KR20070068608A - Frame member for preparation of battery pack - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a frame member for manufacturing a battery pack, which is able to stably carry cylindrical unit batteries while preventing an internal short circuit and is effectively fitted with a protection circuit module, etc. The frame member for manufacturing a battery pack(600) using cylindrical batteries(500) as a unit battery comprises: an upper frame(100) of which one surface is fitted with a protection circuit module(400); and a lower frame(200) which is united with the upper frame(100). A series of semi-cylindrical battery-receiving parts are formed on the facing surfaces of the upper and lower frames(100,200), respectively and have a shape corresponding to the outsides of the cylindrical unit batteries(500) to be interposed between the upper and lower frames(100,200).

Description

Frame member for battery pack manufacturing {Frame Member for Preparation of Battery Pack}

1 is a perspective view of an upper frame member of a frame member for manufacturing a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the upper frame member of FIG. 1; FIG.

3 is a right side perspective view of the upper frame member of FIG. 1;

4 is a top perspective view of a lower frame member engaged with the upper frame member of FIG. 1;

5 is a perspective view of a battery pack with a unit cell mounted on a frame member according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a spacer used when mounting a unit cell in FIG. 5; FIG.

7 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a unit cell is mounted in the spacer of FIG. 6;

8 is a perspective view illustrating a hook structure for coupling a protection circuit in a frame member according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to a frame member for manufacturing a battery pack using a cylindrical battery as a unit cell, and more particularly, an upper frame on which a protection circuit module (PCM) can be mounted on one side, and the upper frame. And a frame member composed of a series of semi-cylindrical battery accommodating portions each corresponding to an outer surface of cylindrical unit cells mounted therebetween, each having a lower frame coupled to the lower frame. It provides a battery pack consisting of.

As the development and demand for mobile devices increases, the demand for secondary batteries as energy sources is increasing rapidly. Among them, many researches have been conducted and commercialized and widely used for lithium secondary batteries with high energy density and discharge voltage. It is used.

The secondary battery may be used in the form of a single battery, or in the form of a battery pack 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 one battery power and capacity, while a medium or large device such as a notebook computer, an electric vehicle, or a hybrid electric vehicle may have a problem with power and capacity. Use of the pack is required.

The battery pack is a battery structure in which a plurality of unit cells are arranged in series and / or in parallel, and then electrically connected in sequence, and it is very important to maintain the arrangement of the unit cells.

In particular, a cylindrical secondary battery used as a unit cell of a battery pack has a lot of difficulties in maintaining its arrangement due to its external characteristics.

Therefore, in order to maintain the arrangement of the cylindrical unit cells, a method of constructing a battery pack by connecting the nickel plates by soldering or spot welding the unit cells and winding the plurality of connected unit cells with tape or plastic coating is used. have.

However, the tape and plastic coating have a high rigidity, so there is a high risk of breakage, and as a result, it is difficult to maintain the arrangement of the unit cells. In addition, when the battery pack is configured using the tape, the tape is difficult to tear and paste, which causes a delay in working time.

In general, a battery pack consists of a hard pack that is equipped with a protective circuit on a core pack consisting only of an array of unit cells and then wrapped around its outer surface with an outer case. When a hard pack consists of cylindrical unit cells, the array structure is maintained. In addition to the device, the external case for stably mounting the protection circuit is used simultaneously, which increases manufacturing cost and processing time.

Therefore, there is an urgent need for a structural device capable of mounting a protection circuit without a separate outer case while maintaining the arrangement of the cylindrical unit cells.

The present invention aims to solve the problems of the prior art as described above and the technical problems that have been requested from the past.

That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a frame member capable of stably mounting cylindrical unit cells in a state of preventing an internal short circuit.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a frame member capable of effectively mounting a PCM or the like.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack which is excellent in structural stability and can be manufactured in a compact structure by a simple assembly process by including the frame member.

Frame member for manufacturing a battery pack according to the present invention for achieving this object, a frame member for manufacturing a battery pack using a cylindrical battery as a unit cell, a protection circuit module (PCM) can be mounted on one side It consists of an upper frame and a lower frame coupled to the upper frame, a series of semi-cylindrical battery compartments respectively formed on opposite sides of the upper and lower frames corresponding to the outer surface of the cylindrical unit cells mounted therebetween. Consists of.

The battery compartment, preferably, has a structure in which the center is open so that two adjacent unit cells can communicate with each other, and partially wraps the upper and lower portions of the cylindrical unit cells, so that when the unit battery is mounted in the battery compartment, The upper and lower parts of the unit cell are fixed in a state of being separated from the adjacent battery by the battery accommodating part, and the center part is in communication with the adjacent battery and is effective in removing heat generated during charging.

In one preferred embodiment, the battery accommodating portion is a series of plate-shaped semicircular to protrude along the end of the semi-cylindrical in a series of plate-shaped semicircular shape so that the electrode terminal of the plurality of cylindrical unit cells are partially exposed It is included. If the semi-cylindrical battery accommodating part surrounding the upper and lower parts of the battery fixes the movement in the left and right directions of the unit cell, the side extension of the battery accommodating part serves to fix the movement in the vertical direction of the unit cell.

Preferably, the upper and lower frame members are each provided with prefabricated fastening portions that can be mutually coupled and separated.

The prefabricated fastening part is formed in, for example, a bar extending from the side of the upper and / or lower frame and having a fastener formed at an end thereof, and a lower and / or upper frame corresponding to the bar. It consists of fastening grooves.

Specific examples of the fastener and the fastening groove include a detachable hook formed at an end of the bar and a fastening groove drilled in a direction in which the bar is inserted so that the hook can pass therethrough, and the hook penetrates the fastening groove and is formed by the fastening groove thickness. The frame can be coupled by fastening to the jaw.

As another example, the fastener and the fastening groove are fastening holes formed at the end of the bar and the fastening grooves formed to be in communication with the punching holes. The frame can be coupled by fastening the inner surface of the fastening groove to penetrate the drilling tool.

When the fastener is a hook, the end of the bar is preferably thin so that the hook can have elasticity when fastened through the fastening groove.

The bars are formed at the diagonal ends of the upper frame and opposite diagonal ends of the lower frame, respectively, and the fastening grooves are formed at the diagonal ends of the upper and lower frames, respectively. Therefore, when the upper and lower frames are coupled, the upper and lower frames have a hexahedral space by four bars, so that unit cells can be stably mounted in the space.

As described above, the prefabricated fastening portion for mounting the PCM is formed on the upper surface of the upper frame. The PCM is a module including a protection circuit capable of controlling overcharge, overdischarge, overcurrent and the like of the battery pack, and is preferably in the form of a printed circuit board (PCB).

The prefabricated fastening portion for mounting the PCM may be a sliding fastening protrusion formed on the side or edge of the upper frame or a removable hook.

When the fastening part is a sliding fastening protrusion, the sliding protrusions are formed on two opposite sides or two corners of the frame, respectively, and the side to fix the PCM when the PCM is sliding fastened along the two protrusions. Alternatively, it is preferable that a hook-type protrusion is formed at one corner toward the inside of the upper surface of the frame, and a groove corresponding to the hook-type protrusion is formed at a portion of the cross section of the PCM.

When the fastening part is a detachable hook, it is preferable that detachable hooks are formed on two opposite sides or two edges of the frame, and grooves corresponding to the hooks are formed in a portion of the cross section through the PCM.

In the present invention, the frame member is preferably a plastic material such as light and heat resistant Polycarbonate (PC) and Polacrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), and may be manufactured by injection molding or the like.

The present invention also provides a medium-large battery pack configured by mounting cylindrical unit cells as unit cells in the frame member.

The battery pack may be configured by mounting unit cells in a spacer and stacking the spacer between frames.

In one preferred example, the spacer is configured such that battery compartments having the same shape as battery compartments formed on one side of the frame member are formed on both opposing surfaces (both sides), respectively.

That is, the battery compartment of the spacer has a series of semi-cylindrical inner surfaces corresponding to the outer surfaces of the cylindrical unit cells, the center of which is open so that two adjacent unit cells can communicate with each other, and both ends of the battery are exposed while the electrode terminals of the battery are exposed. The cover includes a protruding cover in a series of plate-shaped semicircles to partially cover the outer circumferential surface.

The spacer preferably includes a plurality of through holes that serve as a flow path of a refrigerant such as air in the open center.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be further described with reference to the drawings, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

1 is a perspective view of an upper frame member 100 of the frame member for manufacturing a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the upper frame member 100 is a prefabricated fastening part for mounting a PCM (not shown) on an upper surface thereof, and sliding fastening protrusions 140 and 141 and hook type protrusions 142 are formed, respectively. In order to mount cylindrical unit cells (not shown) on the bottom surface, a series of semi-cylindrical battery accommodating parts 110 corresponding to the outer surfaces of the batteries are formed and coupled with the lower frame (not shown). It includes hooks (121a, 121d) and fastening grooves (130b, 130c) are formed on both ends of different diagonal so as to be possible.

Sliding fastening protrusions 140 and 141 are formed at two opposite edges of the upper frame 100, respectively, and the hooking protrusion 142 is upper frame member 100 to be fixed when the PCM is sliding fastening. It protrudes toward the inside of the top surface. A groove corresponding to the hook type protrusion 142 is formed in a portion of the cross section of the PCM.

The semi-cylindrical battery accommodating part 110 includes side extension parts 114 protruding in a series of plate-shaped semicircular shapes so as to partially cover both end surfaces of the unit cells.

The hooks 121a and 121d are formed at the ends of the bars 120a and 120d extending from the side of the upper frame 100, respectively, and have elasticity when they are inserted into the fastening grooves of the lower frame (not shown). Its thickness is relatively thin.

The fastening grooves 130b and 130c are perforated in the inserting direction so that the hooks of the lower frame can pass therethrough, and have a predetermined thickness to serve as a jaw when the hooks are fastened.

Such a structure can be easily confirmed in FIGS. 2 and 3 in which a rear perspective view and a right perspective view of the upper frame 100 are shown.

Referring to these drawings, as shown in Figure 1, the upper frame 100 is a sliding fastening protrusions 140, 141 and hook-type protrusions 142 formed on the top surface, a side extension 114 protruding in a plate-like semicircle, It can be seen that it includes the bars (120a, 120d) extending from the side and the hooks (121a, 121d) formed at the ends of the bars (120a, 120d), respectively.

3 schematically illustrates a plan view of one exemplary lower frame member that may be coupled to the upper frame member of FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 3, the lower frame 200 includes a series of semi-cylindrical battery accommodating parts 210 corresponding to the outer surface of the cylindrical unit cells so that cylindrical unit cells (not shown) may be mounted. have.

The upper part 211 and the lower part 212 of the battery accommodating part 210 have a series of semi-cylindrical structures for separating and fixing adjacent batteries, and the central part 213 is opened to communicate with the adjacent batteries. Overall, it is a plate-like structure integrated in the width direction.

The lower frame 200 is fastening grooves 230a and 230d corresponding to the hooks 121a and 121d and the fastening grooves 130b and 130c of the upper frame 100 so as to be coupled to the upper frame 100 of FIG. 1. And hooks 230b and 230c are formed at the corresponding positions. Accordingly, the upper and lower frames 100 and 200 have hooks 120a and 120d of the upper frame 100 in the fastening grooves 230a and 230d of the lower frame 200 and hooks 220b and 220c of the lower frame 200. ) Are coupled to each other by fastening grooves 130b and 130c of the upper frame 100.

In some cases, sliding fastening protrusions 240 and 241 and hook type protrusions 242 for mounting a PCM (not shown) may be formed on the bottom surface of the lower frame 200, respectively.

5 is a perspective view of the battery pack 1000 with the unit cell 500 mounted on the frame members 100 and 200 according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the battery pack 600 mounts a plurality of unit cells 500 to the spacer 300 and stacks the spacer 300 on the lower frame 200 to the lower frame 200 and the upper surface thereof. It is manufactured by mutually coupling the upper frame 100 to which the PCM 400 is mounted.

The upper frame 100 and the lower frame 200 fasten the hook 121d of the upper frame 100 to the fastening groove 230d of the lower frame 200, respectively, and the hooks 221b and 221c of the lower frame 200. ) Is coupled to each of the fastening grooves 130b and 130c of the upper frame.

The unit cell 500 is mounted in the hexahedral internal space formed by the bar 120d of the upper frame 100 and the bar 220b of the lower frame 200.

Side extensions 114 and 214 of the upper and lower frames 100 and 200 protrude in a semi-circular plate shape so that the electrode terminals 510 of the plurality of cylindrical unit cells 500 can be exposed.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a spacer used to mount the unit cell in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a state in which the unit cell is mounted on the spacer.

Referring to these drawings, the spacer 300 has a battery accommodating part 310 having substantially the same shape as the battery accommodating part 110 formed on one side of the upper frame member 100 of FIG. A plurality of through holes 315 are formed and perforated to serve as flow paths of the refrigerant.

The unit cells 500 are respectively mounted to the battery accommodating part 310 of both sides of the spacer 300, and are stably fixed by the cover 312 formed at the upper end and the lower end thereof, respectively. The lids 312 and 314 protrude from the inner circumferential surface of the semi-cylindrical battery accommodating portion 310 to a predetermined height so as to partially wrap the upper and lower end surfaces of the unit cell 500 in the outer circumferential direction thereof. Therefore, the upper and lower ends of the unit cell 500 are stably wrapped, but the electrode terminal 510 is not coated, and thus electrical connection can be easily performed.

8 is a partial perspective view of a frame member according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, fastening portions 750 and 751 for coupling a PCM (not shown) protrude from both side portions thereof on the upper surface of the frame member 700. The fastening parts 750 and 751 have a long hook structure and are formed such that the hook ends face outwards. In the PCM, fastening grooves (not shown) corresponding to the fastening portions 750 and 751 of the hook structure are formed, and the fastening may be performed by combining them with each other.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art will be able to perform various applications and modifications within the scope of the present invention based on the above contents. For example, the coupling or fastening structure for mounting the PCM on the top surface of the frame member may vary in addition to the structures of FIGS. 1 and 8, all of which should be construed as being within the scope of the present invention.

As described above, the frame member for manufacturing a battery pack according to the present invention can stably mount cylindrical unit cells in a state of preventing an internal short circuit, and can effectively mount a PCM, thereby assembling a compact battery pack as a whole. It can manufacture by a process.

Claims (16)

A frame member for manufacturing a battery pack using a cylindrical battery as a unit cell, comprising a top frame on which a protection circuit module (PCM) can be mounted, and a bottom frame coupled to the top frame. And a series of semi-cylindrical battery compartments respectively formed on opposing surfaces of the upper and lower frames corresponding to the outer surfaces of the cylindrical unit cells mounted therebetween. The frame member according to claim 1, wherein the battery accommodating portion has a structure in which a center thereof is opened to allow two adjacent unit cells to communicate with each other, and a part of which surrounds the upper and lower portions of the cylindrical unit cells. 2. The frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein the battery accommodating part includes side extension parts protruding in a series of plate-shaped semicircular shapes so as to partially wrap the outer circumferential surface of both ends in a state where the electrode terminals of the plurality of cylindrical unit cells are exposed. absence. The frame member according to claim 1, wherein the upper and lower frames are each provided with prefabricated fastening parts capable of mutual coupling and separation. 5. A prefabricated fastener according to claim 4, wherein said prefabricated fastening portion is formed in a bar extending from a side of the upper and / or lower frame and having a fastener formed at an end thereof, and in a lower and / or upper frame corresponding to the bar. Frame member, characterized in that consisting of fastening grooves. 6. The frame member of claim 5 wherein the fastener is a removable hook. The frame member according to claim 5, wherein the fastener and the fastening groove are formed with a screw line on the inner surface, and a separate screw is coupled to the inner surface of the fastener and the fastening groove. The frame member according to claim 4, wherein the bars are formed at diagonal ends of the upper frame and opposite diagonal ends of the lower frame, respectively. The frame member according to claim 1, wherein a prefabricated fastening part for mounting the PCM is formed at an upper end of the upper frame. The frame member according to claim 9, wherein the prefabricated fastening part is a sliding fastening protrusion formed on a side or a corner of the upper frame. 10. The frame member according to claim 9, wherein the prefabricated fastening part is a detachable hook formed on a side or a corner of the upper frame. The frame member according to claim 1, wherein the frame member is made of a high strength and electrically insulating plastic material and manufactured by an injection molding method. A medium-large battery pack configured by mounting cylindrical unit cells as a unit cell in a frame member according to claim 1. The battery pack as claimed in claim 13, wherein the battery pack comprises unit cells mounted on a spacer to stack the spacers between the frames. 15. The battery pack as claimed in claim 14, wherein each of the spacers has battery housing portions each having a semi-cylindrical inner surface structure corresponding to a cylindrical unit cell. 16. The battery pack as claimed in claim 15, wherein the spacer has a plurality of through-holes that serve as a coolant flow path in an open center.

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