KR20170010972A - Battery Module Comprising Battery Cell Stack of Step-formed Structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery module having a stepped-structured battery cell laminate. More specifically, the present invention provides a battery module which comprises: a battery cell laminate in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked and arranged in two or more layers while a side surface of the battery cells are adjacent to each other, and a stepped unit is formed in an end unit of one side; terminal plates for electrically connecting electrode terminals of the battery cells; first and second pack frames with an interconnecting structure while covering the electrode terminals in both sides of the battery cell laminate; and a battery management system (BMS) attached to the stepped unit of the battery cell laminate, and controlling an operation of the battery module.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a battery module including a battery cell stack of a stepped structure,

The present invention relates to a battery module including a battery cell stack of a stepped structure.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] In recent years, rechargeable secondary batteries have been widely used as energy sources for wireless mobile devices. In addition, the secondary battery is attracting attention as an energy source for electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and the like, which is proposed as a solution for air pollution in existing gasoline vehicles and diesel vehicles using fossil fuels. Therefore, the types of applications using secondary batteries are diversifying due to the advantages of secondary batteries, and it is expected that secondary batteries will be applied to many fields and products in the future.

Such a secondary battery may be classified as a lithium ion battery, a lithium ion polymer battery, or a lithium polymer battery depending on the configuration of an electrode and an electrolytic solution. The amount of the lithium ion polymer battery Is growing.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a secondary battery includes a cylindrical battery and a prismatic battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a cylindrical or rectangular metal can according to the shape of a battery case, and a pouch type battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a pouch- .

Such a secondary battery is widely used as an energy source for a variety of electronic products as well as various mobile devices. However, since various combustible materials are embedded therein, there is a risk of overheating, explosion, etc. due to overcharging, overcurrent, other physical external impact,

A protection circuit that cuts off current when overcharging, overdischarging, and overcurrent, PTC device (Positive Temperature Coefficient Element) that cuts current by increasing resistance when temperature rises, And a safety system such as a safety vent, and a multi-cell type middle- or large-sized battery pack having a structure in which a plurality of battery modules are combined is provided with a fuse for protecting the battery cell from overdischarge, overcharge, overcurrent, Battery Management System).

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a battery module including a conventional BMS.

Referring to FIG. 1, a portion of the battery module 10 is shown. The battery cells 20 constituting the battery module 10 are fixed by the frames 31 and 32 and the BMS 50 is attached to one end of the battery cells 20. [

In such a structure, a separate BMS space is required because it is a structure in which the BMS is attached to a symmetrically shaped battery cell laminate having a hexahedron shape. As shown by the dotted line, when the BMS is mounted, it is difficult to have a uniform appearance such as a hexahedron, or a separate BMS case is mounted to increase the volume.

Therefore, when the BMS is mounted, it is difficult to optimize the capacity because the cell is not symmetrical, and it is adhered to the side surface of the battery cell laminate, resulting in a problem that the process efficiency is not high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and the technical problems required from the past.

Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery module having a symmetrical shape with a compact structure by forming a stepped portion by varying the number of battery cells in the battery cell laminate body and mounting the BMS on the stepped portion.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a battery module including a stepped-

A battery cell laminate having a plurality of battery cells stacked in two or more stages with their side faces being adjacent to each other and forming a step at one end;

Terminal plates for electrically connecting the electrode terminals of the battery cells;

A first pack frame and a second pack frame having a structure in which both electrode terminals of the battery cell stack are surrounded while being coupled with each other; And

A battery management system (BMS) mounted on a step of the battery cell stack to control operation of the battery module;

As shown in Fig.

That is, in order to optimize the external appearance and the capacity of the battery module, the battery module including the battery cell stack of the stepped structure according to the present invention is characterized in that the BMS is mounted on the step portion of the battery cell stack to form a symmetrical, A battery module can be provided.

According to the present invention, the battery cell may be a cylindrical battery cell.

In one specific example, the battery cell stack may have a structure in which the number of battery cells arranged in the lowermost row is relatively larger than the number of battery cells arranged in the upper row of the lowermost row.

In this case, the stepped portion may be located at one end of the upper end of the battery cell stack, and the structure of the battery module may have a hexahedral shape with the BMS mounted on the stepped portion.

According to the present invention, the terminal plate may be composed of two or more terminal plates having different structures to connect the battery cells.

In one specific example, the terminal plates may include a first terminal plate connecting the two or more lowermost battery cells.

In another example, the terminal plates may have a structure including a terminal 2 plate connecting two or more of the battery cells arranged in the lowermost column and the upper column of the lowermost column.

In this structure, the terminal plates may connect at least two or more of the battery cells in series, or in series and in parallel.

At this time, the terminal plate may have a straight shape, a 'T' shape, a 'B' shape, or a hollow square shape.

In this case, the terminal plates may be mounted on the outer surfaces of the first pack frame and the second pack frame, while being connected to the electrode terminals of the battery cells.

In one specific example, the terminal plate comprises:

A terminal connection portion formed in a rectangular shape to contact the electrode terminals of the battery cells; And

A voltage sensing terminal extending from one side of the terminal plate to an upper surface of the pack frame to sense a voltage of the battery cells;

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In such a case, slits for welding the terminal connection portion and the electrode terminals may be formed in the terminal connection portions at respective portions corresponding to the electrode terminals of the battery cells.

In one specific example, the BMS may be in the middle of the step.

In another example, the BMS may be a structure that is biased on one side of the step.

In such a structure, one or both sides of the BMS may further include BMS protection members for protecting the BMS.

In one specific example, the first pack frame and the second pack frame may be structured to house the battery cell stack in which the stacked battery cells are stacked.

According to the present invention, the first pack frame and the second pack frame may have holes corresponding to terminal plate shapes electrically connecting the battery cells to positions corresponding to the electrode terminals.

In this case, the first pack frame and the second pack frame may be provided with flow passages for cooling the battery cells.

In this structure, the first pack frame and the second pack frame can be coupled to each other by the fastening member.

Further, reinforcing members for reinforcing a binding force may be mounted on the outer sides of the first pack frame and the second pack frame, and the reinforcing members may be reinforced by a hook structure or elasticity.

According to the present invention, voltage sensing wires are arranged on the battery cell stack between the first pack frame and the second pack frame, and one end is connected to the voltage sensing terminals extending from above the terminal plate, And the other end is connected to the BMS.

In one specific example, the ribs fixing the voltage sensing wires may be formed on the upper ends of the first pack frame and the second pack frame, respectively, in an alternating manner.

In this case,

A first rib formed in a bar shape protruding in a direction of engagement of the module cover to fix the voltage sensing wire to the spaces formed between the battery cells; And

A second rib formed in a groove shape corresponding to an outer diameter of the voltage sensing wire on the upper surface of the module cover to fix the voltage sensing wire in a fitting structure from above;

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In one specific example, a removable BMS case may be mounted on the top of the BMS to protect the BMS from external impact and penetration of the needle member.

The corners of the BMS case may be provided with folded frames of a length corresponding to the height of the stepped portion.

The present invention provides a battery pack including the battery module.

The present invention also provides a device including the battery pack.

The device may be one selected from the group consisting of a computer, a mobile phone, a wearable electronic device, a wireless cleaner, a power tool, an unmanned aerial vehicle, an electric bicycle, an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle, .

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

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the battery module including the battery cell laminate having the step structure according to the present invention can achieve the optimization of the appearance and the capacity by mounting the BMS on the step portion of the battery cell laminate.

In addition, according to the present invention, since the BMS is mounted on the stepped portion formed on the upper portion of the battery cell stack, the process efficiency is improved.

1 is a schematic view of a battery module equipped with a conventional BMS;
2 is a schematic view of a battery module including a battery cell stack of a stepped structure according to one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the battery module of FIG. 2 as viewed from the side;
Fig. 4 is a schematic view of a BMS protective member protecting the BMS of Fig. 2; Fig.
5 is a schematic view of a battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a battery module including a stepped-structure battery cell stack according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the battery module of FIG. 2 viewed from the side.

2 and 3, the battery module 100 includes a battery cell stack 110 of a plurality of battery cells 101, a first pack frame 110 which surrounds the battery cell stack 110, And a BMS 140 for controlling the operation of the battery module 100. The battery module 100 includes a first battery module 121, a second battery module 122, a terminal plate 130 connecting the battery cells 101,

The battery cell stack body 110 is stacked with the side surfaces of a plurality of battery cells 101 being adjacent to each other. The number of the battery cells 101 arranged in the lowermost row 110a of the battery cell stack 110 is larger than the number of the uppermost row 110b of the lowest row so that the step 123 is formed. The step portion 123 is located at one end of the upper end of the battery cell stack body 110.

The battery cell stack 110 is housed in the first pack frame 121 and the second pack frame 122. A BMS 140 is mounted on the step 123 of the battery cell stack 110 and a detachable BMS case 140 is provided on the top of the BMS 140 to protect the BMS 140 from external impact and penetration of the needle member 141 are mounted.

The BMS 140 is mounted at the center of the step 123 of the battery cell stack 110 to control the operation of the battery module 100 and the BMS case 141 is mounted to protect the BMS 140 The battery module 100 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

One end of the voltage sensing wires 150 is connected to the voltage sensing terminals 131 formed on a part of the terminal plate 130 while being aligned on the battery cell stack 110, And to the BMS 140, which controls the operation of the module 100. Voltage sensing wires 150 are connected to voltage sensing terminals 131 and BMS 140 and are fixed by ribs 161 and 162 formed in pack frames 121 and 122.

The BMS 140 is connected to the power lines 153 and 154 to supply electric power and is connected to the BMS lead 155 for charging and connected to the external LED board and connected to the LED board connecting line 156 are connected.

The first pack frame 121 and the second pack frame 122 are coupled to each other by a fastening member 127. The reinforcing members 125 for reinforcing the attaching force are mounted on the outer sides of the first pack frame 121 and the second pack frame 122.

The first pack frame 121 and the second pack frame 122 accommodate therein the battery cell stack 110 to electrically connect the battery cells 101 at positions corresponding to the electrode terminals. And holes 128 corresponding to the shape of the second electrode 130 are formed.

The coolant flows into the spaces between the holes 128 formed in the first pack frame 121 and the second pack frame 122 and the battery cells 101 to cool the battery cells 101.

The terminal plates 130 include a first terminal plate connecting two or more lowermost battery cells 101 and a second terminal plate connecting two or more of the lowermost and uppermost rows of battery cells arranged in the upper row Consists of.

The terminal plates 130 are formed in a straight shape, a "T" shape, an "a" shape, or a hollow square shape and connect two battery cells 101 or four battery cells 101 in series, do.

The terminal plates 130 are composed of two or more terminal plates 130 having different structures for connecting the battery cells 101 and electrically connect the electrode terminals of the battery cells 101.

The terminal plates 130 are attached to the outer surfaces of the first pack frame 121 and the second pack frame 122 while being connected to the electrode terminals of the battery cells 101 and are exposed to the outside.

The terminal plate 130 includes a terminal connection portion 132 and a voltage sensing terminal 131.

The terminal connection portion 132 contacts the electrode terminals to electrically connect the battery cells 101 and the voltage sensing terminal 131 contacts the terminal plate 130 to sense the voltage of the battery cells 101. [ And extend to the upper surface of the pack frames 121 and 122 from one side. The voltage sensing terminals 131 are connected to the wires 150 by soldering.

In the terminal connection portion 132, the terminal connection portion 132 and the slits 135 for welding the electrode terminals are formed at respective portions corresponding to the electrode terminals of the battery cells 101, respectively.

The ribs 161 and 162 are formed in an alternate manner to fix the voltage sensing wires 150 to the upper ends of the first pack frame 121 and the second pack frame 122, respectively.

The ribs 161 and 162 are composed of a first rib 161 having a bar shape and a second rib 162 having a fitting structure.

The first ribs 161 are formed in a bar shape protruding in the direction of coupling (Y-axis direction) of the pack frames 121 and 122 so that the voltage sensing wires 150 are spaced from the spaces formed between the battery cells 101 . The first ribs 161 protrude from the inner ends of the pack frames 121 and 122 in the direction of engagement (Y-axis direction).

The second ribs 162 are formed to protrude upward from the top faces of the pack frames 121 and 122. The second rib 162 has a groove structure that is downwardly projected on the protruding portion.

The second rib 162 is formed in a groove shape corresponding to the outer diameter of the voltage sensing wire 150 on the upper end surfaces of the pack frames 121 and 122 so that the voltage sensing wire 150 is fixed And is connected to voltage sensing terminals 131.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a BMS protection member for protecting the BMS of FIG. 2 mounted thereon.

Referring to FIG. 4, a BMS (FIG. 2) 140 is mounted at the center of the stepped portion 123 of the battery cell stack 110 in which the battery cells 101 are arranged. BMS protection members 143 are mounted on both sides of the BMS (FIG. 2: 140) to protect the BMS (FIG. 2) 140 from impact from the side or intrusion of the needle members. The battery module 100 includes a BMS (FIG. 2) 140, a BMS case 141, and BMS protection members 143, and maintains a hexahedral shape.

The voltage sensing wires 150 are connected at one end to the voltage sensing terminals 131 formed at a part of the terminal plate (FIG. 2) 130, and the ribs formed at the pack frames 121 and 122 And the other end is connected to the BMS 140 for controlling the operation of the battery module 100. [

Since the BMS protecting members 143 are the same in structure except that the step portions 123 are arranged, a duplicate description will be omitted.

5 is a schematic view of a battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

5, the battery cell stack 210 constituting the battery module 200 is accommodated in the pack frames 221 and 222, and the side surfaces of the plurality of battery cells 201 are adjacent to each other Stacked.

The step portion 223 is located at one end of the upper end of the battery cell stack 210 and the BMS is mounted on the step portion 223 and the upper portion is detachably attachable to protect the BMS from external impact and penetration of the needle member A BMS case 241 is mounted.

BMS protection members 243 are attached to both sides of the BMS case 241, thereby improving safety. The structure is the same except that the BMS is disposed on one side of the step portion 223, so that duplicated description will be omitted.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims (22)

A battery cell laminate having a plurality of battery cells stacked in two or more stages with their side faces being adjacent to each other and forming a step at one end;
Terminal plates for electrically connecting the electrode terminals of the battery cells;
A first pack frame and a second pack frame having a structure in which both electrode terminals of the battery cell stack are surrounded while being coupled with each other; And
A battery management system (BMS) mounted on a step of the battery cell stack to control operation of the battery module;
The battery module comprising: The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a cylindrical battery cell. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the number of the battery cells arranged in the lowermost row of the battery cell stack body is larger than the number of the battery cells arranged in the upper row of the lowermost row. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the stepped portion is located at one end of the upper end of the battery cell stack, and the structure of the battery module has a hexahedral shape with the BMS mounted on the stepped portion. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the terminal plate comprises two or more terminal plates having different structures to connect the battery cells. The battery module according to claim 5, wherein the terminal plates include a first terminal plate connecting two or more lowermost battery cells. The battery module according to claim 5, wherein the terminal plates include a terminal-2 plate for connecting two or more battery cells arranged in a lowermost column and an upper column of the lowermost column. The battery module according to claim 5, wherein the terminal plates are mounted on the outer surfaces of the first pack frame and the second pack frame while being connected to the electrode terminals of the battery cells. The connector according to claim 1,
A terminal connection portion formed in a rectangular shape to contact the electrode terminals of the battery cells; And
A voltage sensing terminal extending from one side of the terminal plate to an upper surface of the pack frame to sense a voltage of the battery cells;
The battery module comprising: [12] The battery module of claim 9, wherein slits for welding terminal connection portions and electrode terminals are formed in the terminal connection portions at respective portions corresponding to the electrode terminals of the battery cells. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the BMS is disposed at the center of the stepped portion. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the BMS is disposed on one side of the stepped portion. The battery module according to claim 11 or 12, further comprising BMS protection members for protecting the BMS on one side or both sides of the BMS. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the first pack frame and the second pack frame have a structure in which a stacked battery cell stack is housed. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the first pack frame and the second pack frame have holes corresponding to terminal plate shapes electrically connecting the battery cells to the electrode terminals. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the first pack frame and the second pack frame are coupled to each other by a fastening member. The battery pack of claim 1, wherein voltage sensing wires are arranged on the battery cell stack between the first pack frame and the second pack frame, and one end is connected to voltage sensing terminals extending from above the terminal plate And the other end is connected to the BMS. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein ribs for fixing voltage sensing wires are formed on the upper ends of the first pack frame and the second pack frame, respectively, in an alternating manner. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein a detachable BMS case is mounted on the upper portion of the BMS to protect the BMS from external impact and penetration of the needle member. 20. The battery module according to claim 19, wherein the BMS case has corners provided with folded frames of a length corresponding to the height of the stepped portion. A battery pack comprising the battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 20. A device according to claim 21, comprising a battery pack.

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