KR101834506B1 - Cell Module - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a battery module suitable for simplifying a current or voltage sensing path between a battery cell and a battery management system. A battery module according to the present invention includes a cartridge for accommodating battery cells, a frame disposed on the cartridge and having an electrical connector penetrating by the electrode leads of the battery cells and spaced from the electrode leads, And a bus bar covering the leads, wherein the bus bar is electrically connected to the electrical connector.

Description

Battery Module {Cell Module}

The present invention relates to a battery module suitable for simplifying the current or voltage sensing path to lower manufacturing costs.

Recently, in order to reduce the air pollution caused by the exhaust gas of a vehicle, the vehicle is being manufactured based on a study for securing a driving force by using an internal combustion engine and / or an electric motor. Accordingly, the vehicle evolved in the order of a hybrid car, a plug-in hybrid car, and an electric car. In this case, the hybrid vehicle and the plug-in hybrid vehicle have an internal combustion engine, an electric motor and a battery pack, and the electric vehicle has an electric motor and a battery pack without an internal combustion engine.

In addition, the battery pack has evolved with hybrid cars, plug-in hybrid cars and electric vehicles. The battery pack is configured to be chargeable outside the electric vehicle. The battery pack has a pouch-shaped secondary battery inside the battery module, a cartridge that accommodates the secondary batteries, and a frame that is positioned on the cartridge. The secondary batteries have electrode leads protruding from the cartridge and passing through the frame. The electrode leads overlap each other on the frame and come into contact with each other.

The frame has a bus bar below the overlapping portions of the electrode leads, and the bus bar is electrically connected to a printed circuit board on the frame that is spaced from the electrode leads. The printed circuit board is electrically connected to a battery management system located outside the frame through an electrical element electrically connected to the circuit pattern and the circuit pattern. In this case, the battery management system senses the current or voltage of the battery cell through the printed circuit board, the bus bar and the electrode lead.

Since the battery management system complicates the current or voltage sensing path of the battery cell, it is impossible to find an abnormal part of the battery module electrically during the service life of the battery module. In addition, the battery system does not accurately sense the current or voltage of the battery cells due to the internal resistance of the printed circuit board, the bus bar or the electrode leads, and the contact resistance between the printed circuit board, the bus bars and the electrode leads. Therefore, studies have been conducted to accurately sense the current or voltage of the battery cell by simplifying the current or voltage sensing path between the battery cells and the battery management system.

One example of the above studies has been disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2013-0012469 (published on February 04, 2013). The energy storage module is an electrochemical capacitor and is manufactured as an alternative to a lithium ion battery that is a secondary battery. The energy storage module has capacitor cells, cases and bus bars. The capacitor cells are sequentially stacked in an energy storage module. The cases accommodate two capacitor cells in a set of cases by assigning two sets.

The bus bars connect the positive terminals of the capacitor cells at one side of the case and the negative terminals of the capacitor cells at the other side of the case. The bus bars are staggered at one side and the other of the cases and inserted between the cases. However, as the number of the capacitor cells increases, the bus bars increase the internal resistance and the contact resistance of the battery module together with the electrode terminals, thereby failing to accurately sense the current or voltage of the capacitor cells in a set of cases.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made under the background of the above conventional art, and it is an object of the present invention to simplify a current or voltage sensing path between battery cells and a battery management system to sense current or voltage of a battery cell, And a battery module.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery module including: a cartridge for accommodating battery cells; an electrode support which defines through holes on the cartridge and is positioned between the through holes; and an electrical connector spaced from the through holes And a bus bar which covers the electrode support and is inserted between the cartridge and the battery cells through the through holes, wherein the bus bar is electrically connected to the battery cells and connected to the electrical connector by an electric wire .

Preferably, the electrode leads of the battery cells protrude from the cartridge and can be bent toward the bus bar between the electrode support and the bus bar via the through holes.

More preferably, the electrode leads can be overlapped on the electrode support.

In one aspect, the cartridge comprises two sub-cartridges, each having latching grooves in opposing inner walls of the sub-cartridges, and can contact both ends of the bus bar through the latching grooves.

In another aspect, the electrode support may be positioned at a different level from the electrical connector in the frame.

In another aspect, the electrical connector and the electrical wire may replace the printed circuit board on the frame.

According to the present invention, the bus bar may be formed in the shape of an inverted 'U' character.

Preferably, the bus bar may include latch portions extending from the upper side to the lower side and extending from the elastic supports, respectively, having seats between the elastic supports at the upper side.

In one aspect of the present invention, the seat portion is connected to the elastic supports under the elastic supports, and has protrusions contacting the overlapped portion of the electrode leads of the battery cells on the electrode support and contacting the electric wires.

In another aspect, each of the latches may have a latching hook that is fastened to an end of the latching groove of the inner wall of the cartridge.

According to the present invention, the electrode leads may be made of at least one of copper and aluminum, and the bus bar may be made of copper or aluminum.

The battery module according to the present invention has no printed circuit board on a frame and has battery cells and a bus bar on the lower side and the upper side of the frame and the electrode leads of the battery cells on the frame are positioned below the bus bar, It is possible to increase the electrical connection degree of the element.

The battery module has an electrical connector instead of a printed circuit board on the frame and can electrically connect the electrical connector to a battery management system located outside the frame to simplify the current or voltage sensing path between the battery cells and the battery management system have.

The battery module connects the bus bar and the electrical connector directly to the electrical wire without using a printed circuit board, thereby minimizing the internal resistance of each component of the battery cells and the contact resistance between the components and the battery management system.

The battery module simplifies the current or voltage sensing path between the battery cells and the battery management system and minimizes the internal resistance of each of the components on the current or voltage sensing path and the contact resistance between the components, The current or voltage of the battery cell can be sensed well.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and, together with the description given below, serve to further augment the technical spirit of the invention, And shall not be interpreted.
1 is a perspective view schematically showing a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the bus bar of Fig. 1 in detail.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing in detail the coupling relationship between the bus bar and the battery cells through the frame taken along the cutting line I-I 'in Fig. 1; Fig.
4 and 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing the battery module taken along the cutting line I-I 'in FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings, and the inventor should appropriately interpret the concept of a term appropriately in order to describe its own application in the best way possible. It should be interpreted in accordance with the meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it can be defined. Therefore, the embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are only examples of the present invention, and are not intended to represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, various equivalents And variations are possible.

In the embodiment described below, the battery refers to a lithium secondary battery. Here, the lithium secondary battery is generally referred to as a secondary battery in which lithium ions act as working ions during charging and discharging to cause an electrochemical reaction between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. However, it is apparent that the present invention is not limited to the kind of the battery.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a battery module 40 according to the present invention includes battery cells 4 and 7, a cartridge 9, a frame 18, and a bus bar 30. The battery cells (4, 7) and the cartridge (9) are located under the frame (18). The cartridge 9 is shown schematically in the figure but accommodates the battery cells 4,7. The battery cells 4 and 7 have electrode leads 3 and 6 protruding from the cartridge 9 and passing through the frame 18.

Preferably, the electrode leads 3, 6 are folded toward each other on the frame 18 and are overlapped and brought into contact at the overlapping portions. The electrode leads 3 and 6 are made of at least one of copper and aluminum according to electrical polarity (for example, an anode and / or a cathode). The cartridge 9 is composed of two sub-cartridges 1, 8. Preferably, the sub-cartridges 1, 8 have a structure for sandwiching the battery cells 4, 7. The frame (18) defines through holes (12) on the cartridge (9).

The frame 18 has an electrode support 14 positioned between the through holes 12 and an electrical connector 16 spaced from the through holes 12. [ The frame 18 has a printed circuit board on the seating surface S in the prior art, but does not have a printed circuit board on the seating surface S in the present invention. Preferably, the frame 18 surrounds the electrode leads 3, 6 through the through-holes 12.

Preferably, the electrode support 14 seats the overlapped portion of the electrode leads 3, 6 of the battery cells 4, 7. Preferably, the electrical connector 16 is located at a different level from the electrode support 14 in the frame 18. [ The electrical connector 16 is electrically connected to a battery management system (not shown in the figure) located outside the frame 18 through the electric wire L1.

The electric line L1 and the electrical connector 16 replace the printed circuit board. The bus bar 30 is positioned on the electrode leads 3 and 6 of the battery cells 4 and 7 and contacts the overlapped portion of the electrode leads 3 and 6. More specifically, the bus bar 30 covers the electrode leads 3, 6 and is inserted into the through-holes 12 of the frame 18. The bus bar 30 has a protrusion 29 protruding from one surface and connected to the electrical connector 16 through the protrusion 29 and the electric wire L2.

Preferably, the protrusion 29 is a rivet passing through the bus bar 30, and the electric line L2 is fixed around the rivet by pressing the rivet around the rivet on the bus bar 30. Alternatively, the electric wire L2 may be fixed on the bus bar 30 around the projection 29 and around the projection 29 by soldering.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the bus bar of Fig. 1 in detail.

Referring to FIG. 2, the bus bar 30 is a clip type and has an inverted 'U' shape. More specifically, the bus bar 30 has a seating portion 24 between the elastic supporting portions 22 on the upper side, and a hook portion 24 extending from the upper side to the lower side and each extending from the elastic supporting portions 22 (26). Preferably, the seating portion 24 is flexibly connected to the resilient supports 22 below the resilient supports 22.

More preferably, the seating portion 24 contacts the overlapping portions of the electrode leads 3, 6 of the battery cells 4, 7 on the electrode support 14 of the frame 18 in Fig. 1, And a protrusion 29 contacting the electric wire L2. In one aspect, each of the catches 26 is located in the side of the electrode support 14 in FIG. 1 and is inserted into the through-hole 12 of the frame 18. Each of the catching portions 26 has a catching hook 28 at an end thereof. Meanwhile, the bus bar 30 is made of copper or aluminum.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing in detail the coupling relationship between the bus bar and the battery cells through the frame taken along the cutting line I-I 'in Fig. 1; Fig.

Referring to FIG. 3, the battery cells 4, 7 are located below the frame 18 and are accommodated in the sub-cartridges 1, 8. Preferably, the electrode leads 3, 6 of the battery cells 4, 7 protrude from the sealing members 2, 5 and the sub-cartridges 1, 8. More preferably, the electrode leads 3, 6 extend from the sub-cartridges 1, 8 toward the frame 18 and extend through the through-holes 12 of the frame 18 to the electrode supports 14, And is bent and overlapped on the electrode support 14 toward each other.

In one aspect, the sub-cartridges 1, 8 include latching grooves 1a, 8a having inner side walls W1, W2 facing toward the battery cells 4, 7 and respectively positioned on the inner side walls W1, W2, Respectively. On the other hand, the bus bar 30 is inserted between the subcartridges 1, 8 and the battery cells 4, 7 through the through holes 12, covering the electrode support 14 in the frame 18.

The bus bar 30 preferably includes a resilient support 22 positioned on the frame 18 and a seat 24 and a latching part 24 located on the through- 26). In one aspect, the seating portion 24 is in contact with the overlapping portion of the electrode leads 3.6 on the electrode support 14. The hooking portions 26 have hooking hooks 28 which are fastened to the hooking grooves 1a and 8a of the inner walls W1 and W2 of the subcartridges 1 and 8 at the end portions, respectively.

The engaging hooks 28 of the engaging portions 26 resiliently snap-engage with the engaging grooves 1a, 8a of the sub-cartridges 1, 8 through the elastic supporting portions 22.

4 and 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of manufacturing the battery module taken along the cutting line I-I 'in FIG.

Referring to Fig. 4, the battery cells 4, 7, the cartridge 9 and the frame 18 can be prepared. The battery cells (4, 7) can be received in the cartridge (9). Preferably, the electrode leads 3,6 of the battery cells 4, 7 are exposed from the sealing members 2, 5 and can project substantially straight from the cartridge 9. The cartridge 9 may consist of sub-cartridges 1, 8.

The frame 18 may be disposed on the battery cells 4, 7 and the sub-cartridges 1, 8. At this time, the electrode leads 3 and 6 may be surrounded by the frame 18 through the through holes 12 of the frame 18. Preferably, the electrode leads 3,6 may be located on opposite sides of the electrode support 14 of the frame 18, respectively. Of course, the frame 18 has an electrical connector 16 that is spaced from the electrode support 14 as shown in Fig.

Subsequently, the electrode leads 3, 6 are bent in the rotational directions R1, R2 facing each other on the electrode support 14 of the frame 18. [

Referring to FIG. 5, after the electrode leads 3 and 6 are bent, the electrode leads 3 and 6 overlap on the electrode support 14 and are welded through the overlapping portion. Subsequently, the bus bar 30 can be prepared. The bus bar 30 can be moved along the frame 18 in one direction D. Thereafter, the bus bar 30 can be inserted into the through holes 12 of the frame 18 through the latching portions 26 as shown in FIG.

The engaging hooks 28 of the engaging portions 26 are accommodated in the engaging holes 1a and 8a of the inner walls W1 and W2 of the subcartridges 1 and 8, respectively, 8). At this time, the seating portion 24 of the bus bar 30 can contact the overlapped portion of the electrode leads 3, 6. On the other hand, the electrical connector 16 of the frame 18 can be connected to the battery management system as shown in FIG. 1 by using the electric wire L1. The projection 29 of the bus bar 30 may be connected to the electrical connector 16 using the electric wire L2 as shown in FIG.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details thereof and that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. And various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

1, 8; Sub cartridge, 3, 6; Electrode lead
4, 7; Battery cell, 9; cartridge,
14; Electrode support, 16; Electrical connector
18; Frame, 29; spin
30; Bus bar, 40; Battery module

Claims (11)

A cartridge for accommodating battery cells;
A frame defining an aperture on the cartridge and having an electrode support positioned between the apertures and an electrical connector spaced from the apertures; And
And a bus bar that covers the electrode support and is inserted between the cartridge and the battery cells through the through holes,
Wherein the bus bar is electrically connected to the battery cells and is connected to the electrical connector by an electric wire,
Wherein,
A pair of elastic supports having a flat upper surface of a predetermined area;
A seating part connecting the pair of elastic supporting parts and being lower than the pair of elastic supporting parts and contacting the overlapped part of the electrode leads of the battery cells on the electrode supporting part;
A protrusion protruding from an upper surface of the seating portion and being in contact with the electric wire;
A pair of engagement portions extending from the respective elastic supporting portions toward the lower side; And
And a latching hook formed at a lower end of each latching portion and fastened to the latching groove of the inner wall of the cartridge. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the electrode leads of the battery cells protrude from the cartridge and are bent toward the space between the electrode support and the bus bar via the through holes to contact the bus bar. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the electrode leads are overlapped and welded on the electrode support. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the cartridge comprises two sub-cartridges, each having latching grooves in opposing inner walls of the sub-cartridges and in contact with both ends of the bus bar through the latching grooves. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the electrode support is positioned at a different level from the electrical connector in the frame. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the electrical connector and the electrical wire replace the printed circuit board on the frame. delete delete delete delete 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the electrode leads are made of at least one of copper and aluminum,
Wherein the bus bar is made of copper or aluminum.

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