KR101746127B1 - Stacking Type Battery Module of Series Connection Structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a stacked type battery module having a series connection structure, including a unit cell having electrode terminals formed on one side thereof, cartridges each fixing the unit cells, and a bus electrically coupled to the electrode terminals, Wherein the unit cells are mounted on the respective cartridges so that electrode terminals face each other, electrode terminals are connected in parallel by bus bars for parallel connection mounted on the respective cartridges, And the cartridges are stacked so that the respective unit cell parallel connection structures are arranged in a height direction from the ground, and are connected to a serial connection member for connecting the unit cell parallel connection structures The battery module includes a battery module.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a stacked battery module having a series connection structure,

[0001] The present invention relates to a stacked battery module having a series connection structure, and more particularly to a stacked battery module having unit cells each having electrode terminals formed on one side, cartridges each fixing the unit cells, Wherein the unit cells are mounted on the respective cartridges so that the electrode terminals face each other, and the parallel connection bus bars mounted on the respective cartridges are connected to the electrode terminals Wherein the plurality of cartridges are connected in parallel to form a unit cell parallel connection structure in each of the cartridges, the cartridges are stacked such that the unit cell parallel connection structures are arranged in a height direction from the ground, And connected to the series connection member .

BACKGROUND ART [0002] In recent years, a rechargeable secondary battery has been widely used as an energy source for wireless mobile devices, and has been widely used as an energy source for electric vehicles EV, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (Plug-In HEV), and the like.

In addition, technologies related to a power storage device that stores electricity and supplies it to a power system in a stable manner at a required time are being developed. Power storage devices are devices that store energy when power demand is low, and supply power in the event of an overload or an emergency, thereby providing an effect of improving power quality and energy use efficiency. In particular, residential power storage devices and industrial or commercial medium power storage devices are rapidly gaining market share in conjunction with Smart Grid technology.

Meanwhile, in order for the battery module to provide the output and capacity required by a predetermined device or device, a plurality of battery cells must be electrically connected in series or parallel manner to form a battery module. As the capacity of the battery module increases, It should be easy and stable.

Particularly, when a plurality of battery cells are used to construct a battery module, a large number of members are generally required for mechanical fastening and electrical connection thereof, such as a bus bar or a power connection cable, , If the battery module needs to be expanded, it is not easy to change the structure, and addition of many components is required, which increases the manufacturing cost.

In addition, since the battery module has a structure in which a plurality of battery cells are combined, when battery cells are over-voltage, over-current, or overheated, the safety and operation efficiency of the battery module become significant. Therefore, need. Accordingly, a battery management system (BMS), which is a safety system, is included to detect overvoltage, overcurrent, overheat and the like to control / protect the battery pack. However, the BMS includes various sensors, The structure also increases the manufacturing cost by adding parts and causes the manufacturing process to be complicated.

Therefore, there is a high need for a technique capable of fundamentally solving such problems.

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

It is an object of the present invention to provide a battery module which can minimize the addition of parts of the battery module, improve manufacturing processability, and reduce manufacturing cost.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a battery module which is easy to assemble, can be expanded to a simple process, and is compact overall and excellent in structural stability.

According to an aspect of the present invention,

The unit cells having electrode terminals formed on one side, the cartridges fixing the unit cells, and the bus bars coupled with the electrode terminals to electrically connect the unit cells;

Wherein the unit cells are mounted on the respective cartridges so that electrode terminals face each other, electrode terminals are connected in parallel by bus bars for parallel connection mounted on the respective cartridges, Form a structure;

Cartridges are stacked so that each of the unit cell parallel connection structures is arranged in a height direction from the ground, and is connected to a serial connection member for connecting the unit cell parallel connection structures.

That is, since the battery module of the present invention includes a structure in which a plurality of unit cells are formed in parallel to form a unit cell parallel connection structure, and the unit cells are stacked and connected in series, the battery module is easy to assemble, This has the advantage.

In the conventional battery module, in order to increase the capacity of the battery, the unit modules are connected in series and then connected in series. However, in the conventional structure, when a parallel structure is added, it is necessary to add a protection circuit module (BMS), so that the manufacturing cost increases due to the addition of parts, the manufacturing process and the manufacturing time are increased, The volume or the weight of the battery is increased.

However, since the battery module of the present invention has a structure in which unit cells are formed in parallel to form unit cell parallel connection structures, and then they are stacked and connected in series, the addition of a protection circuit module (BMS) It provides the advantage that it is not necessary.

In addition, the battery module of the present invention can provide a compact structure as a whole and exhibit excellent structural stability by unit-mounting the unit cells on the cartridge in a specific manner.

In one specific example, the unit cell may be a plate-shaped battery cell structure, or may be a structure of a battery cell assembly in which two or more plate-shaped battery cells are mounted on a cell cover while electrode terminals are exposed.

The plate-shaped battery cell may be, for example, a pouch-shaped battery cell having a structure in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a battery case of a laminate sheet including a resin layer and a metal layer.

Specifically, the battery cell is a pouch-shaped battery cell in which an electrode assembly having a positive electrode / separator / negative electrode structure is sealed inside a battery case together with an electrolytic solution, and is formed as a plate-like battery cell having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped structure. Such a pouch-shaped battery cell is generally composed of a battery case of a pouch type, and the battery case is composed of an outer coating layer made of a polymer resin having excellent durability; A barrier layer made of a metal material exhibiting barrier properties against moisture, air, and the like; And an inner sealant layer composed of a polymer resin that can be thermally fused, are laminated in this order.

The case of the pouch type battery cell may have a variety of structures. For example, the case may be a two-unit member, which houses the electrode assembly in a housing portion formed on the upper and / or lower inner surface, And a structure for sealing by heat fusion. A pouch-shaped battery cell having such a structure is disclosed in PCT International Application No. PCT / KR2004 / 003312 of the present applicant, which application is incorporated herein by reference. However, it is needless to say that the battery case may be a structure in which the electrode assembly is housed in the housing portion formed as one member of the upper and / or lower inner surface and then the upper and lower contact portions of the outer circumferential surface of the case are thermally fused and sealed.

The battery cell is not particularly limited as long as it is capable of providing a high voltage and a high current when the battery module or the battery pack is constructed. For example, the battery cell may be a lithium secondary battery having a large energy storage amount per volume.

In the battery cell assembly, which is another example of the unit cells, the cell cover may be composed of a pair of outer members that are coupled to each other so as to surround the outer surfaces of the battery cells except the electrode terminal portion. For example, two battery cells may be mounted on the cell cover, and the two battery cells may be stacked so that the electrode terminals of the same polarity are connected to each other while being in contact with each other.

In addition, the unit cell parallel connection structures may be fixed in a stacked state. For example, protrusions having coupling grooves are formed on both sides of the cartridge included in the unit cell parallel connection structure, So that the cartridges can be coupled with each other. That is, after the cartridges are stacked, the fastening members may be inserted into the fastening grooves of the cartridges to allow them to pass therethrough.

In this structure, in order to provide a stable coupling structure between the cartridges, the protrusions on both sides of the cartridge can be arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the cartridge.

The parallel connection bus bars to which the electrode terminals of the unit cells are coupled may be coupled to the cartridge. For example, the bus bar may have a structure in which cartridges are coupled to both ends of the bus bar.

The electrode terminals of the unit cells may be coupled to the parallel bus bar in various ways, for example, by welding, soldering, mechanical fastening, or the like. Among them, it is preferable to be bonded by laser welding or ultrasonic welding.

In addition, the parallel connection bus bar may have a structure in which one end of the surface to which the electrode terminal is coupled is bent upward or downward. The series connection member may be coupled to one end of the bent portion and the one end of the bent portion may be located outside the stacked unit cell parallel connection structures. The series connection member connects the bus bars of mutually adjacent unit cell parallel connection structures to form a series structure.

In one specific example, coupling ends are formed at one end of the parallel connection bus bar and one end of the serial connection member, and the coupling ends are electrically and mechanically connected by bolts, bolt-nuts or press- As shown in FIG.

In the unit cell parallel connection structure, the unit cells may be mounted on the cartridge with the unit cells arranged symmetrically with respect to the parallel bus bars. That is, the structure of the unit cell in which the electrode terminal is connected to the bus bar for parallel connection is arranged symmetrically with respect to the bus bar. At this time, the cartridge for fixing the unit cells may be arranged to be symmetrical with respect to the bus bar corresponding to the unit cell.

In one specific example, the parallel connection bus bars include a first bus bar and a second bus bar, the first bus bar is connected to the positive terminal of the unit cell, and the second bus bar is connected to the negative terminal Terminal. In this case, the unit cell parallel connection structures may be stacked so that the first bus bar and the second bus bar are alternately stacked. The structure in which the first bus bar and the second bus bar are alternately arranged may be formed in various processes. For example, the process of stacking the lower cartridge in a state in which the lower cartridge is rotated 180 degrees in a plane with respect to the upper cartridge, The first bus bar and the second bus bar may be alternately arranged.

Meanwhile, the battery module may include an external input / output terminal electrically connected to the outside, and the external input / output terminal may be electrically connected to the bus bar. The external input / output terminal may be formed on one side of the outer surface of the stacked unit cell parallel connection structures, and may be electrically connected to the electrical connection member connecting the bus bar and the external input / output terminal.

The present invention also provides a battery pack including the battery module as a unit module.

The battery pack may be manufactured by assembling the battery module as a unit module according to a desired output and capacity. In consideration of mounting efficiency, structural stability, etc., the battery pack may include a household power supply unit, Power supplies such as emergency power supplies, computer room power supplies, portable power supplies, medical equipment power supplies, fire extinguishing equipment power supplies, alarm equipment power supplies, evacuation facility power supplies, electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles But the scope of application is not limited to these.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a device including the battery pack as a power source, and the device is specifically applicable to a household power supply device, a public utility power supply device, a large shop power supply device, an emergency power supply device, A medical device power supply, a fire extinguishing equipment power supply, an alarm facility power supply, an evacuation facility power supply, an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

The structure and manufacturing method of such a device are well known in the art, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

As described above, the battery module according to the present invention includes a structure in which a plurality of battery cells are arranged in parallel to form a unit cell parallel connection structure, and the unit cells are stacked and connected in series. It is possible to expand the serial structure in the process.

Further, since the battery module according to the present invention does not require the addition of a protection circuit module (BMS) when expanding the battery module, it has the effect of reducing the manufacturing cost and reducing the volume or weight.

1 is a perspective view of a battery cell constituting a unit cell in the battery module of the present invention;
2 is a perspective view of a unit cell having a structure in which the battery cells of FIG. 1 are mounted on a cell cover;
3 is a perspective view of a battery module according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 is a plan view of Figure 3;
5 is a perspective view showing a structure in which a unit cell is mounted on a cartridge;
Figure 6 is a side view of Figure 5;
FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of the area A in FIG. 5; FIG.
8 is an enlarged view of a portion B in Fig. 3;
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a structure in which an external input / output terminal is formed in Fig. 3;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery cell constituting a unit cell in the battery module of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a unit cell having a structure in which the battery cells of FIG. 1 are mounted on a cell cover.

1 and 2, the battery cell 10 is a plate-shaped battery cell 10 having electrode terminals (a positive electrode terminal 11 and a negative electrode terminal 12) formed at one end. Specifically, the plate-shaped battery cell 10 includes an electrode assembly (not shown) in a pouch case 13 of a laminate sheet including a metal layer (not shown) and a resin layer (not shown) , And a sealing part 14 is formed by thermal fusion, and this is commonly referred to as a 'pouch type battery cell'.

The unit cell 110 has a structure in which two plate-shaped battery cells are mounted on the cell cover 116 while the electrode terminals 112 and 114 are exposed on one side. The cell cover 116 of the unit cell 110 is composed of a pair of exterior members that are mutually coupled to surround the outer surface of the battery cell except for the electrode terminals 112 and 114, And the electrode terminals 112 and 114 of the battery cells are connected in parallel and exposed to the outside of the cell cover with the same polarity being in contact with each other.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG.

3 and 4, the battery module 100 includes unit cells 110 and 110 'having electrode terminals 112, 114, 112' and 114 'formed on one side thereof, unit cells 110 and 110' And 110 ', respectively, coupled with the electrode terminals 112, 114, 112', and 114 'to electrically connect the unit cells 110 and 110' Bars 132 and 134, respectively.

The unit cells 110 and 110 'are mounted on the cartridges 120 and 120' such that the electrode terminals 112, 114, 112 'and 114' The electrode terminals 112, 114, 112 ', and 114' are connected in parallel by the bus bars 132 and 134 that are connected to each other so that the unit cells are connected in parallel in the cartridges 120 and 120 ' .

The unit cell parallel connection structure is formed in a structure in which the cartridges 120 and 120 'are stacked so as to be arranged in the height direction from the ground. In order to electrically connect the unit cell parallel connection structures to each other, And are connected to parallel bus bars 132 and 134 included in the respective unit cell parallel connection structures.

The cartridges 120 and 120 'are formed with protrusions 122 having fastening grooves 124 on both sides of the cartridges 120 and 120' The cartridge 120 and the cartridge 120 'are stacked by inserting the fastening member 150 into the fastening recesses 124. [ The protrusions 122 of the cartridges 120 and 120 'are formed in a symmetrically arranged structure with respect to the cartridge center so that an alternating arrangement is possible while providing a stable coupling structure between the cartridges 120 and 120' have.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a structure in which a unit cell is coupled to a cartridge, and FIG. 6 is a side view of a unit cell parallel connection structure in which a unit cell is coupled to the cartridge.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 together with FIG. 1, the bus bar for parallel connection includes a first bus bar 132 and a second bus bar 134, and the first bus bar 132 includes unit cells 110 ', and the second bus bar 134 is connected to the negative terminals 114, 114' of the unit cells 110, 110 ' have.

The unit cell parallel connection structures are stacked and unit cell parallel connection structures are formed such that the first bus bar 132 and the second bus bar 134 are arranged alternately up and down in order to facilitate electrical connection to the serial connection member 140 Are stacked. The structure in which the first bus bar 132 and the second bus bar 134 are alternately arranged may be formed in various processes. In a state where the unit cells 110 and 110 'are mounted on the cartridges 120 The first bus bar 132 and the second bus bar 134 may be stacked so that the first bus bar 132 and the second bus bar 134 are alternately arranged using a process of stacking the lower cartridge in a state of being rotated 180 degrees in a plane with respect to the upper cartridge . The structure in which the bus bars are stacked will be described again with reference to FIG.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of portion A in Fig.

Referring to FIG. 7 together with FIG. 5, the unit cells 110 and 110 'are mounted on the cartridges 120 and 120' in a symmetrical arrangement with respect to the parallel bus bars 132 and 134 . The cartridges 120 and 120 'that fix the unit cells 110 and 110' are also symmetrical with respect to the parallel bus bars 132 and 134 in correspondence with the unit cells 110 and 110 ' Respectively.

The electrode terminals 112, 112 ', 114 and 114' of the unit cells 110 and 110 'are welded and electrically connected to the parallel connection bus bars 132 and 134.

The parallel bus bars 132 and 134 to which the electrode terminals 112, 112 ', 114 and 114' of the unit cells 110 and 110 'are coupled are connected to the cartridge 120 and 120' Specifically, cartridges 120 and 120 'are coupled to both ends of parallel bus bars 132 and 134, respectively.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the region B in Fig.

Referring to FIG. 8 together with FIG. 1, the parallel connection bus bar 134 is bent downward at one side end 135 of the surface to which the electrode terminals are coupled. The series connection member 140 is coupled to one bent end 135 of the parallel connection bus bar 134 and is formed in a structure in which one end 135 bent at the outer side of the stacked unit cell parallel connection structures is located . The series connection member 140 connects the parallel connection bus bars 134 of mutually adjacent unit cell parallel connection structures to form a serial configuration.

At one end 135 of the parallel connection bus bar 134 and one end of the serial connection member 140 are formed engagement grooves 136. The engagement grooves 136 are formed by bolts, bolt-nuts or press- Electrically and mechanically.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a structure in which an external input / output terminal is formed in Fig.

Referring to FIG. 9 together with FIG. 1, an external input / output terminal 160 is formed on one side of the outer surface of the unit cell parallel connection structure of the battery module 100. The external input / output terminal 160 is electrically connected to the series connection member 140. This connection is achieved by the connection member 162 connecting between the external input / output terminal 160 and the series connection member 140. The connection member 142 is formed of a plate-shaped conductive member, and is located along the outer surface of the laminated unit cell parallel connection structure. Both ends of the connection member 142 are connected to the external input / output terminal 160 and the series connection member 140, respectively have.

The BMS 170 is mounted on the external input / output terminal 160 to detect overvoltage, overcurrent, or overheating, thereby controlling / protecting the battery module 100.

It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (20)

The unit cells having electrode terminals formed on one side, the cartridges fixing the unit cells, and the bus bars coupled with the electrode terminals to electrically connect the unit cells;
Wherein the unit cells are mounted on the respective cartridges so that electrode terminals face each other, electrode terminals are connected in parallel by bus bars for parallel connection mounted on the respective cartridges, Form a structure;
Cartridges are stacked such that each of the unit cell parallel connection structures is arranged in a height direction from the ground, and is connected to a serial connection member for connecting the unit cell parallel connection structures;
The unit cell may have a single plate-shaped battery cell structure, or two or more plate-shaped battery cells may be mounted on the cell cover with the electrode terminals exposed.
Wherein the unit cells are mounted on the cartridge with the unit cells arranged symmetrically with respect to the bus bars for parallel connection in the unit cell parallel connection structure. delete The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the plate-shaped battery cell has a structure in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a case of a laminate sheet including a metal layer and a resin layer, and then an outer circumferential surface is sealed. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the plate-shaped battery cell is a lithium secondary battery. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the cell cover comprises a pair of sheath members coupled to each other to surround an outer surface of the battery cells except an electrode terminal portion. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein two battery cells are mounted on the cell cover. [7] The battery module of claim 6, wherein the two battery cells in the cell cover are laminated so that electrode terminals of the same polarity are in contact with each other and connected in parallel. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein protrusions are formed on both side surfaces of the cartridge with a fastening groove, and the cartridges are coupled to each other by a fastening member passing through the fastening groove. The battery module according to claim 8, wherein protrusions on both sides of the cartridge are symmetrically arranged with respect to a center of the cartridge. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the parallel connection bus bars are coupled to the cartridge. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the electrode terminals of the unit cells are coupled to the bus bars for parallel connection by laser welding or ultrasonic welding. The plasma display panel of claim 1, wherein the parallel connection bus bar has a structure in which one end of a surface to which the electrode terminal is coupled is upwardly or downwardly bent, and the bent end portion and the series connection member are coupled to each other Battery module. 13. The electrical connector according to claim 12, wherein coupling ends are formed at one end of the parallel connection bus bar and one end of the serial connection member, and the coupling ends are electrically and mechanically connected to each other by a bolt, a bolt- And the battery module is connected to the battery module. delete The plasma display panel of claim 1, wherein the parallel connection bus bars comprise a first bus bar connected to the positive terminal of the unit cell and a second bus bar connected to the negative terminal of the unit cell, Wherein the first bus bar and the second bus bar are stacked so as to be alternately arranged in a cartridge unit. The battery module according to claim 15, wherein the lower cartridge is stacked in a state of being rotated 180 degrees in a plane with respect to the upper cartridge so that the first bus bar and the second bus bar are alternately arranged. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein an external input / output terminal electrically connected to the series connection member is formed on one side of the outer surface of the stacked unit cell parallel connection structures. A battery pack comprising a battery module according to any one of claims 1, 3 to 13, 15 to 17 as a unit module. A device comprising a battery pack according to claim 18. 20. The system of claim 19, wherein the device is a power supply for household use, a utility power supply, a power supply for a large store, an emergency power supply, a computer room power supply, a portable power supply, , An evacuation facility power supply, an electric car, a hybrid electric car, or a plug-in hybrid electric car.

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