KR20220137208A - Battery pack with gas detection - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery pack capable of detecting gas, that can immediately detect the generation of gas during charging and discharging of a battery and control the battery to prevent additional damage to a device and prevent accidents due to gas leakage, a housing; a battery module accommodated in the housing; a first gas sensor installed inside the battery module to detect gas in the installed battery module; a second gas sensor installed inside the housing and outside the battery module, and detecting gas; a valve installed in the housing to be opened and closed; and a controller that generates charge/discharge control information of the battery module and controls the valve according to a value detected by each of the first gas sensor and the second gas sensor.

Description

Battery pack with gas detection

The present invention relates to a battery pack, and more particularly, to a battery pack capable of detecting a gas generated inside the battery pack and preventing an accident or damage caused by the detected gas.

The electric vehicle is equipped with an electric motor and a high voltage battery pack to generate driving force, the high voltage battery pack may include a plurality of battery modules, and each of the battery modules may include a plurality of battery cells.

With the recent trend such as an increase in cruising range and an increase in output of a battery electric vehicle, a demand for energy density of a battery is increasing. In order to keep up with this demand, high-loading electrodes for secondary batteries and high Ni-NCM cathode materials are used. Accordingly, the amount of gas generated during the charge/discharge cycle also increases. technology is scarce. In particular, considering that the gas generated during the charging/discharging cycle of the battery is harmful to the human body and battery packs are used in various ways in the field of electric vehicles, immediate measures must be taken according to the generation of the gas to cause additional accidents or damage to the electric vehicle. can be prevented.

Korean Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-2009-0083534 ("Method and apparatus for removing toxic gas due to overcharging and discharging of batteries", published on August 4, 2009)

The present invention has been devised to solve the above problems, and an object of the battery pack capable of gas detection according to the present invention is to immediately detect the generation of gas during charging and discharging of the battery and control the battery to provide an additional device. An object of the present invention is to provide a battery pack capable of detecting a gas that can prevent damage to and prevent accidents caused by gas leakage.

A battery pack capable of gas sensing according to the present invention for solving the above problems is a battery module including a battery cell, a housing accommodating the battery module therein, a housing including a through hole, and installed in the battery module A first gas sensor for detecting gas, a second gas sensor installed inside the housing but installed outside the battery module to detect gas, and a valve installed in a through hole of the housing to open and close the through hole and a controller controlling the valve based on sensing information received from at least one of the first gas sensor and the second gas sensor.

In addition, the controller controls the valve to close the through hole when gas is not detected in the first gas sensor and the second gas sensor in a normal state, and when the first gas sensor detects gas , the battery charge/discharge control command information may be provided so that the charge/discharge amount of the battery module in which the first gas sensor is installed is reduced or the charge or discharge of the battery module in which the first gas sensor is installed is stopped.

In addition, when the second gas sensor senses gas, the controller may control the valve to open the through hole so that the gas is discharged.

In addition, a plurality of battery modules and a first gas sensor provided in each of the plurality of battery modules, the controller, based on the sensing information received from the first gas sensor provided in each of the plurality of battery modules, gas It is possible to identify a battery module in which , and output information on the identified battery module.

In addition, a plurality of battery modules and a first gas sensor provided in each of the plurality of battery modules, the controller, sensing information received from the first gas sensors respectively provided in the plurality of battery modules for a predetermined time Alternatively, the battery module in which gas is generated may be identified based on the amount of change in the sensing information, and information of the identified battery module may be output.

In addition, when the second gas sensor detects the gas and the first gas sensor does not detect the gas, the controller may recognize the inflow of contaminated external air and provide a recognition result.

In addition, the controller may control the valve to close the through-hole when it is recognized that the contaminated external air is introduced.

In addition, the battery module may include a negative terminal and a positive terminal located on one side, and the first gas sensor is located on one side of the battery module, but located closer to the negative terminal than the positive terminal.

In addition, the battery module may include a negative terminal located on one side and a positive terminal located on the other side, and the first gas sensor may be located on one side of the battery module.

According to the battery pack capable of detecting gas according to the present invention as described above, when gas generation is detected by the first gas sensor in the controller, the operation of the battery module in which the corresponding first gas sensor is installed is immediately controlled to generate gas. It has the effect of reducing damage to additional devices and preventing accidents.

In addition, according to the present invention, when gas generation is detected by the second gas sensor, the controller opens a valve to discharge the gas, thereby preventing additional device damage and accidents.

Also, according to the present invention, when gas is detected by the first gas sensor and the second gas sensor, the controller outputs a message including gas generation information to the user, so that only the battery module in which gas is generated can be replaced.

1 is a schematic diagram of a battery pack according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a schematic view of a state in which the valve of the battery pack according to the first embodiment of the present invention is opened.
3 is a schematic diagram of a battery pack according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
4 is a schematic diagram of a battery pack according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention described above will become more apparent through the following examples in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The following specific structural or functional descriptions are only exemplified for the purpose of describing embodiments according to the concept of the present invention, and the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention may be implemented in various forms and described in the present specification or application. It should not be construed as being limited to the examples. Since the embodiment according to the concept of the present invention may have various changes and may have various forms, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the present specification or application. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to a specific disclosed form, and should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention. Terms such as first and/or second may be used to describe various elements, but the elements are not limited to the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one element from other elements, for example, without departing from the scope of rights according to the inventive concept, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly The second component may also be referred to as the first component. When a component is referred to as being connected or connected to another component, it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but it should be understood that another component may exist in between. On the other hand, when it is stated that a certain element is directly connected to or directly connected to another element, it should be understood that the other element does not exist in the middle. Other expressions for describing the relationship between elements, that is, between and immediately between or adjacent to and directly adjacent to, etc., should be interpreted similarly. The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, the terms include or have are intended to designate that the specified feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof exists, and includes one or more other features or numbers, steps, actions, It should be understood that the possibility of the presence or addition of components, parts or combinations thereof is not precluded in advance. Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and are not to be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present specification. . Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by describing preferred embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in each figure indicate like elements.

[First embodiment]

1 illustrates a battery pack (hereinafter referred to as a battery pack) capable of gas sensing according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the battery pack according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a housing 100 , a plurality of battery modules B, a first gas sensor 210 , a valve 300 , and a second gas. It may include a sensor 220 and a controller 400 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the housing 100 is a type of case accommodating a plurality of battery modules B, a first gas sensor 210 , a valve 300 and a second gas sensor 220 , and has a through hole. may include. Since the battery pack according to the present invention is applied to the vehicle 1 , the housing 100 may also be installed inside the vehicle 1 . In FIG. 1 , the through hole is a kind of passage located on the upper right and lower right sides of the housing 100 . In the drawings, the controller 400 is shown in a form accommodated inside the housing 100 , but the present invention does not limit the position of the controller 400 as shown in the drawing, and the controller 400 is separated from the housing 100 . There may also be embodiments, such as being installed. The through hole is a portion formed so that a gas such as gas generated therein can be discharged. When the through-hole is closed by a valve 300 to be described later, the housing 100 is sealed in the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1 . However, the present invention is not limited to that the inside of the housing 100 is completely sealed, and a portion other than the through hole may be opened.

The battery module B is accommodated in the housing 100 . At least two or more of all the battery modules B accommodated in the housing 100 may be connected in series with each other. A battery cell is accommodated inside the battery module (B), and as described in the background art, gas may be generated by a chemical reaction inside the battery cell. At this time, when more than a certain amount of gas is generated inside the battery module (B), the electrode tab portion having a weak bonding force may burst and the gas may be discharged, which is referred to as a vent.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the first gas sensor 210 is installed inside each battery module (B) to detect gas generated inside each battery module (B). More specifically, the first gas sensor 210 detects the concentration of a specific gas generated inside the battery module, and transmits the detected concentration information to the controller 400 to be described later. In this case, the first gas sensor 210 transmits the detected gas concentration information to the controller 400 only when the gas concentration is greater than or equal to the reference value, or periodically transmits the sensed gas concentration information to the controller 400 without going through a determination process using the reference value. may be transmitted to the controller 400 . In the latter case, the controller 400 determines whether gas is generated in the battery module B or whether the detected gas concentration exceeds a reference value. In the drawings, the first gas sensor 210 is shown to be installed inside the battery module B, but the present invention does not limit the installation position of the first gas sensor 210 thereto, and the surface of the battery module B There may also be embodiments installed on the , and in particular, there may also be embodiments, such as being installed adjacent to the terminal block on the surface of the battery module (B).

1, the battery module (B) includes a negative terminal (M) and a positive terminal (P), in this embodiment, the negative terminal (M) and the positive terminal (P) are the battery module (B) located on one side of the In this case, the first gas sensor 210 may be located closer to the negative terminal M side than the positive terminal P, because gas is mainly generated from the negative terminal M side.

The second gas sensor 220 is installed outside the battery module B, but is installed inside the housing 100, and detects the generation of gas at the installed position. At least one second gas sensor 220 may be installed, and in this embodiment, a total of two second gas sensors 220 may be installed in each of the two through holes. In the present invention, the reason why the installation positions of the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 are different is that the controller 400, which will be described later, takes different measures depending on when gas is detected at each position. to be. The second gas sensor 220 may also transmit the sensed gas concentration information to the controller 400 or periodically transmit the sensed gas concentration information to the controller 400 when a gas concentration greater than or equal to a reference value is detected. In this embodiment, the second gas sensor 220 may be installed in the through hole, and there may be other embodiments such as being installed near the through hole.

In this embodiment, the types of gases that can be detected by the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 are CH4, C2H6, C3H8, C3H6, C2H2, C4, H2, CO2, CO, and electrolyte and , O2 and N2 may be a mixed gas. However, the present invention does not limit the type of gas that can be detected by each of the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 to the above-described type of gas. can detect

1 , the valve 300 is installed in the through hole of the housing 100 to open and close the through hole. In a normal state, the valve 300 operates to close the through-hole, and may be controlled by a controller 400 to be described later. When the battery pack according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied to a vehicle, the through hole may be connected to the exhaust port 10 of the vehicle, and the exhaust port 10 may be connected to a muffler 20 of the vehicle. However, the present invention is not limited to the connection structure of the through-hole being connected to the exhaust port 10, and may have various connection relationships with other parts of the vehicle.

The controller 400 generates general charge/discharge control information of the above-described battery module B, and controls the operation of the valve 300 . The controller 400 may be implemented as a BMS to directly control the battery module B, or may be implemented as a control device separate from the BMS to generate battery charge/discharge control command information and provide it to the BMS. A criterion for controlling the operation of the battery module B and the valve 300 in the controller 400 is whether gas is detected by each of the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 .

As described above, the controller 400 receives the gas concentration from the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 . When the concentration of the gas received from the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 is equal to or greater than the reference value, the controller 400 determines the position at which the first gas sensor 210 or the second gas sensor 220 is installed. It is determined that gas is generated in Here, the location where the first gas sensor 210 is installed may be identification information of the battery module in which the first gas sensor 210 is installed. Reference value information serving as a gas generation standard of each of the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 may be stored in the controller 400 . In addition, unlike this, the controller 400 generates gas based on the sensing information received from the first gas sensor 210 of each of the plurality of battery modules B for a predetermined time or the amount of change in the sensing information. ) can be identified, and information of the identified battery module can be output to the user.

In general, considering that the gas detected by the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 of the present invention is generated inside the battery module (B), the gas generation situation is the specific battery module (B). A first case in which gas is generated inside but does not leak to the outside of the battery module may be divided into a second case in which gas generated inside the battery module leaks to the outside. In the case of the first case, generation of gas is detected by the first gas sensor 210 , but generation of gas is not detected by the second gas sensor 220 , and in the case of the second case, the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas are detected. Gas generation is detected by the sensor 220 .

First, as in the first case, when gas is detected by the first gas sensor 210 but not detected by the second gas sensor 220, the controller 400 indicates that the current gas is generated only inside the battery module B. judge When gas is generated only in the battery module (B), if the generated gas leaks to the outside, it may adversely affect the user's body and cause an accident or damage other equipment, so it is necessary to reduce the amount of gas generated. To this end, the controller 400 may generate and provide battery charge/discharge control command information so that the amount of charge/discharge of the battery module B in which the generation of gas is detected is reduced or the charge or discharge of the corresponding battery module is stopped. In this case, the target of providing the battery charge/discharge control command information generated by the controller 400 may be a higher-level controller (eg, an inverter) of the battery module, thereby controlling the temperature of the battery module itself.

In addition, the controller 400 may output a gas generation situation to the user through various means to enable immediate response. At this time, the situation information output from the controller 400 may include information indicating that gas has been generated, the type of gas, the concentration of the gas, and identification information of the battery module B in which the gas is generated. The charging/discharging control information may include at least one of command information for charging or discharging a battery main relay, an initial charging relay, a charger, an inverter, or a converter.

In another case, when gas is sensed by the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 as in the second case, the controller 400 immediately controls the valve 300 to open the through-hole. The gas can be discharged to the outside. In the second case, the state in which the controller 400 controls the valve 300 so that the gas is discharged from the inside of the housing 100 is illustrated in FIG. 2 . In FIG. 2 , the valve 300 operates to open the through hole located at the upper side, because gas is sensed by the second gas sensor 220 located at the through hole located at the upper side. However, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2 , the operation of the valve 300 is performed when the generation of gas is detected in a specific second gas sensor 220 among all the second gas sensors 220 , the corresponding second gas sensor It is not limited to the operation of the valve 300 to open the adjacent through-holes in 220 , and when generation of gas is detected in any one of all the second gas sensors 220 , all the valves 300 operate to open all the through-holes. There may be embodiments in which the hole is opened to allow gas to escape more quickly, etc. In addition, in the present invention, a predetermined blowing means is included in the housing 100 , and when the through-hole is opened by operating the valve 300 , the blowing means is operated to allow the gas to be discharged more smoothly.

Also, similarly to the first case, when gas is detected by the second gas sensor 220 of the second case, the controller 400 provides information indicating that the gas has been generated and the location where the second gas sensor 220 in which the gas is detected is installed. Information can also be output to the user. The controller 400 may output a kind of message to the user to inform the information as described above, and the message may be implemented through visual or auditory means and output to the user. The controller 400 controls the valve 300 to open the through-hole to start exhaust, and then, when the concentration of the gas detected by the second gas sensor 220 is less than or equal to the reference value, the valve 300 to close the through-hole. ) can be controlled.

Unlike the second case described above, generation of gas may be detected by the second gas sensor 220 , but generation of gas may not be detected by the first gas sensor 210 . In this case, the controller 400 recognizes that gas or contaminated air has been introduced from the outside and controls the valve 300 to close the through-hole, and includes information on the recognition situation, that is, the situation where the gas is introduced from the outside. You can print a message to the user.

According to the present invention, the controller 400 controls the valve 300 according to the concentration of the gas detected by each of the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 as described above, thereby causing an accident caused by gas generation. to prevent further damage to the battery module 200 in which gas is generated.

[Second embodiment]

3 shows a battery pack according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3 , in the battery pack according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the negative terminal M included in the battery module B in the battery pack according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above. and the position of the positive terminal P are different from each other. More specifically, the negative terminal (M) is located on one side of the battery module (B), the positive terminal (P) is located on the other side of the battery module (B), the negative terminal (M) and the positive terminal (P) face each other At this time, the first gas sensor 210 is located on one side of the battery module B where the negative terminal M is located, so that it is possible to more easily detect the gas generated from the negative terminal M side.

[Third embodiment]

4 shows a battery pack according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4 , the battery pack according to the third embodiment of the present invention further includes a reference gas sensor 500 in the battery pack according to the first embodiment of the present invention described above.

The reference gas sensor 500 may be installed outside the housing 100 to sense the concentration of gas outside the housing 100 , and may provide the sensed gas concentration to the controller 400 as reference gas concentration information. That is, the controller 400 compares the gas concentration information transmitted from the reference gas sensor 500 as a reference value and the gas concentration transmitted from each of the first gas sensor 210 and the second gas sensor 220 with the reference value. occurrence can be detected.

[Other Examples]

The plurality of battery packs may be electrically connected in series, parallel, or series-parallel, and as shown in FIG. 1 , a battery pack of a first group of a plurality of battery packs and a battery pack of a second group of another group are connected to each other. In the opposite direction, the positive/negative terminals may be provided in the direction of the edge of the battery system, and the through-holes of the housing may be formed at both edges of the housing so that the gas leaking from the vicinity of the terminal of the battery pack can be better vented. have.

In addition, when the housing has a plurality of through-holes, a valve may be installed in each of the through-holes, and the controller controls the valve to open only some of the through-holes based on the position of the battery module recognized as leaking gas. can control

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the scope of application is varied, and modifications can be made through various combinations of the embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims.

B: battery module
M: negative terminal
P: positive terminal
1: vehicle
10: exhaust port
20: muffler
100: housing
210: first gas sensor
220: second gas sensor
300: valve
400: controller
500: reference gas sensor

Claims (9)

a battery module including battery cells;
a housing accommodating the battery module therein and including at least one through hole;
a first gas sensor installed in the battery module and sensing gas;
a second gas sensor disposed inside the housing and installed outside the battery module to detect gas;
a valve installed in the through hole of the housing to open and close the through hole; and
a controller controlling the valve based on sensing information received from at least one of the first gas sensor and the second gas sensor;
A battery pack containing
The method of claim 1,
The controller is
When the first gas sensor and the second gas sensor are in a normal state in which no gas is detected, the valve is controlled to close the through hole,
When the first gas sensor detects a gas, the battery charge/discharge control command information is provided so that the charging/discharging amount of the battery module in which the first gas sensor is installed is reduced or the charging or discharging of the battery module in which the first gas sensor is installed is stopped. supplied battery pack.
The method of claim 1,
The controller is
When the second gas sensor detects gas, the battery pack controls the valve to open the through hole.
The method of claim 1,
a plurality of battery modules; and
Including; a first gas sensor provided in each of the plurality of battery modules;
The controller is
A battery pack that identifies a battery module in which gas is generated based on sensing information received from a first gas sensor provided in each of the plurality of battery modules, and provides information on the identified battery module.
The method of claim 1,
a plurality of battery modules; and
Including; a first gas sensor provided in each of the plurality of battery modules;
The controller is
A battery that identifies a battery module in which gas is generated based on sensing information received from a first gas sensor provided in each of the plurality of battery modules for a predetermined time and a change amount of the sensing information, and outputs information of the identified battery module pack.
The method of claim 1,
The controller is
When the second gas sensor detects the gas and the first gas sensor does not detect the gas, the second gas sensor recognizes the inflow of polluted external air, and provides a recognition result.
7. The method of claim 6,
The controller is
A battery pack for controlling the valve to close the through-hole when it is recognized that polluted external air is introduced.
The method of claim 1,
The battery module includes a negative terminal and a positive terminal located on one side,
The first gas sensor is located on one side of the battery module, the battery pack is located closer to the negative terminal than the positive terminal.
The method of claim 1,
The battery module includes a negative terminal located on one side and a positive terminal located on the other side,
The first gas sensor is a battery pack located at one side of the battery module.

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