KR20180092412A - Battery module having a transformable serial-parallel connection structure and Method for assembling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery assembly, and more particularly, to a battery module with a serial-parallel connection structure, capable of variously transforming a serial-parallel structure in the module with minimum transformation, and an assembling method thereof. According to the present invention, a unit battery cell is constituted as a one-cell assembly and the serial-parallel connection structure is fixed with a bolt, thereby variously transforming the serial-parallel structure in the battery module with the minimum transformation.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery module having a transformable serial-parallel connection structure and a method of assembling the battery module.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a battery assembly, and more particularly, to a battery module having a serial-parallel connection structure capable of variously changing a serial-parallel structure in a module with minimal modification and an assembling method thereof.

Recently, high-energy battery packs have been developed due to high battery capacity. Accordingly, the battery cells are configured in parallel to increase the capacity. However, when the series component is increased, only the voltage component is increased.

In addition, a cell pack has been promoted and a battery pack of the same size but with an internal connection structure of 1P (Parallel), 2P, 3P, 4P has been released. In this case, the battery cell is composed of 1P2S (Serial), 2P1S, 3P2S, 2P1Sx2, and the like. In this case, if the serial-parallel connection structure is changed inside the module when developing the existing battery module, it is necessary to develop a specification to newly manufacture the battery module.

Therefore, there is a problem in that the investment cost is excessively generated. In addition, the battery module that has been developed has been constructed by connecting the battery cells by welding. A diagram showing this is shown in Fig. 1, the battery cell lead 120 and the battery cell lead 130 are connected to the bus bar 140 by welding. That is, it has a connection structure by welding between the battery cell lead and the bus bar.

However, in the case of such a welding method, there is a quality problem such as difficulty of the equipment configuration due to the welding condition and difficulty in inspection at the parallel section welding. In addition, since the connection between the battery cell lead and the bus bar has a connection structure, for example, when the structure is changed from two cell parallel to three cell parallel, the structural change is overexposed and development has been developed in the direction of new production.

Further, there is a problem in that if a parallel structure is changed even in the same part configuration, a new facility must be constructed to realize a process / welding structure.

1. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0121908 2. Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2005-0106540

It is an object of the present invention to provide a battery module and a method of assembling the battery module in which the serial parallel structure in the module can be variously changed with a minimum modification.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery module and a method of assembling the same, which can ensure insulation distance between terminals and / or safety during compression even when the number of module stacks increases and current / voltage increases.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a battery module and a method of assembling the same that can cope with various changes in bus bar thickness / width / path according to an increased energy specification.

The present invention can provide a battery module capable of variously changing the serial-parallel structure in the module with a minimum modification in order to achieve the above-described problems.

The battery module includes:

A first end plate (301);

A plurality of unit battery cells 310 stacked on the inner side of the first end plate 301 and having cell lead engaging portions 330 formed at both ends thereof;

A bus bar connecting the first block 610 and the second block 620, which are coupled with the cell lead coupling part 330 and are deformable so that the plurality of unit batteries 310 are connected in series and in parallel, A connection part 320; And

And a second end plate 302 assembled with the first end plate 301 and the fixing member 303 in close contact with the outermost surfaces of the plurality of unit batteries 310.

The plurality of unit batteries 310 may include one battery cell 212; And a battery package (211) for packaging the battery cell (212).

The first block 610 and the second block 620 may connect several of the plurality of unit batteries 310 in parallel.

The first block 610 and the second block 620 may be arranged to be rotated 180 degrees so as to have different electrodes.

In addition, the bus bar connecting part 320 may have a fastening part 421 formed at both ends of the bus bar connecting part 320 so as to be engaged with the cell lead connecting part 330.

The fastening portion 421 and the cell lead coupling portion 330 may be fastened by a bolting method.

Also, the battery cell 212 may be a pouch type battery cell.

In addition, the bus bar connecting portion 320 may have various widths.

On the other hand, another embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of disposing the first end plate 301; Stacking a plurality of unit battery cells (310) having cell lead engaging portions (330) at both ends inside the first end plate (301); Disposing a second end plate (302) on an outermost surface of the plurality of unit batteries (310); Assembling the first end plate (301) and the second end plate (302) into a fixing member (303) so as to be in close contact with the outermost surface; And a bus bar connecting part 320 connecting the first block 610 and the second block 620 so that the plurality of unit batteries 310 can be connected in series and in parallel, And connecting the battery module 330 to the battery module 330. The method of assembling the battery module according to the present invention may be modified as follows.

According to the present invention, it is possible to variously change the serial-parallel structure in the battery module with a minimum change by constituting the unit battery cell as a one-cell assembly and fixing the serial-parallel connection structure as a bolt.

As another effect of the present invention, a bidirectional battery cell is applied to secure a distance between connecting bus bars, and even if the number of stacked battery modules increases to increase current and / or voltage, insulation distance between terminals and / It is possible to secure it.

Another advantage of the present invention is that various package configurations are possible because the bus bar thickness / width / path can be variously changed according to the increased energy specification.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram of connecting a battery cell with a welding.
2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a connection structure of a unit battery configured using a connected bus bar according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view of a battery module 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an enlarged view of the bus bar connecting portion 320 shown in FIG.
5 is an enlarged view of the unit battery 310 shown in FIG.
FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the construction of one block by connecting three unit batteries according to an embodiment of the present invention in parallel.
7 is a side perspective view of a battery module 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

Like reference numerals are used for similar elements in describing each drawing. The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component. The term "and / or" includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the relevant art and are to be construed as ideal or overly formal in meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application Should not.

Hereinafter, a battery module having a deformable series-parallel connection structure according to an embodiment of the present invention and a method for assembling the battery module will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a connection structure of a unit battery 210 configured using a connected bus bar according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2, the unit battery 210 includes a battery cell 212 and a battery package 211 for packaging the battery cell 212. Of course, the battery package 211 includes a housing (not shown) on which the battery cell 212 is seated, a front cover and a rear cover (not shown) that are assembled before and after the housing (not shown).

The battery cell 212 may be a cylindrical cell, a prismatic cell, a pouch-shaped cell, or the like. The pouch-shaped cells include a flexible cover composed of a thin film, in which the electrical components of the battery cell are arranged.

In particular, pouch-shaped cells are used in order to realize optimum space utilization in one battery cell. The pouch-shaped cells are also characterized by low weight with high capacity. Generally, the pouch-shaped cells may contain an electrolytic solution, such as a lithium secondary battery or a nickel-hydrogen battery.

The battery cell may also be a high voltage battery for an electric vehicle, such as a nickel metal battery, a lithium ion battery, or a lithium polymer battery.

Generally, a high-voltage battery is a battery used as a power source for moving an electric vehicle and refers to a high voltage of 100 V or more. However, it is not limited to this, and a low-voltage battery is also possible.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, it is possible to make various parallel configurations using the connection point 201 of the unit battery 210. In other words, the two-cell parallel configuration 220 connects the two unit batteries 210 to the two connection points 201 at both ends. The three-cell parallel configuration 230 connects the three unit batteries 210 to the three connection points 201 at both ends. The four-cell parallel configuration 230 connects the four unit batteries 210 to the four connection points 201 at both ends. Here, the connection point 201 may be a bolting point by a bolting method. Of course, a connector method or the like other than the bolting method may be used.

3 is a perspective view of a battery module 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 and a partially enlarged view of the battery module 300, the battery module 300 includes a first end plate 301 and a cell lead coupling portion 330 at both ends thereof, which are stacked on the inner side of the first end plate 301 A bus bar connecting part 320 coupled to the cell lid engaging part 330 and a plurality of unit batteries 310 connected to the first end plate 301 and a second end plate 302 assembled with a fixing member 303, and the like.

In other words, the first end plate 301 is arranged in the assembled order. Thereafter, a plurality of unit battery cells 310 having cell lead engaging portions 330 formed at both ends of the first end plate 301 are stacked.

The second end plate 302 is disposed on the outermost surface of the right unit battery 310 and the first end plate 301 and the second end plate 302 are fixed to the fixing member 303 are inserted and assembled. Of course, through holes (not shown) are formed on the surface of the package and the end plates 301 and 302 of the unit battery 310. The fixing member 303 may be composed of a plurality of pieces, or may be configured for each corner.

Then, the bus bar connecting part 320 is coupled with the cell lead coupling part 330 so that a proper number of unit batteries 310 are connected in series and in parallel.

Of course, such an assembling process is performed by machine automation, and such an assembling process is well known in the art, so further explanation will be omitted for the sake of clear understanding of the present invention.

4 is an enlarged view of the bus bar connecting portion 320 shown in FIG. 4, the body 420 and the coupling part 421 for coupling with the cell lead coupling part 330 may be formed at both ends of the bus bar connection part 320 in a crooked shape. The fastening part 421 and the cell lead coupling part 330 are fastened through the bolts 411 and 412. The portion connected through the bolts 411 and 412 becomes a high voltage (-) or a high voltage (+) (401). That is, the upper part becomes a high voltage (-) and the lower part becomes a high voltage (+). Of course, in the portion not connected by the bus bar connection part 320, the upper part becomes the cell electrode (+) 320 and the lower part becomes the cell electrode (-).

In FIG. 4, three unit batteries 310 are illustrated as one block. The width of the body 420 of the bus bar connecting part 320 is different to make two unit batteries 310 as one block, It can be a single block or four or more blocks. In other words, if the width of the bus bar connecting portion 320 is changed to be different from that of the bus bar connecting portion 320, various combinations are possible. Of course, the stacked unit batteries 310 are also changed accordingly. For example, when four unit batteries 310 are used as one block, the four unit batteries 310 are placed in the same electrode and the other four unit batteries are placed in the same electrode as the preceding four unit batteries , These arrangements must be alternated.

5 is an enlarged view of the unit battery 310 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 5, the right end of the unit battery 310 has a (-) terminal, and the left side thereof has a (+) terminal.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the construction of one block by connecting three unit batteries according to an embodiment of the present invention in parallel. Referring to FIG. 6, three unit batteries are connected in parallel to form a plurality of blocks. Thus, the three unit batteries in the first block 610 all have the same (+) electrode, and the three unit batteries in the second block 620 all have the same (-) electrode.

That is, the second block 620 arranges the unit batteries rotated 180 degrees so as to have different electrodes from the first block 610. These arrangements are alternately made into one battery module.

7 is a side perspective view of a battery module 300 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, a left side surface of the battery module 300 is shown, and a right side surface is similarly formed.

210, 310: unit battery
301: first end plate 302: second end plate
303: Fixing member
320: bus bar connection
330: cell lead coupling portion
411: Bolt
420: body
421:
610: first block 620: second block

Claims (9)

A first end plate (301);
A plurality of unit battery cells 310 stacked on the inner side of the first end plate 301 and having cell lead engaging portions 330 formed at both ends thereof;
A bus bar connecting the first block 610 and the second block 620, which are coupled with the cell lead coupling part 330 and are deformable so that the plurality of unit batteries 310 are connected in series and in parallel, A connection part 320; And
A second end plate 302 assembled with the first end plate 301 and the fixing member 303 in close contact with the outermost surfaces of the plurality of unit batteries 310;
And a battery module having a deformable series-parallel connection structure.
The method according to claim 1,
The plurality of unit batteries 310 may include one battery cell 212; And a battery package (211) for packaging the battery cell (212).
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first block (610) and the second block (620) connect several of the plurality of unit batteries (310) in parallel.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first block (610) and the second block (620) are arranged to be rotated by 180 degrees so as to have different electrodes.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the bus bar connecting part (320) is formed with a fastening part (421) to be coupled with the cell lead coupling part (330) at both ends in a cantilever shape.
6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the coupling part (421) and the cell lead coupling part (330) are fastened by a bolting method.
3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the battery cell (212) is a pouch type battery cell.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the bus bar connection part (320) has a variety of widths.
Disposing a first end plate (301);
Stacking a plurality of unit battery cells (310) having cell lead engaging portions (330) at both ends inside the first end plate (301);
Disposing a second end plate (302) on an outermost surface of the plurality of unit batteries (310);
Assembling the first end plate (301) and the second end plate (302) into a fixing member (303) in close contact with the outermost surface; And
The bus bar connecting part 320 is connected to the cell lead coupling part 320 so that the first block 610 and the second block 620 are connected to each other so that the plurality of unit batteries 310 can be connected in series and in parallel, 330);
Wherein the battery module has a deformable series-parallel connection structure.

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