KR20160015751A - Structure for fixing dimension of battery cell and parallel connecting structure between battery cells using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention can stably fix battery cell dimensions so as to mechanically automate a battery pack manufacturing process and facilitate parallel connection between battery cells, thereby improving the degree of freedom in designing a battery pack.
To this end, the present invention provides a battery pack comprising: a pouch type battery cell; An exterior case in which the pouch type battery cell is accommodated and a dimension of the pouch type battery cell is fixed when the pouch type battery cell is accommodated; And a conductive connecting member provided at an upper portion of the case for electrically connecting the electrode tabs of the battery cells accommodated in the pouch accommodating portion to the battery case. A connection structure is provided.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a battery module structure for fixing a battery cell dimension, and a parallel connection structure of a battery cell using the battery module structure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a battery module, and more particularly, to a battery module capable of stably fixing a dimension of a pouch type battery cell so as to mechanically automate the manufacture of a battery pack using the pouch type battery cell. And a parallel connection structure of battery cells using the battery module structure.

Generally, unlike a primary cell, a secondary battery can be charged and discharged, and is being applied to various fields such as a digital camera, a mobile phone, a notebook, and an electric vehicle, and active research is underway. Examples of the secondary battery include a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, a nickel-hydrogen battery, and a lithium secondary battery.

The lithium ion battery and the lithium ion polymer battery have the same structure except that the properties (liquid / solid) of the electrolyte are different. In addition, depending on the battery, the material of the electrolyte and the electrode may be slightly different. In the case of other secondary batteries, the materials used for electrodes or electrolytes are different, but the basic principle and structure are the same.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] In recent years, rechargeable secondary batteries have been widely used as energy sources for wireless mobile devices and the like.

Particularly, the secondary battery is an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a hybrid electric vehicle (Plug-In HEV) and the like.

In small mobile devices, one or a few battery cells are used per device, while a middle- or large-sized battery module such as an electric vehicle is used for a large-sized battery module in which a large number of battery cells are electrically connected due to the necessity of a high output large capacity.

Since the middle- or large-sized battery module is preferably manufactured in a small size and weight, a prismatic battery, a pouch-shaped battery, or the like, which can be charged with a high degree of integration and has a small weight to capacity, is mainly used as a battery cell have. Particularly, a pouch-type battery cell using an aluminum laminate sheet or the like as an exterior member has recently attracted a lot of attention due to its advantages such as small weight, low manufacturing cost, and easy shape deformation.

1 is a perspective view of a pouch type battery cell. The pouch type battery cell 10 includes a pouch portion 101 that is a portion for sealing an electrolyte and an electrode tab 102 that is coupled to the pouch portion 101.

The edge portion of the pouch portion 101 is formed with a frame portion 101a which is thinner than the inner main body portion.

However, since the pouch type battery cell 10 is constructed by attaching the insulating film to both surfaces of the metal foil for accommodating the electrolyte, the shape of the pouch type battery cell 10 is easily deformed due to pouch characteristics, The pouch type battery cell is mechanically automated using the pouch type battery cell to act as a stumbling block in the production of the battery pack.

That is, in order to make a battery pack by mechanically automating using the pouch type battery cell 10, the battery cell must maintain a constant number in the process of automation. Since the flow of the dimension is large due to the characteristic of the pouch, It is not possible to automate the production process.

In the meantime, in the case of configuring the battery pack, there have been many cases where only a serial connection is needed in the past, but there are many situations in which a parallel connection is required at present.

Particularly, when a high-output lithium battery such as an electric vehicle is required, several hundreds of pouch-type battery cells shown in FIG. 1 are stacked and connected in series or parallel to obtain a high voltage or a high current.

To this end, in fabricating the cell stacked body in which a plurality of pouch-shaped battery cells 10 are stacked, the electrode tabs 102 of the positive and negative electrodes of each battery cell are mechanically fastened or bolted together, Were connected in series or in parallel.

However, such a method lowers the assemblability and the production efficiency, and causes a high production cost.

In particular, in order to connect the battery cells in parallel, electrode tabs 102 of positive and negative polarities having the same polarity must be connected to each other at the same poles, and two or more electrodes are simultaneously connected However, when the mechanical fastening structure or the welding method as described above is applied, the degree of freedom of design in electrical connection is considerably reduced, and the assembly efficiency and the production efficiency are significantly lowered.

Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2032-0121488 (Feb.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems and it is an object of the present invention to mechanically automate the battery pack manufacturing process using the pouch type battery cell by making it possible to manufacture the battery pack regardless of the dimension of the pouch type battery cell And a battery cell dimension fixing structure for allowing the battery cell to be dimensioned to allow the battery cell to be dimensionally fixed.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a battery pack having a pouch type battery cell connected in series or in parallel to improve the degree of freedom in designing a battery cell connection structure, And to increase production efficiency.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery pack comprising: a pouch type battery cell; An exterior case in which the pouch type battery cell is accommodated and a dimension of the pouch type battery cell is fixed when the pouch type battery cell is accommodated; And a conductive connecting member provided on the upper case and electrically connected to each electrode tab of the pouch type battery cell. The battery module structure for fixing a battery cell dimension is provided.

In the above-described configuration, the exterior case may include a pouch accommodating portion for accommodating the pouch portion of the battery cell, and a partition for partitioning the pouch accommodating portion into at least two spaces.

And each of the electrode tabs of the conductive connection member and the battery cell housed in the pouch accommodating portion is welded and connected.

The conductive connecting member is integrally formed by injection molding of an outer case made of plastic at the time of molding the outer case.

Meanwhile, in the battery module structure for fixing the dimension of the battery cell, Wherein the battery cells are housed in respective pouch receiving portions divided into partitions of the external case so that the battery cells housed in the pouch receiving portions are housed immediately adjacent to the electrode taps having the same polarity, And the battery cells are connected to one conductive connection member so that the battery cells are electrically connected in parallel.

At this time, when two battery cells are connected in parallel, the two battery cells received in the pouch receiving portion divided by the partition are connected to the same conductive connecting member together with electrode tabs of the same polarity.

When three or more battery cells are connected in parallel, the electrode tabs of the same electrode of two battery cells are directly connected to the conductive connecting member and disposed outside the two battery cells directly connected to the conductive connecting member Each electrode tab of the battery cell is bent and connected to the electrode tab of the same electrode directly connected to the conductive connecting member.

The battery module structure for fixing the dimensions of the battery cell of the present invention and the parallel connection structure of the battery cell using the battery module structure are as follows.

First, according to the present invention, a battery pack can be manufactured regardless of a dimension of a pouch type battery cell, thereby providing an effect of automating a battery pack manufacturing process using a pouch type battery cell.

Next, according to the present invention, in order to obtain high voltage or high current by laminating several tens to several hundred pouch type battery cells and connecting them in series or parallel, it is possible to improve the degree of design freedom in electrical connection between stacked battery cells .

That is, according to the present invention, the dimension of the battery cells can be stably fixed so that the battery pack manufacturing process can be mechanically automated, and the parallel connection between the battery cells can be easily performed. Thus, The degree of freedom can be improved, and workability and production efficiency can be improved.

1 is a perspective view of a pouch-
2 is a front view showing a structure of a battery module according to the present invention for fixing a dimension of a pouch type battery cell.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line I-I in Fig. 2, and shows a state in which two battery cells are arranged in parallel. Fig.
Fig. 4 is a plan view of Fig. 2 showing a state in which two battery cells are arranged in parallel; Fig.
5A and 5B show another embodiment of the present invention,
5A is a sectional view along the line I-I in FIG. 2 for showing a state in which three battery cells are arranged in parallel
FIG. 5B is a plan view of FIG. 5A taken along the 'A'
6A and 6B show another embodiment of the present invention,
6A is a sectional view along the line I-I in FIG. 2 for showing a state in which four battery cells are arranged in parallel
FIG. 6B is a plan view of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings 1 to 6B.

[Example 1]

1 to 4, a battery module 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention includes a pouch type battery cell 10; An outer case 20 in which the pouch type battery cell 10 is accommodated and the dimension of the pouch type battery cell 10 is fixed when the pouch type battery cell 10 is retracted; And a conductive connecting member 30 provided at an upper portion of the case 20 and electrically connected to the electrode tabs 102 of the pouch type battery cell 10.

The case 20 includes a pouch accommodating portion 201 for accommodating a pouch portion 101 that is a portion for sealing the electrolyte of the battery cell 10 and a pouch accommodating portion 201 for accommodating the pouch accommodating portion 201 in two spaces And a partition 203 (Partition) for dividing the partition into a plurality of partitions.

The upper portion of the pouch receiving portion 201 of the case 20 is open to expose the electrode tab 102 of the battery cell.

The electrode tabs 102 of the battery cell 10 housed in the conductive connecting member 30 and the pouch receiving portion 201 are welded and connected.

The conductive connecting member 30 is formed by injection molding of the outer case 20 made of a plastic material when the outer case 20 is molded.

At this time, the conductive connecting member 30 is formed to protrude from the electrode tabs 102 located at both sides and connected to each other, and at least the same height is formed. This is to enable easy parallel connection with the adjacent battery cell 10 through the conductive connecting member 30 without being influenced by the dimension of the electrode tab 102.

The battery module 1 of the present embodiment accommodates the battery cells 10 in the pouch accommodating portions 201 divided by the partition 203 of the case 20, And the electrode tabs 102 of the same polarity are connected to one conductive connecting member 30 so that the electrode tabs 102 of the same polarity are connected to the electrode tabs 102 of the same polarity. The battery cells 10 are configured to have an electrically parallel connection structure.

Hereinafter, the operation of the battery module 1 according to this embodiment will be described.

1 to 4, a battery module 1 according to the present embodiment includes pouch-type battery cells 10 in two spaces divided by a partition 203, and the case 20 The pouch type battery cell 10 is fixed by the rim portion 101a of the pouch type battery cell 10a.

Therefore, according to the structure of the battery module 1 of the present embodiment, since the dimensions of the pouch type battery cell 10 are kept stable by the case 20, It becomes possible to mechanically automate the pack manufacturing process.

In other words, due to the characteristics of the pouch type battery cell 10, the fluidity of the dimensions in terms of width, length, width, and height is so high that it is difficult to convert the manufacture of the battery pack into an automated process using a machine However, when the structure of the battery module 1 of the present invention is applied, the pouch type battery cell 10 can maintain a constant dimension in width, length, and height, As a result, mechanical automatic production becomes possible.

Meanwhile, according to the structure of the battery module 1 of the present embodiment, the parallel connection between the battery cells 10 can be easily performed in the module configuration, and workability is improved and production efficiency is improved.

That is, when the two pouch-shaped battery cells 10 are connected in parallel, when the battery cells 10 are accommodated in the pouch accommodating portion 201 divided by the partition 203, The electrode tabs 102 of the same polarity are electrically connected to the same conductive connecting member 30 in the two battery cells 10 accommodated in the respective pouch accommodating portions 201 as long as the polarities are matched in this manner So that they can be connected together.

Thus, when the electrode tab 102 of each pouch type battery cell 10 is welded to the conductive connecting member 30, the parallel connection is completed.

Particularly, according to the present embodiment, the conductive connecting member 30 is integrally formed with the case 20 in which a certain dimension is maintained, and is protruded upward (i.e., in the cell height direction) relative to the electrode tabs 102 on both sides The dimension in the height direction of the cell is fixed irrespective of the electrode tab 102, unlike the conventional structure.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the conductive connecting member 30 is configured to protrude above the electrode tab 102, so that it can be easily connected in parallel with the neighboring battery cell 10 without being affected by the electrode tab 102 .

According to the structure of the battery module 1 of the present invention as described above, the dimension of the pouch-type battery cell 10 is stably fixed so that the battery pack manufacturing process can be mechanically automated, So that the workability and the production efficiency can be improved.

[Example 2]

5A and 5B illustrate another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 2 to show a state in which three battery cells are arranged in parallel, In the direction " A ".

Referring to these drawings, the structure of the battery module 1 of the present embodiment also includes a pouch type battery cell 10; An outer case 20 in which the pouch type battery cell 10 is accommodated and supports a dimension of the pouch type battery cell 10 when the pouch type battery cell 10 is retracted; And a conductive connecting member 30 provided at an upper portion of the case 20 and electrically connected to the electrode tabs 102 of the pouch type battery cell 10.

The case 20 of the present embodiment is provided with a pouch receiving portion 201 for receiving the pouch portion 101 which is a portion for sealing the electrolyte of the battery cell 10, ) Is partitioned into three spaces.

The electrode tabs 102 of the same electrode of the two pouch-shaped battery cells 10 are connected to the conductive connecting member 30, And the electrode tab 102 of the battery cell 10a disposed on the outside of the two pouch-shaped battery cells 10 directly connected to the conductive connecting member 30 is bent so that the conductive connecting member 30 To the electrode tab 102 of the same electrode that is directly connected to the electrode tab 102.

In other words, when three battery cells are accommodated in the respective pouch receiving portions 201 of the case 20, the remaining pouch-type battery cells 10 except the two pouch-type battery cells 10 directly connected to the conductive connecting member 30 The electrode tab 102 of the battery cell 10a of the battery cell 10a is connected to one of the electrode tabs 102 of the same polarity of the two battery cells 10 that are bent and directly connected to the conductive connecting member 30 .

The structure of the battery module 1 according to the present embodiment as described above also stably secures the dimensions of the battery cells so as to mechanically automate the manufacturing process of the battery pack and also facilitates parallel connection between the battery cells 10 and 10a Therefore, it is possible to improve workability and production efficiency in manufacturing the battery pack.

[Example 3]

6A and 6B illustrate another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is a sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 2 to show a state in which four battery cells are arranged in parallel, FIG. 6a in the " A " direction.

Referring to these drawings, the structure of the battery module 1 of the present embodiment also includes a pouch type battery cell 10; An outer case 20 in which the pouch type battery cell 10 is accommodated and the dimension of the pouch type battery cell 10 is fixed when the pouch type battery cell 10 is retracted; And a conductive connecting member 30 provided at an upper portion of the case 20 and electrically connected to the electrode tabs 102 of the pouch type battery cell 10.

The case 20 of the present embodiment is provided with a pouch receiving portion 201 for receiving the pouch portion 101 which is a portion for sealing the electrolyte of the battery cell 10, ) Is partitioned into four spaces, as shown in FIG.

The electrode tabs 102 of the same electrode of the two pouch-shaped battery cells 10 are connected to the conductive connecting member 30 so that the pouch- And each of the electrode tabs 102 of the remaining two battery cells 10a and 10b disposed outside the two battery cells 10 directly connected to the conductive connection member 30 is bent to form the conductive And is connected to the electrode tab 102 of the same electrode which is directly connected to the connecting member 30.

In other words, when four battery cells 10 are accommodated in the respective pouch receiving portions 201 of the case 20, the two battery cells 10, which are directly connected to the conductive connecting member 30, The electrode tabs 102 of the remaining two battery cells 10a and 10b are bent and connected to the electrode tabs 102 having the same polarity of the two battery cells 10 directly connected to the conductive connecting member 30 .

The structure of the battery module 1 of the present embodiment as described above can also stably fix the dimensions of the pouch type battery cell 10, particularly the tab dimensions, so as to mechanically automate the battery pack manufacturing process, Parallel connection between the battery cells 10, 10a and 10b can be easily performed, and workability and production efficiency in manufacturing the battery pack can be improved.

As described above, the battery module 1 of the present invention has the partition 203 for partitioning the accommodation space of the pouch type battery cell, and can securely fix the pouch type battery cell to prevent the flow of the dimension Accordingly, the battery pack manufacturing process can be mechanically automated.

Particularly, when the battery module structure according to each embodiment of the present invention is combined, the battery cell can be provided with a parallel connection structure of two rows, three columns and four columns. Of the battery cells may be changed so that the electrical connection between the battery cells is a multiple parallel electric connection of five or more rows.

Therefore, in the case of electric vehicles, there have been many cases where only serial connection is required in the past. However, there are a lot of circumstances in which parallel connection of 2 rows, 3 columns, 4 columns, etc. is required in many cases. According to the present invention, Even when the battery pack is configured using the battery cells, the required capacity of the battery pack can be matched to the required characteristics of the vehicle through serial and parallel connection of the battery module.

In other words, according to the battery module structure of the present invention, the dimensions of the pouch-type battery cell can be stably fixed so as to mechanically automate the process of manufacturing the battery pack using the pouch-type battery cell. In addition, It is possible to increase the degree of freedom of design of the electrical connection relation in order to obtain high voltage or high current by stacking tens or hundreds of pouch type battery cells and connecting them in series or parallel.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. To those who have.

Therefore, it should be understood that the above-described embodiments are to be considered as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the present invention is not limited to the above description, and can be modified and modified within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof .

The present invention relates to a battery pack manufacturing method and a battery pack manufacturing method which can stably fix a battery cell dimension so as to mechanically automate a battery pack manufacturing process and can facilitate parallel connection between battery cells, It is possible to improve the production efficiency, and thus it is an invention highly likely to be used in the industry.

10, 10a, 10b: pouch type battery cell 101: pouch portion
101a: rim portion 102: electrode tab
20: Battery module 201: Pouch accommodating part
203: partition 30: conductive connecting member

Claims (8)

A pouch type battery cell;
An exterior case in which the pouch type battery cell is accommodated and a dimension of the pouch type battery cell is fixed when the pouch type battery cell is accommodated;
And a conductive connecting member provided on an upper portion of the case to electrically connect the electrode tabs of the pouch-shaped battery cell to the battery case. The method according to claim 1,
In the case,
A pouch accommodating portion for accommodating the pouch portion of the battery cell; and a partition for partitioning the pouch accommodating portion into at least two spaces. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the conductive connection member and the electrode tabs of the battery cell accommodated in the pouch accommodating portion are welded and connected to each other. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the conductive connecting member comprises:
Wherein the battery module has the same height as the electrode tab or protrudes above the electrode tab. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein when the outer case is molded, an outer case made of a plastic material is injection-molded so as to integrally form the battery case. The battery cells are housed in the pouch accommodating portions divided into partitions of the outer case, and the battery cells housed in the pouch accommodating portions are housed so as to be immediately adjacent to the electrode tabs having the same polarity,
The battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the battery cells are electrically connected in parallel with each other by connecting the electrode tabs of the same polarity to one conductive connecting member. Parallel connection structure. The method according to claim 6,
When two battery cells are connected in parallel,
Wherein two battery cells accommodated in the pouch accommodating portion divided by the partition are connected to the same conductive connecting member together with electrode tabs of the same polarity. The method according to claim 6,
When three or more battery cells are connected in parallel,
The electrode tabs of the same electrode of the two battery cells are directly connected to the conductive connecting member,
Wherein each of the electrode tabs of the battery cells disposed outside the two battery cells directly connected to the conductive connection member is bent and connected to the electrode tabs of the same electrode directly connected to the conductive connection member. rescue.

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