KR102277562B1 - Battery pack having sealing structure and Method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a battery pack having a sealing structure includes: a battery cell assembly in which a plurality of battery cells to which a plurality of battery cell covers are attached to one end are arranged at regular first intervals; a plurality of grommets assembled between the first gaps to form a sealing structure by bonding compression; an upper housing assembled to an upper end of the battery cell assembly; and a lower housing connected and assembled with the upper housing.

Description

Battery pack having sealing structure and manufacturing method thereof

The present invention relates to a battery structure, and more particularly, to a battery pack having a sealing structure that prevents harmful gas generated from a battery in an eco-friendly vehicle from penetrating into the vehicle, and a manufacturing method thereof.

A single battery pack used in hybrid or electric vehicles or industrial applications includes a plurality of battery cells. In this case, the individual battery cells may be designed as a cylindrical cell, a prismatic cell, a pouch-type cell, or the like. The pouch-type cells include a flexible cover made of a thin film, in which the electrical components of the battery cell are disposed.

In particular, pouch-type cells are used to realize optimal space utilization within one battery cell. The pouch-type cells are also characterized by low weight in addition to high capacity.

The edges of these aforementioned pouch-shaped cells comprise a sealing joint. In other words, the joint connects two membranes of battery cells, the membranes comprising further components in the cavity formed thereby.

In general, pouch-type cells contain an electrolytic solution, such as a lithium secondary battery or a nickel-hydrogen battery.

Accordingly, gas is generated when a reaction occurs inside the battery cell. However, in the case of these pouch-type cells, there is a problem that there is no device for preventing gas from penetrating into the vehicle.

1. Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0016232 2. Korea Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0007019

The present invention has been proposed to solve the problem according to the above background art, and has a battery pack having a sealing structure that prevents harmful gases generated from battery cells due to self-defect and/or internal short circuit in an eco-friendly vehicle from penetrating into the vehicle interior. and to provide a method for preparing the same.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a battery pack having a sealing structure that prevents harmful gas generated from a battery cell due to self-defect and/or internal short circuit in an eco-friendly vehicle from penetrating into the vehicle.

The battery pack is

a battery cell assembly in which a plurality of battery cells to which a plurality of battery cell covers are respectively attached to one end are arranged at regular first intervals;

a plurality of grommets assembled between the first gaps to form a sealing structure by bonding compression;

an upper housing assembled to an upper end of the battery cell assembly; and

and a lower housing connected and assembled with the upper housing.

In this case, it may be characterized in that a plurality of discharge pipes connected to an external hose are formed on one side or both sides of the upper housing to discharge the gas generated therein.

In addition, it may be characterized in that a sealing material layer formed by applying a sealing material at regular second intervals on one surface of the plurality of battery cell covers.

In addition, the sealing material may be characterized in that it is a polyurethane foam.

In addition, the sealing material layer may be formed on the protrusion formed in the longitudinal direction on one surface of the plurality of battery cell covers.

In addition, the plurality of grommets may have a concave-convex shape so as to be closely assembled between the first gaps.

In addition, the upper housing and the lower housing may be assembled and fastened by a screw method.

In addition, the plurality of grommets may be assembled in pairs at the upper end and lower end of the battery cell assembly.

In addition, the plurality of battery cell covers may be characterized in that both ends have a gradient shape to facilitate insertion of the plurality of grommets.

In addition, the plurality of grommets may be configured separately from the upper housing and the lower housing, first assembled between the first gaps, and then interpolated into the upper housing and the lower housing later.

Alternatively, the plurality of grommets may be integrally formed inside the upper housing and the lower housing.

On the other hand, another embodiment of the present invention, (a) assembling a battery cell assembly by attaching a plurality of battery cell covers to one end of each of the plurality of battery cells arranged at regular first intervals; (b) assembling a plurality of grommets between the first gaps to form a sealing structure by bonding compression; (c) assembling a top housing on top of the battery cell assembly; and (d) connecting and assembling the lower housing to the upper housing.

On the other hand, another embodiment of the present invention, (a) assembling a battery cell assembly by attaching a plurality of battery cell covers to one end of each of the plurality of battery cells arranged at a constant first interval; (b) assembling an upper housing having a plurality of grommets formed therein between the first gaps to form a sealing structure by bonding compression to an upper end of the battery cell assembly; (c) connecting and assembling a lower housing in which a plurality of grommets are formed between the first gaps with the upper housing; provides a method for manufacturing a battery pack having a sealing structure, comprising:

In this case, the step (a) may include forming a sealing material layer by applying a sealing material at regular second intervals on one surface of the plurality of battery cell covers.

The method of manufacturing the battery pack may further include, after the upper housing and the lower housing are assembled, assembling a fuse box on one front surface of the upper housing and the lower housing.

According to the present invention, after the polyurethane foam (PU Foam) is applied, the battery cell assembly and/or the housing are combined and compressed using a grommet, so that the harmful gas generated by the internal short circuit of the battery cell (CELL) is a vehicle. It is possible to isolate it so that it does not penetrate inside.

In addition, as another effect of the present invention, since the venting space and the outside of the vehicle are connected by a hose, and harmful gases are discharged to the outside of the vehicle using the passage, it contributes to ensuring the safety of the driver and/or passengers inside the vehicle can be heard

In addition, as another effect of the present invention, since the grommet structure is used, an insert type is possible, which reduces the number of parts compared to the stacked method, thereby reducing the assembly time during line operation.

1 is an external perspective view of a battery pack 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack 100 shown in FIG. 1 taken along the I-I' axis.
FIG. 3 is an exploded assembly view of the battery pack 100 shown in FIG. 1 .
4 is an external perspective view of the battery cell cover 311 shown in FIG. 3 .
5 is a cross-sectional view of the battery cell cover 311 shown in FIG. 4 taken along the axis A-A'.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the B-B' axis of the battery cell cover 311 shown in FIG. 4 .
7 is an external perspective view of the grommet 301-1 shown in FIG.
8 is an external perspective view in which the grommet shown in FIG. 7 is installed between battery cells.
9 is a process flow chart showing a process of manufacturing the battery pack 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can have various changes and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and will be described in detail in the detailed description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific embodiment, it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

In describing each figure, like reference numerals are used for like elements.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, a first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, a second component may also be referred to as a first component. The term “and/or” includes a combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

Terms such as those defined in a commonly used dictionary should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present application. shouldn't

Hereinafter, a battery pack having a sealing structure and a manufacturing method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is an external perspective view of a battery pack 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 , in the battery pack 100 , a venting space 101 is formed in which battery cells installed therein are bent. In addition, the discharge pipe 102 is formed on one side of both end surfaces. The discharge pipe 102 may be connected to an external hose (not shown) to discharge the gas generated therein. Of course, the discharge pipe 102 may be formed on one end and/or both end surfaces of the battery pack 100 .

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the battery pack 100 shown in FIG. 1 taken along the I-I' axis. Referring to FIG. 2 , the first grommet 211 is installed at the upper end of the battery cell 210 , and the second grommet 212 is installed at the lower end of the battery cell 210 . In addition, a material layer 230 formed by applying a sealing material between the battery cells 210 is configured. The sealing material may be characterized in that it is a polyurethane foam.

The battery cell 210 may be a high voltage battery for an electric vehicle, such as a nickel metal battery, a lithium ion battery, or a lithium polymer battery. In general, a high voltage battery is a battery used as a power source for moving an electric vehicle, and refers to a high voltage of 100V or more. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and a low-voltage battery of 100V or less is also possible.

In addition, the battery pack 100 may be applied to an environment vehicle as an insert type rather than a stacked type. Examples of environmental vehicles include a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), an electric vehicle (EV), a low-speed electric vehicle (NEV: Neighborhood Electric Vehicle), and a fuel cell vehicle. (FCV: Fuel-Cell Vehicle), etc. are mentioned.

FIG. 3 is an exploded assembly view of the battery pack 100 shown in FIG. 1 . Referring to FIG. 3 , a battery cell assembly 310 in which a plurality of battery cells 210 to which a plurality of battery cell covers 311 are respectively attached to one end are arranged at a predetermined first interval, to form a sealing structure by bonding compression. A plurality of grommets 301-1, 301-2, 302-1, 302-2 assembled between the first gaps, and the plurality of grommets 301-1, 301-2, 302-1 and 302-2 are interpolated, and the battery cell assembly 310 An upper housing 320 assembled to the upper end of the upper housing 320, a lower housing 330 connected and assembled with the upper housing 320, and a fuse box 340 fastened to the surfaces of the housings 320 and 330 and the like. .

The battery cell assembly 310 is assembled by connecting eight cells in series. Of course, alternatively, they may be connected in parallel or connected and assembled in series and parallel. In addition, 8 or more battery cells are configurable.

The plurality of grommets 301-1, 301-2, 302-1, and 302-2 are formed of a pair of upper and lower ends, and the pair are fastened to the left and right of the battery cell assembly 310 . In other words, the 1-1 grommet 301-1 and the 1-2 grommet 301-2 are fastened to the upper and lower ends of the right side. At the same time, the 2-1 grommet 302-1 and the 2-2 grommet 302-2 are fastened to the upper and lower ends of the left side.

The upper housing 320 and the lower housing 330 are mutually fastened and assembled using a pair of left and right screws 321-1, 321-2, 322-1, and 322-2. Of course, unlike this, it is also possible to fasten using a bolt and nut method.

4 is an external perspective view of the battery cell cover 311 shown in FIG. 3 . Of course, this is for understanding, and only the battery cell cover 311 is schematically illustrated instead of the entire battery cell assembly 310 shown in FIG. 3 . Referring to FIG. 4 , a sealing material layer 230 on which a sealing material is applied at regular second intervals is formed on one surface of the battery cell cover 311 . The sealing material may be characterized in that it is a polyurethane foam (PU Foam). Of course, the polyurethane foam (PU Foam) may include a rigid polyurethane foam (rigid PU Foam), a semi-rigid polyurethane foam (semi-rigid PU Foam), and the like.

In addition, the sealing material layer 230 is formed on the protrusion 410 formed in the longitudinal direction on the surface of the battery cell cover 311 . Of course, a plurality of such protrusions 410 are formed at regular intervals. Accordingly, the sealing material layer 230 is also formed at regular intervals.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the battery cell cover 311 shown in FIG. 4 taken along the axis A-A'. Referring to FIG. 5 , the sealing material layer 230 is formed on the battery cell cover 311 to form a sealing structure between battery cells.

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the B-B' axis of the battery cell cover 311 shown in FIG. 4 . Referring to FIG. 6 , both ends of the battery cell cover 311 have a gradient shape 610 to facilitate fastening to the grommet.

7 is an external perspective view of the grommet 301-1 shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 7 , the grommet 301-1 has a concave-convex shape 710 at the bottom so that the grommet 301-1 is assembled in close contact with both ends of the battery cell cover 311 . Of course, the upper end may be configured to have a step 720 for ventilation of air.

8 is an external perspective view in which the grommet shown in FIG. 7 is installed between battery cells. Referring to FIG. 8 , grommets are assembled in pairs at upper and lower ends of the battery cell assembly.

9 is a process flow chart showing a process of manufacturing the battery pack 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 9 , the battery cell assembly 310 is assembled by attaching a plurality of battery cell covers ( 311 of FIG. 3 ) to one end of each of the plurality of battery cells ( 210 of FIG. 3 ) arranged at a first constant interval. (Steps S910, S920). Of course, a sealing material is applied to form the sealing material layer 230 on the outer surface of the battery cell cover 311 before assembling the battery cell assembly 310 (step S910).

A plurality of grommets 301-1, 301-2, 302-1, and 302-2 are assembled between the first gaps to form a sealing structure by bonding compression (step S930).

Thereafter, the plurality of grommets 301-1, 301-2, 302-1, and 302-2 are interpolated to assemble the upper housing (320 in FIG. 3) on the upper end of the battery cell assembly 310, and the lower housing (330 in FIG. 3). ) is connected and assembled with the upper housing 320 (step S950). In this case, the screws 321-1, 321-2, 322-1, and 322-2 are used to engage and assemble each other.

Thereafter, a fuse box ( 340 of FIG. 3 ) is assembled on one front side of the upper housing 320 and the lower housing 330 (step S950 ).

9 shows that the plurality of grommets 301-1, 301-2, 302-1, and 302-2 are assembled first, and then the upper housing 320 and the lower housing 330 are assembled later, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, unlike FIG. 9 , a plurality of grommets 301-1, 301-2, 302-1, and 302-2 may be integrally formed inside the upper housing 320 and the lower housing 330 . In other words, some grommets 301-1 and 302-1 are formed integrally with the upper housing 320 inside the upper housing 320, and the other grommets 301-2 and 302-2 are formed in the lower housing. It is formed integrally with the lower housing 330 on the inner side of the 330 . Accordingly, steps S930 and S940 can be integrated.

100: battery pack
101: venting space 102: exhaust pipe
210: battery cell 230: sealing material layer
310: battery cell assembly 311: battery cell cover
320: upper housing
330: lower housing
340: fuse box
410: protrusion
710: uneven shape
720: step

Claims (15)

a battery cell assembly in which a plurality of battery cells to which a plurality of battery cell covers are respectively attached to one end are arranged at regular first intervals;
a plurality of grommets assembled between the first gaps to form a sealing structure by bonding compression;
an upper housing assembled to an upper end of the battery cell assembly; and
a lower housing connected and assembled with the upper housing; and
On one surface of the plurality of battery cell covers, there is a sealing material layer formed by applying a sealing material at regular second intervals,
The sealing material layer is a battery pack having a sealing structure, characterized in that formed on the protrusion formed in the longitudinal direction on one surface of the plurality of battery cell covers.
The method of claim 1,
A battery pack having a sealing structure, characterized in that a plurality of discharge pipes connected to an external hose are formed on one side or both sides of the upper housing to discharge the gas generated therein.
delete The method of claim 1,
The battery pack having a sealing structure, characterized in that the sealing material is polyurethane foam.
delete The method of claim 1,
The battery pack having a sealing structure, characterized in that the plurality of grommets have a concave-convex shape so as to be closely assembled between the first gaps.
The method of claim 1,
The battery pack having a sealing structure, characterized in that the upper housing and the lower housing are assembled and fastened by a screw method.
The method of claim 1,
The plurality of grommets are assembled in pairs to upper and lower ends of the battery cell assembly.
The method of claim 1,
The battery pack having a sealing structure, characterized in that both ends of the plurality of battery cell covers have a gradient shape to facilitate insertion of the plurality of grommets.
The method of claim 1,
The plurality of grommets are configured separately from the upper housing and the lower housing, and are first assembled between the first gaps and then interpolated into the upper housing and the lower housing later.
The method of claim 1,
The plurality of grommets are integrally formed inside the upper housing and the lower housing.
(a) assembling a battery cell assembly by attaching a plurality of battery cell covers to one end of each of the plurality of battery cells arranged at regular first intervals;
(b) first assembling a plurality of grommets between the first gaps to form a sealing structure by bonding compression;
(c) interpolating the plurality of grommets and assembling a top housing on top of the battery cell assembly; and
(d) connecting and assembling the lower housing to the upper housing;
The step (a) is,
forming a sealing material layer by applying a sealing material at regular second intervals on one surface of the plurality of battery cell covers;
The method for manufacturing a battery pack having a sealing structure, characterized in that the sealing material layer is formed on a protrusion formed in a longitudinal direction on one surface of the plurality of battery cell covers.
(a) assembling a battery cell assembly by attaching a plurality of battery cell covers to one end of each of the plurality of battery cells arranged at regular first intervals;
(b) assembling an upper housing having a plurality of grommets formed therein between the first gaps to form a sealing structure by bonding compression to an upper end of the battery cell assembly;
(c) connecting and assembling a lower housing having a plurality of grommets formed therein between the first gap and the upper housing;
The step (a) is,
forming a sealing material layer by applying a sealing material at regular second intervals on one surface of the plurality of battery cell covers;
The method for manufacturing a battery pack having a sealing structure, characterized in that the sealing material layer is formed on a protrusion formed in a longitudinal direction on one surface of the plurality of battery cell covers.
delete 14. The method of claim 12 or 13,
and assembling a fuse box on one front surface of the upper housing and the lower housing after the upper housing and the lower housing are assembled.

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