KR20210132398A - Battery pack and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a plurality of battery modules, each including a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, a module frame for accommodating the battery cell stack, a heat sink formed at the bottom unit of the module frame, and a cooling port for supplying a refrigerant to the heat sink and discharging the refrigerant from the heat sink; a pack refrigerant pipe connected to the cooling port; and a connection port connecting the cooling port and the pack refrigerant pipe, wherein a temperature sensor is coupled to the connection port.

Description

BATTERY PACK AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF

The present invention relates to a battery pack and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a battery pack having improved cooling performance and a control method therefor.

In modern society, as portable devices such as mobile phones, laptops, camcorders, and digital cameras are used in daily life, the development of technologies related to mobile devices as described above is being actively developed. In addition, a rechargeable battery capable of charging and discharging is a method to solve air pollution such as conventional gasoline vehicles using fossil fuels, and electric vehicles (EVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles ( P-HEV) is being used as a power source, and the need for the development of secondary batteries is increasing.

Currently commercialized secondary batteries include nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydride batteries, nickel zinc batteries, and lithium secondary batteries. Among them, lithium secondary batteries have almost no memory effect compared to nickel-based secondary batteries, so charging and discharging are free and easy. , the self-discharge rate is very low and the energy density is high.

Such a lithium secondary battery mainly uses a lithium-based oxide and a carbon material as a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material, respectively. A lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate to which the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material are respectively applied with a separator interposed therebetween, and a battery case in which the electrode assembly is sealed and accommodated together with an electrolyte.

In general, a lithium secondary battery may be classified into a can-type secondary battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a metal can and a pouch-type secondary battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a pouch of an aluminum laminate sheet according to the shape of the exterior material.

In the case of a secondary battery used in small devices, 2-3 battery cells are disposed, but in the case of a secondary battery used in a medium or large device such as an automobile, a battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are electrically connected this is used In such a battery module, a plurality of battery cells are connected in series or parallel to each other to form a battery cell stack, thereby improving capacity and output. In addition, one or more battery modules may be mounted together with various control and protection systems such as a battery management system (BMS) and a cooling system to form a battery pack.

In the case of the secondary battery, when the temperature is higher than an appropriate temperature, the performance of the secondary battery may be deteriorated, and in severe cases, there is a risk of explosion or ignition. In particular, a plurality of secondary batteries, that is, a battery module or a battery pack including battery cells, may have a higher temperature more rapidly and more severely because heat emitted from the plurality of battery cells is added up in a narrow space. In other words, in the case of a battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked and a battery pack equipped with such a battery module, high output can be obtained, but it is not easy to remove heat generated from the battery cells during charging and discharging. If the heat dissipation of the battery cell is not performed properly, the deterioration of the battery cell is accelerated, the lifespan is shortened, and the possibility of explosion or ignition increases.

Moreover, in the case of a battery module included in a vehicle battery pack, it may be frequently exposed to direct sunlight, and may be subjected to high temperature conditions such as summer or desert areas.

Therefore, when configuring the battery module or battery pack, it can be said that it is very important to secure a stable and effective cooling performance.

1 is a perspective view of a conventional battery module, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 1 . In particular, FIG. 2 further illustrates a heat transfer member and a heat sink positioned under the battery module.

1 and 2 , in the conventional battery module 10 , a plurality of battery cells 11 are stacked to form a battery cell stack 20 , and the battery cell stack 20 includes a module frame 30 . ) is stored in

As described above, since it includes a plurality of battery cells 11 , the battery module 10 generates a large amount of heat during charging and discharging. As a cooling means, the battery module 10 may include a thermally conductive resin layer 40 positioned between the battery cell stack 20 and the bottom 31 of the module frame 30 . In addition, when the battery module 10 is mounted on the pack frame to form a battery pack, the heat transfer member 50 and the heat sink 60 may be sequentially positioned under the battery module 10 . The heat transfer member 50 may be a heat dissipation pad, and the heat sink 60 may have a refrigerant passage formed therein.

Heat generated from the battery cell 11 passes through the thermal conductive resin layer 40 , the bottom part 31 of the module frame 30 , the heat transfer member 50 , and the heat sink 60 in order of the battery module 10 . transmitted to the outside.

However, in the case of the conventional battery module 10 , the heat transfer path is complicated as described above, and it is difficult to effectively transfer the heat generated from the battery cell 11 . The module frame 30 itself may reduce the heat conduction characteristics, and a minute such as an air gap that may be formed between each of the module frame 30 , the heat transfer member 50 and the heat sink 60 . The air layer may also be a factor that deteriorates the heat conduction characteristics.

Since other demands such as miniaturization and capacity increase are continuing for battery modules, it is practically necessary to develop a battery module that can satisfy these various requirements while improving cooling performance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack having improved cooling performance and a method for controlling the same.

However, the problems to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the above problems and may be variously expanded within the scope of the technical idea included in the present invention.

A battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, a module frame accommodating the battery cell stack, a heat sink formed on a bottom of the module frame, and the heat a plurality of battery modules each including a cooling port for supplying a refrigerant to the sink and discharging the refrigerant from the heat sink; a pack refrigerant pipe connected to the cooling port; and a connection port for connecting the cooling port and the pack refrigerant pipe, wherein a temperature sensor is coupled to the connection port.

The cooling port includes a refrigerant injection port and a refrigerant discharge port, the pack refrigerant pipe includes a pack refrigerant supply pipe connected to the refrigerant injection port and a pack refrigerant discharge pipe connected to the refrigerant discharge port, the connection port is the refrigerant Between the injection port and the pack refrigerant supply pipe and between the refrigerant discharge port and the pack refrigerant discharge pipe may be respectively connected.

The connection port may include a cooling port coupling unit coupled to the cooling port; a pack refrigerant pipe coupling unit coupled to the pack refrigerant pipe; and a temperature sensor insertion unit into which the temperature sensor is inserted.

The pack refrigerant pipe coupling portion is formed to protrude from at least one side of the connection port, the pack refrigerant pipe may be fitted to the pack refrigerant pipe coupling portion.

The pack refrigerant pipe includes a main pack refrigerant pipe and a sub pack refrigerant pipe, the pack refrigerant pipe coupling portions are respectively formed on both sides of the connection port, and the main pack refrigerant pipe is the pack refrigerant formed on one side of the connection port It may be coupled to a pipe coupling part, and the sub-pack refrigerant pipe may be coupled to the pack refrigerant pipe coupling part formed on the other side of the connection port.

The cooling port coupling portion may be formed on a lower side of the connection port, and may be coupled to a cooling port located under the cooling port coupling portion.

The temperature sensor insertion part may be formed on the upper side of the connection port, and the temperature sensor may be inserted and coupled from the top side to the bottom side through the temperature sensor insertion part.

A sealing member may be formed at the cooling port coupling part and the pack refrigerant pipe coupling part.

The temperature sensor may be located on a connection passage between the pack refrigerant pipe and the cooling port.

A method of controlling a battery pack according to another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling a battery pack comprising a refrigerant supplied to a heat sink through a temperature sensor connected to a refrigerant injection port and a refrigerant discharge port formed in a plurality of battery modules and the refrigerant discharged from the heat sink. measuring the temperature difference; and increasing the flow rate of the refrigerant when the temperature difference of the refrigerant increases, and decreasing the flow rate of the refrigerant when the temperature difference of the refrigerant decreases.

In the step of measuring the temperature difference of the refrigerant, the temperature measured through the temperature sensor may be detected in a battery management system (BMS).

When the temperature difference of the refrigerant increases or decreases, the flow rate of the refrigerant may be adjusted to correspond to the increased or decreased temperature difference in the BMS.

A device according to another embodiment of the present invention includes the battery pack.

According to embodiments of the present invention, there is provided a battery pack with enhanced cooling performance through individual temperature measurement for each battery module.

Effects of the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

1 is a perspective view of a conventional battery module.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 1 .
3 is a perspective view illustrating a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an exploded perspective view of the battery module of FIG. 3 .
5 is a perspective view of the battery module of FIG. 3 as viewed from the bottom of the battery module along the z-axis direction.
6 is a view showing a state of a temperature sensor formed only in the main inlet portion as a comparative example.
7 is a plan view illustrating a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 is a perspective view illustrating a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention.
9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a connection port and a cooling port according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 7 .
11 is a diagram showing a coupling relationship between a temperature sensor, a connection port, and a pack refrigerant pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention, as part B of FIG. 9 .
12 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 11 ;
13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the cutting line C-C' of FIG. 12, and is a view showing a position of a temperature sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.
14 is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling a battery pack according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, various embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail so that those of ordinary skill in the art can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

In order to clearly explain the present invention, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted, and the same reference numerals are given to the same or similar elements throughout the specification.

In addition, since the size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily indicated for convenience of description, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the illustrated bar. In order to clearly express various layers and regions in the drawings, the thicknesses are enlarged. And in the drawings, for convenience of description, the thickness of some layers and regions are exaggerated.

Also, when a part of a layer, film, region, plate, etc. is said to be “on” or “on” another part, it includes not only cases where it is “directly on” another part, but also cases where another part is in between. . Conversely, when we say that a part is "just above" another part, we mean that there is no other part in the middle. In addition, to be "on" or "on" the reference portion means to be located above or below the reference portion, and to necessarily mean to be located "on" or "on" in the direction opposite to gravity no.

In addition, throughout the specification, when a part "includes" a certain component, this means that other components may be further included, rather than excluding other components, unless otherwise stated.

In addition, throughout the specification, when referring to "planar", it means when the target part is viewed from above, and "in cross-section" means when viewed from the side when a cross-section of the target part is vertically cut.

3 is a perspective view illustrating a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the battery module of FIG. 3 . 5 is a perspective view of the battery module of FIG. 3 viewed from the bottom of the battery module along the z-axis direction.

3 and 4 , the battery module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a battery cell stack 120 in which a plurality of battery cells 110 are stacked, and a battery cell stack 120 . It includes a module frame 200 for accommodating, and a heat sink 300 positioned under the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 . The bottom part 210a of the module frame 200 constitutes an upper plate of the heat sink 300 , and the recessed part 340 of the heat sink 300 and the bottom part 210a of the module frame 200 are the refrigerant passages. to form

First, the battery cell 110 may be a pouch-type battery cell. Such a pouch-type battery cell may be formed by accommodating an electrode assembly in a pouch case of a laminate city including a resin layer and a metal layer, and then thermally sealing a sealing part of the pouch case. In this case, the battery cell 110 may be formed in a rectangular sheet-like structure.

The battery cells 110 may be configured in plurality, and the plurality of battery cells 110 are stacked to be electrically connected to each other to form the battery cell stack 120 . In particular, as shown in FIG. 4 , a plurality of battery cells 110 may be stacked in a direction parallel to the x-axis.

The module frame 200 accommodating the battery cell stack 120 may include an upper cover 220 and a U-shaped frame 210 .

The U-shaped frame 210 may include a bottom portion 210a and two side portions 210b extending upward from both ends of the bottom portion 210a. The bottom portion 210a may cover the lower surface of the battery cell stack 120 , and the side portion 210b may cover both side surfaces of the battery cell stack 120 .

The upper cover 220 may be formed in a plate-shaped structure that covers the lower surface covered by the U-shaped frame 210 and the upper surface (z-axis direction) other than the both sides. The upper cover 220 and the U-shaped frame 210 may form a structure that covers the battery cell stack 120 up, down, left, and right by being coupled by welding or the like in a state in which the corresponding corner portions are in contact with each other. The battery cell stack 120 may be physically protected through the upper cover 220 and the U-shaped frame 210 . To this end, the upper cover 220 and the U-shaped frame 210 may include a metal material having a predetermined strength.

Meanwhile, although not specifically illustrated, the module frame 200 according to the modified example may be a mono frame in the form of a metal plate in which the upper surface, the lower surface and both sides are integrated. That is, the U-shaped frame 210 and the upper cover 220 are not mutually coupled to each other, but may be manufactured by extrusion molding to have a structure in which the upper surface, the lower surface, and both sides are integrated.

The end plate 400 may be positioned on both open sides (y-axis direction) corresponding to the open of the module frame 200 to cover the battery cell stack 120 . The end plate 400 may physically protect the battery cell stack 120 and other electrical components from external impact.

Meanwhile, although not specifically illustrated, a bus bar frame on which a bus bar is mounted and an insulating cover for electrical insulation may be positioned between the battery cell stack 120 and the end plate 400 .

The module frame 200 according to the present embodiment includes a module frame protrusion 211 formed so that the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 extends and passes through the end plate 400 . At this time, the refrigerant introduced and discharged by the cooling port 500 connected to the upper surface of the module frame protrusion 211 is supplied to and from the heat sink 300 through the module frame protrusion 211 . can be emitted. The cooling port 500 according to this embodiment includes a refrigerant injection port 510 and a refrigerant discharge port 520 , and the refrigerant injection port 510 and the refrigerant discharge port 520 are a pack refrigerant supply pipe and a pack refrigerant to be described later. It can be respectively connected to the discharge pipe. The module frame protrusion 211 includes a first module frame protrusion and a second module frame protrusion from one side of the module frame 200, and the refrigerant injection port 510 is disposed on the first module frame protrusion, and a refrigerant discharge port 520 may be disposed on the second module frame protrusion.

A protrusion pattern 340D may be formed on the lower plate 310 of the heat sink 300 according to the present embodiment. In the case of a large-area battery module in which the number of battery cells to be stacked, such as the battery cell stack 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention, increases significantly compared to the prior art, the width of the refrigerant passage can be formed wider, so that the temperature deviation is more can be severe In the large-area battery module, it may include a case in which about 32 to 48 battery cells are stacked in one battery module compared to the case in which about 12 to 24 battery cells are stacked in one battery module. . In this case, the protrusion pattern 340D according to the present embodiment has an effect of substantially reducing the width of the cooling passage, thereby minimizing the pressure drop and reducing the temperature deviation between the widths of the refrigerant passage. Therefore, it is possible to implement a uniform cooling effect.

Hereinafter, the heat sink according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 .

4 and 5 , as described above, the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 constitutes the upper plate of the heat sink 300 , and the recessed portion 340 of the heat sink 300 and The bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 forms a flow path of the refrigerant.

Specifically, the heat sink 300 is formed under the module frame 200 , the heat sink 300 forms a skeleton of the heat sink 300 , and the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 and The lower plate 310, which is directly coupled by welding, etc., is formed on one side of the heat sink 300 and is formed on one side of the inlet 320 and the heat sink 300 for supplying refrigerant from the outside to the inside of the heat sink 300 The outlet 330 for allowing the refrigerant flowing from the inside of the heat sink 300 to be discharged to the outside of the heat sink 300, and the recessed portion 340 that connects the inlet 320 and the outlet 330 and is a path through which the refrigerant flows. may include. The inlet 320 and the outlet 330 may be formed at positions corresponding to the module frame protrusion 211 so as to be connected to the lower surface of the module frame protrusion 211 . To this end, the inlet 320 and the outlet 330 may be formed on the heat sink protrusion 300P protruding from one side of the heat sink 300 to the portion where the module frame protrusion 211 is located. The heat sink protrusion 300P and the module frame protrusion 211 may be directly coupled to each other by welding or the like.

The recessed portion 340 of the heat sink 300 corresponds to a portion in which the lower plate 310 is recessed downward. The recessed part 340 may be a U-shaped tube with a cross-section cut in the xy plane perpendicular to the direction in which the coolant flow path extends, and the bottom portion 210a may be located on the open upper side of the U-shaped tube. As the heat sink 300 comes into contact with the bottom portion 210a, the space between the recessed portion 340 and the bottom portion 210a becomes a region through which the coolant flows, that is, a flow path of the coolant. Accordingly, the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 may be in direct contact with the refrigerant.

There is no particular limitation on the manufacturing method of the recessed part 340 of the heat sink 300, but by providing a structure recessed with respect to the plate-shaped heat sink 300, the U-shaped recessed part 340 with an open upper side may be formed. can

Meanwhile, although not shown, a thermally conductive resin layer including a thermally conductive resin may be positioned between the bottom 210a of the module frame 200 of FIG. 4 and the battery cell stack 120 . The thermally conductive resin layer may be formed by applying a thermally conductive resin to the bottom portion 210a, and curing the applied thermally conductive resin.

The thermally conductive resin may include a thermally conductive adhesive material, and specifically, may include at least one of a silicone material, a urethane material, and an acrylic material. The thermally conductive resin may serve to fix one or more battery cells 110 constituting the battery cell stack 120 by being liquid during application or curing after application. In addition, heat generated in the battery cell 110 can be quickly transferred to the lower side of the battery module because of its excellent thermal conductivity.

In the conventional battery module 10 shown in FIG. 2 , the heat generated in the battery cell 11 is transferred to the thermal conductive resin layer 40 , the bottom part 31 of the module frame 30 , the heat transfer member 50 and the heat sink. It is sequentially transferred to the outside of the battery module 10 through the refrigerant of (60). Also, the flow path of the refrigerant of the heat sink 60 is located inside the heat sink 60 .

On the other hand, the battery module 100 according to the present embodiment implements a cooling integrated structure of the module frame 200 and the heat sink 300 to further improve cooling performance. Since the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 serves to correspond to the top plate of the heat sink 300 , a cooling integrated structure may be implemented. Cooling efficiency is increased due to direct cooling, and the heat sink 300 is integrated with the bottom part 210a of the module frame 200 to further improve the space utilization rate on the battery module and the battery pack on which the battery module is mounted. can

Specifically, the heat generated in the battery cell 110 is a thermally conductive resin layer (not shown) positioned between the battery cell stack 120 and the bottom part 210a, the bottom part 210a of the module frame 200, It may be transferred to the outside of the battery module 100 through the refrigerant. By removing the conventional unnecessary cooling structure, the heat transfer path is simplified and the air gap between each layer can be reduced, so that the cooling efficiency or performance can be increased. In particular, since the bottom portion 210a is constituted by the upper plate of the heat sink 300 and the bottom portion 210a directly contacts the coolant, there is an advantage that more direct cooling is possible through the coolant. In the related art, as shown in FIG. 2 , the upper configuration of the heat transfer member 50 and the heat sink 60 is positioned between the bottom part 31 and the refrigerant, which can be compared with a decrease in cooling efficiency.

In addition, the height of the battery module 100 is reduced through the removal of the unnecessary cooling structure, thereby making it possible to reduce costs and increase space utilization. Furthermore, since the battery module 100 can be arranged compactly, the capacity or output of a battery pack including a plurality of battery modules 100 can be increased.

Meanwhile, the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 may be joined to a portion of the lower plate 310 in which the recessed portion 340 is not formed in the heat sink 300 by welding. In this embodiment, through the integrated cooling structure of the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 and the heat sink 300 , the above-described cooling performance is improved as well as the battery cell stack 120 accommodated in the module frame 200 . It may have the effect of supporting the load of the battery module 100 and reinforcing the rigidity of the battery module 100 . In addition, the lower plate 310 and the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 are sealed through welding, etc., so that the refrigerant can flow through the depression 340 formed inside the lower plate 310 without leakage. have.

For effective cooling, as shown in FIG. 5 , it is preferable that the recessed portion 340 is formed over the entire area corresponding to the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200 . To this end, the recessed portion 340 may be bent at least once and lead from one side to the other. In particular, in order to form the depression 340 over the entire area corresponding to the bottom portion 210a of the module frame 200, the depression portion 340 is preferably bent several times.

Refrigerant flows into between the bottom part 210a and the recessed part 340 from the pack refrigerant supply pipe to be described later through the inlet 320, and the introduced refrigerant moves along the refrigerant flow path and then through the outlet 330 to the pack refrigerant discharge pipe. can be emitted. As the refrigerant moves from the start point to the end point of the refrigerant passage formed over the entire area corresponding to the bottom 210a of the module frame 200, efficient cooling of the entire area of the battery cell stack 120 can be achieved. .

Meanwhile, the refrigerant is a medium for cooling, and there is no particular limitation, but may be cooling water.

Hereinafter, the structure of the battery pack in which the temperature sensor is disposed according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 in comparison with the comparative example of FIG. 6 .

6 is a view showing a state of a temperature sensor formed only in a main inlet part as a comparative example. 7 is a plan view illustrating a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a connection port and a cooling port according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4, 5 and 7 to 9 , the battery pack according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of battery modules 100 , a pack refrigerant pipe 600 connected to a cooling port 500 , and a cooling port 500 . ) and a connection port 700 for connecting the pack refrigerant pipe 600 . According to this embodiment, the battery pack further includes a temperature sensor 800 coupled to the connection port 700 .

7 and 8 , the plurality of battery modules 100 included in the battery pack according to the present embodiment are arranged in two rows in the direction in which the battery cells are stacked, and in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the battery cells are stacked. It includes a first battery module and a second battery module facing each other. The first battery module and the second battery module may refer to the battery module 100 spaced apart from each other on the left and right in FIG. 7 . A pack refrigerant pipe 600 may be disposed between the first battery module and the second battery module.

In this embodiment, the pack refrigerant pipe 600 is disposed between the battery modules 100 adjacent to each other. In the space between the battery modules 100 adjacent to each other in which the pack refrigerant pipe 600 is disposed, cooling ports 500 formed in each of the battery modules 100 adjacent to each other as shown in FIG. 9 may all be disposed. have. At this time, the refrigerant injection port 510 formed in one battery module of the neighboring battery modules 100 and the refrigerant discharge port 520 formed in the other battery module 100 may be disposed to face each other.

7 and 8 , the pack refrigerant supply pipe 610 and the pack refrigerant discharge pipe 620 may extend while crossing each other. By having such a pack refrigerant pipe 600 arrangement structure, it is possible to implement an integrated structure of a plurality of battery modules 100 and a cooling structure in the battery pack while increasing space utilization and at the same time improving cooling efficiency. In order to have the arrangement structure of the pack refrigerant pipe 600 as described above, the height of the pack refrigerant supply pipe 610 and the height of the pack refrigerant discharge pipe 620 may be different from each other. A portion in which the height of the pack refrigerant supply pipe 610 and the height of the pack refrigerant discharge pipe 620 are different from each other may be a part.

Referring to FIG. 8 , the pack refrigerant pipe 600 may include a main pack refrigerant pipe 601 and a sub pack refrigerant pipe 602 . The main pack refrigerant pipe 601 may be connected to an inlet and an outlet formed outside the battery pack to extend to a portion where the cooling ports 500 of the battery module 100 are located. The sub pack refrigerant pipe 602 is connected to the main pack refrigerant pipe 601 , and guides the refrigerant supplied from the main pack refrigerant pipe 601 to the cooling port 500 , or the refrigerant discharged through the cooling port 500 . may be guided to the main pack refrigerant pipe 601 .

7 to 9 , the connection port 700 connects the cooling port 500 and the pack refrigerant pipe 600 . In more detail, the cooling port 500 includes a refrigerant injection port 510 and a refrigerant discharge port 520 , and the pack refrigerant pipe 600 is a pack refrigerant supply pipe 610 connected to the refrigerant injection port 510 and and a pack refrigerant discharge pipe 620 connected to the refrigerant discharge port 520, and the connection port 700 is between the refrigerant injection port 510 and the pack refrigerant supply pipe 610 and the refrigerant discharge port 520 and the pack refrigerant discharge pipe ( 620) can be connected to each other. The connection port 700 is connected to each of the refrigerant injection ports 510 for supplying the refrigerant to the plurality of battery modules 100 and each of the refrigerant discharge ports 520 for discharging the refrigerant from the plurality of battery modules 100, respectively. connected. A temperature sensor 800 is coupled to each connection port 700 combined with the cooling ports 500 .

Referring to FIG. 6 , in the battery module according to the comparative example of the present invention, the inlet 81 is formed in the refrigerant pipe 71 located at one end of the refrigerant pipes 71 connecting the heat sinks 70 , and the refrigerant The outlet 82 is formed in the refrigerant pipe 71 located at the other end of the pipes 71, and the temperature sensor 90 is attached only to the inlet 81 part.

As described above, when the temperature of the refrigerant is measured through a structure in which a temperature sensor is formed only at one end of the flow path connecting the heat sinks 70 to control the refrigerant flow rate of the entire heat sink, the temperature deviation for each battery module formed in each heat sink When this occurs, there is a problem that an efficient response is impossible.

However, according to this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 , since the temperature sensor 800 is disposed for each cooling injection port 510 and cooling discharge port 520 formed in each battery module 100 , Temperature information of the refrigerant injection unit and the refrigerant discharge unit of each battery module 100 can be measured, and the flow rate of the refrigerant can be individually controlled for each battery module, thereby improving the cooling efficiency of a battery pack composed of a plurality of battery modules. can do it Through this, the performance and lifespan of the battery pack can be improved, and the temperature deviation for each battery module can be minimized.

Hereinafter, a structure of a connection port according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13 .

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 7 . 11 is a diagram showing a coupling relationship between a temperature sensor, a connection port, and a pack refrigerant pipe according to an embodiment of the present invention, as part B of FIG. 9 . 12 is an exploded perspective view of FIG. 11 ; 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along the cutting line C-C' of FIG. 12, and is a view showing a position of a temperature sensor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12, the connection port 700, the cooling port coupling part 710 coupled to the cooling port 500, the pack refrigerant pipe coupling part 720 coupled to the pack refrigerant pipe 600, and a temperature sensor ( It may include a temperature sensor insertion part 730 into which 800 is inserted.

The cooling port coupling part 710 may be formed on the lower side of the connection port 700 , and may be coupled to the cooling port 500 located below the cooling port coupling part 710 . More specifically, as shown in FIG. 10 , the cooling port 500 may be inserted into the connection port 700 formed of a hollow cylindrical body and combined with the connection port 700 . A sealing member 711 is formed in the cooling port coupling part 710 to seal between the cooling port 500 and the cooling port coupling part 710 to prevent leakage of the refrigerant.

The pack refrigerant pipe coupling unit 720 is formed to protrude from at least one side of the connection port 700 , and the pack refrigerant pipe 600 may be fitted into the pack refrigerant pipe coupling unit 720 . The connection port 700 may be formed in a structure in which the pack refrigerant pipe coupling unit 720 is formed only on one side of the connection port 700 , and the pack refrigerant pipe coupling unit 720 , 720 ′ is connected to both sides of the connection port 700 . It may be formed in a structure formed in According to this embodiment, the connection port 700 located closer to the main pack refrigerant pipe 601 is formed in a structure in which the pack refrigerant pipe coupling parts 720 and 720' are formed on both sides of the connection port 700 and , the main pack refrigerant pipe 601 and the connection port 700 located further away may be formed in a structure in which the pack refrigerant pipe coupling part 720 is formed only on one side of the connection port 700 .

When the pack refrigerant pipe coupling parts 720 and 720' are formed on both sides of the connection port 700, the main pack refrigerant pipe 601 is a pack refrigerant pipe coupling part 720' formed on one side of the connection port 700. ), and the sub pack refrigerant pipe 602 may be coupled to the pack refrigerant pipe coupling unit 720 formed on the other side of the connection port 700 .

A sealing member 721 is formed in the pack refrigerant pipe coupling portion 720 to seal between the pack refrigerant pipe 600 and the connection port 700 to prevent leakage of the refrigerant.

The temperature sensor insert 730 is formed on the upper side of the connection port 700 , and the temperature sensor 800 may be inserted and coupled from the upper side to the lower side through the temperature sensor insert 730 . When the temperature sensor 800 is inserted and coupled to the temperature sensor insertion unit 730 , as shown in FIG. 13 , the sensing unit 810 formed at the lower end of the temperature sensor 800 is cooled with the pack refrigerant pipe 600 . Located on the connection passage of the port 500, it is possible to accurately measure the temperature of the flowing refrigerant.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling a battery pack according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 14 .

14 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling a battery pack according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

7, 10 and 14 , in the battery pack control method according to the present embodiment, a temperature sensor connected to the refrigerant injection port 510 and the refrigerant discharge port 520 formed in the plurality of battery modules 100 . Step (S100) of measuring the temperature difference between the refrigerant supplied to the heat sink and the refrigerant discharged from the heat sink through 800 (S100) and when the temperature difference of the refrigerant increases (S200), increase the flow rate of the refrigerant (S300), and When the temperature difference decreases (S400), it includes a step of reducing the flow rate of the refrigerant (S500).

According to the present embodiment, in the step of measuring the temperature difference of the refrigerant, the temperature measured through the temperature sensor 800 may be detected in a battery management system (BMS). In the BMS, the difference between the temperature measurement value of the temperature sensor 800 connected to the refrigerant injection port 510 and the temperature measurement value of the temperature sensor 800 connected to the refrigerant discharge port 520 is calculated and corresponds to the measured temperature difference. The flow rate of the refrigerant can be adjusted. When the measured temperature difference increases, the thermal energy received by the refrigerant increases, so that the cooling function of the corresponding battery module can be strengthened by increasing the flow rate of the refrigerant. When the measured temperature difference decreases, the heat energy received by the refrigerant is lowered, so that the flow rate of the refrigerant can be reduced to adjust the flow rate of the refrigerant supplied to the corresponding battery module. The BMS transmits the adjusted flow rate data to a control unit (not shown) connected to the inlet, and the control unit may control the flow rate of the refrigerant flowing into the pack refrigerant pipe 600 based on the received flow data information.

The above-described battery module and battery pack including the same may be applied to various devices. Such a device may be applied to transportation means such as an electric bicycle, an electric vehicle, and a hybrid vehicle, but the present invention is not limited thereto and is applicable to various devices that can use a battery module and a battery pack including the same, and this It belongs to the scope of the invention.

Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements by those skilled in the art using the basic concept of the present invention as defined in the following claims are also provided. is within the scope of the

200: module frame
211: module frame protrusion
300: heat sink
500: cooling port
510: refrigerant injection port
520: refrigerant exhaust port
600: pack refrigerant pipe
601: main pack refrigerant pipe
602: sub pack refrigerant pipe
610: pack refrigerant supply pipe
620: pack refrigerant discharge pipe
700: connection port
710: cooling port coupling portion
720, 720': Pack refrigerant pipe coupling part
730: temperature sensor insert
800: temperature sensor
810: sensing unit

Claims (13)

A battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, a module frame accommodating the battery cell stack, a heat sink formed on the bottom of the module frame, and supplying refrigerant to the heat sink and cooling the refrigerant from the heat sink A plurality of battery modules each including a cooling port for discharging;
a pack refrigerant pipe connected to the cooling port; and
and a connection port connecting the cooling port and the pack refrigerant pipe,
A battery pack having a temperature sensor coupled to the connection port. In claim 1,
The cooling port includes a refrigerant injection port and a refrigerant discharge port,
The pack refrigerant pipe includes a pack refrigerant supply pipe connected to the refrigerant injection port and a pack refrigerant discharge pipe connected to the refrigerant discharge port,
The connection port is a battery pack for connecting between the refrigerant injection port and the pack refrigerant supply pipe and between the refrigerant discharge port and the pack refrigerant discharge pipe, respectively. In claim 1,
The connection port is
a cooling port coupling unit coupled to the cooling port;
a pack refrigerant pipe coupling unit coupled to the pack refrigerant pipe; and
A battery pack including a temperature sensor insert into which the temperature sensor is inserted. In claim 3,
The pack refrigerant pipe coupling portion is formed to protrude on at least one side of the connection port,
The pack refrigerant pipe is a battery pack that is fitted to the pack refrigerant pipe coupling portion. In claim 4,
The pack refrigerant pipe includes a main pack refrigerant pipe and a sub pack refrigerant pipe,
The pack refrigerant pipe coupling portion is formed on both sides of the connection port, respectively,
The main pack refrigerant pipe is coupled to the pack refrigerant pipe coupling unit formed on one side of the connection port, and the sub pack refrigerant pipe is coupled to the pack refrigerant pipe coupling unit formed at the other side of the connection port. In claim 3,
The cooling port coupling portion is formed on the lower side of the connection port,
A battery pack coupled to a cooling port located below the cooling port coupling portion. In claim 3,
The temperature sensor insert is formed on the upper side of the connection port,
The temperature sensor is a battery pack that is inserted and coupled from an upper side to a lower side through the temperature sensor insertion part. In claim 3,
A sealing member is formed in the cooling port coupling part and the pack refrigerant pipe coupling part. In claim 1,
The temperature sensor is located on a connection passage between the pack refrigerant pipe and the cooling port. measuring a temperature difference between the refrigerant supplied to the heat sink and the refrigerant discharged from the heat sink through a temperature sensor connected to the refrigerant injection port and the refrigerant discharge port formed in the plurality of battery modules; and
and increasing the flow rate of the refrigerant when the temperature difference of the refrigerant increases, and decreasing the flow rate of the refrigerant when the temperature difference of the refrigerant decreases. In claim 10,
In the step of measuring the temperature difference of the refrigerant, the battery pack control method for detecting the temperature measured through the temperature sensor in a battery management system (BMS). In claim 10,
When the temperature difference of the refrigerant increases or decreases, the control method of the battery pack for adjusting the flow rate of the refrigerant to correspond to the increased or decreased temperature difference in the BMS. A device comprising the battery pack according to claim 1 .

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