Battery pack

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery pack accommodating a battery module, comprising: a pack case providing a space in which a battery module is mounted; an upper cover coupled to the pack case to cover an upper portion of a battery module mounted in the pack case; and a screen cover interposed between the pack case and the upper cover, wherein the screen cover includes a through hole opened to expose an upper portion of the battery module to the outside.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery pack, characterized in that a screen cover is applied to the battery pack, which can extinguish a flame when a flame occurs together with high-temperature gas in one of a plurality of battery modules contained therein, so that the flame is not directly exposed to the outside.

[0002] This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0136062 dated October 21, 2022, and all contents disclosed in the documents of said Korean patent application are incorporated herein by reference. [Background technology]

[0003] Lithium secondary batteries have the risk of explosion, fire, etc. due to heat generation, and ensuring safety is one of the important issues. If such an abnormal phenomenon occurs and an appropriate response is not made in the early stages, the internal temperature of the secondary battery will rise rapidly due to heat generation, and the rapid rise in temperature may cause a thermal runaway phenomenon, which may lead to the explosion of the secondary battery, and may spread to adjacent secondary batteries, causing serious damage to the battery pack.

[0004] In order to eliminate such risks, a control means is provided that can monitor and control the voltage, current, etc. of the battery pack, or a means is provided to externally extinguish a fire in the battery pack in the event of a fire. However, there is a problem in that such means alone are not capable of quickly and actively responding to a fire that occurs in the battery pack in the early stages.

[0005] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional battery pack 10 including a pack case and a battery module M housed in the internal space of the pack case.

[0006] In the battery pack 10 having the above structure, when thermal runaway occurs in any one of the battery modules M housed therein, a flame generated in the battery module M may be discharged to the outside through the upper portion. Most battery packs 10 may further include an upper cover coupled to the pack case to cover the upper portion of the battery module M, but there is a high risk that the upper cover may also be damaged due to exposure to the flame. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0004854 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack that can prevent a flame generated along with thermal runaway from being directly exposed to the outside even if a thermal runaway phenomenon occurs in a battery module housed therein.

[0009] Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood from the following description and will become more clearly understood from the embodiments of the present invention. Also, it is easily understood that the objects and advantages of the present invention can be realized by the means and combinations thereof as claimed in the claims. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] According to the present invention, a battery pack accommodating a battery module includes a pack case providing a space in which the battery module is installed, an upper cover coupled to the pack case to cover an upper portion of the battery module installed in the pack case, and a screen cover interposed between the pack case and the upper cover, The screen cover may include a through hole that is opened to expose an upper portion of the battery module to the outside.

[0011] The screen cover may include a plurality of through holes, the through holes being spaced apart at predetermined intervals along a horizontal axis and a vertical axis of the screen cover.

[0012] The through-hole may be formed in at least one of a circle and a polygon.

[0013] The pack case may include a base plate supporting a lower portion of a battery module, a main partition wall coupled across a center of the base plate, and a side wall coupled along an edge of the base plate, the pack case including a pair of module regions partitioned by the main partition wall, and the screen cover may be coupled to the pack case to cover at least one of the pair of module regions.

[0014] The pack case includes a base plate supporting a lower portion of a battery module, a main partition coupled across a center of the base plate, a side wall coupled along an edge of the base plate, and a sub-partition having both ends coupled to the main partition and the side wall, respectively, and coupled to the base plate at a predetermined interval along a longitudinal direction of the main partition, the pack case including a plurality of module regions defined by the main partition and the sub-partition, and the screen cover may be coupled to the pack case to cover at least any one of the plurality of module regions.

[0015] The side of the screen cover includes a plurality of protrusions protruding laterally and grooves formed between the plurality of protrusions, and a pair of adjacent screen covers can be joined together by interlocking the protrusions and the grooves.

[0016] The screen cover may include a flame resistant material.

[0017] The screen cover may further include a rupture member coupled to an inner circumferential surface of the through hole to close the through hole.

[0018] The rupture member may comprise a thermoplastic material, and the through-hole may be opened as the rupture member melts due to high temperatures generated in the module area.

[0019] The rupture member is coupled to the through hole so as to be broken when a pressure equal to or greater than a certain level is applied thereto, and the through hole can be opened by the rupture member being broken by high-pressure gas generated in the module region.

[0020] A plurality of screen covers may be stacked and interposed between the upper cover and the pack case.

[0021] The plurality of screen covers may have the through holes disposed at the same positions.

[0022] Any one of the plurality of screen covers may be disposed at a position where the through-hole is blocked by another screen cover.

[0023] The through-hole may be formed in a slit shape. Effect of the Invention

[0024] According to the present invention, even if thermal runaway occurs in a battery module housed inside, the stability of the battery pack can be improved by suppressing the phenomenon in which a flame generated simultaneously with the thermal runaway spreads to the outside. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional battery pack. [Diagram 2]1 is a perspective view of a battery pack according to a first embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 3] 1 is a plan view of a battery pack excluding a top cover. [Figure 4] 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion between sub-partitions of the battery pack of FIG. 3. [Diagram 5] 1 shows a first modified example of the screen cover. [Figure 6] 13 shows a second modified example of the screen cover. [Figure 7] 13 shows a third modified example of the screen cover. [Figure 8] 13 shows a fourth modified example of the screen cover. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a battery pack according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a plan view of the battery pack of FIG. 9 with the top cover removed. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a battery pack according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a plan view of the battery pack of FIG. 11 with the top cover removed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0026] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Before that, the terms and words used in the specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted as meanings and concepts that are consistent with the technical idea of ​​the present invention, based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the term to best describe his own invention.

[0027] Therefore, the embodiment described in this specification and the configurations illustrated in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiment of the present invention and do not represent the entire technical idea of ​​the present invention, and there may be various equivalents and modifications that can replace them at the time of this application.

[0028] In addition, in the description of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related publicly known configurations or functions may obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted.

[0029] Since the embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art, the shapes and sizes of components in the drawings may be exaggerated, omitted, or shown roughly for clearer explanation. Therefore, the sizes and proportions of each component do not completely reflect the actual sizes and proportions.

[0030] The present invention relates to a battery pack, characterized in that when a flame occurs together with high-temperature gas in any one of a plurality of battery modules contained therein, a screen cover is applied to extinguish the flame so that the flame is not directly exposed to the outside.

[0031] Figures 3 to 6 relate to a battery pack according to a first embodiment of the present invention, Figures 9 to 10 relate to a battery pack according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and Figures 11 to 12 relate to a battery pack according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] Hereinafter, a battery pack according to each embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0033] (First embodiment) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the battery pack 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0034] The battery pack 1000 of the present invention includes a pack case 100, an upper cover 300, and a screen cover 200, as shown in FIG.

[0035] The pack case 100 serves to provide a space in which the battery module M is installed, and surrounds and protects the lower portion and sides of the battery module M installed therein.

[0036] The pack case 100 includes a base plate 110 for supporting a lower portion of the battery module M, and a side wall 120 coupled along an edge of the base plate 110 to support a side surface of the battery module M.

[0037] The pack case 100 may further include a main partition 130 coupled across a center of the base plate 110 .

[0038] The main partition 130 divides the internal space of the pack case 100 in half into two large spaces.

[0039] Various measuring wires and bus bars may be inserted into the main bulkhead 130 .

[0040] The pack case 100 includes a pair of module regions partitioned by the main partition wall 130, and one or a plurality of battery modules M may be installed in each of the module regions.

[0041] The pack case 100 may further include a sub-partition 140 having both ends coupled to the main partition 130 and the side wall 120, respectively.

[0042] The sub-partition wall 140 serves to repartition a module area formed on one side of the main partition wall 130 and separate the battery modules M from each other.

[0043] The sub-partition walls 140 are coupled to the base plate 110 at both sides of the main partition wall 130 along the longitudinal direction of the main partition wall 130 with a predetermined interval therebetween.

[0044] The upper cover 300 covers the upper part of the battery module M installed in the pack case 100 to protect it from external impact, and is combined with the pack case 100. More specifically, the upper cover 300 is combined with the side wall 120 included in the pack case 100 to completely surround and protect the upper part of the battery module M inside.

[0045] The screen cover 200 is interposed between the pack case 100 and the upper cover 300, and covers the upper part of each battery module M from the lower part of the upper cover 300.

[0046] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the battery pack 1000 excluding the upper cover 300, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a portion between the sub-partitions 140 in the battery pack 1000 of FIG.

[0047] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the screen cover 200 includes a through hole 210 that is opened to expose the upper portion of the battery module M to the outside.

[0048] The screen cover 200 including the through-holes 210 is combined with the pack case 100 to cover the upper portion of the plurality of battery modules M mounted in the pack case 100 .

[0049] The screen cover 200 of the present invention plays a role in preventing the flames of a fire from spreading to the outside when a fire occurs in the plurality of battery modules M housed therein.

[0050] Referring to FIG. 4, the flame is blocked by the screen cover 200 and cannot spread to the outside, but only moves along the lower surface of the screen cover 200 (D1), and the gas moves through the through-holes 210 (D2) and is discharged to the outside.

[0051] 4, the through-holes 210 formed in the screen cover 200 may serve as a passage through which high-temperature gas generated along with a fire is discharged, but may also prevent the flames from escaping. Therefore, the screen cover 200 may prevent the flames from directly contacting the upper cover 300, thereby preventing the fire from spreading to the entire battery pack 1000.

[0052] The screen cover 200 may be exposed to flames generated when the battery module M goes into a thermal runaway state, and needs to withstand high heat in the exposed state. Therefore, the screen cover 200 preferably includes a material that is resistant to high heat and flames. That is, the screen cover 200 preferably includes a flame-resistant material.

[0053] The screen cover 200 may be coupled to the side wall 120 of the pack case 100 , or may be coupled to the main partition 130 and the sub partition 140 , similar to the top cover 300 .

[0054] A side surface of the screen cover 200 may include a plurality of protrusions 220 protruding laterally along an edge and grooves 230 formed between the plurality of protrusions 220. In this case, an upper portion of the side wall 120 of the pack case 100 may have a structure that engages with the protrusions 220 and the grooves 230 of the screen cover 200, and the screen cover 200 may be fixed to the pack case 100 while the protrusions 220 and the grooves 230 are engaged and coupled with the side wall 120.

[0055] The size and number of the through-holes 210 may be designed to vary depending on the size and number of the battery modules M accommodated in the battery pack 1000.

[0056] However, it is preferable that the through-hole 210 is limited in size to such an extent that a flame generated in the battery module M is not exposed to the outside through the through-hole 210.

[0057] The screen cover 200 may include a plurality of through holes 210, and the plurality of through holes 210 may be spaced apart from each other at predetermined intervals.

[0058] The through holes 210 are formed along the horizontal and vertical axes of the screen cover 200 as shown in FIGS.

[0059] If a fire occurs in the battery module M accommodated in the battery pack 1000 of the present invention, the flames caused by the fire spread upward to where the upper cover 300 is located. However, the battery pack 1000 of the present invention may prevent the flames from spreading upward through the screen cover 200 interposed between the upper cover 300 and the battery module M. In addition, the screen cover 200 may selectively exhaust high-temperature gas through the through-holes 210.

[0060] The battery pack 1000 of the present invention may include a plurality of screen covers 200. That is, the stacked plurality of screen covers 200 may not only prevent a fire occurring at the lower portion, but may also delay the transfer of high temperature heat to the upper cover 300.

[0061] FIG. 5 shows a first modified example of the screen cover 200, in which multiple screen covers 200 are stacked, and FIG. 6 shows a second modified example of the screen cover 200, in which multiple screen covers 200 are stacked.

[0062] FIG. 5 shows a stacked configuration of multiple screen covers 200 with the through holes 210 arranged in the same position, which allows gas to be discharged through the through holes 210 while preventing flame discharge.

[0063] 6 shows a stacked configuration of a plurality of screen covers 200 in which the through holes 210 are arranged at different positions. That is, the through hole 210 included in one of the plurality of screen covers 200 is arranged at a position where it is blocked by another screen cover 200.

[0064] The screen cover 200 laminated in the form as shown in FIG. 6 may not be able to smoothly exhaust gas, but has an advantage in that it can effectively prevent the exhaust of flames.

[0065] The through-hole 210 may be circular as shown in the figure, but is not limited thereto. The through-hole 210 may be formed in a circular shape as shown in the figure, or in a polygonal shape.

[0066] FIG. 7 shows a third modified example of the screen cover 200, in which a rectangular through-hole 210 is formed.

[0067] The through-holes 210 may be formed in a dot shape such as a circle or a polygon, or may be formed in a slit shape.

[0068] 8 shows a fourth modified example of the screen cover 200, which has a slit-shaped through hole 210. The through hole 210 shown in FIG. 8 is formed to extend along the horizontal or vertical axis of the screen cover 200. The slit-shaped through hole 210 as described above has a wider area, but it is possible to prevent fire by adjusting the width of the through hole 210.

[0069] The screen cover 200 may further include a rupture member (not shown) coupled to an inner circumferential surface of the through hole 210 to close the through hole 210 .

[0070] The rupture member may be ruptured by high temperature heat or high pressure gas generated by thermal runaway of the battery module M.

[0071] Specifically, the rupture member is normally coupled to the through hole 210 to seal the battery module M housed therein, and can be melted by high temperature heat generated by thermal runaway of the battery module M. That is, the through hole 210 can be opened as the rupture member melts due to high temperature heat generated in the module area. In this case, the rupture member can include a thermoplastic material that can be easily melted by high temperature heat.

[0072] Alternatively, the rupture member may be broken by high pressure gas generated by thermal runaway of the battery module M. That is, the through-hole 210 may be opened by the rupture member being broken by high pressure gas generated in the module area.

[0073] Second embodiment FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a battery pack 1000 according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the battery pack 1000 of FIG. 9 with the upper cover 300 removed.

[0074] The battery pack 1000 of the present invention includes a pack case 100, an upper cover 300, and a screen cover 200, as shown in FIG.

[0075] The screen cover 200 is coupled to the pack case 100 to cover at least one of a pair of module regions partitioned by the main partition wall 130. That is, the battery pack 1000 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that a pair of the screen covers 200 can be separated and coupled to both sides of the main partition wall 130.

[0076] As described above, the screen covers 200 separated by the main partition wall 130 are not connected to each other, and therefore cannot transfer heat through conduction between them. Therefore, even if thermal runaway occurs in the battery module M accommodated on one side of the main partition wall 130 and the screen cover 200 covering the upper part of the battery module M is heated by high temperature heat, the heat is not transferred to the other screen cover 200 disposed on the other side of the main partition wall 130.

[0077] Third embodiment FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a battery pack 1000 according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is a plan view of the battery pack 1000 of FIG. 11 with the upper cover 300 removed.

[0078] The battery pack 1000 of the present invention includes a pack case 100, an upper cover 300, and a screen cover 200, as shown in FIG.

[0079] The screen cover 200 is combined with the pack case 100 to cover at least one of a plurality of module regions defined by the main partition 130 and the sub partition 140. That is, in the battery pack 1000 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the screen cover 200 is combined with the pack case 100 to cover the module region between a pair of sub partitions 140 disposed at both sides of the main partition 130 at a predetermined interval.

[0080] One screen cover 200 may cover each module area, and at this time, a pair of adjacently disposed screen covers 200 may be coupled together by engaging the protrusions 220 and the grooves 230 with each other.

[0081] When one screen cover 200 is coupled to one module area as described above, the screen cover 200 can be selectively placed only in the required area, thereby reducing the amount of screen covers 200 used, thereby further improving safety while at the same time improving the energy efficiency of the battery pack 1000.

[0082] The present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings and embodiments, etc. However, the configurations described in the drawings or embodiments, etc. in this specification are merely one embodiment of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention, and therefore there may be various equivalents and modifications that can replace them at the time of filing this application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0083] 10: (Conventional technology) Battery pack 1000: Battery pack 100: Pack case 110: Base plate 120: Side wall 130: Main bulkhead 140: Sub bulkhead 200: Screen cover 210:Through hole 220:Protrusion 230: Groove 300: Top cover M: Battery module D1: Flame movement D2: Gas transfer

Claims

1. In a battery pack that accommodates a battery module, a pack case providing a space in which the battery module is installed; an upper cover coupled to the pack case to cover an upper portion of the battery module mounted in the pack case; a screen cover interposed between the pack case and the upper cover, The screen cover includes a through hole that is opened to expose an upper portion of the battery module to the outside.

2. The screen cover includes a plurality of the through holes, The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein the through holes are formed at predetermined intervals along horizontal and vertical axes of the screen cover.

3. The battery pack according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the through-hole is formed in at least one of a circular shape and a polygonal shape.

4. The pack case includes: A base plate supporting a lower portion of the battery module; a main bulkhead coupled across a center portion of the base plate; a sidewall coupled along an edge of the base plate; the pack case includes a pair of module regions partitioned by the main partition wall, The battery pack according to claim 1 , wherein the screen cover is coupled to the pack case so as to cover at least one of the pair of module regions.

5. The pack case includes: A base plate supporting a lower portion of the battery module; a main bulkhead coupled across a center portion of the base plate; a side wall coupled along an edge of the base plate; a sub-partition wall, both ends of which are coupled to the main partition wall and the side wall, and which is coupled to the base plate at a predetermined interval along a longitudinal direction of the main partition wall, the pack case includes a plurality of module regions defined by the main partition wall and the sub partition wall, The battery pack according to claim 1 , wherein the screen cover is coupled to the pack case so as to cover at least one of the plurality of module areas.

6. The side surface of the screen cover includes a plurality of protrusions protruding laterally and a groove formed between the plurality of protrusions, The battery pack according to claim 5 , wherein a pair of adjacently arranged screen covers are coupled to each other with the protrusions and the grooves interlocking with each other.

7. The battery pack of claim 1 or 2, wherein the screen cover comprises a flame-resistant material.

8. The battery pack according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the screen cover further comprises a rupture member coupled to an inner circumferential surface of the through hole to close the through hole.

9. the rupture member comprises a thermoplastic material; The battery pack according to claim 8 , wherein the through-hole is opened as the rupture member melts due to high temperature heat generated in a module area.

10. the rupture member is coupled to the through hole so as to be broken when a pressure equal to or greater than a certain level is applied thereto; The battery pack according to claim 8 , wherein the through hole is opened by the rupture member being broken by high pressure gas generated in a module area.

11. The battery pack according to claim 1 , wherein a plurality of the screen covers are stacked and interposed between the upper cover and the pack case.

12. The battery pack according to claim 11 , wherein the through holes of the plurality of screen covers are arranged at the same positions.

13. The battery pack of claim 11 , wherein any one of the plurality of screen covers is disposed at a position where the through hole is blocked by another screen cover.

14. The battery pack according to claim 1 , wherein the through-hole is formed in a slit shape.

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