KR101219279B1 - Battery Cell Mounting Apparatus of Novel Structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is a battery cell mounting apparatus for mounting a plurality of battery cells, consisting of a rectangular structure, the mounting portion is formed in the lower portion so that the plurality of battery cells can be mounted upright at regular intervals with the electrode terminal exposed And a tray main body, wherein the mounting unit includes: a fixed mounting unit having protrusions ('mounting protrusions') forming a plurality of mounting grooves vertically formed on an upper surface thereof and fixed to the tray body; And a plurality of mounting protrusions are formed perpendicular to the upper surface, and slits ('left and right moving slits') into which predetermined fastening members are inserted to variably fix the mounting portion in a horizontal direction with respect to the tray body are formed. The left and right moving slits provide a battery cell mounting apparatus including a variable mounting portion formed at a lower end portion in a direction perpendicular to a battery cell mounting direction.

Description

Battery Cell Mounting Apparatus of Novel Structure {Battery Cell Mounting Apparatus of Novel Structure}

The present invention relates to a battery cell mounting apparatus having a novel structure, and more particularly, a battery cell mounting apparatus for mounting a plurality of battery cells, consisting of a rectangular structure, a plurality of electrode terminals exposed state The battery cell includes a tray main body having a mounting portion formed at a lower portion thereof so that battery cells can be mounted upright at regular intervals. The mounting portion includes protrusions ('mounting protrusions') that form a plurality of mounting grooves. A fixed mounting part fixed to the tray body; And slits ('left and right moving slits') in which a plurality of mounting protrusions are formed, and predetermined fastening members are inserted to variably fix the mounting part in a left and right direction with respect to the tray body. The present invention relates to a battery cell mounting apparatus including a variable mounting portion configured to be formed at a lower end portion in a direction perpendicular to the cell mounting direction.

As the development and demand for mobile devices increases, the demand for this secondary battery as an energy source is increasing rapidly. Among the secondary batteries, many researches on lithium secondary batteries with high energy density and discharge voltage have been conducted and commercialized. It is widely used.

The secondary battery may be used in the form of a single battery cell, or in the form of a battery module in which a plurality of unit cells are electrically connected, depending on the type of external device in which the secondary battery is used. For example, a small device such as a mobile phone can operate for a predetermined time with the output and capacity of one battery cell, while a notebook computer, a portable DVD, a personal computer, an electric vehicle, and a hybrid electric Medium or large devices such as automobiles require the use of a battery module including a plurality of battery cells due to problems of output and capacity.

The battery module is manufactured by connecting a protection circuit or the like to a core pack in which a plurality of unit cells are arranged in series and / or in parallel. In the case of using a square or pouch type battery as a unit cell, the wide surfaces thereof may be stacked to face each other, and then the electrode terminals may be easily connected by connecting members such as bus bars. Therefore, in the case of manufacturing a three-dimensional battery module having a hexahedral structure, a square or pouch type battery is advantageous as a unit cell.

Conventionally, a nickel cadmium battery or a hydrogen ion battery is used as a secondary battery, but recently, a lithium ion battery and a lithium polymer battery having high energy density have been used. Such secondary batteries are increasing in demand due to the advantages described above.

Meanwhile, the secondary battery is manufactured through a process of assembling a battery cell and activating the assembled battery cell. In the step of activating the battery cell by applying electricity to the battery cell, the battery cell for mounting a plurality of battery cells is installed. The battery cells are mounted in the mounting apparatus or the jig, and charging is performed under the conditions necessary for activation. That is, in order to increase the efficiency of the assembly process, a method of simultaneously activating a plurality of battery cells is generally used.

However, as the application fields of secondary batteries are diversified, battery cells of various sizes and structures are manufactured, and in order to activate such battery cells, a corresponding battery cell mounting apparatus needs to be prepared according to the type of battery cells. There is this.

In addition, in the field of medium and large battery modules for electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles, which are being studied in recent years, plate-type battery cells such as pouch-type batteries have attracted much attention as unit cells. Since the battery cell mounting apparatus must be used differently according to the same size as the thickness, the time required for the activation of the battery cell is increased and the cost required for manufacturing a separate dedicated battery cell mounting apparatus is greatly increased.

In this regard, attempts have been made to mount various types of battery cells in one device. For example, Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-0103259 is a cell device for measuring the electrochemical characteristics of a battery, the housing for isolating the battery element to be measured from the outside air, one end is the electrochemical of the battery outside the housing Another end of the battery includes a working electrode connected to a measuring device for measuring a property and connected to an element of a battery to be measured in the housing, and a counter electrode installed to maintain a constant distance from the working electrode. Disclosed is a cell device for electrochemical characterization.

However, since the electrodes are formed inside the housing, it is difficult to collectively connect the electrode terminals of the battery cells for activation after mounting a plurality of battery cells.

Accordingly, there is a high demand for a battery cell mounting apparatus capable of mounting various types of battery cells while fundamentally solving these problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-described problems of the prior art and the technical problems required from the past.

After extensive research and various experiments, the inventors of the present application have a rectangular structure, which includes a tray body having a mounting portion at a lower portion thereof, and the mounting portion is variably moved relative to the fixed mounting portion and the tray body fixed to the tray body. It has been developed a battery cell mounting apparatus including a variable mounting portion formed with a slit, which can be easily mounted to various types of battery cells by moving the variable mounting portion according to the size of the battery cell. Confirmed.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery cell mounting apparatus that can be used to mount various kinds of battery cells, and can reduce manufacturing costs while improving the manufacturing processability of the battery cells.

Battery cell mounting apparatus according to the present invention for achieving this object is a battery cell mounting device for mounting a plurality of battery cells,

It has a rectangular structure with an open top, and includes a tray main body having a mounting portion formed at a lower portion thereof so that a plurality of battery cells can be mounted upright at regular intervals with an electrode terminal exposed upward.

The mounting portion,

A fixed mounting part having protrusions ('mounting protrusions') forming a plurality of mounting grooves perpendicular to the upper surface and fixed to the tray body; And

A plurality of mounting protrusions are formed perpendicular to the upper surface, and slits ('left and right moving slits') are formed in which predetermined fastening members are inserted to variably fix the mounting portion in a horizontal direction with respect to the tray body. The left and right moving slits are variable mounting portions formed in the lower end portion in a direction perpendicular to the battery cell mounting direction;

As shown in FIG.

In general, as mentioned above, since the size and shape of the battery cell mounting apparatus must vary according to the size, such as the width, thickness, etc. of the battery cell, a conventional battery cell mounting apparatus has to be prepared for each type of battery cell. .

However, the battery cell mounting apparatus of the present invention is left and right with respect to the tray main body having a mounting portion formed in the lower portion, the fixed mounting portion is formed vertically the mounting projections, and the tray body so that a plurality of battery cells can be mounted upright at regular intervals Since it includes a variable mounting portion that can be fixed in a variable direction, in a state in which the battery cells are arranged between the fixed mounting portion, according to the thickness of the battery cell to be mounted, the variable mounting portion is moved left and right by the left and right moving slits, It can be used to mount various kinds of battery cells of different thickness.

Therefore, it is not necessary to replace the battery cell mounting apparatus according to the type of battery cells, ultimately it is possible to significantly reduce the manufacturing cost of the battery cells.

The battery cell is not particularly limited as long as it is a battery cell having a shape that can be easily inserted between the mounting protrusions of the fixed mounting portion and the variable mounting portion of the battery cell mounting apparatus, and preferably may be a rectangular secondary battery or a pouch secondary battery. have. A square type secondary battery is a plate type battery using a square case of a metal or plastic material, and a pouch type secondary battery is a plate type battery using a pouch type case of a laminate sheet.

In one preferred example, at the lower end of the tray body, slits ('forward and backward movement slits') into which the fastening member is inserted to variably fix the variable mounting part in the front-rear direction with respect to the tray body are formed. The front and rear movement slits may be formed at the lower end of the tray main body in a direction parallel to the battery cell mounting direction at positions corresponding to the left and right movement slits.

Therefore, in the above structure, since the left and right movement slits and the front and rear movement slits are overlapped with each other, even if their thickness and width vary depending on the type of battery cell, the battery cells are satisfied while satisfying both conditions. It can be attached to the mounting part of a tray main body stably.

That is, the left and right moving slits of the variable mounting part may be adjusted to correspond to a change in thickness of the battery cells mounted in the tray main body, and the width change of the battery cells mounted in the tray main body by adjusting the forward and backward moving slits formed at the lower end of the tray main body. Can respond effectively to

As one example of the structure, the length of the front and rear movement slits may be a structure having a size larger than the width of the variable mounting portion so that the variable mounting portion can be stably moved in the widest possible range. For example, the length of the front and rear movement slits may be formed in a size of 110 to 300% based on the width of the variable mounting portion.

On the other hand, since the battery cell is mounted between the mounting protrusions of the fixed mounting portion, it is preferable that the maximum length of the left and right moving slits is variably set as necessary within a range not exceeding the mounting interval of the battery cell.

The combination of the left and right moving slits and the forward and backward moving slits is positioned such that the left and right moving slits and the forward and backward moving slits communicate with each other so that the variable mounting portion moves back and forth and / or left and right as needed and is fixed to the tray body. In this state, the fastening member may be formed by a structure achieved by simultaneously penetrating the left and right moving slits and the forward and backward moving slits.

The fastening member is not particularly limited as long as the fastening member is a member capable of solidifying the coupling of the tray body and the variable mounting portion. For example, a bolt may be used.

On the other hand, the arrangement of the fixed mounting portion and the variable mounting portion may vary as needed, for example, it may be made of a structure in which the variable mounting portions are respectively located on both sides based on the fixed mounting portion. On the contrary, the variable mounting units may be positioned at the center, and the fixed mounting units may be positioned at both sides of the variable mounting units.

In the above structure, when only one fixed mounting portion is positioned between the variable mounting portions on both sides, molding tolerances are likely to occur during the molding manufacturing of the fixed mounting portion, and deformation such as distortion of the mounted battery cell by external force may occur. . Therefore, the fixed mounting portion is composed of two or more numbers, it is preferable that they are located with a predetermined distance. For example, the predetermined separation distance may be formed in a size of 20 to 60% based on the width of the entire mounting portion located below the tray body.

The fixed mounting portion may be formed in a structure coupled to the tray body by a fastening member or an adhesive, but preferably may be formed in a structure integrally formed with the tray body. Therefore, since the fixed mounting portion is molded together when forming the tray body, it does not require a separate process for coupling the fixed mounting portion to the tray body.

On the other hand, the mounting protrusions of the variable mounting portion is not particularly limited as long as it is a structure that can easily support the battery cell, for example, one end of the mounting protrusions is vertically bent to support one end of the battery cell It may be made in a shape.

On the other hand, there are two types of pouch-type battery cells, a structure in which the positive and negative terminals are formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the battery cell, or the positive and negative terminals are formed only on the top surface of the battery cell.

In this way, the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal protrude outwardly the battery cell electrode terminals mounted in the center of the lower end of the tray body so that the battery cells having a structure formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the battery cell can be easily mounted, respectively. The slits ('electrode terminal protruding slits') may be formed at predetermined intervals parallel to the mounting direction of the battery cell.

In the above structure, the predetermined interval may vary as necessary, for example, may be made of the mounting interval of the battery cells.

In addition, the electrode terminal protruding slits may have, for example, a size corresponding to the lower surface of the battery cell electrode terminal so that the battery cell electrode terminals protrude outside the lower end of the tray body.

On the other hand, the fixed mounting portion and the variable mounting portion may be manufactured by injection molding to enable a flexible response depending on the type of battery cell to be mounted, respectively.

For example, the fixed mounting part is molded integrally with the tray main body, and the variable mounting part is molded separately, and then the variable mounting part is joined to the tray main body at a desired position by using a fastening member. It can move variably as appropriate.

In addition, the fixed mounting portion and the variable mounting portion may be manufactured in a state in which mounting projections of a uniform size and shape as a whole are formed perpendicular to each mounting portion by plastic injection molding.

The front and rear surfaces of the tray main body may be formed in various structures as necessary, but may preferably have an open structure.

In general, the tray body in which the battery cells are mounted performs activation of the battery cells while being mounted on a conveyor having a predetermined height. Therefore, the front and rear of the open structure as described above dissipates the gas and heat that may occur during the activation of the battery cell to the outside, and allows the operator to visually check the activation process of the battery cells on the conveyor. .

The present invention also provides a battery pack manufacturing method for performing charge and discharge activation after mounting a plurality of battery cells in the battery cell mounting apparatus.

After manufacturing, the secondary battery undergoes a charging and discharging activation step. This step is a process of activating the secondary battery by charging and discharging. A lithium electrode derived from a lithium metal oxide used as a cathode during charging is used as a carbon electrode. In this case, the highly reactive lithium and carbon negative electrode react to form a solid electrolyte interface (SEI) film on the negative electrode surface.

The final secondary battery may generate gas as electrolyte is decomposed on the surface of the negative electrode active material during continuous charging and discharging during actual use, and the SEI film formed on the surface of the negative electrode active material suppresses such gas generation during activation. do. Therefore, the charge / discharge activation process is necessary for the formation of such an SEI film, and is a required process before manufacturing the final cell.

Next, after the activation process of the battery cell as described above, an aging process of stabilizing the battery by leaving the activated battery for a predetermined time is performed.

The battery cell mounting apparatus of the present invention includes at least some steps, for example, in a process of manufacturing a battery cell, that is, putting an electrode assembly and an electrolyte into a battery case and sealing it, and then performing an activation and aging step. For example, enable batch jobs for activation and / or aging steps.

The present invention also provides a medium-large battery pack manufactured by the battery pack manufacturing method.

Medium and large battery packs use a plurality of battery cells to provide a high output large capacity power, the battery cells produced by the method according to the invention is excellent in the uniformity of the product, it can be preferably used in such medium and large battery packs.

The medium-large battery pack may be particularly preferably used as a power source for an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), and the like, which require long life and excellent durability.

Since the structure and manufacturing method of such a medium-large battery pack are known in the art, a detailed description thereof is omitted herein.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings according to the embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

1 is a schematic plan view of a battery cell mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the battery cell mounting apparatus 100 has a rectangular structure in which an upper portion thereof is open, and a fixed mounting portion 120 and a lower portion thereof so that a plurality of battery cells (not shown) may be mounted upright at regular intervals. The tray main body 110 in which the variable mounting part 130 is formed, the two fixed mounting parts 120 formed integrally with the tray main body 110, and the tray main body 110 are movable in the left and right or front and rear directions. It consists of two variable mounting units 130. The variable mounting units 130 are located at both sides of the two fixed mounting units 120 at predetermined intervals, respectively.

Mounting protrusions 121 that form a plurality of mounting grooves are formed in the fixed mounting parts 120 perpendicular to the upper surfaces of the fixed mounting parts 120, and the variable mounting parts 130 include a plurality of mounting protrusions ( 131 is formed perpendicular to the upper surfaces of the variable mounting units 130.

In addition, the lower end portions of the variable mounting units 130 are vertically moved in the direction perpendicular to the mounting direction of the battery cells, in which the slit 160 for inserting bolts is fixed to variably fix the variable mounting units 130 according to the thickness of the battery cell. It is formed in.

The tray body 110 has a structure in which the front side 111 and the rear side 112 are opened, and the variable mounting parts 130 are variably in the front-rear direction with respect to the tray body 110 at the lower end of the tray body 110. The front and rear movement slits 170 into which the bolt, which is a fastening member is inserted, are formed in a direction parallel to the battery cell mounting direction at positions corresponding to the left and right movement slits 160.

In addition, electrode terminals protruding slits 150 for protruding the electrode terminals (not shown) of the battery cell to the outside of the tray main body 110 are formed at the center of the lower end of the tray main body 110. It is formed at predetermined intervals in parallel with the mounting direction of the battery cell while having a size corresponding to the surface.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an enlarged portion A of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, the left and right moving slits 160 are formed to have a length l smaller than the mounting interval d of the battery cells, and the front and rear moving slits 170 have a width D of the variable mounting part 130. It is formed with a length L larger than).

In addition, the mounting protrusions 131 of the variable mounting unit 130 has a shape in which one end 131a is vertically bent to support one end of the mounted battery cell. The combination of the left and right moving slits 160 and the forward and backward moving slits 170 is positioned so that the left and right moving slits 160 and the forward and backward moving slits 170 communicate with each other, and the bolt 180 as a fastening member is left and right. This is achieved by simultaneously passing through the moving slits 160 and the forward and backward moving slits 170 and then tightening the bolt 180 using a driver (not shown).

3 to 5 are schematic plan views illustrating a state in which a battery cell is mounted between the mounting protrusions of the fixed mounting unit and the mounting protrusions of the variable mounting unit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

First, referring to FIG. 3, between the mounting protrusions 221 and 231 of the variable mounting unit and the fixed mounting unit, a battery cell 250 having a predetermined thickness T may include a positive electrode terminal 252 and a negative electrode terminal 254. It is mounted in the state exposed to the upper part of a tray main body.

As shown in Figure 4, the process of mounting the battery cell 350 having a thickness (t) thinner than the battery cell 250 of Figure 3 to the mounting portion of the tray body, as shown in FIG. After positioning between the mounting protrusions 221 and 231 of the fixed mounting part, the variable mounting part is moved to the right as shown in FIG. 4, and the battery cell 350 is mounted to the left mounting protrusions 3311 and the right mounting part of the variable mounting part. It is stably fixed by the protrusions 3211.

5 shows that the mounting protrusions 421 of the variable mounting unit are positioned at the center of the lower end of the tray body, and the mounting protrusions 431 of the fixed mounting unit are formed at predetermined intervals on both sides of the mounting protrusions 421 of the variable mounting units. There is a difference from the structure of FIG.

Accordingly, in mounting the battery cell 350 having the same thickness t as in FIG. 4, the mounting protrusions 421 of the variable mounting part are moved in the opposite direction to FIG. 4 to fix the mounting protrusions 421.

As described above, in the battery cell mounting apparatus according to the present invention, since the fixed mounting portion and the variable mounting portion are formed in the tray main body, battery cells of various types and sizes can be easily mounted on the tray main body, thereby manufacturing the battery cells. It is possible to greatly reduce manufacturing costs while improving processability.

Those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains will be able to perform various applications and modifications within the scope of the present invention based on the above contents.

1 is a schematic view of a battery cell mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged schematic view of a portion A of FIG. 1; FIG.

3 to 5 are plan schematic views illustrating a state in which a battery cell is mounted between mounting protrusions of the fixed mounting unit and mounting protrusions of the variable mounting unit according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.

Claims (18)

A battery cell mounting apparatus for mounting a plurality of battery cells, It has a rectangular structure with an open top, and includes a tray main body having a mounting portion formed at a lower portion thereof so that a plurality of battery cells can be mounted upright at regular intervals with an electrode terminal exposed upward. The mounting portion, A fixed mounting part having protrusions ('mounting protrusions') forming a plurality of mounting grooves perpendicular to the upper surface and fixed to the tray body; And A plurality of mounting protrusions are formed perpendicular to the upper surface, and slits ('left and right moving slits') are formed in which predetermined fastening members are inserted to variably fix the mounting portion in a horizontal direction with respect to the tray body. The left and right moving slits are variable mounting portions formed in the lower end portion in a direction perpendicular to the battery cell mounting direction; Battery cell mounting apparatus comprising a. The battery cell mounting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a rectangular secondary battery or a pouch secondary battery. According to claim 1, At the lower end of the tray body, slits ('forward and backward movement slits') is inserted into which the fastening member is inserted to variably fix the variable mounting portion in the forward and backward direction with respect to the tray body, The front and rear movement slits are formed in the lower end of the tray body in a direction parallel to the battery cell mounting direction at a position corresponding to the left and right movement slits. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the lengths of the front and rear movement slits are larger than a width of the variable mounting part. The method of claim 3, wherein the coupling of the left and right movement slits and the forward and backward movement slits are simultaneously performed with the left and right movement slits and the forward and backward movement slits in a state in which the left and right movement slits and the forward and backward movement slits are in communication with each other. Battery cell mounting device, characterized in that achieved by penetrating through. The battery cell mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fastening member is a bolt. The battery cell mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the variable mounting units are positioned at both sides of the fixed mounting unit. 8. The battery cell mounting apparatus of claim 7, wherein the fixed mounting portion comprises two or more numbers and is positioned with a predetermined separation distance. The battery cell mounting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixed mounting portion is integrally molded with the tray main body. The battery cell mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the mounting protrusions of the variable mounting unit have a shape in which one end is vertically bent to support one end of the battery cell. According to claim 1, At the center of the lower end of the tray body slits for protruding the battery cell electrode terminals mounted to the outside ('electrode terminal protrusion slits') are formed at predetermined intervals in parallel to the mounting direction of the battery cell Battery cell mounting device characterized in that. The battery cell mounting apparatus of claim 11, wherein the predetermined interval is a mounting interval of battery cells. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the electrode terminal protruding slits have a size corresponding to a bottom surface of the battery cell electrode terminal. The battery cell mounting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixed mounting unit and the variable mounting unit are each manufactured by injection molding. The battery cell mounting apparatus of claim 1, wherein the front and rear surfaces of the tray body are open. A method of manufacturing a battery pack using the battery cell mounting apparatus according to claim 1, (a) inserting a plurality of battery cells between the mounting protrusions of the fixed mounting portion and the variable mounting portion of the battery cell mounting apparatus; (b) mounting a plurality of battery cells in the tray body by adjusting the left and right moving slits of the variable mounting part; (c) activating a secondary battery by simultaneously charging and discharging a plurality of mounted battery cells; And (d) an aging process of stabilizing the plurality of activated battery cells by leaving them for a predetermined time; Battery pack manufacturing method comprising a. Medium-large battery pack manufactured by the battery pack manufacturing method according to claim 16. The medium and large battery pack of claim 17, wherein the battery pack is used as a power source for an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle.

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