A battery pack including a plurality of battery cells

Abstract

To provide a new method of assembling a battery from multiple battery cells.SOLUTION: A battery 1200 includes multiple battery cells located on multiple cell holders. Each of the battery cell holders holds two battery cells. The multiple cell holders including the battery cells are housed in a battery case and arranged inside an outer case 1002 equipped with a top cover 1202.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to a battery, and more specifically, to an assembly of a battery pack including a plurality of battery cells.

Summary of the Invention

[0002] The present invention introduces a battery composed of a plurality of battery cells. The battery includes a plurality of battery cells, a plurality of cell holders each of which holds at least two battery cells, a battery case that houses the plurality of cell holders, a battery management circuit board disposed on top of the battery case, an external case in which the battery case including the plurality of cell holders is disposed, and a top case disposed on top of the external case to seal the battery case. Each cell holder includes a frame chassis having two opposing frame walls, and at least a part of the frame wall is disposed below the frame chassis.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0003]

Figure 1

[0004]

Figure 2

[0005]

Figure 3

[0006]

Figure 4

[0007]

Figure 5

[0008]

Figure 6

[0009]

Figure 7

[0010]

Figure 8

[0011]

Figure 9

[0012]

Figure 10

[0013]

Figure 11

[0014]

Figure 12

[0015]

Figure 13

[0016]

Figure 14

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] The present invention introduces a novel method for assembling a battery from a plurality of battery cells. Figure 1 is an illustration 100 of the basic elements for the assembly of a battery. The basic unit consists of battery cells 102 arranged on a unit frame (cell holder) 104. Each battery cell 102 has one positive connector 112 and one negative connector 110. The cell holder 104 has a chassis 108 and two side walls 106. The chassis 108 is arranged in the center of the two walls 106 in such a way that one half of the side wall 106 is above the chassis 108 and the other half of the side wall 106 is below the chassis 108. The side walls 106 also extend in front of and behind the chassis 108. When the battery cells 102 are arranged on the cell holder 104, the battery cells 102 are surrounded by the side walls 106. The cell holder 104 is preferably made of a non-metallic material such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

[0018] Figure 2 is an illustration 200 of an assembled battery pack. The cell holders 104 with the battery cells 102 are stacked one on top of the other, and the side walls 106 help to maintain alignment. The external connectors of each battery cell 102 are preferably not vertically aligned. That is, the negative connector 110 must not be above the positive connector 112. This alignment ensures that the battery cells are easily connected in series. If it is preferred to connect the battery cells in parallel, connectors of the same polarity can be arranged on top of each other. The number of layers of cell holders stacked on top of each other is adjustable.

[0019] The stacked cell holders can be further surrounded by a battery cage 300 as shown in FIG. 3. The battery cage 300 has a cage base 302 and a plurality of cage supports (rods) 306 that fix both the cage base 302 and the cage top 304. The battery cage 300 is made of a metal material. FIG. 4 is an illustration of an assembled battery cage 400. The number of layers of cell holders 104 accommodated within the assembled battery cage 400 can be adjusted. FIG. 5 is an illustration 500 of a core battery with battery cells connected in series. Adjacent battery cells 102 are connected through a connector 502. For a series connection, adjacent connectors of different polarities are connected to each other, and an external connector 504 at the end of the series connection is exposed.

[0020] FIG. 6 is an illustration of a current collector bus bar 600 having two electrical connectors 602, 604 that connect connectors of different polarities. FIG. 7 shows a battery pack 700 assembled with a connector bar. As shown in FIG. 7, the external connector 504 is connected to two different electrical connectors 602, 604.

[0021] FIG. 8 is an illustration of an upper battery bracket 800. The upper battery bracket 800 has a base 802 with a plurality of base top supports 806 and additional base inferior supports 804. The upper battery bracket 800 is mounted on the assembled battery pack 700. FIG. 9 is an illustration 900 of an assembled battery pack with the upper battery bracket 800. The battery management circuit board 1104It is disposed above the upper battery bracket 800. The battery management circuit board has direct connection parts (not shown) to each battery cell, and through these connection parts, the battery management circuit board receives the status information of each battery cell. Next, the assembled battery pack shown in FIG. 9 is disposed within the external case 1002 as shown in FIG. 10. The external case 1002 is shown as "see-through" for illustrative purposes, and note that many structural configurations are omitted for the sake of brevity of illustration. The external case 1002 is made of ABS.

[0022] FIG. 11 is an illustration 1100 of an assembled battery pack comprising a heat sink 1102 mounted on a battery management circuit board. The heat sink 1102, preferably made of aluminum, is mounted on a battery management circuit board 1104 which is mounted on an upper battery bracket 800. The heat sink 1102 removes heat from the battery management circuit board 1104 by conduction, thus preventing overheating. FIG. 12 shows a completed battery 1200 which is the assembled battery pack shown in FIG. 11, enclosed by a battery top cover 1202. The battery 1200 has two external connectors 1204 and a heat exchange plate 1210. The heat exchange plate 1210 communicates with a heat dissipator (heat sink) 1102 and enables heat exchange between the battery management circuit board 1104 and the external environment. The heat exchange plate 1210 has a coating that provides electrical insulation. The battery 1200 is hermetically sealed (sealed) through the use of a sealing ring 1400 shown in FIG. 14. The sealing ring 1400 prevents water and dust (dust) from entering the inside of the battery. On top of the battery 1200, there are a button 1208 and a valve 1206. The button 1208 is an on / off switch for the battery 1200, and the valve 1206 is a resettable pressure relief valve for releasing the internal pressure of the battery 1200. If the battery cells are overheated, pressure accumulates inside the battery package. When the pressure reaches a predetermined point, the pressure relief valve pops up and the internal pressure is released. FIG. 13 is a perspective view 1300 of the assembled battery. After the battery case is closed, the top cover 1202 is tightened to the bottom case 1002 using screws. The screws are evenly arranged along the edge of the assembled battery case. The sealing ring 1400 is located between the top cover 1202 and the bottom case 1002 and is made of rubber, so the sealing ring 1400 is exposed to compression and the compression ratio can be controlled. After assembly, the battery is a closed system and radiation and convection for heat dissipation from the inside to the outside are minimized. The embedded heat exchange plate 1210 is an effective medium for enhancing conduction for heat dissipation.The compressive force acts uniformly on the seal ring 1400. This uniform force is important for sealing the distance between points where the force is not randomly selected. The compression ratio of the seal ring is also not random.

[0023] Exemplary embodiments have been described above. It will be understood that the present invention includes many other embodiments that may be considered reasonable equivalents to the above-described embodiments and is limited only by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A plurality of battery cells, A plurality of cell holders that hold at least two battery cells arranged side by side, A battery case that houses the plurality of cell holders, A battery management circuit board disposed on the battery case, A heat sink that contacts the battery management circuit board and is mounted on the battery management circuit board, the heat sink being made of a plurality of grids, An external case in which the battery case including the plurality of cell holders is disposed inside, A top case disposed on the external case to seal the battery case, Including a heat exchange plate disposed on the top case and in contact with the heat sink, Each cell holder includes a frame chassis having two opposing frame walls, and at least a part of the frame wall is located below the frame chassis, Battery.

2. The battery according to claim 1, further including a current collector bus disposed above the battery case and connected to the plurality of battery cells.

3. Each battery cell has two connectors of opposite polarities, and two connectors of opposite polarities of two adjacent battery cells are connected by a connector, and the plurality of battery cells are connected to the current collector bus through two external connectors. The battery according to claim 2.

4. The battery according to claim 1, further including an upper battery bracket disposed on the battery case to support the battery management circuit board, the upper battery bracket having a base, and the base having a plurality of top supports extending away from the heat exchange plate and a plurality of bottom supports extending away from the base in the opposite direction of the top supports.

5. The battery according to claim 1, wherein the battery case further includes a cage top, a cage base, and a plurality of rods for connecting the cage top to the cage base.

6. The battery according to claim 1, further including a resetable pressure relief valve disposed on the top case to release the internal pressure of the battery.

7. The battery according to claim 1, further including an on / off switch disposed on the top case.

8. The battery according to claim 1, further comprising a seal ring disposed between the external case and the top case to hermetically seal the battery.

9. The battery according to claim 1, wherein the heat exchange plate has an insulating coating to prevent a short circuit.

Images