KR20170011518A - Battery Module for Structure of Easy Insertion and Mounting of Terminal Plate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a battery module which includes: a battery cell laminate on which a plurality of battery cells are arranged while the lateral sides of the battery cells are adjacent to each other; a pair of cell frames which are mounted on both end parts of the battery cell laminate and include terminal plate receiving units which are fixed in a right position by the insertion of terminal plates; the terminal plates which electrically connect electrode terminals of the battery cells; and a battery management system (BMS) which is mounted on one lateral side of the battery cell laminate and is connected to the terminal plates. Accordingly, the present invention can save manufacturing costs and time by excluding a separate jig for arranging and welding the terminal plates.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a battery module for easy insertion and mounting of terminal plates,

The present invention relates to a battery module having a structure in which insertion and mounting of a terminal plate is facilitated.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] In recent years, rechargeable secondary batteries have been widely used as energy sources for wireless mobile devices. In addition, the secondary battery is attracting attention as an energy source for electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and electric bicycles, which are proposed as solutions for air pollution in existing gasoline vehicles and diesel vehicles using fossil fuels. Therefore, the types of applications using secondary batteries are diversifying due to the advantages of secondary batteries, and it is expected that secondary batteries will be applied to many fields and products in the future.

Such a secondary battery may be classified as a lithium ion battery, a lithium ion polymer battery, or a lithium polymer battery depending on the configuration of an electrode and an electrolytic solution. The amount of the lithium ion polymer battery Is growing.

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a secondary battery includes a cylindrical battery and a prismatic battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a cylindrical or rectangular metal can according to the shape of a battery case, and a pouch type battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a pouch- .

Such a secondary battery comprises a battery module or a battery pack by connecting a plurality of secondary batteries according to a capacity of a device in which the battery is mounted.

1 is a perspective view of a battery module in which a plurality of conventional secondary batteries are electrically connected to each other.

1, the battery module 10 includes a plurality of battery cells 11 arranged side by side so that the frames 12 are mounted on both ends of the battery cells 11, Are electrically connected to each other by the terminal plate 13.

In order to construct the battery module having such a structure, first, a plurality of battery cells are mounted on the frames and arranged. In order to electrically connect the arranged battery cells, a plurality of terminal plates are mounted on the spot jig, the spot jig is mounted on the battery cells, and the terminal plates contacting the battery cells are welded by the spot jig do. When welding is completed, separate the battery cells and the spot jig.

In the process of forming the battery module, the process of welding the terminal plate to electrically connect the battery cells requires a lot of manufacturing cost and time. That is, since the spot jig must be additionally prepared as a member for contacting the battery cells by arranging the terminal plates, the manufacturing cost is increased and the manufacturing time is increased because a plurality of terminal plates must be mounted on the spot jig by each worker .

Therefore, a battery module capable of solving the above problems is very necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and the technical problems required from the past.

Specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery module capable of reducing a manufacturing cost and a time by improving a process of electrically connecting a plurality of battery cells in order to configure a high capacity / high output battery module.

According to an aspect of the present invention,

A battery cell stack comprising a plurality of battery cells arranged side by side adjacent to each other;

A pair of cell frames mounted on both side ends of the battery cell stack body and including a terminal plate receiving portion into which the following terminal plates are inserted and fixed in position;

Terminal plates for electrically connecting the electrode terminals of the battery cells; And

A BMS (Battery Management System) mounted on one side of the battery cell stack body and connected to the terminal plates;

As shown in FIG.

Therefore, the battery module according to the present invention includes the terminal plate accommodating portion in which the terminal plates are inserted and fixed in the pair of cell frames, so that the terminal plates are arranged and welded in the process of electrically connecting the plurality of battery cells It is possible to eliminate manufacturing cost and time.

Specifically, the battery cell may be a cylindrical battery cell. The cylindrical battery cell includes a positive electrode sheet, a negative electrode sheet, and a jelly-roll type electrode assembly formed by winding a separator sheet sandwiched between the positive electrode sheet and the negative electrode sheet. The jelly-roll type electrode assembly is accommodated in a cylindrical metal can together with an electrolyte. The structure may be constructed with the assembly mounted.

In addition, the battery cell stack body may be stacked and arranged in a structure having a relatively large size in the transverse direction relative to the longitudinal direction. The longitudinal direction means a height direction from the ground and the lateral direction means a direction perpendicular to the electrode terminal forming direction of the battery cell.

Conversely, the battery cell stack body may be stacked and arranged in a structure having a relatively large size in the longitudinal direction as compared with the size in the transverse direction. The shape of the terminal plate for electrically connecting the electrode terminals of the battery cells may be changed according to the structure of the battery cell stack.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the terminal plate receiving portion may be formed on the cell frame on which the electrode terminals face. Accordingly, when the terminal plate is mounted on the terminal plate accommodating portion, the terminal plate and the electrode terminals of the battery cells can be brought into direct contact with each other, so that the subsequent welding process can be performed quickly.

In the specific example of the terminal plate housing portion, the terminal plate housing portion may have a top opening structure so that the terminal plate can be inserted into the housing from above with respect to the ground. Accordingly, the terminal plate can be easily inserted into the terminal plate accommodating portion by a simple operation in which the operator moves the terminal plate from top to bottom.

Specifically, the terminal plate receiving portion may be formed in the cell frame in a slit shape corresponding to the thickness of the terminal plate in a state that the top end thereof is opened. Since the slit shape has a thickness corresponding to the terminal plate, a separate space is not formed in a state where the terminal plate is mounted on the terminal plate accommodating portion, so that the terminal plate is fixed so as not to be shaken, The problem of poor contact can be alleviated.

In one example of the cell frame, a welding opening corresponding to the shape of the terminal plate accommodating portion is formed on an outer surface of the cell frame so that at least a part of one surface of the terminal plate may be exposed to the outside for welding to the electrode terminal. As shown in FIG.

In one embodiment of the welding opening, the welding opening may have a structure corresponding to the outer shape of the terminal plate.

Specifically, the welding opening may be formed along the inner end of the terminal plate so as to surround the outer periphery of the terminal plate so as to prevent the terminal plate from being separated from the terminal plate.

More specifically, the inner circumferential width of the welding opening may be relatively small by the size of the protruding portion that is longer than the circumferential width of the terminal plate at the corresponding portion. Accordingly, the terminal plate is not separated from the cell frame, and the terminal plate between the welding processes is properly positioned, thereby alleviating the problem of poor contact between the battery cell and the terminal plate.

The extended portion may have a size ranging from 1% to 30% based on the inner circumferential width of the welding opening.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the cell frames may be composed of a first cell frame on which one end of the battery cell stack is mounted and a second cell frame on which the other end is mounted, And the second cell frame may be coupled to each other by a fastening member. Specifically, fasteners may be formed at the corners of the first cell frame and the second cell frame, and fastening members may be inserted into the fasteners so that the first cell frame and the second cell frame are coupled to each other .

Each of the first cell frame and the second cell frame may be formed with a storage portion having a shape corresponding to one end and the other end of the battery cells, and openings for exposing the electrode terminals of the battery cells are formed on the outer surface It can be perforated. Specifically, the battery cells may be a cylindrical battery cell, and the shape of the receiving part may be a cylindrical shape having grooves. The openings may be formed in a circular shape corresponding to the shape of the electrode terminal of the battery cell.

In addition, one or more through-passages through which the refrigerant can flow may be formed between the receiving portions of the first cell frame and the second cell frame, and the terminal plate may have a shape corresponding to the through- Perforations may be perforated. Accordingly, the through-holes and the through-holes may communicate with each other, and the coolant introduced from the through-holes of the one terminal plate may pass through the through-holes of the first cell frame and the second cell frame, And the battery cells may be cooled. The flow direction of the refrigerant may be reversed.

The terminal plates may be connected to the electrode terminals of the battery cells while being mounted on the terminal plate inserting portion.

The terminal plates may have a structure in which at least two battery cells are connected in series or in series and in parallel.

In one embodiment of the present invention,

A terminal connection portion contacting the electrode terminals of the battery cells and having a rectangular shape; And

A BMS connection part formed to extend from one side of the terminal connection part and connected to the BMS in a state of being vertically bent in a BMS direction from an upper end of the cell frame;

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It is needless to say that the shape of the terminal connection portion may be changed according to the connection structure of the battery cells. Specifically, as the number of battery cells connected in parallel increases, the contact area with the electrode terminals of the terminal plate can be enlarged.

In addition, a depressed groove having a shape corresponding to the BMS connection portion may be formed at an upper end of the cell frame so as to guide and fix the bending of the BMS connection portion. According to this structure, it is possible to prevent a process failure due to the flow that may occur during the process of connecting the terminal plate to the BMS in the process of manufacturing the battery module, and the operator can easily bend the terminal plate and connect to the BMS have.

The present invention also provides a battery pack having a structure including the battery module.

The present invention also provides a device including the battery pack as a power source.

The device may be selected from the group consisting of an electric bicycle, an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and a power storage device.

The structure and manufacturing method of such a device are well known in the art, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

As described above, the battery module according to the present invention includes the terminal plate receiving portion in which the terminal plates are inserted and fixed in the pair of cell frames, so that in the process of electrically connecting the plurality of battery cells, A separate jig for arranging and welding can be excluded, thereby reducing manufacturing cost and time.

1 is a perspective view of a battery module in which a plurality of conventional secondary batteries are electrically connected to each other;
2 is a perspective view of a battery module according to one embodiment of the present invention;
3 is a perspective view of a cell frame of the battery module of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the battery module of FIG. 2 before the terminal plate is mounted;
5 is an enlarged view of the terminal plate inserting portion of the "A" portion of Fig. 4;
6 is an enlarged front view of the terminal plate inserting portion of the battery module of Fig. 2;
7 is an enlarged view of a terminal plate of the battery module of Fig. 2;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cell frame of FIG.

2 and 3, the battery module 100 includes a battery cell stack 110, a first cell frame 120, a second cell frame 130, a terminal plate 140, and a BMS (not shown) ).

The battery cell stack body 110 has a structure in which cylindrical battery cells 111 are arranged in a state where their side surfaces are adjacent to each other. The battery cell stack body 110 is stacked and arranged in a structure having a relatively large size in the transverse direction with respect to the longitudinal direction size. The BMS may be mounted on the upper surface or one side of the battery cell stack body 110.

The first cell frame 120 and the second cell frame 130 are respectively mounted on both ends of the battery cell stack 110 and can be coupled to each other by a fastening member (not shown).

Each of the first cell frame 120 and the second cell frame 130 is formed with a columnar storage portion 121 on the inner side corresponding to one end portion and the other end portion of the battery cells 111, Openings 122 through which the electrode terminals of the electrodes 111 are exposed are circularly perforated on the outer surface.

A through hole 124 through which the refrigerant can flow is formed between the respective receiving portions 121 of the first cell frame 120 and the second cell frame 130, A through hole 149 having a shape corresponding to the through hole 124 is formed.

The through holes 149 and the through holes 149 are communicated with each other so that the refrigerant introduced from the through holes 149 of the front terminal plate 140 flows through the through holes 124 of the first cell frame 120 and the second And the battery cells 111 are cooled by passing through the through passages of the cell frame 130 and discharged to the through holes 149 of the rear terminal plate 140.

The terminal plates 140 are connected to the electrode terminals of the battery cells 111 in a state of being mounted on the terminal plate inserting portion 150.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing a state before the terminal plate is mounted in the battery module of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 schematically shows an enlarged view of the terminal plate inserting portion of the "A" .

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5 together with FIG. 1, a terminal plate accommodating portion 150 is fixed to the upper portion of the first cell frame 120 and the second cell frame 130 by inserting the terminal plates 140, Respectively. The terminal plate housing portion 150 is formed at a portion where the electrode terminals of the battery cell 111 face each other.

The terminal plate housing part 150 has a top opening structure for inserting the terminal plate 140 from the top and has a slit shape corresponding to the thickness of the terminal plate 140, 120 and the second cell frame 130, respectively.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged front view of the terminal plate inserting portion of the battery module of Fig.

Referring to FIG. 6 together with FIG. 1, a terminal plate accommodating portion 150 (see FIG. 1) is formed so that at least a part of one surface of the terminal plate 140 is exposed to the outside for welding the electrode terminal 112 of the battery cell 111 Are formed on the outer surfaces of the first cell frame 120 and the second cell frame 130. As shown in Fig.

The welding opening 123 has a structure corresponding to the outer shape of the terminal plate. The welding opening 123 is formed along the inner end of the terminal plate 140 so as to surround the outer periphery of the terminal plate 140 so as to prevent the terminal plate 140 from being separated.

The inner circumferential width T1 of the welding opening 123 is formed to be relatively small by the size of the fixing portion 125 extending from the outer circumferential width T2 of the terminal plate 140 at the corresponding portion. Specifically, the extended portion 125 has a size of 1% based on the inner peripheral width T1 of the opening 123 for welding.

Fig. 7 schematically shows an enlarged view of the terminal plate of the battery module of Fig.

Referring to FIG. 7 together with FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the terminal plate 140 includes a terminal connection part 141 and a BMS connection part 142. The terminal connection portion 141 is in contact with the electrode terminals of the battery cells 111 and has a rectangular shape. The BMS connection portion 142 extends from the upper side of the terminal connection portion 141, Which is located at the upper end of the battery cell stack body 110 at the upper end of the battery cell stack body 110. As shown in FIG.

The upper ends of the cell frames 120 and 130 are formed with indentation grooves 129 and 139 having a shape corresponding to the BMS connection portion 142 so as to guide and fix the bending of the BMS connection portion 142.

Slots 143 for facilitating soldering or welding of the terminal connection portion 141 and the electrode terminals are formed at respective portions corresponding to the electrode terminals of the battery cells 111 of the terminal connection portion 141.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims (22)

A battery cell stack comprising a plurality of battery cells arranged side by side adjacent to each other;
A pair of cell frames mounted on both side ends of the battery cell stack body and including a terminal plate receiving portion into which the following terminal plates are inserted and fixed in position;
Terminal plates for electrically connecting the electrode terminals of the battery cells; And
A BMS (Battery Management System) mounted on one side of the battery cell stack body and connected to the terminal plates;
The battery module comprising: The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the battery cell is a cylindrical battery cell. [2] The battery module of claim 1, wherein the battery cell stacks are stacked and arranged in a structure having a relatively large size in the transverse direction. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the terminal plate housing part is formed on a cell frame on which the electrode terminals face. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the terminal plate receiving portion has a top opening structure so that the terminal plate can be inserted into the terminal plate from above. The battery module according to claim 5, wherein the terminal plate housing part is formed in the cell frame in a slit shape corresponding to a thickness of the terminal plate in a state that an upper end thereof is opened. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein a welding opening corresponding to the shape of the terminal plate housing portion is formed on the outer surface of the cell frame so that at least a part of one surface of the terminal plate is exposed to the outside for welding to the electrode terminal Wherein the battery module comprises: The battery module according to claim 7, wherein the welding opening has a structure corresponding to an outer shape of the terminal plate. The battery module according to claim 7, wherein the welding opening is formed along an inner end of the terminal plate so as to surround the outer circumference of the terminal plate so as to prevent the terminal plate from being separated from the terminal plate. The battery module according to claim 9, wherein the inner circumferential width of the welding opening is relatively smaller than the outer circumferential width of the terminal plate at the corresponding portion. The battery module according to claim 10, wherein the extending portion has a size of 1% to 30% based on an inner peripheral width of the opening for welding. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the cell frames comprise a first cell frame on which one end of the battery cell stack is mounted and a second cell frame on which the other end is mounted, Are coupled to each other by a fastening member. The battery cell of claim 12, wherein each of the first cell frame and the second cell frame is formed with a battery cell receiving part having a shape corresponding to one end and the other end of the battery cells, Wherein the openings are perforated on the outer surface. The battery module according to claim 13, wherein at least one through-hole through which refrigerant can flow is formed between the battery cell receivers of each of the first cell frame and the second cell frame. 15. The battery module according to claim 14, wherein the terminal plate is formed with a through-hole having a shape corresponding to the through-passage of the cell frame. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the terminal plates are connected to the electrode terminals of the battery cells while being mounted on the terminal plate inserting portion. The battery module according to claim 16, wherein the terminal plates connect at least two of the battery cells in series, or in series and in parallel. The connector according to claim 1,
A terminal connection portion contacting the electrode terminals of the battery cells and having a rectangular shape; And
A BMS connection part formed to extend from one side of the terminal connection part and connected to the BMS in a state of being vertically bent in a BMS direction from an upper end of the cell frame;
The battery module comprising: The battery module according to claim 18, wherein a depressed groove having a shape corresponding to the BMS connection part is formed at an upper end of the cell frame so as to guide and fix the bending of the BMS connection part. A battery pack comprising the battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 19. A device according to claim 20, comprising a battery pack. 22. The device of claim 21, wherein the device is an electric bicycle, an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, or a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.

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