KR102045461B1 - Battery module and electronic vehicle using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery module for an electric vehicle with improved cooling efficiency. The present invention includes a cartridge having a bottom and sidewalls, a plurality of battery cells, at least one battery separator disposed between the plurality of battery cells, a cell assembly accommodated inside the cartridge, and a lower side of the cartridge. A heat dissipation plate disposed therein, a case surrounding the cartridge and the heat dissipation plate to form an appearance, and a heat dissipation coating layer coated on surfaces of the cartridge and the heat dissipation plate; Each of the cartridge and the heat dissipation plate is disposed to be spaced apart from the case, and the heat dissipation coating layer is provided on the inner and outer surfaces of the cartridge and on both sides of the heat dissipation plate. According to the present invention, the heat dissipation coating layer that increases the heat dissipation performance of the battery module does not affect the volume of the battery because its thickness is very thin. Through this, the present invention can improve the cooling efficiency of the battery without increasing the volume of the battery.

Description

BATTERY MODULE AND ELECTRONIC VEHICLE USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a battery module for an electric vehicle with improved cooling efficiency and an electric vehicle using the same.

In general, a vehicle is a machine that drives with a prime mover, carries people or cargo, or performs various tasks. The automobile can be classified according to the type of prime mover. The motor vehicle includes a gasoline car driven by a gasoline engine, a diesel car driven by a diesel engine, an LPG car fueled by liquefied petroleum gas, a gas turbine car driven by a gas turbine, and a motor driven motor. It can be classified as an electric vehicle (EV) using electricity charged in a battery. In the case of automobiles using fossil fuels such as gasoline, diesel, and LPG, electric vehicles driven by electricity are emerging as alternatives, causing environmental pollution and exhaustion of petroleum resources due to exhaust gas.

Electric vehicles are attracting attention as eco-friendly vehicles because they do not emit carbon dioxide as compared to engines powered by fossil fuels such as gasoline or diesel by using a driving motor that receives power from a battery. In recent years, soaring oil prices and tightening emission regulations have accelerated the development of electric vehicles, and the market is growing rapidly.

On the other hand, heat is generated when the battery is charged and discharged, and research on a cooling system capable of effectively dissipating the heat is being conducted. The battery cooling method is largely divided into an air cooling method and a refrigerant cooling method.

In the case of an air cooling method, external air flows between battery cells to cool the battery cells. Conventionally, devices for lowering the temperature of the air flowing into the battery module have been used to increase the air cooling efficiency. At this time, since the difference between the incoming air and the outside temperature is not large, the heat dissipation effect due to the devices is not large, and the devices have a disadvantage of increasing the volume of the battery.

On the other hand, in the case of the refrigerant cooling system, a refrigerant tube through which a refrigerant flows is inserted into the battery module and cooled. In general, the refrigerant pipe is made of a metal material having high thermal conductivity. For this reason, an insulation layer should be arranged for insulation between the battery cell and the refrigerant pipe. Since the insulating layer has low thermal conductivity, it becomes a factor of reducing the cooling efficiency. In the related art, a thermally conductive coating is partially applied to the insulating layer to prevent the above-mentioned reduction in cooling efficiency. However, the coating has a disadvantage in that the manufacturing process of the battery module is complicated, but the effect of increasing the cooling efficiency due to the coating is not large.

An object of the present invention is to provide a battery module capable of maximizing cooling efficiency without adding additional parts and cooling the battery module in a refrigerant cooling method without adding additional components.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery module that can maximize the cooling efficiency of the refrigerant in a simple manufacturing method in cooling the battery module by the refrigerant cooling method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric vehicle with improved refrigerant cooling efficiency.

In order to improve the cooling efficiency, the present invention utilizes an air gap and a heat dissipation coating layer formed between the battery modules. Specifically, in order to improve the cooling efficiency of the refrigerant cooling method, the present invention uses an air gap and a heat dissipation coating layer formed between the battery modules.

According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, a cell assembly including a cartridge having a bottom and sidewalls, a plurality of battery cells, and at least one battery separator disposed between the plurality of battery cells, and housed inside the cartridge And a heat dissipation plate disposed under the cartridge, a case surrounding the cartridge and the heat dissipation plate to form an exterior, and a heat dissipation coating layer coated on a surface of the cartridge and the heat dissipation plate. Between the cartridge and the case, the heat dissipation plate and the The cartridge and the heat sink are each spaced apart from the case so that an air gap is formed between the cases, and the heat dissipation coating layer is coated on the inner and outer surfaces of the cartridge and both surfaces of the heat sink, respectively. Provide a module.

By separating the cartridge and the heat sink and the case by a predetermined distance, an air gap is formed, and the air gap is formed on the surface of the heat dissipation coating layer, inducing rapid air cooling.

On the other hand, the heat dissipation coating layer is coated on the surface of the cartridge and the heat sink disposed between the battery cell and the refrigerant pipe. The heat dissipation coating layer quickly transfers heat generated from the battery cell to the refrigerant pipe.

In one embodiment, the present invention may further include a thermal pad disposed between the cartridge and the heat sink, which prevents air from flowing between the cartridge and the heat sink, thereby preventing heat resistance from increasing. do.

In one embodiment, the present invention may further include a fixing member disposed between at least one of the cartridge and the heat sink and the case so that an air gap is formed.

The heat dissipation coating layer included in the present invention quickly releases heat generated in the battery cell to the outside. The heat released by the heat dissipation coating layer is rapidly cooled by the air gap. Through this, the heat dissipation coating layer and the air gap improve the air cooling efficiency of the battery module. Here, since the heat dissipation coating layer is formed to a very thin thickness, it does not increase the volume of the components constituting the battery modules.

On the other hand, the heat dissipation coating layer according to the present invention quickly transfers the heat generated from the battery cell to the refrigerant pipe. Here, since the heat dissipation coating layer may be formed by adding a coating process in individual component manufacturing steps before assembling the battery module, even if the coating layer is additionally configured, the manufacturing process is not complicated. Through this, the present invention can simplify the manufacturing process of the battery module, it is possible to improve the refrigerant cooling efficiency.

Overall, the heat dissipation coating layer included in the battery module according to the present invention improves the heat transfer rate and the contact area to the air and the refrigerant, thereby improving the cooling efficiency by the refrigerant cooling method. Since the cooling efficiency can be increased without increasing the volume of the battery, it is possible to lighten the electric vehicle or reduce the size of the electric vehicle.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional battery module.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. 1.
3 is a perspective view showing a battery module according to the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of FIG. 3.
5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a parallel refrigerant cooling method.
6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a tandem refrigerant cooling method.
7 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the same or similar components are denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. In addition, in describing the embodiments disclosed herein, when it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed herein, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. In addition, the accompanying drawings are intended to facilitate understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein, but are not limited to the technical spirit disclosed herein by the accompanying drawings, all changes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should be understood to include equivalents and substitutes.

Terms including ordinal numbers such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

In this application, the terms "comprises" or "having" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

Prior to describing the battery module according to the present invention, a conventional battery module will be described.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional battery module, Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A 'of FIG.

Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional battery module 100 includes a cell assembly and a cell assembly including a plurality of battery cells 110 arranged side by side in a predetermined direction and a battery separator 120 disposed between the plurality of battery cells. It consists of a housing 130 surrounding the.

The battery module 100 according to FIG. 1 may be cooled by an air cooling system. In detail, external air may flow between the battery cells 110 to cool the battery cells 110. Devices for lowering the temperature of the air flowing into the battery module 100 may be used to increase the air cooling efficiency. Since the difference between the incoming air and the external temperature is not large, the heat dissipation effect due to the devices is not great. Devices have the disadvantage of making the battery bulky.

Meanwhile, the conventional battery module 100 may be cooled by a refrigerant cooling method. In detail, the heat dissipation plate 150 and the refrigerant pipe 160 for cooling the battery cells 110 may be disposed in the battery module 100. Referring to FIG. 2, an insulating layer 140 may be disposed under the cell assembly, and a heat sink 150 may be disposed on a lower surface of the insulating layer. In addition, a coolant pipe 160 may be disposed on a bottom surface of the heat sink 150. The battery cells 110 are cooled by the refrigerant flowing in the refrigerant pipe 160.

Here, the heat sink 150 and the refrigerant pipe 160 may be made of a metal material having high thermal conductivity for fast heat transfer. For example, the material forming the heat sink 150 and the refrigerant pipe 160 may be aluminum. Since the metal material also has high electrical conductivity, the insulating layer 140 should be disposed between the battery cell 110 and the heat sink 150.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, an insulating layer 140 may be disposed between the heat sink and the cell assembly, or the housing 130 may be made of an insulating material. Since the housing and the insulating layer made of an insulating material have low thermal conductivity, heat generated from the battery cell may not be quickly transferred to the heat sink.

In order to solve this problem, a layer may be formed at the contact portion between the battery cell and the heat sink to selectively perform insulation and heat dissipation functions simultaneously, but since the layer contacts only a part of the battery cell, the temperature of the battery cell is effectively reduced. Not only this, but also the layer has a disadvantage that the manufacturing process of the battery module is complicated.

The battery module according to the present invention solves the above problems in cooling the battery cells in a refrigerant cooling manner. Hereinafter, a battery module according to the present invention will be described in detail.

The battery module 200 according to the present invention includes the cell assemblies 210 and 220, the cartridge 230, the thermal pad 240, the heat sink 250, the refrigerant pipe 260, the case 280, and the heat dissipation coating layer 270. It is made, including. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the battery module according to the present invention may include more or less components than those described above.

Hereinafter, the above components will be described.

First, the cell assembly includes a plurality of battery cells 210 arranged side by side in one direction, and at least one battery separator 220 disposed between the battery cells.

The cartridge 230 has a bottom 232 and sidewalls 231 protruding from the bottom 232, and a cell assembly is received inside the cartridge 230. In the present specification, the surface constituting the inside of the cartridge 230 is called an inner surface, and the surface opposite to the inner surface is called an outer surface.

The cartridge 230 may be made of an insulating plastic material, and protects the battery cells and performs an insulating function. The cartridge 230 has the widest contact surface with the battery cell among the components constituting the battery module 200. Therefore, when the cartridge 230 performs a heat radiation function, it is possible to effectively cool the battery module.

To this end, the heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be coated on the surface of the cartridge 230. Here, the heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be formed to 20 to 100㎛. In this case, when the thickness of the heat dissipation coating layer 270 is less than 20 μm, the heat dissipation effect due to the coating layer is insufficient, and when the thickness of the heat dissipation coating layer 270 is greater than 100 μm, the thermal conductivity decreases due to the resin included in the coating layer.

Meanwhile, the heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be formed on the inner surface and the outer surface of the cartridge 230, respectively. Specifically, the heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be coated on both surfaces 232a and 232b of the bottom and both surfaces 231a and 231b of the sidewalls, respectively. In addition, the heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be coated on the entire surface of the cartridge 230. Through this, heat generated in the battery cell 210 may be quickly discharged to the outside along the surface of the cartridge 270.

Here, the heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be coated before assembling the battery module. Accordingly, the heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be coated on the entire surface of the cartridge 230. As the coating method, spray coating, screen printing, etc. may be used, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and any coating method capable of uniformly coating the surface of an object may be performed.

On the other hand, the material constituting the heat dissipation coating layer 270 is a mixture of a resin and a thermally conductive filler. Here, the thermally conductive filler serves to quickly release the heat emitted from the battery cell 110 to the outside.

On the other hand, it is preferable that resin is high in heat resistance. When the heat dissipation coating layer 270 is made of a heat resistant resin, it is possible to remove the bubbles formed in the coating layer by heating to a high temperature in the coating layer forming step. For example, it is preferable that the heat resistance of resin is 150-200 degreeC.

Meanwhile, a coolant pipe 260 may be disposed outside the cartridge. In detail, a coolant pipe 260 may be disposed at an outer lower end of the cartridge 230, and heat generated from the battery cell 210 may be transferred to the coolant flowing through the coolant pipe 260 through the coolant pipe 260. The refrigerant pipe 260 is made of a metal material having high thermal conductivity for fast heat transfer. For example, the refrigerant pipe 260 may be made of aluminum.

Meanwhile, a heat sink 250 may be disposed between the cartridge 230 and the coolant pipe 260. The heat sink 250 serves to transfer the heat transferred from the cartridge 230 to the refrigerant pipe 260. The heat sink 250 is made of a metal material having high thermal conductivity. For example, the heat sink 250 may be made of aluminum.

The heat dissipation coating layer 270 described above may be formed on a surface of the heat dissipation plate 250. The heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be formed on the top and bottom surfaces of the heat sink. The heat dissipation coating layer 270 increases the heat transfer rate from the thermal pad 240 to the heat sink 250 and the heat transfer rate from the metal plate 250 to the refrigerant pipe 260.

Since the coating method, thickness, and material of the heat dissipation coating layer 270 formed on the surface of the heat dissipation plate 250 are the same as those of the heat dissipation coating layer 270 coated on the cartridge 230, a description thereof will be omitted. . Meanwhile, the heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be coated not only on the heat sink 250 but also on the surface of the refrigerant pipe 260, thereby increasing the heat transfer rate.

On the other hand, when cooling the outer surface of the cartridge 230, heat generated in the battery cell can be quickly discharged to the outside. To this end, the thermal pad 240 may be disposed under the cartridge 230.

The thermal pad 240 is a component disposed between the heat sink 250 and the cartridge 230, and serves to reduce thermal resistance due to air introduced between the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250. To this end, the thermal pad 240 may be made of a material having high thermal conductivity. For example, the thermal pad 240 may be made of acrylic material.

Meanwhile, the surface of the thermal pad 240 may be made of an adhesive material. Through this, the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250 may be bonded.

Meanwhile, the case 280 is disposed at the outermost part of the battery module 200. The case 280 surrounds the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250. In this case, each of the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250 and the case 280 are spaced apart from each other so that an air gap is formed between the cartridge 230 and the case 280, and between the heat sink 250 and the case 280. The air gap cools the battery cells 210, thereby improving cooling efficiency.

Meanwhile, the separation distance between each of the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250 and the case 280 may be 8 to 12 mm. When the separation distance is less than 8mm, the air-cooling effect may be reduced, and when the separation distance is greater than 12mm, the volume of the battery module may be greatly increased. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

Meanwhile, the battery module 200 may further include a fixing member for fixing the cartridge 230 and the heat dissipation plate 250 apart from the case 280.

For example, the fixing members may be disposed on four sides of the cartridge 230, respectively, and are fixed through mechanical bolting with the case 280. In addition, the fixing member may be disposed under the heat sink, to separate the heat sink and the case by a predetermined distance.

For another example, the fixing member may be formed to extend from the heat sink (250). In detail, the heat sink 250 may include a protrusion extending from the end of the heat sink 250. The protrusion may include a horizontal protrusion extending horizontally with the bottom surface of the heat sink 250 and a vertical protrusion extending vertically with the bottom surface of the heat sink 250. The horizontal protrusion spaces the side surface of the cartridge 230 from the case 280 by a predetermined distance, and the vertical protrusion spaces the heat sink 250 from the case 280 by a predetermined distance. The protrusion may be mechanically coupled to the case 280 after the heat dissipation plate 250 is assembled into the case 280. Using the above-described protrusion, it is possible to form an air gap between the case 280 and the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250 in a simple assembly process.

As described above, the battery module according to the present invention enables the heat generated from the battery cell to be quickly transferred to the refrigerant pipe through the heat dissipation coating layer, and by forming an air gap between the case and the other components, to form a heat dissipation coating layer Allow air to move through the air.

In the above, the structure of the battery module according to the present invention has been described. Hereinafter, a method of supplying a coolant to the battery module will be described.

The coolant supply unit for supplying a coolant may be connected to the coolant pipe 360. The cooling efficiency may vary according to a connection method of the coolant supply unit.

5 and 6 are conceptual views illustrating a refrigerant supply method of a refrigerant supply unit.

There are two refrigerant supply methods of the refrigerant supply unit 300. The first is a parallel type, as shown in FIG. In a parallel manner, the refrigerant supply unit 300 individually supplies refrigerant to the plurality of battery modules. Accordingly, the refrigerant passing through one battery module does not pass through the other battery module. This method is capable of supplying the maximum cooled refrigerant to all battery modules, so the cooling efficiency is higher than the serial type. However, since the parallel type requires a lot of fixing members for fixing the battery modules, the volume of the battery system is increased.

The second is a serial type, as shown in FIG. In a serial fashion, the refrigerant passes through one battery module and then through another adjacent battery module. When the refrigerant passes through one battery module, the cooling efficiency for the other is lowered because the temperature increases. For this reason, the serial type method has a low cooling efficiency compared with the parallel type method. However, since the serial type does not require a refrigerant supply member for individually supplying refrigerant to the battery modules, the volume of the battery system may be reduced.

Since the battery module according to the present invention uses a heat dissipation coating layer to improve the cooling efficiency of the refrigerant, a sufficient cooling effect can be expected even in a serial type. Therefore, when configuring the battery system using the battery module according to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the volume of the battery system.

As described above, the heat dissipation coating layer that increases the heat dissipation performance of the battery module does not affect the volume of the battery because its thickness is very thin. Through this, the present invention can improve the cooling efficiency of the battery without increasing the volume of the battery.

In addition, since the heat dissipation coating layer according to the present invention can be formed by adding only a coating process to the component manufacturing step forming the battery, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency of the battery by a simple manufacturing method.

In addition, the case included in the battery module according to the present invention increases the contact surface between the air and the heat dissipation coating layer, the heat sink and the refrigerant pipe, thereby improving the cooling efficiency.

In addition, the heat dissipation coating layer according to the present invention quickly transfers the heat generated from the battery cell to the refrigerant pipe, thereby improving the cooling efficiency by the refrigerant cooling method.

On the other hand, the battery module 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be used in an electric vehicle.

7 is a block diagram schematically showing an internal configuration of an electric vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, the electric vehicle according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a battery module 200, a BMS 210, a controller 220, and an interface unit 230. The battery module 200 is charged by a power source supplied from the outside, stores electrical energy of high voltage, and supplies operating power to the vehicle.

The battery management system (BMS) 410 checks the remaining capacity of the battery module 200 to determine the need for charging, and performs management for supplying the charging current stored in the battery to each part of the electric vehicle. In addition, the BMS 410 allows the vehicle to travel for a long time through management of the current use, and includes a protection circuit for the supplied current.

In this case, when charging and using the battery, the BMS 410 maintains the voltage difference between the cells in the battery module 200 evenly, thereby extending the life of the battery by controlling the battery from being overcharged or overdischarged. The BMS 410 is connected to at least one battery cell 210 included in the battery module 200 to adjust the voltage balancing according to the load applied to each battery cell 210.

The interface unit 430 includes input means for inputting a predetermined signal by the driver's operation, and output means for outputting screen information related to the current state of the electric vehicle. In addition, the interface unit 430 includes an operation means for driving such as a steering wheel, an accelerator, a brake. At this time, the output means includes a display unit for displaying information, a speaker for outputting music, sound effects and warning sounds, and various states. The input means includes a plurality of switches, buttons, etc. for operating a direction indicator light, tail lamp, head lamp, brush, etc. according to the driving of the vehicle.

The controller 420 manages the battery module 200 through the BMS 410, and generates and applies a predetermined command to perform a set operation in response to the input of the interface 230. Then, the input and output of the data is controlled to display the operation state of the home appliance.

It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential features of the present invention.

In addition, the above detailed description should not be interpreted as limiting in all aspects and should be considered as illustrative. The scope of the invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the invention are included in the scope of the invention.

Claims (8)

A cartridge having a bottom and sidewalls;
A cell assembly having a plurality of battery cells and at least one battery separator disposed between the plurality of battery cells, the cell assembly being received inside the cartridge;
A refrigerant pipe disposed outside the cartridge;
A heat sink disposed between the cartridge and the refrigerant pipe;
A case surrounding the cartridge, the heat sink, and the refrigerant pipe to form an appearance; And
A heat dissipation coating layer coated on a surface of the cartridge and the heat dissipation plate,
And a fixing member for fixing each of the cartridge and the heat sink to the case so that an air gap is formed between the cartridge and the case and between the heat sink and the case.
The fixing member of the heat sink includes a protrusion extending from the end of the heat sink,
The protrusion is formed of a horizontal protrusion extending from the end extending horizontally with the bottom of the heat sink and a vertical protrusion extending perpendicular to the bottom of the heat sink,
The heat dissipation coating layer is a battery module, characterized in that the coating on both the front (front surface) of the cartridge and both sides of the heat sink. The method of claim 1,
And a thermal pad disposed between the cartridge and the heat sink. The method of claim 1,
The thickness of the heat dissipation coating layer is a battery module, characterized in that 20 to 100 ㎛. The method of claim 1,
The heat dissipation coating layer is a battery module, characterized in that consisting of a mixture of a resin and a thermally conductive filler. The method of claim 1,
The heat dissipation coating layer,
The battery module, characterized in that coated on both sides of the bottom and both sides of the side walls, respectively. The method of claim 5,
The heat dissipation coating layer is a battery module, characterized in that the coating on the surface of the refrigerant pipe. delete A battery module;
An interface unit for displaying screen information; And
A control unit which receives the battery state information from the battery module and controls the interface unit such that the state information is displayed on the interface unit;
The battery module,
A cartridge having a bottom and sidewalls;
A cell assembly having a plurality of battery cells and at least one battery separator disposed between the plurality of battery cells, the cell assembly being received inside the cartridge;
A refrigerant pipe disposed outside the cartridge;
A heat sink disposed between the cartridge and the refrigerant pipe;
A case surrounding the cartridge, the heat sink, and the refrigerant pipe to form an appearance; And
A heat dissipation coating layer coated on a surface of the cartridge and the heat dissipation plate,
And a fixing member for fixing each of the cartridge and the heat sink to the case so that an air gap is formed between the cartridge and the case and between the heat sink and the case.
The fixing member of the heat sink includes a protrusion extending from the end of the heat sink,
The protrusion is formed of a horizontal protrusion extending from the end extending horizontally with the bottom of the heat sink and a vertical protrusion extending perpendicular to the bottom of the heat sink,
And the heat dissipation coating layer is coated on both surfaces of the cartridge and on both sides of the heat sink.

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