Battery module

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery module, which allows a cell block assembly to be easily inserted into a frame, and prevents breakage of welded parts such as a cooling plate during the insertion and assembly process of the cell block assembly, thereby preventing defects in the battery module and thereby realizing a product with a significantly excellent concept. The battery module according to the present invention includes a cell block assembly which is an assembly of a plurality of cells, a frame surrounding the lower and side surfaces of the cell block assembly, a top plate disposed on the upper surface of the cell block assembly, end plates disposed on the front and rear surfaces of the cell block assembly, and a cooling plate which is connected to the lower surface of the frame below the frame, the frame including a bottom portion surrounding the lower surface of the cell block assembly and a side wall portion surrounding the side surface of the cell block assembly, and a recessed groove is formed in the side wall portion.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0064916, filed May 26, 2022, and all contents disclosed in the documents of this Korean patent application are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a battery module that allows a cell block assembly to be easily inserted into a frame and prevents breakage of welded parts such as a cooling plate during the cell block assembly insertion and assembly process, thereby preventing defects in the battery module and enabling the realization of a product with an extremely excellent concept. [Background technology]

[0003] In recent years, with the depletion of fossil fuels driving up energy costs and increasing concern about environmental pollution, the need for environmentally friendly alternative energy sources has become an essential element for future life. As a result, research into various electricity production technologies, such as solar, wind, and tidal power, has continued, and there has also been great interest in energy storage devices, such as batteries, to more efficiently use the electrical energy produced in this way.

[0004] Furthermore, with the development of and increasing demand for battery-based electronic mobile devices and electric vehicles, the demand for batteries as an energy source is increasing rapidly, and as a result, various research projects are being conducted on batteries that can meet various needs.

[0005] In particular, in terms of materials, there is a high demand for lithium secondary batteries such as lithium ion batteries and lithium ion polymer batteries, which have advantages such as high energy density, discharge voltage, and output stability.

[0006] Secondary batteries are classified into cylindrical and prismatic batteries, in which the electrode assembly is housed in a cylindrical or prismatic metal case, and pouch-type batteries, in which the electrode assembly is housed in a pouch-type case made of an aluminum laminate sheet, depending on the shape of the battery case. However, the operating voltage of such a unit cell, i.e., a unit battery cell, is approximately 2.5V to 4.2V.

[0007] Therefore, when a higher output voltage is required, a secondary battery module is formed by connecting a plurality of individual battery cells, and a battery pack is formed by assembling a plurality of battery modules.

[0008] Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a part of a frame of a conventional battery module, and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing how a cell block assembly is inserted into the frame of Fig. 1.

[0009] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a battery module made of pouch-type secondary batteries is constructed by stacking a predetermined number of battery cells made of pouch-type secondary batteries in a cell block assembly 10, which is mounted in a frame 20 having a U-shaped cross section. The frame 20 is open at the top and faces the bottom and both side surfaces of the cell block assembly 10.

[0010] Although not shown in the drawings, a top plate can be attached to the open top side of the frame by brazing, and end plates can be attached to the front and rear of the frame to form a battery module having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape. Also, a cooling plate 30, through which a refrigerant circulates to cool the cell block assembly 10 and frame 20, can be attached to the underside of the frame by brazing.

[0011] Referring to Figure 2, which shows the insertion of a cell block assembly into the frame of Figure 1, conventionally, to insert a cell block assembly into a frame, the side walls of the frame are opened on both sides B and B', and the cell block assembly is inserted by moving it downward in the direction D. However, during the process of opening both sides of the frame side walls, the bottom of the frame can bend upward into a convex shape. Furthermore, during this process, there is a problem that the brazed weld W of the cooling plate attached under the bottom of the frame can break (or be damaged). This can cause battery module defects, which makes it impossible to realize a product with an excellent concept, and is therefore problematic. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0012] The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery module that allows a cell block assembly to be easily inserted into a frame and prevents breakage of welds of components such as a cooling plate during the cell block assembly insertion and assembly process, thereby preventing defects in the battery module and enabling the realization of a product with an extremely excellent concept. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] The battery module of the present invention includes a cell block assembly, which is a combination of multiple cells; a frame surrounding the bottom and side surfaces of the cell block assembly; a top plate disposed on the top surface of the cell block assembly; end plates disposed on the front and rear surfaces of the cell block assembly; and a cooling plate attached to the bottom surface of the frame below the frame. The frame includes a bottom portion surrounding the bottom surface of the cell block assembly and a side wall portion surrounding the side surfaces of the cell block assembly, and a recessed groove is formed in the side wall portion.

[0014] The cooling plate may be joined to the underside of the frame by brazing.

[0015] The groove may be formed in the lower end of the sidewall.

[0016] The groove may be formed to have a V-shaped cross section.

[0017] The groove may be formed in the inner wall surface of the side wall portion.

[0018] The grooves can be formed along the length direction L of the cell block assembly.

[0019] The grooves can be formed by pressing.

[0020] The groove can be provided in a linear shape that can be seen when the inner wall surface of the side wall portion is faced from the front.

[0021] The groove can be provided in a curved shape when viewed from the front of the inner wall surface of the side wall portion.

[0022] The grooves may be provided in a lattice shape when viewed from the front of the inner wall surface of the side wall portion.

[0023] The cell block assembly may further include end plates disposed on the front and rear surfaces of the cell block assembly, and a top plate disposed on the top surface of the cell block assembly. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] A battery module according to the present invention includes a cell block assembly, which is an assembly of multiple cells; a frame that surrounds the underside and side surfaces of the cell block assembly; and a cooling plate that is attached to the underside of the frame on the underside of the frame. The frame includes a bottom that surrounds the underside of the cell block assembly and a side wall that surrounds the side surfaces of the cell block assembly. The side wall has a recessed groove formed in it, which allows the cell block assembly to be easily inserted into the frame and prevents breakage of welds on parts such as the cooling plate during the cell block assembly insertion and assembly process, thereby preventing defects in the battery module. This enables the realization of a battery module with an extremely superior concept. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0025] [Figure 1] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a frame portion of a conventional battery module. [Figure 2] 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the insertion of a cell block assembly into the frame of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of a battery module according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the insertion of a cell block assembly into the frame shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 5] 5(a) is a partial perspective view of the battery module shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5(b) is a cross-sectional view of the dotted line portion indicated by H in FIG. 5(a). [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of a battery module according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of a battery module according to a third embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026]

[0033] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0034] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail so that those skilled in the art can easily implement the present invention; however, the present invention may be embodied in various different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the following embodiments.

[0027] In order to clearly explain the present invention, detailed descriptions of parts that are not relevant to the description or related known technologies that may obscure the gist of the present invention are omitted, and when referring to components in each drawing in this specification, the same or similar reference symbols are used throughout the specification to refer to the same or similar components.

[0028] Furthermore, the terms and words used in this specification and claims should not be interpreted in a limited way to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted in a way that is consistent with the technical idea of ​​the present invention, based on the principle that the inventors can appropriately define the concepts of terms in order to best explain their invention.

[0029] Embodiment 1 Fig. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a battery module according to embodiment 1 of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the insertion of a cell block assembly into the frame shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5(a) is a partial perspective view of the battery module shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 5(b) is a cross-sectional view of the dotted line portion indicated by H in Fig. 5(a).

[0030] 3 to 5, the battery module according to embodiment 1 of the present invention may include a cell block assembly 110, a frame 120, a top plate (not shown), an end plate (not shown), and a cooling plate 130.

[0031] The cell block assembly 110 may be a combination of a plurality of battery cells. Specifically, the cell block assembly 110 may be a cell assembly formed by stacking a predetermined number of battery cells manufactured as pouch-type secondary batteries.

[0032] The frame 120 may be a structure that surrounds the bottom and sides of the cell block assembly 110. As shown in Fig. 5(a), the frame 120 has a shape that extends along the length direction L of the cell block assembly 110 (the cell block assembly 110 is not shown in Fig. 5), and the cross section may be formed to have a U-shape.

[0033] Here, the frame 120 may specifically include a bottom portion 121 that surrounds the lower surface of the cell block assembly 110 and sidewall portions 122 that surround the side surfaces of the cell block assembly 110 .

[0034] Meanwhile, the battery module according to the first embodiment of the present invention may include a top plate (not shown) and end plates (not shown) to realize a battery module that is closed on all sides. The end plates may be disposed on the front and rear surfaces of the cell block assembly 110, respectively. Also, the top plate may be disposed on the upper surface of the cell block assembly 110.

[0035] Specifically, a top plate may be brazed to the open upper side of the frame 120. End plates may be welded to the front and rear of the frame 120 to form a rectangular parallelepiped battery module. In this case, power discharged from the cell block assembly may be output to the outside of the end plates.

[0036] The cooling plate 130 may be coupled to the underside of the frame 120. Specifically, it may be coupled to the underside of the bottom 121 of the frame 120. The cooling plate 130 may be coupled to the underside of the bottom 121 of the frame 120 by welding, and in particular by brazing. Cooling channels are formed in the cooling plate 130, and a refrigerant can circulate therethrough to cool the cell block assembly 110 and the frame 120.

[0037] 3 and 5, the battery module according to the first embodiment of the present invention may have recessed grooves 140 formed in the sidewalls 122 of the frame 120. As shown in FIG.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 4, the cell block assembly 110 can be inserted from above in a downward direction D' into the frame 120 shown in Fig. 3. Specifically, to insert the cell block assembly 110 into the frame 120, the side walls 122 of the frame 120 are opened on both sides B, B', and the cell block assembly 110 can be inserted while moving downward in the direction D.

[0039] In the battery module according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the groove 140 is formed in the side wall 122 of the frame 120, which prevents the shape of the bottom 121 from bending or deforming during the process of opening the side wall 122 of the frame 120 to both sides B and B'. Plastic deformation may occur in the portion of the side wall 122 of the frame 120 where the groove 140 is located during the process of opening the side wall 122 to both sides B and B'. This may significantly facilitate the process of inserting the cell block assembly 110 into the frame 120.

[0040] Furthermore, because plastic deformation occurs in the portion of the side wall 122 where the groove 140 is located, no force that deforms the bottom 121 is generated even in the process of opening the side wall 122 to both sides B, B'. In the battery module according to embodiment 1 of the present invention, the cell block assembly 110 can be inserted into the frame 120 without bending or deforming the bottom 121, which prevents breakage of the welded portion W' of the cooling plate 130 during the process of inserting and assembling the cell block assembly 110. Furthermore, if breakage of the welded portions of components such as the cooling plate 130 can be prevented in this way, battery module defects can be prevented, thereby realizing a product with a significantly superior concept.

[0041] In the battery module according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the grooves 140 formed in the side wall 122 of the frame 120 may be formed on the inner wall surface 123 of the side wall 122. When the grooves 140 are formed on the inner wall surface 123 of the side wall 122, it may be advantageous to increase the angle of opening to both sides B, B' if the grooves 140 are the same size and depth. Furthermore, if the grooves 140 are formed on the outer wall surface, there is a possibility that the side wall 122 itself may break, so it may be advantageous to form the grooves on the inner wall surface to induce safer plastic deformation.

[0042] Also, the groove 140 may be formed by, for example, pressing, or may be formed in an imprinted shape by pressing. In this case, the groove 140 may be formed on the inner wall surface 123 of the side wall 122, and may have a V-shaped cross section. The thickness of the side wall 122 of the frame 120 at the portion where the groove 140 is formed may be adjusted as needed through the V-shape. The thickness of the side wall 122 may be gradually reduced toward the center of the groove 140, and the thickness of the thinnest portion may be set to an appropriate value that prevents breakage of the side wall 122 of the frame 120 during plastic deformation.

[0043] Furthermore, in the battery module according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the groove 140 formed in the side wall 122 of the frame 120 may be formed at a lower end of the side wall 122. When the groove 140 is formed at a lower end of the side wall 122, the size of the opening of the frame 120 can be further increased on both sides in the process of opening the side wall 122 of the frame 120 to both sides B, B'. That is, referring to FIG. 4, the opening of the frame 120 is opened while the side wall 122 of the frame 120 is bent outward from the portion where the groove 140 is formed, and the maximum width of the opened opening of the frame 120 relative to the same bending angle can be further increased as the groove 140 is formed closer to the lower end of the side wall 122.

[0044] Referring to FIG. 5(a), the groove 140 may be formed along the length direction L of the cell block assembly 110. Referring to the portion indicated by the dotted line H in FIG. 5(a), the groove 140 may be formed along the length direction L of the cell block assembly 110 and extend from the front end to the rear end of the frame 120. If the groove 140 is formed so as to extend from the front end to the rear end of the frame 120, when the side wall portion 122 of the frame 120 deforms outward around the portion where the groove 140 is located, it can be plastically deformed outward without any omission along the length direction L. This method enables smooth deformation without any forced deformation.

[0045] 5(a), the groove 140 may be formed in a linear shape when viewed from the front of the inner wall surface 123 of the side wall portion 122. When formed in this manner, the side wall portion 122 of the frame 120 can be deformed uniformly from the front to the rear of the frame 120, allowing for the production of uniform products.

[0046] Embodiment 2 FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of a battery module according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0047] The second embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in that the grooves are formed in a curved shape.

[0048] The description of embodiment 2 will focus on the differences and omit as much as possible the content common to embodiment 1. In other words, if content not explained in embodiment 2 is necessary, it is obvious that it can be supplemented by the content of embodiment 1.

[0049] 6, in the battery module according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the groove 240 may be provided in a curved shape when viewed from the front of the inner wall surface of the side wall portion 222 of the frame 220. That is, the shape of the groove 240 when viewed in the direction of the arrow F in FIG. 6 may be a curved shape. For example, the curve may be a partial or complete U-shape.

[0050] The grooves 240 can be formed to have a curved shape because they are formed by pressing. If the grooves 240 were formed by extrusion, it would be impossible to form the grooves 240 in such a curved shape. Forming the grooves 240 in a curved shape can be advantageous when achieving different degrees of opening along the length direction J of the frame 220.

[0051] Embodiment 3 FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view of a battery module according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0052] The third embodiment of the present invention differs from the first embodiment in that the grooves are formed in the form of a lattice.

[0053] The description of embodiment 3 will focus on the differences, omitting as much as possible the content common to embodiments 1 and 2. In other words, it is self-evident that when content not explained in embodiment 3 is necessary, it can be supplemented by the content of embodiments 1 and 2.

[0054] Referring to FIG. 7, in the battery module according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the grooves 340 may be provided in a lattice shape when viewed from the front of the inner wall surface of the side wall portion 322 of the frame 320. That is, the shape of the grooves 340 when viewed in the direction of the arrow F in FIG. 7 may be in the form of a lattice. For example, the lattice may have a shape resembling part of a checkerboard pattern. Furthermore, the lattice-shaped grooves 340 may be formed in the lower part of the side wall portion 322.

[0055] Forming the grooves 340 in a lattice shape is possible because the process of forming the grooves 340 is by pressing. If the method of forming the grooves 340 were an extrusion method, it would be impossible to form the grooves 340 in such a lattice shape. Forming the grooves 340 in a lattice shape may be advantageous when varying the degree of deformation of the side wall portions 322 of the frame 320 along the height direction of the side wall portions 322 of the frame 320.

[0056] Although the present invention has been described above using limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various implementations are possible within the technical spirit of the present invention and the scope of the claims set forth below by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. [Explanation of symbols]

[0057] 110 Cell Block Assembly 120, 220, 320 frames 121, 221, 321 bottom 122, 222, 322 Side wall 123 Inner wall surface of side wall 130 Cooling Plate 140, 240, 340 groove W, W' welded section

Claims

1. a cell block assembly which is a combination of a plurality of cells; a frame surrounding the bottom and sides of the cell block assembly; a top plate disposed on an upper surface of the cell block assembly; end plates disposed on the front and rear surfaces of the cell block assembly; a cooling plate coupled to a lower surface of the frame below the frame, The frame is a bottom portion surrounding the lower surface of the cell block assembly and a sidewall portion surrounding the side surface of the cell block assembly; A battery module, wherein a groove recessed into the side wall is formed at a lower end of the side wall, and the groove does not engage with the cell block assembly.

2. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling plate is joined to the lower surface of the frame by brazing.

3. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the groove has a V-shaped cross section.

4. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the groove is formed on an inner wall surface of the side wall portion.

5. The battery module according to claim 3 , wherein the groove is formed along a length direction L of the cell block assembly.

6. The battery module according to claim 5 , wherein the grooves are formed by press working.

7. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the groove is provided in a linear shape when viewed from the front of the inner wall surface of the side wall portion.

8. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the groove has a curved shape when viewed from the front of the inner wall surface of the side wall portion.

9. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the grooves are formed in a lattice shape when viewed from the front of the inner wall surfaces of the side walls.

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