KR101881120B1 - Battery Module Having Cartridge with Electrode Terminal Supporting Part - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery module in which one or more battery cells are mounted on a cartridge to form mutually close contact or a laminated structure and in which cell modules protruding outside the cartridge with the electrode terminal connection portion of the battery cells being vertically bent are stacked in two or more And a first plate and a second plate respectively coupled to the outermost cartridges of the cell module laminate, wherein the cartridge further includes a plurality of protrusions extending from the cartridge body toward the electrode terminal connection portion to support the electrode terminal connection portion And an electrode terminal support portion is formed in the battery module.

Description

(Battery Module Having Cartridge with Electrode Terminal Supporting Part)

The present invention relates to a battery module including a cartridge in which an electrode terminal support portion is formed.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] In recent years, rechargeable secondary batteries have been widely used as energy sources for wireless mobile devices. In addition, the secondary battery is an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), and the like, which are proposed as solutions for air pollution of existing gasoline vehicles and diesel vehicles using fossil fuels (Plug-In HEV) and the like.

In a small mobile device, one or a few battery cells are used per device, while a large and medium-sized device such as an automobile uses a battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are electrically connected to each other due to the necessity of a high output large capacity.

Since the battery module is preferably manufactured with a small size and a weight as much as possible, a prismatic battery, a pouch-shaped battery, or the like, which can be charged with a high degree of integration and has a small weight to capacity, is mainly used as a unit cell of a battery module. In particular, a pouch-shaped battery using an aluminum laminate sheet or the like as an exterior member has recently attracted a lot of attention due to its advantages such as small weight, low manufacturing cost, and easy shape deformation.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pouch-type battery cell included in a conventional battery module, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of FIG.

1 and 2, a pouch-shaped battery cell 10 is a plate-shaped battery cell 10 having electrode leads (positive electrode lead 11, negative electrode lead 12) formed at one end, An electrode assembly 30 composed of an anode, a cathode and a separator disposed therebetween is provided inside the case 20 with two electrode leads 30 welded so as to be electrically connected to the anode and cathode taps 31 and 32 thereof, And the sealing portions 14 are sealed by thermal fusion so that the sealing portions 11 and 12 are exposed to the outside.

Such a battery cell is stacked in a state of being fixed to a cartridge or the like, and one battery cell is structured to be electrically connected to a stacked battery cell adjacent to each other. Specifically, the ends of the electrode terminals of adjacent battery cells are folded and overlapped, respectively, and then the overlapped portions are welded to form a structure electrically and mechanically connected.

However, the above structure is disadvantageous in that the connecting portion of the electrode terminal is formed in a structure vulnerable to an external impact, so that the connection portion of the electrode terminal is deformed or broken due to application of an external force, resulting in a short circuit.

The welding process of the electrode terminals is generally performed by using a jig for welding between the electrode terminals. However, defects due to short-circuiting occur during the use of the jig, and the development cost of the jig itself, There is a problem such as a decrease in productivity due to the addition.

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.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to improve the safety by preventing a short circuit due to an external impact to electrode terminal connection parts of battery cells and to improve a member used for welding between electrode terminals, And a battery module having an improved structure.

According to an aspect of the present invention,

Wherein at least one battery cell is mounted on the cartridge to form a mutual close contact or a laminated structure and the electrode terminal connection portion of the battery cells is bent perpendicularly and protruded outside the cartridge, ;

A first plate and a second plate respectively coupled to outermost cartridges of the cell module stack;

And,

The cartridge may have a structure in which an electrode terminal support portion extending from the cartridge body to the electrode terminal connection portion and supporting the electrode terminal connection portion is formed.

That is, the battery module according to the present invention has a structure in which the electrode terminal supporting portion for supporting the electrode terminal connecting portion is extended from the cartridge main body, thereby preventing deformation or breakage of the electrode terminal connecting portion when external impact such as vibration or dropping is applied, And to improve the safety.

The battery cell included in the battery module of the present invention may have a structure in which a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal protrude from one side of an outer peripheral surface or a structure in which a positive electrode terminal protrudes on one side of the outer peripheral surface and a negative electrode terminal protrudes on the opposite side .

The battery cell may be a structure to be mounted on a cartridge, for example, a structure in which it is fastened and fixed directly to the cartridge, or fixed in a state interposed between the cartridge and the cartridge. In one specific example, a structure in which a battery cell is fixed between a cartridge and a cartridge, may include a structure in which two battery cells are mounted between the cartridge and an adjacent cartridge.

The cartridge may have a structure in which a first penetration portion and a second penetration portion through which the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal are respectively inserted are formed such that the positive and negative terminals of the battery cell protrude outward.

Specifically, the first through-hole includes a first through-hole and a second through-hole arranged in the vertical direction so that the electrode terminals of the adjacent battery cells respectively pass through, and the upper portion of the first through-hole is connected to the upper surface of the cartridge And the lower portion of the second through groove is connected to the lower surface of the cartridge.

In this case, the electrode terminal supporting part may include a first electrode terminal supporting part for supporting a connection part of the electrode terminal projected through the first penetrating part, and the first electrode terminal supporting part may include a first through- As shown in FIG.

In addition, the second through-hole may be formed by two slits arranged in the vertical direction so that the electrode terminals of the adjacent battery cells pass through.

The electrode terminal support includes a second electrode terminal support for supporting a connection portion of the electrode terminal protruded through the second penetration portion, and the second electrode terminal support is formed on the upper and lower portions of the two slits, respectively It can be formed as a protruding structure.

The battery cells may have a structure in which the electrode terminals protruded to the outside of the battery cell body are electrically connected while being folded and overlapped. Specifically, an electrode terminal connection portion is formed by bending the end portion of the electrode terminal of the battery cell and the end portion of the electrode terminal of the adjacent battery cell so as to overlap each other in the upper and lower directions, the lower and upper directions, And may be structured to be electrically and mechanically connected by welding.

In this case, the electrode terminals may be connected in series. For this purpose, the battery cells may be arranged such that the adjacent electrode terminals in the upper or lower direction have different polarities.

But may be joined by welding of the electrode terminals, for example, but not limited to, laser welding.

Meanwhile, the welding of the electrode terminals is generally performed using a welding jig. The conventional welding jig has a structure in which a support member is inserted to support the inside of the electrode terminal connection portion, and then an external welding portion of the electrode terminal connection portion is exposed Structure. However, in the process of inserting the support member into the electrode terminal connection portion of the structure in which the electrode terminals are bent and connected as described above, deformation and breakage of the electrode terminal occur, which causes a short circuit and greatly reduces safety have.

Therefore, in the present invention, welding is performed in a state where a welding jig having a welding opening exposing a welding portion of the electrode terminal connection portion is mounted on the electrode terminal connection portion or the electrode terminal support portion, Since the electrode terminal connection portion is supported by the extended electrode terminal support portion and welding is performed, the process of inserting the support member into the electrode terminal connection portion can be omitted.

Accordingly, it is possible to simplify the welding process, to prevent breakage of the electrode terminal, and to simplify the structure of the jig, thereby improving manufacturing processability and safety and reducing manufacturing cost.

The welding opening of the welding jig may have a slit shape having a length longer than a width of the welding opening so as to expose the welding part to the outside so as to guide the welding part. At this time, the welding can be performed by a line welding or a plurality of spot welding.

The length of the welding opening corresponds to the length of the welding portion, and may be 80% to 120% of the length of the electrode terminal connection portion so as to ensure accuracy of welding while exposing the welding portion.

As a specific example of the welding jig, the welding jig includes an inner jig having an insertion portion into which an electrode terminal support portion is inserted, and an inner jig surrounding the electrode terminal support portion, the inner jig being engaged with the inner jig, And an outer jig formed therein.

The inner jig and the outer jig are easily separated and assembled. For example, the inner jig and the outer jig each have one or more fasteners, and the bolts fastened to the fasteners cause the inner jig And the outer jig are coupled to each other.

The 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. The battery cell may be a plate-shaped battery cell having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped structure. The pouch-shaped battery cell may be generally formed of a pouch-shaped battery case, and the battery case may include 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 heat-sealed.

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 the 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 may be a lithium ion battery cell or a lithium polymer battery cell which provides a high output or a high capacity relative to the volume, but is not limited thereto.

The present invention also provides a large-capacity, large-capacity, middle- or large-sized battery pack including the battery module as a unit. The middle- or large-sized battery pack may have a structure in which various numbers of battery modules are electrically connected to each other depending on a required capacity or output.

 The present invention also provides a device comprising the medium to large battery pack, wherein the device is for example an electric vehicle, or a hybrid electric vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or an electric motorcycle, It may be but is not limited to one of the bicycles.

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

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the battery module according to the present invention has a structure in which the electrode terminal support portion is formed, thereby preventing deformation or breakage of the electrode terminal connection portion when external impact such as vibration or drop is applied, It is effective.

In addition, it is possible to simplify the welding process of the electrode terminal, to prevent breakage of the electrode terminal during welding, and to simplify the structure of the welding jig, thereby improving manufacturing processability and safety and reducing manufacturing cost.

1 is a perspective view of a conventional pouch-shaped battery cell;
Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of Figure 1;
3 is a perspective view of a battery module according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of part A in Fig. 1; Fig.
5 is a perspective view of a structure in which a welding jig is mounted on the battery module of Fig. 1;
Fig. 6 is an enlarged view of the welding jig of Fig. 5;

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

3 and 4, a plurality of cell modules having a structure in which the battery cells are mounted on the cartridges 120 are stacked to form a cell module laminate, and the laminate upper surface of the cell module laminate And the first plate 142 and the second plate 144 are coupled to the lower surface and the lower surface, respectively.

The electrode terminals 112 of the battery cells protrude to the outside of the cartridge 120 and the ends of the electrode terminals 112 are vertically bent and overlapped with the vertically bent ends of the adjacent electrode terminals 112, Terminal connection portion 115 is formed.

Two battery cells are mounted between the adjacent cartridges 120. The cartridge 120 includes first through holes 126a and 126b through which the electrode terminals 112 are respectively inserted so that the electrode terminals of the battery cells protrude outward, And second through holes 128a and 128b are formed in the first through holes 126a and 126b and the first through holes 126a and 126b include a first through hole 126a and a second through hole 126b. The upper surface of the first through groove 126a is connected to the upper surface of the cartridge 120 and the lower portion of the second through groove 126b is connected to the lower surface of the cartridge 120. [ In addition, the second through holes 128a and 128b include slits arranged in two vertical directions.

The ends of the electrode terminals 112 projecting outward through the first through-holes 126a and 126b and the second through-holes 128a and 128b are vertically bent in the upper or lower direction, And the electrode terminal connection portion 115 is formed in a state of being overlapped with the end portion. The electrode terminal connection portion 115 is electrically and mechanically connected by welding.

The cartridge 120 is formed in a structure in which electrode terminal supporting portions 125a and 125b for supporting the inside of the electrode terminal connecting portion 115 are protruded. The electrode terminal supporting portions 125a and 125b protrude between the first through hole 126a and the second through hole 126b and protrude from the upper and lower portions of the two slits 128a and 128b .

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a structure in which a welding jig is mounted on the battery module of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the welding jig of FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6 together with FIG. 4, welding of the electrode terminal connection part 115 is performed with the welding jig 150 mounted. When the welding is completed, the electrode terminal connection part 115 is welded to the welding jig 150 ). To this end, the welding jig 150 has a structure that can be mounted and separated by a simple process. The structure of the welding jig 150 is as follows.

The welding jig 150 includes an inner jig 152 in which an inserting portion 153 for inserting the electrode terminal supporting portions 125a and 125b is formed and an inner jig 152 which surrounds the electrode terminal supporting portions 125a and 125b, And an outer jig 156 in which a welding opening 157 is formed.

The inner jig 152 and the outer jig 156 are coupled to each other at both ends of the inner jig 152 and the outer jig 156. The inner jig 152 and the outer jig 156 are coupled to each other by bolts 155.

The welding jig 150 is mounted on the electrode terminal connection part 115 and laser welding is performed to the outer surface of the electrode terminal connection part 115 through the welding opening 157 to electrically connect the electrode terminals 112 And is formed into a structure that forms a mechanical coupling.

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 (21)

1. A battery module comprising a cell module formed by mounting one or more battery cells in one cartridge,
The battery module includes:
The electrode terminals of the battery cells are exposed to the outside of the cartridge body so that the battery cells are electrically connected to each other; Is formed,
An electrode terminal support portion protruding from the cartridge body to support the electrode terminal connection portion; A cell module laminate having a plurality of cell modules laminated in at least two numbers; And
A first plate and a second plate respectively coupled to outermost cartridges of the cell module stack to form a cover; And,
Wherein the electrode terminal supporting portion
A cartridge extension unit which is integrated with the cartridge and extends a predetermined length from the cartridge body and is engaged with an inner jig of the welding jig during welding; And
A bar-shaped electrode terminal support integrally formed at an end of the cartridge extension portion and disposed inside the electrode terminal connection portion; The battery module comprising:
The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell has a structure in which a positive terminal and a negative terminal protrude from one end. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein two battery cells are mounted between the cartridge and a cartridge adjacent thereto. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge is provided with a first penetrating portion and a second penetrating portion for allowing the positive electrode terminal and the negative electrode terminal of the battery cell to respectively protrude to the outside of the cartridge. The battery pack according to claim 4, wherein the first through-hole includes a first through-hole and a second through-hole arranged in a vertical direction so that electrode terminals of adjacent battery cells respectively pass through, And the lower portion of the second through-hole is connected to the lower surface of the cartridge. [6] The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the electrode terminal support portion includes a first electrode terminal support portion for supporting a connection portion of the electrode terminal projected through the first penetration portion, wherein the first electrode terminal support portion includes a first through- And protrudes between the grooves. The battery module according to claim 4, wherein the second through-hole is formed by two slits arranged in a vertical direction so that electrode terminals of adjacent battery cells pass through. [8] The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the electrode terminal support includes a second electrode terminal support for supporting a connection portion of the electrode terminal protruded through the second through-hole, Respectively, of the battery module. The battery cell according to claim 1, wherein the end of the electrode terminal of the battery cell and the end of the electrode terminal of the adjacent battery cell are bent in the upper and lower directions, the lower and upper directions so as to overlap with each other, And the terminal connection portion is electrically and mechanically connected by welding. The battery module according to claim 9, wherein the electrode terminals are connected in series. The battery module according to claim 9, wherein the welding is laser welding. The welding method according to claim 9, wherein the welding is performed in a state where a welding jig having a welding opening for exposing a welding portion of the electrode terminal connecting portion is mounted on the electrode terminal connecting portion or the electrode terminal supporting portion . 13. The battery module according to claim 12, wherein the welding opening of the welding jig is formed in a slit shape having a long length to width. 14. The battery module according to claim 13, wherein the length of the welding opening is 80% to 120% of the length of the electrode terminal connection portion. The welding apparatus according to claim 12,
An inner jig having an insertion portion into which an electrode terminal support portion is inserted; And
An outer jig which is engaged with the inner jig while surrounding the electrode terminal supporting portion and in which the welding opening is formed;
The battery module according to claim 1, 16. The battery module according to claim 15, wherein at least one fastener is formed in each of the inner jig and the outer jig, and the inner jig and the outer jig are mutually coupled by bolts fastened to the fastener. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a pouch-shaped battery cell in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a case of a laminate sheet including a resin layer and a metal layer. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a lithium ion battery cell or a lithium polymer battery cell. 18. A high-power, large-capacity, middle- or large-sized battery pack comprising a battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 18 as a unit. 20. A device comprising a middle- or large-sized battery pack according to claim 19. 21. The device of claim 20, wherein the device is an electric vehicle, or a hybrid electric vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or an electric motorcycle, or an electric bicycle.

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