 will be described in more detail.

[0044] The surface portion 210 of the spacer 200 may be a portion in contact with the electrode assembly 110 and may have a flat plate shape. An opening 211 may be defined in the surface portion 210 of the spacer 200 in a region corresponding to the exhaust component 170 (e.g., in a longitudinal center portion of the spacer 200). Since the exhaust component 170 is exposed to the inside of the housing 130 through the opening 211, if a battery event occurs in the secondary battery 100, gas may flow directly into the exhaust component 170 to be discharged from the housing 130.

[0045] At least one gas discharge hole (e.g., at least one gas discharge opening) 212 may be defined in the surface portion 210 around the opening 211. The gas discharge hole 212 may be defined to pass through the surface portion 210 of the spacer 200, and may be provided in the surface portion 210 in a plurality arranged in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction (e.g., adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction). Figure 3 In the embodiment shown in , twelve gas discharge holes 212 are formed at respective sides of the opening 211 in the longitudinal direction of the spacer 200 .

[0046] A space portion 230 may be defined below the gas discharge hole 212, and the gas generated in the housing 130 may be discharged to the outside through the gas discharge member 170 via the space portion 230 and the gas discharge hole 212. Figures 2 to 4 , the spacer 200 may have an outer wall 250 protruding downward from the outer periphery (or periphery) of the surface portion 210. The outer wall 250 may be continuously provided along the long side and the short side of the spacer 200. In some embodiments, the spacer 200 may have an inner wall 260 similarly protruding downward around the opening 211. The surface portion 210 may be spaced apart from the bottom surface of the housing 130 by the outer wall 250 and the inner wall 260 (for example, a gap may be formed between the surface portion 210 and the bottom surface of the housing 130 by the outer wall 250 and the inner wall 260), and the gap may be the space portion 230. That is, the space portion 230 may be surrounded by the surface portion 210, the outer wall 250, the inner wall 260 and the lower bottom surface of the shell 130 (or may be formed by or between the surface portion 210, the outer wall 250, the inner wall 260 and the lower bottom surface of the shell 130).

[0047] As described above, at least one gas discharge hole 212 may be provided vertically through the surface portion 210, and thus, as Figure 3 As indicated by the vertical arrows in FIG. 8 , the gas moving channel may be provided in a vertical direction.

[0048] According to some embodiments, gas movement channels may also be provided in Figure 3 In some embodiments, a plurality of discharge holes 270 may be provided in the spacer 200 , and the spacer 200 may be provided to be spaced apart from the longitudinal inner surface of the housing 130 by a distance (eg, a predetermined distance).

[0049] In some embodiments, a plurality of discharge holes 270 may be defined in the outer wall 250 disposed on the short side of the spacer 200. In some embodiments, a plurality of discharge holes 270 may also be disposed in the inner wall 260. For example, in Figure 3 In the embodiment shown in , three discharge holes 270 may be provided in each of the outer wall 250 and the inner wall 260. As described above, because the outer wall 250 is continuously provided along the long side of the spacer 200, the gas may not flow between the outer wall 250 and the bottom surface of the shell 130 in the longitudinal direction of the spacer 200. In some embodiments, the outer wall 250 may be continuously provided along the short side of the spacer 200, but the discharge holes 270 may be provided in the short side to provide a movement channel for the gas. In some embodiments, the short side of the spacer 200 may be provided to be spaced apart from the longitudinal inner surface of the shell 130 by a distance (e.g., a predetermined distance). Due to this structure, as Figure 2 As shown in FIG, the gas in the housing 130 may pass through the space between the inner surface of the housing 130 and the short side of the partition 200 through the discharge hole 270 provided in the short side to be introduced into the space portion 230 and then discharged to the outside through the exhaust component 170 .

[0050] According to some embodiments, the discharge holes 270 in the outer wall 250 and the discharge holes 270 in the inner wall 260 may be formed in one-to-one correspondence with each other, and the corresponding discharge holes 270 may be arranged in a straight line. The same number of discharge holes 270 may be provided in the inner wall 260 and the outer wall 250, and the facing discharge holes 270 may be arranged in a straight line to induce a straight flow of gas. As a result, the gas introduced through the discharge holes 270 of the outer wall 250 may be discharged to the discharge holes 270 in the inner wall 260 without causing eddies in the space portion 230, or the gas introduced through the discharge holes 270 of the outer wall 250 may be discharged to the discharge holes 270 in the inner wall 260 while generating minimal eddies in the space portion 230.

[0051] In some embodiments, the gas discharge holes 212 arranged in the longitudinal direction along the surface portion 210 may be disposed above a straight line (or a straight path) connecting (e.g., fluidly connecting) the discharge holes 270 of the outer wall 250 to the discharge holes 270 of the inner wall 260. As a result, the gas introduced through the gas discharge holes 212 in the vertical direction may be discharged to the discharge holes 270 in the inner wall 260 while generating minimal vortices by combining with the above-described straight flow.

[0052] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a gas movement channel may be provided in the spacer, a gas discharge hole 212 may be provided in the plane of the spacer 200 to induce gas discharge in the vertical direction, and a discharge hole 270 may be provided in the side surface of the spacer 200 to induce gas discharge in the horizontal direction. In some embodiments, the spacer 200 provided in the secondary battery 100 may both fix the electrode assembly 110 and also serve as a gas discharge channel.

[0053] Reference Figure 5 , the left image shows the experimental results of gas flow in a secondary battery to which a prior art spacer without a gas exhaust channel is applied, and the right image shows the experimental results of gas flow in a secondary battery provided with a spacer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It can be seen that because the spacer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure has a vent hole in the side surface to allow gas to be exhausted horizontally, the gas flows uniformly and actively in the horizontal direction of the spacer.

[0054] According to some embodiments, the spacer both fixes the electrode assembly and allows gas exhaust to be smoothly performed through the exhaust member provided at the lower end of the case through the exhaust channel provided in the spacer.

[0055] However, aspects and features of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-mentioned aspects and features, and other aspects and features not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description and claims of the present disclosure and their equivalents.

[0056] As described above, although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A secondary battery, comprising: Electrode assembly; A shell, accommodating the electrode assembly; a cover plate coupled to the opening in the housing; as well as a spacer, located in the housing, wherein the housing has an exhaust component extending through a surface facing the cover plate, wherein the spacer is accommodated in the housing between the lower portion of the electrode assembly and the exhaust component, Wherein, the spacer has: a surface portion contacting the electrode assembly, and a space portion located below the surface portion; an opening in a region of the surface portion corresponding to the exhaust component; and gas exhaust holes arranged around the opening, and The gas generated in the housing is discharged to the outside through the exhaust member via the space portion in the spacer and the gas discharge hole.

2. The secondary battery according to claim 1, wherein The gas discharge holes extend through the surface portion of the spacer and are provided as a plurality of gas discharge holes, and The plurality of gas discharge holes are arranged in the surface portion along a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction.

3. The secondary battery according to claim 2, wherein: The spacer has an outer wall protruding downward along the periphery of the surface portion and an inner wall protruding downward along the periphery of the opening in the spacer, wherein the surface portion is spaced apart from a lower bottom surface of the housing by the outer wall and the inner wall, the exhaust component is formed in the lower bottom surface, and The space portion is surrounded by the surface portion, the outer wall, the inner wall, and the lower bottom surface of the housing.

4. The secondary battery according to claim 3, wherein The outer wall is continuously arranged along the long side and the short side of the spacer, wherein a plurality of discharge holes are located in the outer wall and the inner wall on the short side, and The interior of the housing communicates with the space portion of the spacer via the plurality of discharge holes.

5. The secondary battery according to claim 4, wherein The discharge holes in the outer wall and the discharge holes in the inner wall correspond to each other one by one, and Wherein, the corresponding discharge holes are arranged in a straight line.

6. The secondary battery according to claim 5, wherein The gas discharge holes arranged in the longitudinal direction are arranged above a straight path connecting the discharge holes in the outer wall to the discharge holes in the inner wall.

7. The secondary battery according to claim 3, wherein: The spacer is spaced apart a distance from an inner surface of the housing in the longitudinal direction.

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