KR20220089427A - Battery module with improved coupling and connection structure - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery module, and more particularly, a plurality of battery cells arranged to be arranged in a first direction and a second direction, and having a first electrode and a second electrode, the plurality of battery cells are respectively inserted thereinto. The upper frame and the lower frame each having cell fixing grooves that can be installed are coupled to each other, and the side wall is formed with a plurality of fastening grooves and steps to which a fixing bracket for fixing the upper frame and the lower frame can be coupled. A cell frame, a plurality of bus bars disposed on an upper surface of the upper frame and electrically connected to the electrode tabs, and a plurality of bus bars disposed on the plurality of bus bars, insulated from the plurality of bus bars, and wire bonding with the plurality of bus bars It relates to a battery module comprising a; a printed circuit board on which a circuit pattern to be electrically connected is printed, and a connector is formed on one side.

Description

Battery module with improved coupling and connection structure}

The present invention relates to a battery module, and more particularly, to a battery module structure that does not use a separate sensing wire for collecting voltage information of individual battery cells.

Recently, rechargeable batteries capable of charging and discharging are being used in various ways in mobile devices, eco-friendly power generation technologies, and the like. In addition, secondary batteries are attracting attention as a power source for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which have been proposed as a way to solve air pollution from existing gasoline and diesel vehicles that use fossil fuels. .

As described above, due to the need for a fairly high output and large capacity, such as in automobiles and power generation systems, medium-to-large battery modules in which a plurality of battery cells are electrically connected are used.

In addition, in order for the medium and large-sized battery module to provide the output and capacity required in a given device or device, a plurality of battery cells must be electrically connected in series, parallel, or a mixture of series and parallel, and have a stable structure against external force. should be able to maintain Accordingly, there is a need for a means for quickly detecting and controlling a case in which some battery cells are overvoltage, overcurrent, or overheated. Accordingly, it is necessary to connect a voltage sensor or the like to the battery cells to check the operating state in real time or at regular intervals.

However, the mounting or connection of the detection means makes the assembly process of the battery module very difficult, so a complicated process must be introduced, and there is also a risk of a short circuit due to a large number of wirings for this purpose.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery module capable of minimizing wiring.

A battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention is arranged to be arranged in a first direction and a second direction, and a plurality of battery cells having a first electrode and a second electrode, the plurality of battery cells can be inserted and installed, respectively. A cell frame in which an upper frame and a lower frame each having cell fixing grooves are formed to correspond to each other, and a side wall is formed with a plurality of fastening grooves and steps to which a fixing bracket for fixing the upper frame and the lower frame can be coupled; A plurality of bus bars disposed on the upper surface of the upper frame and electrically connected to the electrode tabs, and disposed on the plurality of bus bars, insulated from the plurality of bus bars, and wire-bonded with the plurality of bus bars to electrically A circuit pattern to be connected is printed, and a printed circuit board having a connector formed on one side thereof is included.

The bus bar includes a first bus bar disposed on an upper surface of the upper frame and electrically connected to first electrodes provided in each of the battery cells to connect the battery cells in parallel in a first direction.

The bus bar includes a second bus bar disposed on the side of the upper surface of the upper frame, extending in the first direction, and having an end extending in the second direction from one end.

The bus bar includes a third bus bar disposed on a central region of the upper surface of the upper frame and having ends extending in the first direction and the second direction.

The bus bar includes two fourth bus bars disposed on the side of the upper surface of the upper frame and fastened to one side of a fixing part formed at a corner of the cell frame.

The first bus bar and the third bus bar are electrically connected to the first electrode of the battery cell, and the second bus bar is electrically connected to the second electrode of the battery cell.

The fourth bus bar includes a first polarity fourth bus bar electrically connected to the first bus bar and the third bus bar, and a second polarity fourth bus bar electrically connected to the second bus bar, and In the circuit board, independent circuit patterns are formed so that the same polarities can be electrically connected to each other.

In the printed circuit board, the first bus bar, the second bus bar, and the third bus bar are all independently connected to the circuit pattern to form a circuit pattern connected to the connector.

a circuit pattern electrically connecting the first bus bar and the third bus bar and the first polarity fourth bus bar, and a circuit pattern electrically connecting the second polarity fourth bus bar electrically connected to the second bus bar; added independently.

The fixing part is coupled to the fixing part of the other battery module having the same specification as the battery module.

The battery module includes a high current connection part electrically connecting a fourth bus bar of the battery module and a fourth bus bar of another battery module having the same specification as the battery module.

The battery module includes a coupling bracket for fixing a side of a cell frame of the battery module and a side of a cell frame of another battery module having the same specification as the battery module.

The battery module includes at least one ring-shaped ring thermistor surrounding at least one or more of the battery cells.

The ring thermistor is installed in the battery cells spaced apart from each other in the first direction or the second direction.

Wires or connecting members for mechanical fastening and electrical connection for connecting a plurality of battery cells can be minimized.

1 is a perspective view showing a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view illustrating a lower frame among cell frames according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a perspective view illustrating a battery cell inserted and installed in a lower frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating an upper frame and a plurality of bus bars according to an embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a perspective view illustrating a combination of an upper frame and a lower frame and a printed circuit board according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a partially exploded perspective view illustrating a coupling relationship between an upper frame and a lower frame according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is an exploded perspective view showing the combination of the battery module and the same other battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
8 and 9 are perspective views illustrating a combination of the battery module and the same other battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Like reference numerals in the drawings refer to the same or similar functions throughout the various aspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, specific details for carrying out the present invention will be described based on examples with reference to the drawings, and these examples will be described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the present invention.

It should be understood that the various embodiments of the present invention illustrated in the drawings are different but need not be mutually exclusive. For example, certain shapes, structures, and characteristics described herein with respect to one embodiment may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In addition, it should be understood that the location or arrangement of individual components within each disclosed embodiment may be changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the detailed description set forth below is not intended to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is limited only by the appended claims, along with all scopes equivalent to those claimed by the claims, if properly described.

1 to 9 , the battery module 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a battery cell C, a cell frame 110, a plurality of bus bars 120, and a printed circuit board ( 130) is included.

1 to 3 , the battery cells C are installed to be arranged in the first direction and the second direction, and are disposed in the cell fixing grooves CH formed in the upper frame 111 and the lower frame 112 . plugged in and fixed That is, the cell fixing groove CH is formed on each surface of the upper frame 111 and the lower frame 112 , and the cell fixing grooves CH are arranged in the first direction and the second direction. For the battery cell (C), a medium-to-large battery module consisting of 96 or 128 battery cells used in electric vehicles or ESS systems can be used. It can be arranged in an array. An embodiment of such an arrangement is shown in FIG. 3 . The electrode tab CE of the battery cell C includes a first electrode CE+ and a second electrode CE−. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first electrode CE+ is a positive electrode, the second electrode CE- is a negative electrode, and the first electrode CE+ corresponds to a portion of the upper surface of the battery cell C, and the second electrode CE- The electrode CE- corresponds to the side surface of the battery cell C. Hereinafter, the first polarity will be described as positive (+) and the second polarity as negative (-). And, the first direction means a longitudinal direction of the battery module 100, and the first direction means a width direction.

Meanwhile, the ring thermistor 140 for measuring the current operating temperature of the battery cell C may be provided in the battery cell C. The ring thermistor 140 has a shape surrounding the battery cell (C).

The ring thermistor 140 may be provided in all the battery cells C, but preferably, the arrangement of the battery cells C or the connection of the bus bar 120 should be considered. In one embodiment of the present invention, the battery cell C is divided into a central region in which the printed circuit board 130 is placed and an outer region excluding the central region. At this time, the ring thermistor 140 is arranged for each region, but it is preferable to distribute it evenly in all regions.

Of course, the position, polarity, and direction of the electrode are not limited to those described above, and may vary depending on the type of the battery cell (C).

2 to 4 , the cell frame 110 is coupled such that the upper frame 111 and the lower frame 112 are opposite to each other. In the inner space between the upper frame 111 and the lower frame 112 , the battery cell C is seated in the inner space. A cell fixing groove CH for fixing the battery cell C is formed in the upper frame 111 and the lower frame 112, respectively, and the battery cell C is inserted into each cell fixing groove CH to be fixed do.

4 to 6 , the sidewalls of the cell frame 110 mean sidewalls of the upper frame 111 and the lower frame 112 . A plurality of fastening grooves 110H are formed in each sidewall. The fixing bracket 113 has a shape surrounding a portion of the side portion where the upper frame 111 and the lower frame 112 come into contact, and is fixed by being fastened to the fastening groove 110H. In addition, there is a step L in which a part of the fixing bracket 113 can be installed on the sidewalls of the upper frame 111 and the lower frame 112 . The depth of the step (L) is preferably provided to a depth similar to the thickness of the fixing bracket (113).

Referring to FIG. 4 , the plurality of bus bars 120 are components electrically connected to the electrode tabs CE of the battery cells C and are disposed on the upper surface of the upper frame 111 . And, the upper surface of the upper frame 111 is formed with ribs and steps so that each of the bus bars 120 can be seated and insulated at the same time.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the bus bar 120 is provided in four types. The four types of bus bars 121 , 122 , 123 , and 124 are all disposed on the upper surface of the upper frame 111 , and the respective bus bars are disposed not to overlap and are not electrically connected.

The first bus bar 121 is electrically connected to the first electrodes CE+ provided in each of the battery cells C. As shown in FIG. The first bus ratio 121 connects the battery cells C in parallel in the first direction. In the embodiment of the present invention, all 10 first bus ratios 121 are provided. One first bus bar 121 is electrically connected to the first electrodes CE+ of the nine battery cells C in the first direction (column), and is arranged five each in the second direction (row direction).

The second bus bar 122 is located on the side of the upper surface of the upper frame 111 and extends in the first direction (column), and has a ''' shape having an end extending in the second direction (row) from one extended end. to be. The second bus bar 122 is electrically connected to the second electrodes CE- of the battery cells C located in the outermost row. The end of the second bus bar 122 extends to the battery cell C located in the third row. The second bus bar 122 is further provided with the same second bus bar 122 at a position opposite to the center thereof.

The third bus bar 123 is disposed on the central region of the upper surface of the upper frame, and has a '土' shape having ends extending in the first direction (column) and the second direction (row). It is electrically connected to the first electrodes CE+ of the battery cells C positioned below the third bus bar 123 .

The first bus bar and the third bus bar are electrically connected to the first electrode of the battery cell, and the second bus bar is electrically connected to the second electrode of the battery cell.

The fourth bus bar 124 is disposed on the side of the upper surface of the upper frame 111 , and is located at a position symmetrical to the left and right with the second bus bar 122 . The fourth bus bar 124 is fastened to one side of each fixing part FF formed at the edge of the cell frame 110 , and the fourth bus bar 124 is connected to the battery cells C and the first bus bar to the second bus bar 124 . 3 The first polarity fourth bus bar 124+ and the second polarity fourth bus bar 124- for assembling all electrical connections of the 3 bus bars 121, 122, and 123 with the same polarity by separating the positive and negative poles ) is provided and each of the fourth bus bars 124+ and 124 - having different polarities are respectively disposed at opposite positions with respect to the center. Each of the fourth bus bars 124- and 124+ has an anode and a cathode output terminal O for connecting to the outside.

The printed circuit board 130 is disposed on the plurality of bus bars 120 and insulated from each other, and a circuit pattern 130P electrically connected to the plurality of bus bars 120 by wire bonding is printed thereon. In this case, the circuit pattern 130P is independently connected to all of the first bus bars to the third bus bars 121 , 122 , and 123 . The circuit pattern 130P connected to the first to third bus ratios 121 , 122 , and 123 is connected to the connector 130C located on one side of the printed circuit board 130 . Accordingly, in the connector 130C, all of the battery cells C form a predetermined group and are all connected through the first to third bus ratios 121 , 122 , and 123 . The connector 130C is connected to a separate battery management system (BMS) circuit. Accordingly, the battery management system (BMS) can manage the voltage, current, and power state of the battery cells (C) in a predetermined group unit. In addition, according to implementation, the printed circuit board 130 collects electrical signals of the first to third bus bars 121 , 122 , and 123 having the same polarity, and a fourth bus bar corresponding to each polarity. A separate signal combining circuit pattern for connecting with (124+, 124-) may be further generated. That is, since the first bus bar 121 and the third bus bar 123 are connected to the first polarity (+) of the battery cell C, the first polarity fourth bus bar 124+ is electrically connected to each other. A circuit pattern may be provided. In addition, since the second bus bar 122 is connected to the second polarity (-) of the battery cell C, the second bus bar 122 and the second polarity fourth bus bar 124 - are electrically connected to each other. A separate circuit pattern for connection may be provided. Of course, it should be configured so that the two circuit patterns are not electrically connected.

According to the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figs. 7 and 9, the battery module 100 of the present invention can be configured as one battery pack by combining two with each other. The fixing parts FF provided at the four corners of the upper frame 111 fix the fourth bus bar 124 and, at the same time, turn over the same battery module 100' and then the fixing parts FF and FF' respectively. This can be correspondingly coupled. In addition, a coupling bracket 114 for fixing the two battery modules 100 and 100 ′ may be provided. That is, the coupling bracket 114 for fixing the side of the cell frame 110 of the battery module 100 and the side of the cell frame 110 ′ of the same battery module 100 ′ may be provided. ?steel? The bracket 114 may be fixed by fastening grooves 110H and 110H ′ formed on each cell frame 110 , 110 ′ and screws.

In addition, a high current connection unit HC for electrically connecting the fourth bus bar 124 of the battery module 110 and the fourth bus bar 124 ′ of the other battery module 110 ′ may be further provided.

According to the battery module according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to minimize the wiring and bus bars for outputting electrical signals from the two battery modules 110 and 110 ′, so that the battery module can be reduced in weight and disconnected. It is possible to significantly reduce the problems caused by the battery module, and since the number and complexity of the process can be reduced even during the manufacturing of the battery module, there is an effect of lowering the production cost.

As described above, the present invention has been described with specific matters such as specific components, limited embodiments, and drawings, but these are only provided to help a more general understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments No, various modifications and variations are possible from these descriptions by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, and not only the claims to be described later, but also all those with equivalent or equivalent modifications to the claims will be said to belong to the scope of the spirit of the present invention.

100: battery module
C: battery cell
CE: electrode
CE+: first electrode CE-: second electrode
110: cell frame
110H: Fastening groove
111: upper frame
112: lower frame
113: fixed bracket
114: coupling bracket
FF : Fixing part CH : Cell fixing groove
120: plurality of bus bars
121: first bus bar 122: second bus bar
123: third bus bar 124: fourth bus bar
124+: 1st polarity 4th bus bar
124-: 2nd polarity 4th bus bar
130: printed circuit board
130P: Circuit pattern 130C: Connector
140: ring thermistor
HC : high current connection
O: output

Claims (9)

a plurality of battery cells arranged to be arranged in a first direction and a second direction and having a first electrode and a second electrode;
An upper frame and a lower frame each having cell fixing grooves in which the plurality of battery cells can be respectively inserted and installed are coupled to each other, and a side wall is a plurality of fixing brackets to which the upper frame and the lower frame can be coupled. a cell frame in which a step is formed with the fastening groove of the;
a plurality of bus bars disposed on the upper surface of the upper frame and electrically connected to the electrode tabs; and
A printed circuit board disposed on the plurality of bus bars, insulated from the plurality of bus bars, printed circuit patterns electrically connected to the plurality of bus bars by wire bonding, and a connector formed on one side; Characterized by the battery module. The method of claim 1,
The bus bar is
and a first bus bar disposed on an upper surface of the upper frame and electrically connected to first electrodes provided in each of the battery cells to connect the battery cells in parallel in a first direction. The method of claim 1,
The bus bar is
The battery module comprising a second bus bar disposed on the side of the upper surface of the upper frame and extending in the first direction and having an end extending in the second direction from one end. The method of claim 1,
The bus bar is
and a third bus bar disposed on a central region of the upper surface of the upper frame and having ends extending in a first direction and a second direction. The method of claim 1,
The bus bar is
and two fourth bus bars disposed on the side of the upper surface of the upper frame and fastened to one side of a fixing part formed at a corner of the cell frame. 6. The method according to claim 2 to 5,
The first bus bar and the third bus bar are electrically connected to the first electrode of the battery cell, and the second bus bar is electrically connected to the second electrode of the battery cell. 7. The method of claim 6,
The fourth bus bar,
a fourth bus bar of a first polarity electrically connected to the first bus bar and the third bus bar, and a fourth bus bar of a second polarity electrically connected to the second bus bar;
The printed circuit board is a battery module, characterized in that the independent circuit pattern is formed so that the same polarity can be electrically connected. 8. The method of claim 7,
The printed circuit board is
The first bus bar, the second bus bar and the third bus bar are all independently connected to the circuit pattern to form a circuit pattern connected to the connector. 8. The method of claim 7,
The printed circuit board is
a circuit pattern electrically connecting the first bus bar and the third bus bar and the first polarity fourth bus bar, and a circuit pattern electrically connecting the second polarity fourth bus bar electrically connected to the second bus bar; Battery module, characterized in that independently added.

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