Battery assembly and battery pack comprising the same

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a battery assembly in which a plurality of batteries are aligned in a height direction and / or a length direction, and at least a bottom surface of the aligned plurality of batteries is open, the battery assembly including a heat transfer material combined to a bottom surface of the battery assembly and a film combined to a bottom surface of the heat transfer material, wherein two side surfaces of the film extending outside the bottom surface of the battery assembly can be attached to two side surfaces of the battery assembly, respectively.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to a battery assembly with improved performance in terms of maintenance and repair, and a battery pack including the battery assembly.

[0002] This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0132449, filed on September 30, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Technology

[0003] Various attempts have been made to increase the space utilization of battery packs, and as one solution, battery packs with a cell-to-pack structure have been proposed. Instead of using a modular structure that houses multiple cells in a housing, the cell-to-pack structure directly assembles multiple cells into a battery pack by bundling them together in a minimal structure, thus improving the space utilization of the battery pack by eliminating multiple structures.

[0004] Furthermore, by omitting a separate module housing, the thermosetting resin is directly inserted between the bottom surface of the battery assembly, where the battery is directly exposed, and the base plate of the battery pack housing. This promotes conductive heat dissipation of the battery assembly and provides a more secure fixation through the curing of the thermosetting resin. Consequently, recent battery packs have adopted a simplified design that reduces the number of component types, thereby increasing the battery pack's capacity and simplifying the cooling structure to enhance cooling performance in response to the heat generated during fast charging.

[0005] The structure of a battery pack that more firmly secures the battery components through the curing of thermal resin offers many advantages over module-less structures: compared to structures that further insert into module housings, it improves the space utilization of the battery pack by directly assembling multiple batteries into the pack without a structure for modular cells, and also improves heat dissipation performance due to heat conduction. However, there are disadvantages in terms of battery pack maintenance and repair. Specifically, this module-less structure makes it difficult to disassemble the assembled battery pack into battery unit cells. For example, the structure that uses thermal resin curing to fix the bottom surface of the battery components can damage the cells bonded to the thermal resin during battery component removal, potentially leading to significantly dangerous consequences such as electrolyte leakage.

[0006] There is a strong need to develop a battery pack with a module-less structure that can be easily disassembled into battery module units. This would allow the battery pack to be maintained and repaired by replacing the battery modules even if a problem occurs in only one battery and / or battery module within the pack, thus maximizing its design life without scrapping the expensive battery pack. Summary of the Invention

[0007] Technical issues

[0008] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a battery assembly and battery pack that allows for easy removal of any battery component from the assembled battery pack, thereby facilitating the replacement of defective battery components.

[0009] However, the technical problems to be solved by this disclosure are not limited to those described above, and those skilled in the art can clearly understand from the description of this disclosure below that there are other problems not mentioned.

[0010] Technical solution

[0011] This disclosure relates to a battery assembly in which a plurality of batteries are aligned along a height direction and / or a length direction, and at least the bottom surface of the aligned plurality of batteries is open. According to one embodiment, the battery assembly further includes a heat transfer material bonded to the bottom surface of the battery assembly and a membrane bonded to the bottom surface of the heat transfer material, and two side surfaces of the membrane extending outward from the bottom surface of the battery assembly can be respectively attached to two side surfaces of the battery assembly.

[0012] In one embodiment, the heat transfer material may be a TIM pad, and the bottom surface of the battery assembly and the membrane may be attached to the TIM pad.

[0013] TIM pads can have non-curing properties.

[0014] The two side surfaces of the membrane extending to the outer side of the bottom surface of the battery assembly can be attached to the two side surfaces of the battery assembly using double-sided tape and / or adhesive.

[0015] TIM pads and membranes can be configured as TIM pad assemblies, in which the membrane is attached to the bottom surface of the TIM pad.

[0016] The membrane may have easy cuts formed on both sides of the boundary line along the outer side of the bottom surface of the battery assembly.

[0017] On the other hand, this disclosure may provide a battery pack in which a plurality of battery components having the above configuration are installed, wherein the plurality of battery components are mounted on a base plate of the battery pack, and thermal resin is inserted between the film exposed from the bottom surface of the plurality of battery components and the base plate.

[0018] Thermopolymer resins can have curing properties.

[0019] The thermoplastic resin can be present in a portion of the entire adhesive surface between the film and the substrate.

[0020] The adhesion force between the heat transfer material and the membrane can be less than the adhesion force between the heat transfer resin and the membrane.

[0021] Beneficial effects

[0022] In the battery assembly according to this disclosure, compared to conventional battery assemblies that utilize thermal resin to directly attach to the substrate, a film and a heat transfer material (e.g., a film and a TIM pad) are interposed between the adhesive surface and the thermal resin. Therefore, even when the battery assembly is removed from the assembled battery pack, it can be protected by the film and heat transfer material, thereby eliminating concerns about damage to the battery assembly caused by the cured thermal resin.

[0023] However, the technical effects that can be obtained through this disclosure are not limited to those described above, and those skilled in the art can clearly understand from the description of this disclosure below that other effects not mentioned are also possible. Attached Figure Description

[0024] Because the following drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of this disclosure and, together with the detailed description of this disclosure below, are used to help understand the technical concept of this disclosure, this disclosure should not be interpreted restrictively based on the drawings.

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

[0026] Figure 2 It is along Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the battery assembly taken by the "AA" line.

[0027] Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of attaching a TIM pad and membrane, which serve as heat transfer materials, to a battery assembly.

[0028] Figure 4 This is a diagram showing the unfolded state of the membrane before it is attached to the battery assembly on both side surfaces.

[0029] Figure 5 It is shown Figure 1 The figure shows an embodiment of the battery assembly mounted in the battery pack housing.

[0030] Figure 6 This is an illustrative diagram showing the removal of a battery component from a battery pack. Detailed Implementation

[0031] This disclosure can have various modifications and various embodiments, therefore specific embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below.

[0032] However, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents or alternatives within the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

[0033] The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “having” as used herein refer to the presence of the features, quantities, steps, actions, components, elements, or combinations thereof described in the specification, and it should be understood that the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, quantities, steps, actions, components, elements, or combinations thereof is not excluded in advance.

[0034] Furthermore, in this disclosure, when one component such as a layer, film, region, or plate is disposed "on" another component, this includes not only the case where one component is disposed "directly" on "the" other component, but also the case where another component is inserted between one component and another component. Conversely, when one component such as a layer, film, region, or plate is disposed "below" another component, this includes not only the case where one component is disposed "directly" below "the" other component, but also the case where another component is inserted between one component and another component. Additionally, in this application, "on" can include not only the case where it is disposed on the upper part, but also the case where it is disposed on the lower part.

[0035] This disclosure relates to a battery assembly in which a plurality of batteries are aligned along a height direction and / or a length direction, and at least the bottom surface of the aligned plurality of batteries is open. According to one embodiment, the battery assembly further includes a heat transfer material bonded to the bottom surface of the battery assembly and a membrane bonded to the bottom surface of the heat transfer material, and two side surfaces of the membrane extending outward from the bottom surface of the battery assembly can be respectively attached to two side surfaces of the battery assembly.

[0036] In the battery assembly with the above configuration according to this disclosure, compared with conventional battery assemblies that are directly attached to the substrate using thermal resin, a film and a heat transfer material (e.g., a film and a TIM pad) are inserted between the adhesive surface and the thermal resin. Therefore, even when the battery assembly is removed from the assembled battery pack, the battery assembly can be protected by the film and the heat transfer material, thereby eliminating concerns about damage to the battery assembly caused by the cured thermal resin.

[0037] [Detailed Implementation Methods]

[0038] In the following, specific embodiments of the battery assembly 100 and the battery pack 500 including the battery assembly 100 according to the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For reference, the directions front, back, up, down, left, and right used in the following description to specify relative positions are for the purposes of understanding the present disclosure, and unless otherwise stated, these directions refer to the directions shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0039] [First Embodiment]

[0040] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of a battery assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and Figure 2 It is along Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of battery assembly 100 taken along line “AA”.

[0041] This disclosure relates to a battery assembly 100 in which a plurality of batteries 110 are aligned along a height direction and / or a length direction, and at least the bottom surface of the aligned plurality of batteries 110 is open. In other words, the battery assembly may relate to a battery assembly 100 suitable for configuring a battery pack 500 having a module-less structure, in which at least a portion of the plurality of batteries 110 is exposed through the bottom surface of the battery assembly 100 (that is, the surface on which the battery assembly 100 is mounted to the battery pack housing 510).

[0042] Reference Figure 2 The cross-sectional view shows that the battery assembly includes a heat transfer material 120 bonded to the bottom surface of the battery assembly 100 and a membrane 130 bonded to the bottom surface of the heat transfer material 120. That is, the battery assembly 100 of this disclosure has a structure in which the heat transfer material 120 is located on the bottom surface of a plurality of batteries 110 and the membrane 130 is disposed below the heat transfer material 120.

[0043] In addition, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the two side surfaces of the membrane 130, extending outward from the bottom surface of the battery assembly 100, are respectively attached to the two side surfaces of the battery assembly 100. Therefore, in the battery assembly 100 of this disclosure, the membrane 130 surrounds three surfaces of the battery assembly 100: the bottom surface and the two side surfaces connected to the bottom surface. With the membrane 130 surrounding the two side surfaces of the battery assembly 100, the membrane 130 can be expected to support the internal battery 110 during transport of the battery assembly 100. Furthermore, even when the battery assembly 100 is removed from the battery pack 500, the membrane 130 can support the battery assembly 100 with sufficient tensile strength, thereby enabling smooth removal.

[0044] In one embodiment, the heat transfer material 120 may be a TIM pad 122. A TIM pad 122 refers to a heat transfer material 120 in the form of a thermal interface material (TIM) filled in a pad (e.g., a silicone pad) with suitable elasticity. Due to the elasticity and variability of the TIM pad 122, it can adhere well to the multiple aligned cells 110 even if there are gaps or steps between them, thus achieving sufficient thermal contact.

[0045] Membrane 130 can be made of a synthetic resin material that has suitable strength even at a thin thickness. For example, the membrane can be a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. Alternatively, films made of other materials with suitable heat resistance and strength, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyurethane (PU), or polycarbonate (PC) films, can also be used. In the battery pack 500 described later, since membrane 130 is interposed between the heat transfer material 120 of the battery assembly 100 and the thermal resin 600 of the base plate 520, it can be said that the membrane 130 should have as little negative impact as possible on the heat conduction between the battery assembly 100 and the base plate 520. Therefore, this needs to be taken into account when determining the material, thickness, etc., of membrane 130.

[0046] In one embodiment, the TIM pad 122 may have a non-curing property. The fact that the TIM pad 122 has a non-curing property can be understood as meaning that the TIM pad 122 can be separated from the battery assembly 100 during the use of the battery pack 500 without damaging the battery 110. For example, the TIM pad 122 can maintain its non-curing property at least for the period corresponding to the warranty period of the battery pack 500.

[0047] The bottom surface of the battery assembly 100 in which the heat transfer material 120 is inserted and the corresponding area of ​​the membrane 130 are bonded to each other by the adhesiveness of the heat transfer material 120 itself. On the other hand, since the heat transfer material 120 is not inserted on the two side surfaces of the membrane 130 extending outward from the bottom surface of the battery assembly 100, the two side surfaces of the membrane 130 can be attached to the two side surfaces of the battery assembly 100 with double-sided tape and / or adhesive 150.

[0048] Figure 3 This diagram illustrates one embodiment of attaching a TIM pad 122 (i.e., heat transfer material 120) and a membrane 130 to a battery assembly 100. When the heat transfer material 120 is a TIM pad 122, since the TIM pad 122 is solid, the TIM pad 122 and the membrane 130 can be co-located in the form of a TIM pad assembly 140 with the membrane 130 attached to the bottom surface of the TIM pad 122. Using the TIM pad assembly 140 simplifies the process of attaching the TIM pad 122 and the membrane 130 to the battery assembly 100. Before using the TIM pad assembly 140, a protective tape is attached to the exposed surface of the TIM pad 122 to maintain the adhesion of the TIM pad 122 and prevent problems such as adhesion to the membrane 130.

[0049] Figure 4 This diagram shows the unfolded state of the membrane 130 before it is attached to the battery assembly 100 on both side surfaces. Figure 4In one embodiment, the membrane 130 may have easy-cut notches 132 formed along the two side boundary lines respectively on the outer side of the bottom surface of the battery assembly 100. The easy-cut notches 132 correspond to perforated lines manufactured to facilitate cutting of the membrane 130, and the easy-cut notches 132 eliminate the problem of interference caused by the membrane 130 when removing the battery assembly 100 from the battery pack 500. As will be described later, the thermosetting resin 600 coated onto the base plate 520 of the battery pack 500 has properties of being cured while exhibiting strong adhesion; therefore, the membrane 130, strongly adhered to the thermosetting resin 600, may cause interference when removing the battery assembly 100. To address this, by pre-forming the easy-cut notches 132 in the membrane 130, when a strong force is applied to the membrane 130, the membrane 130 naturally breaks along the easy-cut notches 132, thereby enabling easy removal of the battery assembly 100. Of course, this configuration of the easy-cut notches 132 can also be applied to the TIM pad assembly 140.

[0050] [Second Embodiment]

[0051] Figure 5 It is shown Figure 1 The figure shows one embodiment of the battery assembly 100 mounted in the battery pack housing 510. The battery pack 500 generally includes a plurality of battery assemblies 100 and the battery pack housing 510.

[0052] The battery pack housing 510 includes a base plate 520 serving as a bottom panel. Additionally, the battery pack housing 510 includes a plurality of side plates 530 joined along the periphery of the base plate 520. The base plate 520 supports the bottom surface of the battery assembly 100 (i.e., the bottom surface of the plurality of batteries 110) and is used to absorb heat from the bottom surface of the battery assembly 100 in the form of thermal conduction and dissipate the heat to the outside. Therefore, the absorbed heat is discharged to the outside via refrigerant. The base plate 520 itself can constitute a heat sink, or a separate heat sink can be attached to the bottom surface of the base plate. In this specification, since the configuration of the heat sink itself is not important, its description and explanation will be omitted.

[0053] As one of the fixing structures supporting multiple battery modules 100 mounted on a base plate 520, a thermal resin 600 with excellent thermal conductivity can be coated onto the base plate 520. The thermal resin 600 has viscous gel properties in the initial stage of coating, but cures into a solid form when exposed to air and after a certain period of time. Due to the curing of the thermal resin 600, the bottom surface of the battery module 100 is firmly fixed to the base plate 520.

[0054] However, while the curing of the thermosetting resin 600 can securely fix the battery assembly, in the event of an anomaly within the battery assembly, the curing of the thermosetting resin can become a factor interfering with the separation of the battery assembly from the battery pack. Under normal circumstances, separation of a battery assembly fixed with thermosetting resin 600 is virtually impossible, or even if it is removed, it may cause damage not only to itself but also to other surrounding battery assemblies or even the battery pack housing 510. For this reason, battery packs with irreparable module-less structures typically need to be completely scrapped.

[0055] The battery pack 500 disclosed herein is intended to solve this problem, and multiple battery assemblies 100 described above in the first embodiment are mounted on a base plate 520. Since the membrane 130 is exposed on the entire bottom surface of each battery assembly 100, the membrane 130 is bonded to the thermal resin 600. Therefore, multiple batteries 110 included in each battery assembly 100 are fixed to the thermal resin 600 via a heat transfer material 120 (e.g., a TIM pad 122 and the membrane 130).

[0056] The thermosetting resin 600 can have curing properties, and in order to properly control the fixing force of the thermosetting resin 600, the thermosetting resin 600 can be inserted into a portion of the entire adhesive surface between the membrane 130 and the substrate 520. That is, after the thermosetting resin 600 is applied to the substrate 520 in a dotted dispensing manner, the battery assembly 100 can be mounted on the substrate.

[0057] Figure 6 This diagram exemplarily illustrates the removal of battery assembly 100 from battery pack 500. (Refer to...) Figure 6 In (a), when the battery assembly 100 is removed, the membrane 130 remains on the base plate 520, and the heat transfer material 120 (e.g., TIM pad 122) may remain on either the battery assembly 100 or the membrane 130. In many cases, the adhesion between the heat transfer material 120 and the membrane 130 may be less than the adhesion between the thermal resin 600 and the membrane 130, and in such cases, the membrane 130 remains on the base plate 520.

[0058] Alternatively, such as Figure 6 As shown in (b), when a small amount of thermal resin 600 is applied by dot-applied adhesive to significantly reduce the fixing force of thermal resin 600, the membrane 130 can also be removed together when the battery assembly 100 is removed.

[0059] Alternatively, such as Figure 6 As shown in (c), when an easy cut 132 is formed in the membrane 130, the membrane 130 corresponding to the bottom surface area of ​​the base plate 520 remains on the base plate 520, and the two side surfaces of the remaining portion of the membrane 130 can be removed together with the battery assembly 100.

[0060] Therefore, although the removal of the heat transfer material 120 and the membrane 130 can vary, when applying the battery assembly 100 proposed by this disclosure, the non-destructive removal of the battery assembly 100 will not be interfered with by the thermal resin 600 under any circumstances. Therefore, compared with conventional techniques, the battery assembly 100 according to this disclosure and the battery pack 500 including the battery assembly have significantly improved performance in terms of maintenance and repair.

[0061] As described above, this disclosure has been described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, embodiments, etc. However, since the configurations described in the drawings or embodiments herein are merely one embodiment of this disclosure and do not represent the overall technical spirit of this disclosure, it should be understood that this disclosure covers various equivalents, modifications, and substitutions at the time of filing this application.

[0062] [Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures]

[0063] 100: Battery Components

[0064] 110: Battery

[0065] 120: Heat transfer materials

[0066] 122: TIM pad

[0067] 130: Membrane

[0068] 132: Easy incision

[0069] 140: TIM Pad Assembly

[0070] 150: Double-sided tape and / or adhesive

[0071] 500: Battery pack

[0072] 510: Battery pack casing

[0073] 520: Base Plate

[0074] 530: Side panel

[0075] 600: Thermopolymer

Claims

1. A battery assembly in which a plurality of batteries are aligned along a height direction and / or a length direction, and at least the bottom surface of the aligned plurality of batteries is open. The battery assembly includes: A heat transfer material, said heat transfer material being bonded to the bottom surface of the battery assembly; as well as A membrane, the membrane being bonded to the bottom surface of the heat transfer material, The two side surfaces of the membrane, which extend outward from the bottom surface of the battery assembly, are respectively attached to the two side surfaces of the battery assembly.

2. The battery assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The heat transfer material is a TIM pad, and The bottom surface of the battery assembly and the membrane are attached to the TIM pad.

3. The battery assembly according to claim 2, wherein, The TIM pad has non-curing properties.

4. The battery assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The two side surfaces of the membrane extending outward from the bottom surface of the battery assembly are attached to the two side surfaces of the battery assembly by double-sided tape and / or adhesive.

5. The battery assembly according to claim 2, wherein, The TIM pad and the membrane are configured as a TIM pad assembly, in which the membrane is attached to the bottom surface of the TIM pad.

6. The battery assembly according to claim 1, wherein, The membrane has easily cut-outs formed along the two side boundary lines on the outer side of the bottom surface of the battery assembly.

7. A battery pack, wherein a plurality of battery components according to any one of claims 1 to 6 are installed in the battery pack. in, Multiple battery components are mounted on the base plate of the battery pack, and A thermoplastic resin is inserted between the membrane exposed from the bottom surface of the plurality of battery components and the base plate.

8. The battery pack according to claim 7, wherein, The thermosetting resin has curing properties.

9. The battery pack according to claim 7, wherein, The thermopolymer resin is present in a portion of the entire adhesive surface between the film and the substrate.

10. The battery pack according to claim 7, wherein, The adhesion between the heat transfer material and the membrane is less than the adhesion between the thermal resin and the membrane.

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