CN220474808U - Battery module including sub-modules - Google Patents

Abstract

The present utility model provides a battery module including a sub-module, comprising: the first sub-module and the second sub-module are arranged along the first direction and respectively comprise a plurality of battery units; and a lower cover coupled to the first sub-module and the second sub-module, the first sub-module and the second sub-module being disposed to be rotationally symmetrical with respect to a central axis formed between the first sub-module and the second sub-module and perpendicular to the first direction.

Description

Battery module including sub-modules

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present utility model relate to a battery module including a sub-module.

Background

Unlike the primary battery, the secondary battery has convenience in that it can be charged and discharged, and thus has been attracting attention as a power source for various mobile devices, a power source for electric vehicles, and the like. For example, a battery module may be constructed by connecting a plurality of type secondary batteries (battery cells) using a high energy density nonaqueous electrolyte, and such a battery module is used for a power source of an electric vehicle.

The number of battery cells required to construct a battery module having a large capacity and a large area may also increase, and as the number of battery cells increases, the assembly structure of the battery module may be complicated and the time required for assembly may increase.

Therefore, the necessity to simplify the structure of the battery module to improve the assembly efficiency and reduce the weight of the battery module is increasing.

Disclosure of Invention

First, the technical problem to be solved

The present utility model has been made to solve at least some of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and provides a battery module having a simple structure and improved assemblability.

In addition, it is an object of the present utility model to provide a battery module of a large capacity by assembling a plurality of sub-modules with each other.

(II) technical scheme

In order to achieve the above object, in an embodiment of the present utility model, there is provided a battery module including: the first sub-module and the second sub-module are arranged along the first direction and respectively comprise a plurality of battery units; and a lower cover coupled to the first sub-module and the second sub-module, the first sub-module and the second sub-module being disposed to be rotationally symmetrical with respect to a central axis formed between the first sub-module and the second sub-module and perpendicular to the first direction.

In an embodiment, the first sub-module and the second sub-module may have the same structure as each other.

In an embodiment, the first sub-module and the second sub-module may each include: a battery cell stack including a plurality of battery cells stacked in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; an end cover disposed adjacent to an edge of the lower cover; a center cover disposed apart from the end cover in a first direction; and a plurality of side covers coupled to the end cover and the center cover, respectively.

In an embodiment, the battery module may further include: and an upper cover disposed at an upper portion of the first sub-module and the second sub-module, and at least one of the lower cover or the upper cover may be formed in an integrated form.

In an embodiment, the first sub-module and the second sub-module may further include a first sub-sensing module and a second sub-sensing module sensing states of the plurality of battery cells, respectively, and the first sub-sensing module and the second sub-sensing module may be arranged along the first direction.

In an embodiment, the first sub-sensing module and the second sub-sensing module may be disposed closer to the center cover than the end cover, respectively.

In an embodiment, the upper cover may include an opening portion capable of exposing the first sub-sensing module and the second sub-sensing module.

In an embodiment, the battery cell stack may face the upper cover or the lower cover in a state in which upper or lower parts of the plurality of battery cells are exposed.

In an embodiment, the center cover may be coupled to at least one of the upper cover or the lower cover.

In an embodiment, the battery module may further include: and a fastening part penetrating the upper cover or the lower cover to be fastened to the center cover or the end cover.

In an embodiment, at least one of the upper cover or the lower cover may be coupled to the plurality of side covers.

In an embodiment, the side cover of the first sub-module and the side cover of the second sub-module may face and be coupled to each other in the first direction.

In an embodiment, the center cover of the first sub-module and the center cover of the second sub-module may contact each other in the first direction.

In an embodiment, the center cover of the first sub-module may include an insertion protrusion inserted into the center cover of the second sub-module, and the center cover of the second sub-module may include an insertion groove for inserting the insertion protrusion.

In an embodiment, the first sub-module and the second sub-module may each further include: a bus bar assembly electrically connecting the plurality of battery cells to each other, the bus bar assembly may include: a first bus bar assembly disposed between the battery cell stack and the end cap of the corresponding sub-module; and a second bus bar assembly disposed between the battery cell stack and the center cover of the corresponding sub-module, the first bus bar assembly may include a pair of terminal parts electrically connected to the plurality of battery cells.

In an embodiment, the first sub-module and the second sub-module may each further include: and a plurality of insulating covers disposed between the bus bar assembly and the end caps of the corresponding sub-module and between the bus bar assembly and the center cover of the corresponding sub-module, respectively.

According to another aspect of the present utility model, there is provided a battery module including: the first sub-module and the second sub-module are arranged along the first direction and respectively comprise a plurality of battery units; and a lower cover coupled to the first sub-module and the second sub-module. The lower cover is rotationally symmetrical with respect to a central axis formed between the first sub-module and the second sub-module and perpendicular to the first direction.

In an embodiment, the first sub-module and the second sub-module each comprise: a battery cell stack body stacked with a plurality of battery cells in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; an end cover disposed adjacent to an edge of the lower cover; and a center cover disposed apart from the end cover in the first direction.

In an embodiment, the first sub-module and the second sub-module further include a first sub-sensing module and a second sub-sensing module configured to sense states of the plurality of battery cells, respectively, and the first sub-sensing module and the second sub-sensing module are arranged along the first direction.

In an embodiment, the lower cover includes at least two refrigerant ports disposed at opposite ends of the battery module, the refrigerant flowing through the at least two refrigerant ports to absorb thermal energy from the first and second sub-modules.

In an embodiment, the first sub-module and the second sub-module each comprise: and a side cover disposed to face the battery cell stack in the second direction, wherein the side cover of the first sub-module and the side cover of the second sub-module are coupled to each other.

(III) beneficial effects

The battery module including the sub-modules according to various embodiments may have a structure in which assemblability is improved while having a simple structure.

In addition, according to various embodiments, a plurality of sub-modules may be rapidly assembled to realize a battery module of a large capacity.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a battery module according to one embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the battery module of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a sub-module according to another embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the sub-module of fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram for describing the assembly of a plurality of sub-modules according to still another embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 6 exemplarily shows an assembly sequence of a battery module according to still another embodiment of the present utility model.

Fig. 7 exemplarily illustrates a state in which a plurality of battery modules are electrically connected according to one embodiment of the present utility model.

Description of the reference numerals

1: battery pack 10: battery module

20: battery pack case 100: sub-module

100a: the first sub-module 100b: second sub-module

120: bus bar assembly 130: sub-sensing module

140: insulating cover 150: end cap

160: center cover 170: side cover

300: lower cover 400: upper cover

Detailed Description

In the detailed description of the present utility model, specific terms or words used in the specification and claims may be interpreted as general meanings or meanings in dictionary, and other terms may be interpreted as meanings or concepts according to aspects of the present utility model based on the principle that the inventors can appropriately define terms for the description of the present utility model. It should be understood, therefore, that the embodiments described in the specification and the structures shown in the drawings describe the most preferred embodiments of the utility model and do not cover the full scope of the utility model, and therefore, it should be understood that those skilled in the art can recognize that various equivalents and modifications exist in the filed application.

In the following description, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, singular expressions include plural expressions. It should be understood that the terms "comprises" or "comprising," and the like, are used to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or groups thereof.

In addition, in the following description, expressions of upper side, lower side, front, rear, etc. are expressed based on directions shown in the drawings, and it should be noted that if directions of the respective objects are changed, expressions may be expressed in different manners.

In addition, in the present specification and claims, terms including ordinal numbers such as "first," "second," and the like may be used to distinguish between components. These ordinal numbers are used to distinguish between the same or similar components and the meaning of the terms should not be construed restrictively by using these ordinal numbers. For example, the order of use or arrangement of components associated with such ordinal numbers should not be construed restrictively based on the figures. Each ordinal number may be used instead of each other as desired.

Various embodiments of the present utility model are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the utility model is not limited to the proposed embodiments. For example, it is understood that a person having ordinary skill in the art can recognize other embodiments included within the scope of the idea of the present utility model by adding, changing or deleting components, etc., and such embodiments should be included within the scope of the idea of the present utility model. The shapes and sizes of components, etc., may be exaggerated in the drawings for clarity of description.

First, the structure of the battery module is described with reference to fig. 1 to 5.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a battery module 10. Fig. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the battery module 10. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of sub-module 100. Fig. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the sub-module 100. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram for describing the assembly of a plurality of sub-modules 100. Fig. 1 to 5 exemplarily show the structures and shapes of the sub-module 100 and the battery module 10, and specific shapes of the respective components constituting the sub-module 100 and the battery module 10 are shown in fig. 1 to 5, although the present disclosure is not limited to those specific shapes.

The battery module 10 may include a plurality of sub-modules 100. For example, referring to fig. 2, the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be assembled with each other along one direction (e.g., the X-axis direction) to constitute one battery module 10. In the following description, a direction parallel to a direction in which the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b face each other is defined as a first direction.

The first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b included in the battery module 10 may have the same structure, for example, they may be assembled with each other after manufacturing a plurality of sub-modules 100 of the same type to construct the entire battery module 10.

That is, in the following description, "first sub-module 100a" and "second sub-module 100b" merely represent any one sub-module and the other sub-module of the two sub-modules 100 assembled with each other, and both may be understood as sub-modules 100 having the same structure. In addition, the "sub-module 100" may be understood as any one of the above-described "first sub-module 100a" and "second sub-module 100 b".

The battery module 10 may include a lower cover 300 and an upper cover 400 supporting a plurality of sub-modules 100.

One lower cover 300 may be provided to cover the lower surfaces of the plurality of sub-modules 100.

Alternatively, one upper cover 400 may be provided to cover the upper surfaces of the plurality of sub-modules 100. In one embodiment, in at least one of the upper cover 400 and the lower cover 300, a portion facing the first sub-module 100a and a portion facing the second sub-module 100b may be integrally formed with each other.

However, the structures of the lower cover 300 and the upper cover 400 are not limited to the above. For example, a plurality of lower covers or a plurality of upper covers, which cover the plurality of sub-modules 100, respectively, may be provided, and the plurality of lower covers may be combined with each other to form one structure 300.

A heat dissipation member 500 (shown in fig. 2) may be provided between the lower cover 300 and the plurality of sub-modules 100. The heat sink 500 may be disposed with one side contacting the sub-module 100 and the other side opposite to the one side contacting the lower cover 300. The heat dissipation member 500 may be provided as a Thermal adhesive (Thermal adhesive).

The lower cover 300 may be provided with a heat sink 330. The radiator 330 may have a flow path through which the refrigerant flows. The radiator 330 may include refrigerant ports 330a, 330b through which refrigerant may flow in and out. For example, the refrigerant ports 330a, 330b may include a refrigerant inlet port 330a disposed at one side of any one sub-module 100 (e.g., the first sub-module 100 a) and a refrigerant outlet port 330b disposed at one side of the other sub-module 100 (e.g., the second sub-module 100 b). The refrigerant flowing into the refrigerant inlet port 330a may absorb heat energy of the sub-modules 100 while flowing in the lower portions of the plurality of sub-modules 100, and then be discharged through the refrigerant outlet port 330b.

The heat sink 330 may be formed as one body to be able to entirely cover the plurality of sub-modules 100.

However, the structure of the heat sink 330 is not limited to the above. For example, the heat sink 330 may be provided in plurality to be matched with each sub-module 100, respectively.

The sub-module 100 may include: the battery cell stack 110 includes battery cells 1000 stacked in one direction; and a plurality of protective covers 150, 160, 170 for protecting the battery cell stack 110.

The battery cell stack 110 may include a plurality of battery cells 1000 stacked side by side as shown in fig. 4). The stacking direction of the plurality of battery cells 1000 and the arrangement direction of the sub-module 100 may be perpendicular to each other. For example, the sub-modules 100 may be disposed in a first direction (X-axis direction) on the upper surface of the lower cover 300, and the battery cells 1000 included in each sub-module 100 may be stacked in a second direction (e.g., Y-axis direction) different from the first direction (X-axis direction). For example, the second direction (Y-axis direction) may be a direction perpendicular to the first direction (X-axis direction). In the following description, the "second direction" may be understood as the stacking direction of the battery cells 1000.

The plurality of battery cells 1000 included in the battery cell stack 110 may be Pouch-type (Pouch-type) secondary batteries. The battery unit 1000 may be configured to convert chemical energy into electrical energy to supply power to an external circuit, or to receive electrical power from the outside and convert electrical energy into chemical energy to store the electrical power. For example, the battery cell 1000 may be composed of a nickel metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery or a lithium ion (Li-ion) battery capable of being charged and discharged. In various embodiments, a plurality of battery cells 1000 may be connected in series or parallel with each other in a side-by-side stacked state to form one battery cell stack 110.

The battery cell stack 110 may further include various protection members for protecting the battery cells 1000 in addition to the battery cells 1000. For example, the battery cell stack 110 may be formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells 1000 and a plurality of protection members (not shown).

The protection member may be constituted by a compression pad (not shown) or a heat insulating sheet (not shown), or may be formed by combining a compression pad (not shown) and a heat insulating sheet (not shown) with each other.

The compression pad may protect the battery cell 1000 from external impact, or may absorb expansion pressure based on the battery cell 1000. For example, a compression pad (not shown) may include a polyurethane-based material to absorb the expansion pressure of the battery cell 1000.

The heat insulating sheet may be disposed to face at least one of the battery cell 1000 or the compression pad (not shown). The heat insulating sheet (not shown) may block the propagation of flames or high-temperature heat energy between the neighboring battery cells 1000, and thus, may prevent the occurrence of a cascade fire phenomenon inside the battery cell stack 110. For example, the thermal insulating sheet (not shown) may contain at least a portion of a material from among Mica (Mica), silicate (Silicate), graphite, alumina, ceramic wool, and Aerogel (Aerogel) capable of performing a function of preventing heat and/or flame propagation.

The plurality of protection members may be disposed in the battery cell stack 110, and may be disposed between the battery cells 1000 adjacent to each other or at the edges of the battery cell stack 110. However, the position of the protection member (not shown) is not limited to the above, and may be appropriately set inside or outside the sub-module 100 as needed. In addition, the battery cell stack 110 may further include other various types of protection members in addition to the compression pad (not shown) or the heat insulating sheet (not shown) described above.

The protective covers 150, 160, 170 may include an end cover 150 and a center cover 160 covering at least one side and the other side of the battery cell stack 110, and a plurality of side covers 170.

The end cap 150 and the center cap 160 may be disposed at a distance in a first direction (X-axis direction), and the battery cell stack 110 may be disposed between the end cap 150 and the center cap 160. The end cap 150 may be disposed adjacent to a side of the sub-module 100 where the terminal portion 123 is disposed, and the center cap 160 may be disposed adjacent to a side of the sub-module 100 where the connection portion 131 of the sub-sensing module 130 is disposed.

The side cover 170 may be disposed to face the wide surface of the battery cell 1000 to protect the side of the battery cell stack 110.

The end cover 150, the center cover 160, and the side cover 170 may be formed of a material (e.g., a metal material such as aluminum or SUS) having sufficient rigidity to be able to protect the sub-module 100 from external impact.

The side cover 170 may be coupled to the end cover 150 and the center cover 160, respectively. For example, a fastening part (not shown) may penetrate the side cover 170 to be fastened to the end cover 150 or the center cover 160. Alternatively, the side cover 170 may be engaged with and fixed to each other with the end cover 150 and the center cover 160 without a separate fastening member. At this time, the bonding method may employ a bonding method based on welding, but is not limited thereto.

On the other hand, the side cover 170 may also be coupled to the bus bar frame 122 disposed inside the end cover 150 and the center cover 160.

The end cap 150, the center cap 160, and the side cap 170 may be firmly coupled to each other to provide structural stability to the sub-module 100.

The sub-module 100 may further include a bus bar assembly 120 electrically connected to the battery cell stack 110 and an insulating cover 140 coupled to the bus bar assembly 120.

The bus bar assembly 120 may include a plurality of conductive members (bus bars) 121 electrically connected to the battery cells 1000 and a bus bar frame 122 supporting the bus bars 121. Some of the plurality of bus bars 121 may be connected to a terminal portion 123 (shown in fig. 4) that can be connected to an external electrical circuit. The terminal portion 123 may include a positive terminal and a negative terminal.

Referring to fig. 4, the bus bar assembly 120 may include a first bus bar assembly 120a disposed at one side of the battery cell stack 110 and a second bus bar assembly 120b disposed at the other side of the battery cell stack 110. Either one of the first and second bus bar assemblies 120a and 120b may be provided with a pair of terminal portions 123, and the other may not be provided with a terminal portion 123. For example, a first bus bar assembly 120a having a pair of terminal portions 123 may be disposed between the end cap 150 and the battery cell stack 110, and a second bus bar assembly 120b having no terminal portions 123 may be disposed between the center cap 160 and the battery cell stack 110. The terminal portion 123 of the first bus bar assembly 120a may be disposed adjacent to the end cap 150 to be exposed to the outside of the battery module 10. According to this structure, the terminal portions 123 may be disposed at intervals in the second direction (Y-axis direction) along one side edge of the sub-module 100.

A first insulating cover 141 may be provided between the first bus bar assembly 120a and the end cap 150, and a second insulating cover 142 may be provided between the second bus bar assembly 120b and the center cap 160. The first and second insulating covers 141 and 142 may be coupled to the first and second bus bar assemblies 120a and 120b, respectively. The first and second insulating covers 141 and 142 may include insulating materials to prevent the end caps 150 and the center cover 160 from electrically shorting with the bus bars 121.

The sub-module 100 may include a sub-sensing module 130, and the sub-sensing module 130 may sense the state of the battery cells 1000 included in the battery cell stack 110. For example, the sub-sensing module 130 may be configured to sense an electrical state such as a voltage or an amount of electricity of the battery cell 1000 or a thermal state such as a temperature, and transmit the sensed data to the outside of the sub-module 100.

The sub-sensing module 130 may be connected to the first and second bus bar assemblies 120a and 120b, respectively, to sense an electrical state or a thermal state.

The sub-sensing module 130 may include a connection portion 131 to enable connection to other electrical circuits external to the sub-module 100 (e.g., a sensing module of the battery module 10 or a sub-sensing module 130 of other sub-modules 100, etc.). The connection part 131 may be provided at an upper surface of the sub-module 100.

The sub-module 100 may further include a support base 132, the support base 132 being disposed at an upper portion of the battery cell stack 110 and supporting the sub-sensing module 130. The lower surface of the support base 132 may face the battery cell stack 110, and the upper surface of the support base 132 may be provided with the sub-sensing module 130.

The terminal portion 123 may be adjacently disposed at one side edge of the sub-module 100, and the connection portion 131 of the sub-sensing module 130 may be adjacently disposed at the other side edge of the sub-module 100. For example, the terminal part 123 may be disposed at the first bus bar assembly 120a disposed between the end cap 150 and the battery cell stack 110, and the connection part 131 of the sensing module may be disposed closer to the center cap 160 than the end cap 150. That is, in any one of the sub-modules 100, the terminal portion 123 of the bus bar assembly 120 and the connection portion 131 of the sub-sensing module 130 may be disposed at opposite sides to each other.

The plurality of sub-modules 100 may be assembled with each other to constitute at least a portion of the battery module 10. For example, the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be aligned with each other in the first direction (X-axis direction) to be assembled with each other.

At this time, the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be disposed symmetrically to each other. For example, as shown in fig. 2, the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be rotationally symmetrically disposed with respect to each other with respect to the central axis O.

The rotation symmetry may be a symmetry pattern in which one member is overlapped with the other member when the other member rotates with respect to the central axis. That is, if the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b are rotationally symmetrical with respect to the central axis O, it may mean that the first sub-module 100a may completely overlap with the second sub-module 100b when rotated with respect to the central axis O.

The central axis O may be an axis perpendicular to both the first direction (X-axis direction) and the second direction (Y-axis direction). Alternatively, the central axis O may be an axis perpendicular to the upper surface of the lower cover 300. The direction of the center axis O may be the height direction (e.g., Z-axis direction) of the battery module 10. In the following description, a direction parallel to the central axis O is defined as a third direction (Z-axis direction).

The first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be assembled such that the center covers 160 face each other.

The center cover 160 may have guide structures 161, 162 that guide the assembled position of the sub-module 100. For example, in the center cover 160, an insertion protrusion 161 and an insertion groove 162 may be formed on a side opposite to a side facing the battery cell stack 110 to guide the relative positions of the two sub-modules 100. Referring to fig. 5, the center cover 160a of the first sub-module 100a may have an insertion protrusion 161a and an insertion groove 162a, and the center cover 160b of the second sub-module 100b facing thereto may have an insertion groove 162a for inserting the insertion protrusion 161a of the first sub-module 100a and an insertion protrusion 161b for inserting into the insertion groove 162a of the first sub-module 100 a. As described above, the insertion protrusions 161 and the insertion grooves 162 of the two center covers 160 are coupled to each other, so that the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b can be arranged at the correct positions.

The first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be assembled such that the respective terminal parts 123 are disposed at the edges of the battery module 10. For example, referring to fig. 1 and 2, the terminal part 123 of the first sub-module 100a may be disposed along one side edge of the battery module 10, and the terminal part 123 of the second sub-module 100b may be disposed along the other side edge opposite to the one side of the battery module 10. In addition, the connection parts 131 of the sub-sensing modules 130 of each sub-module 100 may be disposed side by side in the first direction (X-axis direction) in the central region of the battery module 10. For example, referring to fig. 2, the first sub-sensing module 130a of the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-sensing module 130b of the second sub-module 100b may be disposed side by side in a first direction (X-axis direction) at a portion adjacent to the center cover 160. That is, the sub-sensing module 130 included in each sub-module 100 may be disposed at the center of the battery module 10, and the terminal part 123 may be disposed at the periphery of the battery module 10.

During the assembly of the two sub-modules 100, the side covers 170 included in each sub-module 100 may be engaged with each other. For example, the side cover 170 of the first sub-module 100a and the side cover 170 of the second sub-module 100b may face and engage with each other in the first direction (X-axis direction). The joining of the side cover 170 of the first sub-module 100a and the side cover 170 of the second sub-module 100b may employ a welding-based joining method, but is not limited thereto.

The upper and lower portions of the first and second sub-modules 100a and 100b may be covered by the upper and lower covers 400 and 300, respectively.

The lower cover 300 may be coupled to the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b. For example, the fastening part 310 may penetrate the lower cover 300 to be fastened to the center cover 160, whereby the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be fixed to the lower cover 300. In addition, another fastening member 320 may also penetrate the lower cover 300 to be fastened to the end cap 150.

The upper cover 400 may be coupled to the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b. For example, a fastening part may penetrate the upper cover 400 to be fastened to the center cover 160, whereby the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be fixed to the upper cover 400. In addition, another fastening part 410 may penetrate the upper cover 400 to be fastened to the end cap 150.

The end caps 150 of the sub-module 100 may be adjacently disposed at one side edges of the upper and lower covers 400 and 300 in a state where the upper and lower covers 400 and 300 are coupled to the sub-module 100. In addition, the center cover 160 may be disposed at a first direction (X-axis direction) center region of the upper cover 400 and the lower cover 300.

On the other hand, the upper cover 400 may include an opening part 420 capable of exposing the sub-sensing modules 130 of the plurality of sub-modules 100. Even though the upper cover 400 covers the upper parts of the plurality of sub-modules 100, the sub-sensing modules 130 may be exposed from the upper side direction (e.g., the Z-axis positive direction) of the battery module 10 through the opening parts 420, thereby being connected to an external circuit.

The lower cover 300 and the upper cover 400 may be coupled to the side covers 170 of the sub-module 100, respectively. For example, in a state where the sub-module 100 is seated on the lower cover 300, the side cover 170 may contact the lower cover 300 and may be engaged with each other along the contact portion. Also, in a state where the upper cover 400 is disposed at the upper portion of the sub-module 100, the side covers 170 may contact the upper cover 400 and may be engaged with each other along the contact portion.

As described above, the upper cover 400 and the lower cover 300 may be coupled to the sub-module 100 to constitute the entire battery module 10.

In the battery module 10, the end cap 150 and the side cap 170 of each sub-module 100 may be exposed to the outside of the battery module 10. For example, the upper surface of the battery module 10 may be formed with the upper cover 400, the lower surface may be formed with the lower cover 300, and the side surfaces may be formed with the end covers 150 and the side covers 170. At this time, the center cover 160 of each sub-module 100 may have a state of facing each other at the inner side of the battery module 10, and may be covered by the upper cover 400, the lower cover 300, and the side cover 170 so as not to be exposed to the outside of the battery module 10.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the battery module 10 will be described with reference to fig. 6. Fig. 6 exemplarily shows an assembly sequence of the battery module 10. The sub-module 100 and the battery module 10 described in fig. 6 correspond to the sub-module 100 and the battery module 10 described in fig. 1 to 5 described above, and thus duplicate explanation may be omitted.

The manufacturing method of the battery module 10 may include: a sub-module manufacturing step of manufacturing a plurality of sub-modules 100; an arrangement step of arranging the fabricated sub-modules 100 with each other; and a packing (wrapping) step of bonding the upper cover 400 or the lower cover 300 to the sub-module 100.

In the sub-module fabrication step, sub-modules 100 having the same structure are repeatedly fabricated. For example, the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b having the same structure may be manufactured through sub-module manufacturing steps. The sub-modules 100 thus fabricated may be assembled with each other to construct the entire battery module 10.

In the alignment step, the sub-modules 100 may be aligned in place. For example, in the arranging step, the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be arranged in a first direction (X direction).

In the arranging step, the first sub-module 100a and the second sub-module 100b may be arranged to be rotationally symmetrical to each other with respect to the central axis O. At this time, the central axis O may be an axis perpendicular to both the first direction and the second direction.

In the alignment step, the center cover 160 of the first sub-module 100a and the center cover 160 of the second sub-module 100b may be aligned to have a state of contacting each other in the first direction (X-axis direction).

In the packing step, the upper cover 400 and the lower cover 300 may be coupled to each other in a state where the center covers 160 of the first and second sub-modules 100a and 100b are in contact with each other. At this time, specific coupling structures may be referred to the description above with respect to fig. 1 to 5.

The packing step may further include a coupling step in which the sub-module 100 and the upper cover 400 and the sub-module 100 and the lower cover 300 are coupled while coupling the plurality of sub-modules 100 to each other. Wherein a welding-based joining method may be performed in the joining step. However, the bonding method is not limited thereto. For example, in the bonding step, the sub-module 100 and the lower cover 300 may be bonded by an adhesive material.

In addition, the bonding or coupling between the components may be achieved by separate fastening members (e.g., bolts) or may be achieved by welding in each process. However, the specific bonding method is not limited to the above.

On the other hand, the sub-module manufacturing step, the arranging step, and the packaging step do not necessarily have to be performed in the order described above. That is, the sub-module manufacturing step, the arranging step, and the packaging step may be sequentially performed, or may be performed in a replacement order. Alternatively, two or more steps may be performed simultaneously.

As described above, as the same type of sub-modules 100 are combined to construct the entire battery module 10, the battery module 10 can be manufactured rapidly and efficiently.

In addition, the battery module 10 of a large capacity may be implemented by combining a plurality of sub-modules 100 of the same type.

In addition, the sub-module 100 according to various embodiments has a structure in which one finished shape of the package is finished by having a rigid cover (e.g., the center cover 160, the side cover 170, and the end cover 150 may not be flexible), so that production and operation can be performed on a single production line in a manufacturing process.

In the case of the conventional battery module, sub-assemblies (e.g., sub-modules) included in the battery module have different structures, and therefore, it is necessary to separately manufacture each sub-assembly. However, according to the battery module 10 of various embodiments, it is possible to repeatedly manufacture the same type of sub-modules 100 and simply construct the battery module 10 by connecting them, and thus, process separation and component binarization are not required.

Therefore, it is possible to realize the battery module 10 having the improved manufacturing rapidity and efficiency and the simple structure.

Fig. 7 exemplarily shows a state in which a plurality of battery modules 10 are electrically connected. The battery module 10 described in fig. 7 corresponds to the battery module 10 described in fig. 1 to 6 described above, and thus duplicate explanation may be omitted.

At least a part of the battery pack 1 may be constructed by connecting a plurality of battery modules 10. For example, fig. 7 may be a diagram exemplarily showing a state in which the electrically connected battery modules 10 are received in the battery pack case 20.

In one battery module 10, a plurality of sub-modules 100 may be configured to be electrically connected to each other to output a desired design power value. For example, two sub-modules 100 facing each other may be electrically connected to each other through the terminal portion 123.

Alternatively, in one battery module 10, the power connection structure of the plurality of sub-modules 100 may be configured to be indirectly connected to each other through another battery module 10. For example, referring to fig. 7, in any one of the battery modules 10, two sub-modules 100 facing each other in the first direction (X-axis direction) may be electrically connected to adjacent other battery modules 10, respectively. That is, the terminal part 123 of each sub-module 100 may be configured to be electrically connected to the adjacent other battery modules 10.

As the battery modules 10 are constructed by combining the same type of sub-modules 100, when a plurality of battery modules 10 are disposed inside the battery pack 1, the positions of the terminal parts 123 may be regularly arranged, so that the plurality of battery modules 10 may be connected.

For example, referring to fig. 7, in each battery module 10, a terminal part 123 may be disposed adjacent to the peripheral edge of the battery pack case 20, and a connection part 131 of the sensing module may be disposed at the central region of the battery pack case 20. Accordingly, when the connection conductor 30 connects each terminal portion 123, a high voltage HV connection line may be formed along the edge of the battery module 10, and when each connection portion 131 is connected, a sensing line may be connected along the central region of the battery module 10.

As described above, the HV connection line may be formed adjacent to the peripheral line of the battery pack case 20, and a space as wide as possible may be maintained between the sensing line and the HV connection line, and thus electrical stability between the battery modules 10 may be increased.

While various embodiments of the present utility model have been described in detail above, the scope of the claims of the present utility model is not limited thereto, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present utility model. In addition, some components in the above embodiments may be deleted, or the embodiments may be combined.

Claims (20)

1. A battery module, comprising:

a first sub-module and a second sub-module disposed along a first direction, the first sub-module and the second sub-module each including a plurality of battery cells; and

a lower cover coupled to the first sub-module and the second sub-module,

the first sub-module and the second sub-module are arranged to be rotationally symmetrical with respect to a central axis formed between the first sub-module and the second sub-module and perpendicular to the first direction.

2. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of cells,

the first sub-module and the second sub-module respectively comprise:

a battery cell stack stacked by the plurality of battery cells in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction;

an end cap disposed adjacent an edge of the lower cap;

a center cap disposed spaced apart from the end cap in the first direction; and

a plurality of side covers coupled to the end cover and the center cover, respectively.

3. The battery module of claim 2, further comprising:

an upper cover arranged at the upper parts of the first sub-module and the second sub-module,

at least one of the lower cover or the upper cover is formed in an integrated form.

4. The battery module of claim 3, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells,

the first and second sub-modules further include first and second sub-sensing modules sensing states of the plurality of battery cells,

the first sub-sensing module and the second sub-sensing module are arranged along the first direction.

5. The battery module of claim 4, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells,

the first sub-sensing module and the second sub-sensing module are disposed closer to the center cover than the end cover, respectively.

6. The battery module of claim 4, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells,

the upper cover includes an opening portion capable of exposing the first sub-sensing module and the second sub-sensing module.

7. The battery module of claim 3, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells,

the battery cell stack faces the upper cover or the lower cover in a state in which upper or lower parts of the plurality of battery cells are exposed.

8. The battery module of claim 3, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells,

the center cover is coupled to at least one of the upper cover or the lower cover.

9. The battery module of claim 8, further comprising:

and a fastening member penetrating the upper cover or the lower cover to be fastened to the center cover or the end cover.

10. The battery module of claim 3, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells,

at least one of the upper cover or the lower cover is coupled to the plurality of side covers.

11. The battery module of claim 2, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells,

the side cover of the first sub-module and the side cover of the second sub-module face and are coupled to each other in the first direction.

12. The battery module of claim 2, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of battery cells,

the center cover of the first sub-module and the center cover of the second sub-module contact each other in the first direction.

13. The battery module of claim 12, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of cells,

the center cover of the first sub-module includes an insertion protrusion inserted into the center cover of the second sub-module,

the center cover of the second sub-module includes an insertion groove for inserting the insertion protrusion.

14. The battery module of claim 2, wherein the first sub-module and the second sub-module each further comprise:

a bus bar assembly electrically connecting the plurality of battery cells to each other,

the bus bar assembly includes:

a first bus bar assembly disposed between the battery cell stack and the end cap of the corresponding sub-module; and

a second bus bar assembly disposed between the battery cell stack and the center cover of the corresponding sub-module,

wherein the first bus bar assembly includes a pair of terminal portions electrically connected to the plurality of battery cells.

15. The battery module of claim 14, wherein the first sub-module and the second sub-module further comprise:

and a plurality of insulating covers respectively disposed between the bus bar assembly and the end cover of the corresponding sub-module and between the bus bar assembly and the center cover of the corresponding sub-module.

16. A battery module, comprising:

a first sub-module and a second sub-module disposed along a first direction, the first sub-module and the second sub-module each including a plurality of battery cells; and

a lower cover coupled to the first sub-module and the second sub-module,

the lower cover is rotationally symmetrical with respect to a central axis formed between the first sub-module and the second sub-module and perpendicular to the first direction.

17. The battery module of claim 16, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of cells,

the first sub-module and the second sub-module respectively comprise:

a battery cell stack stacked by the plurality of battery cells in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction;

an end cap disposed adjacent an edge of the lower cap; and

and a center cover disposed spaced apart from the end cover in the first direction.

18. The battery module of claim 16, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of cells,

the first and second sub-modules further include first and second sub-sensing modules configured to sense states of the plurality of battery cells respectively,

and the first sub-sensing module and the second sub-sensing module are arranged along the first direction.

19. The battery module of claim 16, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of cells,

the lower cover includes at least two refrigerant ports provided at opposite ends of the battery module through which a refrigerant flows to absorb heat energy from the first and second sub-modules.

20. The battery module of claim 17, wherein the battery module comprises a plurality of cells,

the first sub-module and the second sub-module respectively comprise:

a side cover disposed to face the battery cell stack in the second direction,

wherein the side cover of the first sub-module and the side cover of the second sub-module are coupled to each other.