KR102034495B1 - Battery Comprising Cooling Member - Google Patents

Abstract

A battery comprising a cooling member is disclosed. A battery including a cooling member according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises an electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; An electrode terminal extending from at least one surface of the electrode assembly; A battery case in which an accommodating part for accommodating the electrode assembly is formed, and a sealing part for sealing the outer periphery of the accommodating part is formed; And at least one cooling member inserted into a space between each of the sealing parts adjacent to the sealing part where the electrode terminal is located and the receiving part among the sealing parts. According to embodiments of the present invention, by including a cooling member that is at least partially wrapped in the sealing portion in a position adjacent to the housing portion of the battery, it is possible to stably cool the heat generated in the battery, it is possible to change the volume of the battery Can be minimized.

Description

Battery with Cooling Element {Battery Comprising Cooling Member}

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a battery including a cooling member.

As technology development and demand for mobile devices increase, the demand for secondary batteries as a source of energy is rapidly increasing.

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, a hybrid electric vehicle 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.

Since medium and large battery modules are preferably manufactured in a small size and weight, square batteries and pouch-type batteries, which can be charged with high integration and have a small weight to capacity, are mainly used as battery cells (unit cells) of medium and large battery modules. have.

In particular, a pouch-type battery using an aluminum laminate sheet or the like as an exterior member has attracted much attention in recent years due to advantages such as low weight, low manufacturing cost, and easy form deformation.

Since the battery cells constituting the medium-large battery module are composed of secondary batteries capable of charging and discharging, such a high output large capacity secondary battery generates a large amount of heat during the charging and discharging process.

If the heat of the battery module generated during the charging and discharging process is not effectively removed, thermal accumulation occurs and consequently promotes deterioration of the battery module, and in some cases may cause fire or explosion. Therefore, a high output large capacity battery pack requires a cooling system for cooling the battery cells embedded therein. A battery module mounted in a medium-large battery pack is generally manufactured by stacking a plurality of battery cells with high density, and stacking adjacent battery cells at regular intervals to remove heat generated during charging and discharging.

For example, the battery cells themselves may be sequentially stacked without a separate member at predetermined intervals, or in the case of battery cells having low mechanical rigidity, one or more combinations may be embedded in a cartridge or the like, and a plurality of such cartridges may be stacked. The battery module can be configured.

A coolant flow path is formed between the battery cells or the battery modules so as to effectively remove heat accumulated between the stacked battery cells or the battery modules. However, this structure has a problem in that the total size of the battery module is increased because a plurality of refrigerant passages must be secured corresponding to the plurality of battery cells.

In addition, as more battery cells are stacked, a large number of components are added in relation to the cooling structure to increase the volume of the battery module, and the manufacturing process is complicated, resulting in a significant increase in manufacturing cost.

Accordingly, there is a high demand for a battery module having excellent life characteristics and safety due to high cooling efficiency while being able to be manufactured in a simple and compact structure while providing a high output large capacity power.

Republic of Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0062603 (2014.05.26.)

Embodiments of the present invention are to provide a battery including a cooling member for stably cooling the heat generated in the battery.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention is to provide a structure that can stably cool the heat generated in the battery module of a structure in which two or more batteries are stacked.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode; An electrode terminal extending from at least one surface of the electrode assembly; A battery case in which an accommodating part for accommodating the electrode assembly is formed, and a sealing part for sealing the outer periphery of the accommodating part is formed; And at least one cooling member that is wrapped and inserted into at least a portion of the sealing portions at a position adjacent to the receiving portion.

In addition, the battery case may be an aluminum pouch material.

In addition, the sealing portion may be a structure that is sealed in thermal fusion.

In addition, the sealing parts may be partially in contact with the outer surface of the accommodating part in a state in which the cooling member is inserted while being bent toward the accommodating part.

The sealing parts may include at least one bent part in which a part of the sealing parts are bent to be in close contact with an outer surface of the housing part, and the outer peripheral end of the sealing parts is in the state in which the cooling member is inserted. The redundant space can be formed in a contact or non-contact structure.

In addition, the bending surplus space may have a shape corresponding to one outer surface of the cooling member, and may have one or more shapes selected from a rectangle, a triangle, a circle, and an oval based on a vertical cross section.

The cooling member may have a heat dissipation fin structure in which the sealing parts surround the outer surface of the cooling member based on a vertical cross section and are inserted into the sealing parts in which the electrode terminals are not located.

In addition, the cooling member may include a coupling protrusion for coupling with the cooling module at one or both ends.

In addition, the cooling member may include a coupling bar for coupling with the cooling module at one or both ends.

In addition, the cooling member may be a pipe structure in which a flow path is formed from one end to the other end.

In addition, the cooling member may be a structure in which a flow path is formed by bending a metal plate and combining end portions of the metal plate.

In addition, the flow path may have one or more shapes selected from squares, triangles, circles, and ellipses based on a vertical cross section.

In addition, when the shape of the accommodating part has a planar quadrangular shape, the cooling member may be bent to be positioned adjacent to at least two or more surfaces of the accommodating part.

In addition, the cooling member may have a structure that is bent to be positioned adjacent to three surfaces of the housing.

In addition, the cooling member may include a coolant inlet port and a coolant outlet port for supplying and discharging the coolant to the flow path, and the coolant inlet port and the coolant discharge port may be formed side by side on one side of the battery.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a battery module in which at least two batteries according to any one of claims 1 to 12 are stacked, wherein the cooling members are combined with a cooling module located at one side or both ends of the battery. The battery module can be provided.

According to embodiments of the present invention, by including a cooling member that is at least partially wrapped in the sealing portion in a position adjacent to the housing portion of the battery, it is possible to stably cool the heat generated in the battery, it is possible to change the volume of the battery Can be minimized.

In addition, according to embodiments of the present invention, by including at least a portion of the cooling member is inserted into the sealing portion at the position adjacent to the receiving portion of each battery in the battery module is stacked two or more batteries, necessary for cooling It is possible to reduce the number of parts and increase the thickness of the overall battery module.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure in which a sealing portion is bent in a battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure in which a cooling member is inserted into a sealing part in the battery of FIG. 1. FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure in which a sealing portion is bent in a battery according to another embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure in which a cooling member is inserted into a sealing part in the battery of FIG. 3.
5 is a schematic diagram schematically showing various shapes of a cooling member according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a schematic diagram showing a structure in which a cooling member is inserted into a sealing part in a battery according to another embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a schematic diagram showing a structure in which a cooling member and a cooling module are mounted in a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following detailed description is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the methods, devices, and / or systems described herein. However, this is only an example and the present invention is not limited thereto.

In describing the embodiments of the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, terms to be described below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to the intention or custom of a user or an operator. Therefore, the definition should be made based on the contents throughout the specification. The terminology used in the description is for the purpose of describing embodiments of the invention only and should not be limiting. Unless expressly used otherwise, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural forms of meaning. In this description, expressions such as "comprises" or "equipment" are intended to indicate certain features, numbers, steps, actions, elements, portions or combinations thereof, and one or more than those described. It should not be construed to exclude the presence or possibility of other features, numbers, steps, actions, elements, portions or combinations thereof.

1 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a structure in which a sealing portion is bent in a battery according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure in which a cooling member is inserted into a sealing portion in the battery of FIG. 1. Is schematically illustrated.

Referring to these drawings, the battery 110 according to the present invention is an electrode assembly (not shown) including a positive electrode, a negative electrode and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode 130 of the battery case 120 ) May be mounted on the outer periphery of the accommodating part 130, and sealing parts 141 and 142 may be formed by heat fusion.

In this case, the sealing parts 141 and 142 are formed at both sides adjacent to a portion where the electrode terminals 151 and 152 are positioned in the battery 110, and the sealing parts 141 and 142 are accommodating the battery case 120. It may be configured to have a structure that is in close contact with the outer surface of the housing 130 in a state bent toward the 130.

In detail, the sealing parts 141 and 142 may include at least one bent parts 143 and 144 that are bent at right angles to closely contact the outer surface of the accommodating part 130, and the sealing parts 141 and 142. The redundant spaces 145 and 146 may be formed in a structure in which the cooling members 161 and 162 are inserted into or contacted with the accommodating part 130 while the cooling members 161 and 162 are inserted into the outer circumferential ends thereof.

That is, the cooling members 161 and 162 may be inserted into the bending surplus spaces 145 and 146 corresponding to the space between the sealing parts 141 and 142 and the accommodating part 130, respectively.

The bending surplus spaces 145 and 146 may correspond to one outer surface of the cooling members 161 and 162, and may have one or more shapes selected from a rectangle, a triangle, a circle, and an oval based on a vertical cross section. As a part of a structure that completely encloses or completely encapsulates it, it may be formed in various forms according to a manufacturing process or a specific shape.

Meanwhile, the cooling members 161 and 162 have a structure adjacent to the accommodating part 130 where the electrode terminals 151 and 152 of the battery 110 are located, that is, inserted into the side of the accommodating part 130. The heat dissipation fin structure may be, for example, based on the vertical cross section, the sealing parts 141 and 142 may be formed to have a structure surrounding the outer surfaces of the cooling members 161 and 162 to stabilize heat generated in the battery 110. Can be cooled.

3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a structure in which a sealing portion is bent in a battery according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a structure in which a cooling member is inserted into the sealing portion in the battery of FIG. 3. A cross-sectional view is schematically shown.

Referring to these drawings, according to another embodiment of the present invention, the battery 210 has sealing parts 241 and 242 formed at both sides adjacent to a portion where the electrode terminals 251 and 252 are positioned in the battery 210. The sealing parts 241 and 242 may be configured to be in close contact with the outer surface of the accommodating part 230 while the sealing parts 241 and 242 are bent toward the accommodating part 230 of the battery case 220.

In this case, the cooling members 261 and 262 may be a pipe structure in which a flow path is formed therein from one end to the other end, and the shape of the flow path is one selected from a rectangle, a triangle, a circle, and an oval based on a vertical cross section. The shape of the cooling members 261 and 262 may be formed in the above shape, and the shape of the cooling members 261 and 262 may be the same as the flow path based on the vertical cross section, but is not limited thereto.

The cooling members 261 and 262 may be inserted into a space between the sealing parts 241 and 242 and the receiving part 230, and a part of the sealing parts 241 and 242 to be in close contact with the outer surface of the receiving part 230. It may include at least one bent portion (243, 244) bent into a curved surface, the outer end of the sealing portion (241, 242) the receiving portion 230 with the cooling members (261, 262) is inserted It may be a structure that is bent in contact or non-contact structure.

Accordingly, the sealing parts 241 and 242 are bent according to the shapes of the cooling members 261 and 262. For example, when the outer surface of the cooling members 261 and 262 is oval, the sealing parts ( The 241 and 242 may be bent along the outer surfaces of the cooling members 261 and 262 to be elliptical with respect to the vertical cross section.

The structure as described above may be a structure in which the flow paths of the cooling members 261 and 262 are open, and the refrigerant flows into one side and the refrigerant discharges to the other side. For example, the metal plate may be bent in accordance with a desired shape, and the ends of the metal plate may be joined by a method such as welding to produce a pipe structure in which a flow path is formed.

3 and 4 have a structure in which the cooling members 261 and 262 surround the sealing parts 241 and 242, similarly to the structures of FIGS. 1 and 2, thereby preventing heat generated in the battery 210. Cooling can be performed stably.

5 is a schematic diagram schematically showing various shapes of a cooling member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5A, the cooling member 260 may have a cooling fin structure having a circular shape based on a vertical cross section. In addition, referring to Figure 5 (b), the cooling member 260 may be a cooling fin structure having a rectangular shape with respect to the vertical cross-section, as illustrated in Figure 5 (c), cooling member 260 Coupling protrusions 271 may be included at one end of the coupling line, and as shown in FIG. 5D, coupling protrusions 271 and 272 may be included at both ends of the cooling member 260. .

Next, referring to FIG. 5E, the cooling member 260 may have a cooling fin structure having a quadrangular shape with respect to a vertical cross section, and a size larger than a cross section of the cooling member 260 at one end thereof. May comprise a coupling bar 281. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 5F, coupling bars 281 and 282 having a size larger than a cross section of the cooling member 260 may be included at both ends of the cooling member 260.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure in which a cooling member is inserted into a sealing part in a battery according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

The cooling member 360 may be a structure that is bent to be positioned adjacent to at least two or more surfaces of the accommodating part 330 when the shape of the accommodating part 330 is rectangular in plan view. As shown in FIG. 6, it may have a structure in which the electrode terminals 351 and 352 of the battery 310 are positioned adjacently along three surfaces, including portions of the accommodating part 330.

The structure is a structure in which the cooling member 360 is inserted between the accommodating part 330 and the sealing parts 341 and 342, and the cooling member 360 is located at a portion of the accommodating part 330 in which the electrode terminals 351 and 352 are located. And a cooling member 360 may include a coolant inlet 363 and a coolant outlet 364 for supplying and discharging the coolant to the flow path.

In this case, the coolant inlet 363 and the coolant outlet 364 may be formed side by side on the side of the battery 310 according to the shape of the cooling member 360, the direction in which the electrode terminals 351, 352 protrude It may be formed side by side in the opposite direction.

On the contrary, the cooling member 360 is inserted between the accommodating part 330 and the sealing parts 341 and 342 and contacts the part of the accommodating part 330 opposite to the part where the electrode terminals 351 and 352 are located. When formed, the coolant inlet 363 and the coolant outlet 364 may be formed in the direction in which the electrode terminals 351 and 352 protrude.

Such a structure is formed in a structure in which the cooling member 360 is adjacent to three surfaces of the accommodating part 330, thereby effectively cooling the heat generated by the battery 310.

In the case of the battery 310 disclosed in FIG. 6, the electrode terminals 351 and 352 are depicted to be formed side by side on one side thereof, but the electrode terminals 351 may have various structures depending on the shape and shape of the battery applied thereto. 352 may be formed, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described structure. In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the housing 330 may be applied to both sides of the electrode terminals 351 and 352.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating a structure in which a cooling member and a cooling module are mounted in the battery module according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 7, in the battery module 400, a plurality of batteries 411, 412, and 413 are stacked, and the sealing parts 441, 442 and the accommodating part of the respective batteries 411, 412, and 413 are stacked. The plurality of cooling members 461, 462, and 463 may be inserted between the 430.

In this case, the ends of each of the cooling members 461, 462, 463 may be configured to be coupled to one end of the cooling module 470 located at one end of the batteries 411, 412, 413. The cooling module 470 may be configured, for example, in the form of a cooling plate, and may have a structure in which a fan for cooling is mounted on the other side, and the cooling members 461, 462, and 463 have a flow path formed therein. In the case of the structure, it may be formed as a tank structure for flowing the refrigerant in the flow path, but is not limited to this structure.

Although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications can be made to the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. . Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be defined by the claims below and equivalents thereof.

110, 210, 310, 411, 412, 413: Battery
120, 220: battery case
130, 230, 330, 430: storage
141, 142, 241, 242, 341, 342, 441, 442: sealing part
143, 144, 243, 244: bend
145, 146: bending excess space
151, 152, 251, 252, 351, 352: electrode terminal
161, 162, 261, 262, 360, 461, 462, 463: cooling member
271. 272: engaging projection
281, 282: Combined Bar
400: battery module
470: cooling module

Claims (16)

An electrode assembly including a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator interposed between the positive electrode and the negative electrode;
An electrode terminal extending from at least one surface of the electrode assembly;
A battery case in which an accommodating part accommodating the electrode assembly is formed, and a sealing part sealed at an outer periphery of the accommodating part; And
And at least one cooling member wrapped and inserted into the sealing portions at a position adjacent to the receiving portion.
At least a part of the sealing portion is bent so that the outer peripheral end of the sealing portion is wrapped around the cooling member toward the side where the accommodating portion is located,
The sealing portion,
At least one bent portion in close contact with an outer surface of the accommodating portion, wherein at least one bent portion is bent from a portion of the sealing portions to correspond to an outer surface of the cooling member;
A bending surplus space formed to be in contact or non-contact with the receiving portion, the bending surplus space is formed so that the cooling member is inserted so that the entire circumference of the cooling member is wrapped by the sealing portion inside the bent portion; Battery containing.
The method according to claim 1,
The battery case is a battery of aluminum pouch material.
The method according to claim 1,
And the sealing portions are sealed by heat fusion.
The method according to claim 1,
The sealing parts are in close contact with the outer surface of the housing part in a state in which the cooling member is inserted in a state bent toward the housing part.
delete The method according to claim 1,
The bending surplus space has a shape corresponding to one outer surface of the cooling member and has at least one shape selected from quadrangular, triangular, circular and elliptical based on a vertical cross section.
The method according to claim 1,
The cooling member has a heat dissipation fin structure having a structure in which the sealing portions surround the outer surface of the cooling member based on a vertical cross section and are inserted into the sealing portions where the electrode terminals are not located.
The method according to claim 7,
The cooling member, the battery comprising a coupling protrusion for coupling with the cooling module on one or both ends.
The method according to claim 7,
The cooling member, the battery comprises a coupling bar (bar) for coupling with the cooling module at one or both ends.
The method according to claim 7,
The cooling member is a battery having a pipe structure formed therein from one end to the other end.
The method according to claim 10,
The cooling member has a structure in which a flow path is formed by bending a metal plate and joining ends of the metal plate.
The method according to claim 11,
The flow path has a shape having at least one shape selected from among square, triangle, circle and oval based on a vertical cross section.
The method according to claim 11,
A battery having a structure in which the cooling member is bent so as to be adjacent to at least two or more surfaces of the housing when the shape of the housing is rectangular in plan.
The method according to claim 13,
And said cooling member is a structure that is bent in order to be located adjacent to three surfaces of said storage portion.
The method according to claim 14,
The cooling member includes a coolant inlet port and a coolant outlet port for supplying and discharging the coolant to the flow path, and the coolant inlet port and the coolant discharge port are formed side by side on one side of the battery.
Claims 1 to 4 and at least two or more of the battery module according to any one of claims 6 to 15, wherein the cooling module, the cooling member is coupled to the cooling module located at one side or both ends of the battery , Battery module.

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