KR20180085284A - Battery module and electronic vehicle using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery module for an electronic vehicle, the battery module with increased cooling efficiency. The battery module for an electronic vehicle comprises: a cartridge having a bottom and side walls; a cell assembly which comprises a plurality of battery cells and at least one battery separation membrane arranged between the battery cells and is accommodated inside the cartridge; a heat dissipating plate arranged under the cartridge; a case which covers the cartridge and the heat dissipating plate and forms an external appearance; and a heat dissipating coating layer which coats surfaces of the cartridge and the heat dissipating plate. The cartridge and the heat dissipating plate are separated from the case and are independently arranged to form each air gap between the cartridge and the case and between the heat dissipating plate and the case. The inside and outside of the cartridge and both sides of the heat dissipating plate are coated with the heat dissipating coating layer. According to the present invention, the heat dissipating coating layer capable of increasing heat dissipating performance of the battery module is very thin, and thus has little influence on the volume of the battery. Accordingly, efficiency of cooling a battery can be increased without increasing the volume of the battery.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an electric vehicle using a battery module and a battery module,

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

Generally, a car is a machine that travels by using a prime mover as a power source and carries a person or cargo or performs various kinds of work. The automobile can be classified according to the type of prime mover. The automobile includes a gasoline automobile having a gasoline engine as a prime mover, a diesel automobile having a diesel engine as a prime mover, an LPG car using liquefied petroleum gas as a fuel, a gas turbine motor having a gas turbine as a prime mover, 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 are emerging as a result of environmental pollution caused by exhaust gas and depletion of petroleum resources, and as an alternative, electricity is used as a power source.

An electric vehicle uses a drive motor that receives power from a battery and obtains power from the battery. Thus, the electric vehicle is more popular as an environment-friendly automobile because it does not emit carbon dioxide compared to an engine that uses fossil fuels such as gasoline or diesel. In recent years, soaring oil prices and tightened emission regulations are accelerating the development of electric vehicles, and the market is growing rapidly.

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

In the case of the air cooling method, external air flows between battery cells to cool battery cells. 2. Description of the Related Art [0002] Conventionally, devices for lowering the temperature of air introduced into a battery module have been used to increase air cooling efficiency. At this time, since the difference between the inflow air and the external temperature is not large, the heat dissipation effect due to the devices is not large, and the volume of the battery becomes large due to the devices.

On the other hand, in the case of the refrigerant cooling method, a refrigerant pipe through which a refrigerant flows is inserted into the battery module and cooled. Generally, the refrigerant tube is made of a metal material having a high thermal conductivity. For this reason, an insulating layer must be disposed for insulation between the battery cell and the refrigerant pipe. Since the insulating layer has a low thermal conductivity, it causes a decrease in the cooling efficiency. Conventionally, the insulating layer is partially thermally conductive coated to prevent the above-described reduction in the cooling efficiency. However, the manufacturing process of the battery module is complicated due to the coating, 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 the cooling efficiency without increasing the volume of the battery without adding additional components in cooling the battery module by the coolant cooling method.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a battery module capable of maximizing a refrigerant cooling efficiency by a simple manufacturing method in cooling a battery module by a coolant cooling method.

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

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

According to a specific embodiment, the present invention provides a cartridge comprising a cartridge having a bottom and side walls, a plurality of battery cells, and at least one battery separator disposed between the plurality of battery cells, A heat radiating plate disposed on the lower side of the cartridge, a case surrounding the cartridge and the heat radiating plate to form an outer tube, and a heat radiating coating layer coated on the surface of the cartridge and the heat radiating plate, Wherein each of the cartridge and the heat radiating plate is spaced apart from the case so that an air gap is formed between the case and the heat radiating coating layer is coated on the inner and outer surfaces of the cartridge and both surfaces of the heat radiating plate, Module.

An air gap is formed by separating the cartridge and the heat sink from the case by a predetermined distance, and the air gap is formed on the surface of the heat dissipation coating layer to induce rapid air cooling.

Meanwhile, the heat-radiating coating layer is coated on the surface of the heat sink and the cartridge disposed between the battery cell and the refrigerant tube. The heat-radiating coating layer quickly transfers the heat generated in the battery cell to the refrigerant tube.

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

In one embodiment, the present invention may further comprise a fixing member disposed between the case and at least one of the cartridge and the heat sink to form an air gap.

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

Meanwhile, the heat-radiating coating layer according to the present invention rapidly transfers the heat generated from the battery cell to the refrigerant tube. Here, since the heat-radiating coating layer can be formed by adding the coating process at the individual component manufacturing step before assembling the battery module, the manufacturing process is not complicated even if the coating layer is additionally constituted. Thus, the present invention can improve the refrigerant cooling efficiency while simplifying the manufacturing process of the battery module.

In general, the heat radiating coating layer included in the battery module according to the present invention improves the cooling efficiency by the coolant cooling method by improving the heat transfer rate and the contact area to the air and the coolant. The cooling efficiency can be increased without increasing the volume of the battery, so that the electric vehicle can be lightened or the size of the electric vehicle can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view showing a conventional battery module.
2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A 'of FIG.
3 is a perspective view illustrating a battery module according to the present invention.
4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B 'of FIG. 3;
5 is a conceptual diagram showing a cooling method of a parallel refrigerant.
6 is a conceptual diagram showing a method of cooling a tandem refrigerant.
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 invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to designate identical or similar elements, and redundant description thereof will be omitted. In the following description of the embodiments of the present invention, a detailed description of related arts will be omitted when it is determined that the gist of the embodiments disclosed herein may be blurred. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. , ≪ / RTI > equivalents, and alternatives.

Terms including ordinals, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited to these terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

In the present application, the terms "comprises", "having", and the like are used to specify that a feature, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a component, But do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.

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

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

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

The battery module 100 according to FIG. 1 may be cooled by an air cooling system. Specifically, 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 introduced air and the external temperature is not large, the heat radiation effect due to the devices is not large, There is a disadvantage that the volume of the battery becomes large due to the devices.

Meanwhile, the conventional battery module 100 may be cooled by a coolant cooling method. Specifically, the heat sink 150 and the refrigerant tubes 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 below the cell assembly, and a heat sink 150 may be disposed below the insulating layer. The refrigerant pipe 160 may be disposed on the lower 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 a high thermal conductivity for rapid heat transfer. For example, the material of the heat sink 150 and the refrigerant pipe 160 may be aluminum. Since the electrical conductivity of the metal material is high, the insulating layer 140 must be disposed between the battery cell 110 and the heat sink 150.

As shown in FIG. 2, an insulating layer 140 may be disposed between the heat sink and the cell assembly, or the housing 130 itself may be made of an insulating material. Since the housing and the insulating layer made of the insulating material have low thermal conductivity, there is a problem that the heat generated in the battery cell can not be transferred quickly to the heat sink.

In order to solve this problem, a layer for selectively performing an insulation function and a heat-dissipating function may be formed at a contact portion between the battery cell and the heat sink. However, since the layer contacts a very small portion of the battery cell, And the manufacturing process of the battery module becomes complicated due to the layer.

The battery module according to the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems in cooling the battery cells by the coolant cooling method. 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 cooling pipe 260, the case 280, . However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the battery module according to the present invention may include more or fewer components than the above-described components.

Hereinafter, the above-described components will be described.

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

The cartridge 230 has side walls 231 projecting from the bottom 232 and the bottom 232 and the cell assembly is housed inside the cartridge 230. In this specification, a surface forming the inside of the cartridge 230 is referred to as an inner surface, and a surface opposite to the inner surface is referred to as 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 constituent elements of the battery module 200. Therefore, when the cartridge 230 performs the heat-dissipating function, it is possible to effectively cool the battery module.

To this end, the surface of the cartridge 230 may be coated with a heat radiation coating layer 270. Here, the heat radiation coating layer 270 may have a thickness of 20 to 100 탆. If the thickness of the heat-dissipating coating layer 270 is less than 20 μm, the heat-dissipating effect is insufficient due to the coating layer. If the thickness of the heat-dissipating coating layer 270 is more than 100 μm, the thermal conductivity is decreased due to the resin included in the coating layer.

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-radiating coating layer 270 may be coated on both sides 232a and 232b of the bottom and on both sides 231a and 231b of the side walls, respectively. Further, the heat radiation coating layer 270 may be coated on the entire surface of the cartridge 230. In this way, the heat generated in the battery cell 210 can be rapidly discharged to the outside along the surface of the cartridge 270.

Here, the heat-radiating coating layer 270 may be coated before assembling the battery module. Accordingly, the heat-radiating coating layer 270 can be coated on the entire surface of the cartridge 230. [ As a coating method, a spray coating method, a screen printing method, or the like may be used, but not limited thereto, all coating methods capable of uniformly coating the surface of an object can be performed.

On the other hand, the material forming the heat-radiating coating layer 270 is a mixture of a resin and a thermally conductive filler. Here, the thermally conductive filler quickly discharges the heat discharged from the battery cell 110 to the outside.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the resin has high heat resistance. When the heat-radiating coating layer 270 includes a heat-resistant resin, bubbles formed in the coating layer can be removed by heating at a high temperature in the coating layer forming step. For example, the heat resistance of the resin is preferably 150 to 200 ° C.

On the other hand, the refrigerant pipe 260 may be disposed outside the cartridge. The refrigerant pipe 260 is disposed at the lower outer side of the cartridge 230 and the heat generated in the battery cell 210 is transferred to the refrigerant flowing through the refrigerant pipe 260 through the refrigerant pipe 260. The refrigerant pipe 260 is made of a metal material having a high thermal conductivity for rapid heat transfer. For example, the refrigerant pipe 260 may be made of aluminum.

A heat sink 250 may be disposed between the cartridge 230 and the refrigerant 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 a high thermal conductivity. For example, the heat sink 250 may be made of aluminum.

The heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be formed on the 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 dissipation plate, respectively. The heat dissipation coating layer 270 increases the heat transfer speed from the thermal pad 240 to the heat sink 250 and the heat transfer speed from the metal plate 250 to the coolant pipe 260.

The coating method and thickness of the heat dissipation coating layer 270 formed on the surface of the heat dissipation plate 250 and the material forming the heat dissipation coating layer 270 are the same as those of the heat dissipation coating layer 270 coated on the cartridge 230, . The heat dissipation coating layer 270 may be coated on the surface of the cooling tube 260 as well as the heat dissipation plate 250, thereby increasing the heat transfer rate.

On the other hand, when the outer surface of the cartridge 230 is cooled, the heat generated in the battery cell can be rapidly discharged to the outside. To this end, a thermal pad 240 may be disposed below the cartridge 230.

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

On the other hand, the surface of the thermal pad 240 may be made of an adhesive material. Thus, the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250 can be adhered to each other.

On the other hand, a case 280 is disposed at an outermost position of the battery module 200. The case 280 encloses the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250. At this time, the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250 are separated from the case 280 so that air gaps are formed between the cartridge 230 and the case 280 and between the heat sink 250 and the case 280, respectively. The air gap improves the cooling efficiency by air-cooling the battery cells 210.

Meanwhile, the distance between each of the cartridges 230 and the heat sink 250 and the case 280 may be 8 to 12 mm. If the spacing distance is less than 8 mm, the air cooling effect may deteriorate, and if it exceeds 12 mm, the volume of the battery module may increase significantly. However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

The battery module 200 may further include a fixing member for fixing the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250 separately from the case 280.

For example, the fastening members can 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 below the heat radiating plate so that the heat radiating plate and the case are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.

In another example, the fixing member may be formed extending from the heat sink 250. Specifically, the heat sink 250 may include a protrusion extending from the end of the heat sink 250. The protrusions may include horizontal protrusions extending horizontally to the lower surface of the heat sink 250 and vertical protrusions extending perpendicularly to the lower surface of the heat sink 250. The horizontal projection separates the side surface of the cartridge 230 by a certain distance from the case 280 and the vertical projection separates the heat sink 250 from the case 280 by a certain distance. The protrusion may be mechanically coupled to the case 280 after the heat sink 250 is assembled inside the case 280. The air gap can be formed between the case 280 and the cartridge 230 and the heat sink 250 by a simple assembling process.

As described above, in the battery module according to the present invention, the heat generated in the battery cells can be quickly transferred to the refrigerant tube through the heat-radiating coating layer, and an air gap is formed between the case and other components, So that the heat traveling through it can be air-cooled.

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

The refrigerant pipe 360 may be connected to a refrigerant supply unit for supplying the refrigerant. The cooling efficiency may vary depending on the connection mode of the refrigerant supply unit.

5 and 6 are conceptual diagrams showing a refrigerant supply mode of the refrigerant supply unit.

The refrigerant supply unit 300 has two types of refrigerant supply systems. The first method is a parallel method as shown in FIG. In the parallel type, the refrigerant supply unit 300 supplies the refrigerant to the plurality of battery modules individually. Accordingly, the refrigerant passing through any one of the battery modules does not pass through the other battery modules. This method is capable of supplying the maximum cooled refrigerant to all the 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, there is a disadvantage that the volume of the battery system increases.

The second method is a serial method as shown in FIG. In the tandem approach, the refrigerant passes through any one battery module and then through another adjacent battery module. When the refrigerant passes through any one of the battery modules, the cooling efficiency for the other is deteriorated because the temperature is increased. As a result, the cooling efficiency of the tandem type is lower than that of the parallel type. However, since the refrigerant supply member for supplying the refrigerant to the battery modules is not required in the tandem type, there is an advantage that the volume of the battery system can be reduced.

Since the battery module according to the present invention improves the refrigerant cooling efficiency by using the heat radiation coating layer, a sufficient cooling effect can be expected even in the tandem type. Accordingly, when the battery system is constructed using the battery module according to the present invention, the volume of the battery system can be minimized.

As described above, since the thickness of the heat-radiating coating layer which increases the heat radiation performance of the battery module is very thin, it does not affect the volume of the battery. Thus, the present invention can improve the cooling efficiency of the battery without increasing the volume of the battery.

In addition, since the heat-radiating coating layer according to the present invention can be formed by adding only a coating process to a component manufacturing step of a battery, cooling efficiency of the battery can be improved by a simple manufacturing method.

In addition, the case included in the battery module according to the present invention improves the cooling efficiency by increasing the contact surfaces of air, the heat radiation coating layer, the heat radiation plate, and the refrigerant pipe.

In addition, the heat-radiating coating layer according to the present invention rapidly transfers the heat generated in the battery cell to the refrigerant tube, thereby improving the cooling efficiency by the refrigerant cooling method.

Meanwhile, 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.

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

The BMS (Battery Management System) 410 checks the remaining capacity of the battery module 200 to determine necessity of charging, and performs management according to supply of the charging current stored in the battery to each part of the electric vehicle. In addition, the BMS 410 includes a protection circuit for the supplied current, allowing the vehicle to travel for a long time through management of current usage.

At this time, when the battery is charged and used, the BMS 410 maintains the voltage difference between the cells in the battery module 200 evenly, thereby controlling the battery to be overcharged or overdischarged, thereby extending the life of the battery. The BMS 410 is connected to at least one battery cell 210 included in the battery module 200 and controls voltage balancing according to a load applied to each battery cell 210.

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

The control unit 420 manages the battery module 200 through the BMS 410 and generates and applies a predetermined command to perform an operation corresponding to the input of the interface unit 230, And controls the input / output of data to display the operation state of the household appliances.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof.

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

Claims (8)

A cartridge having a bottom and side walls;
A cell assembly having a plurality of battery cells and at least one battery separator disposed between the plurality of battery cells, the cell assemblies being housed inside the cartridges;
A refrigerant pipe disposed outside the cartridge;
A heat sink disposed between the cartridge and the refrigerant tube;
A casing surrounding the cartridge, the heat sink, and the refrigerant tube to form an outer appearance; And
And a heat dissipation coating layer coated on a surface of the cartridge and the heat dissipation plate,
Each of the cartridge and the heat sink is spaced apart from the case so that an air gap is formed between the cartridge and the case and between the heat sink and the case,
Wherein the heat dissipation coating layer is coated on both the inner and outer surfaces of the cartridge and both surfaces of the heat dissipation plate. The method according to claim 1,
And a thermal pad disposed between the cartridge and the heat sink. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the thickness of the heat-radiating coating layer is 20 to 100 占 퐉. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the heat dissipation coating layer comprises a mixture of a resin and a thermally conductive filler. The method according to claim 1,
The heat-
And both sides of the bottom and both sides of the side walls are coated with the battery module. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the heat dissipation coating layer is coated on the surface of the refrigerant tube. The method according to claim 1,
The heat-
Wherein the cartridge is coated on the entire surface of the cartridge. A battery module;
An interface unit for displaying screen information; And
And a control unit for receiving the battery status information from the battery module and controlling the interface unit to display the status information on the interface unit,
The battery module includes:
A cartridge having a bottom and side walls;
A cell assembly having a plurality of battery cells and at least one battery separator disposed between the plurality of battery cells, the cell assemblies being housed inside the cartridges;
A refrigerant pipe disposed outside the cartridge;
A heat sink disposed between the cartridge and the refrigerant tube;
A casing surrounding the cartridge, the heat sink, and the refrigerant tube to form an outer appearance; And
And a heat dissipation coating layer coated on a surface of the cartridge and the heat dissipation plate,
Each of the cartridge and the heat sink is spaced apart from the case so that an air gap is formed between the cartridge and the case and between the heat sink and the case,
Wherein the heat dissipation coating layer is coated on both the inner and outer surfaces of the cartridge and both surfaces of the heat dissipation plate.

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