Patent Publication Number: US-2021194099-A1

Title: Battery Module, Battery Pack Comprising Battery Module, and Vehicle Comprising Battery Pack

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2019/011653 filed Sep. 9, 2019, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0116525 filed on Sep. 28, 2018, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a battery module, a battery pack including the battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     Secondary batteries which are highly applicable to various products and exhibit superior electrical properties such as high energy density, etc. are commonly used not only in portable devices but also in electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) driven by electrical power sources. The secondary battery is drawing attention as a new energy source for enhancing environmental friendliness and energy efficiency in that the use of fossil fuels can be reduced greatly and no byproduct is generated during energy consumption. 
     Secondary batteries widely used at present include lithium ion batteries, lithium polymer batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydrogen batteries, nickel zinc batteries and the like. An operating voltage of the unit secondary battery cell, namely a unit battery cell, is about 2.5V to 4.5V. Therefore, if a higher output voltage is required, a plurality of battery cells may be connected in series to configure a battery pack. In addition, depending on the charge/discharge capacity required for the battery pack, a plurality of battery cells may be connected in parallel to configure a battery pack. Thus, the number of battery cells included in the battery pack may be variously set according to the required output voltage or the demanded charge/discharge capacity. 
     Meanwhile, when a plurality of battery cells are connected in series or in parallel to configure a battery pack, it is common to configure a battery module having at least one battery cell first, and then configure a battery pack by using at least one battery module and adding other components. 
     When the battery module or the battery pack is configured, it is an important factor in product productivity and price competitiveness to increase the efficiency of the assembling process. Recently, as the demand for high-capacity battery cells has increased, the demand for battery modules and battery packs is rapidly increasing. Thus, in order to secure market competitiveness of products, it is required to find a way to enhance the efficiency of the assembling process for the battery modules or the battery packs. 
     DISCLOSURE 
     Technical Problem 
     The present disclosure is directed to providing a battery module, which may improve the efficiency of an assembling process, a battery pack including the battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack. 
     Technical Solution 
     In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery module, comprising: a plurality of battery cells; a base frame configured to support the plurality of battery cells; a cover frame coupled to the base frame to cover the plurality of battery cells; and a bus bar unit coupled to the cover frame in a tiltable form to be pivoted at a predetermined angle between a first location fixed to the cover frame and a second location fixed to the base frame. 
     The bus bar unit may include a bus bar housing pivotally coupled to the cover frame and fixed to the base frame; and a connection bus bar provided to the bus bar housing and connected to electrode leads of the plurality of battery cells. 
     The bus bar housing may have a tension stopper that is caught at the first location by a bottom portion of the cover frame to make the bus bar housing be spaced apart from the base frame at a predetermined angle. 
     The tension stopper may include a protrusion configured to protrude from the bus bar housing by a predetermined length; a first bent portion bent from the protrusion to contact a bottom surface of the cover frame at the first location and be spaced apart from the bottom surface of the cover frame at the second location; and a second bent portion bent from the first bent portion to be spaced apart from the bottom surface of the cover frame at the first location and to be disposed in contact with or adjacent to the bottom surface of the cover frame at the second location. 
     The bus bar housing may have a guide projection formed to guide disposition positioning of the bus bar housing at the second location 
     The cover frame may have a guide groove into which the guide projection is inserted when the bus bar unit is pivoted from the first location toward the second location. 
     The bus bar housing may have a fixing hook formed to fix the bus bar housing to the base frame at the second location. 
     The base frame may have a hook insert groove into which the fixing hook is inserted at the second location. 
     In addition, the present disclosure provides a battery pack, comprising: at least one battery module according to the above embodiments; and a pack case configured to package the at least one battery module. 
     Moreover, the present disclosure provides a vehicle, comprising at least one battery pack according to the above embodiments. 
     Advantageous Effects 
     According to various embodiments as above, it is possible to provide a battery module, which may improve the efficiency of an assembling process, a battery pack including the battery module, and a vehicle including the battery pack. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and together with the foregoing disclosure, serve to provide further understanding of the technical features of the present disclosure, and thus, the present disclosure is not construed as being limited to the drawings. 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram for illustrating a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view showing the battery module of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are diagrams for illustrating a process of coupling a cover frame and a bus bar unit of the battery module of  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram for illustrating a disposed form of the bus bar unit of  FIG. 3  at a first location. 
         FIGS. 6 and 7  are diagrams for illustrating a tension stopper of the bus bar unit of  FIG. 5 . 
         FIGS. 8 to 10  are diagrams for illustrating a disposed form of the bus bar unit of  FIG. 3  at a second location. 
         FIGS. 11 to 16  are diagrams for illustrating an assembling process of the battery module of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 17  is a diagram for illustrating a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 18  is a diagram for illustrating a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     BEST MODE 
     The present disclosure will become more apparent by describing in detail the embodiments of the present disclosure with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative only for better understanding of the present disclosure, and that the present disclosure may be modified in various ways. In addition, for ease understanding of the present disclosure, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to real scale, but the dimensions of some components may be exaggerated. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective diagram for illustrating a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure,  FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view showing the battery module of  FIG. 1 ,  FIGS. 3 and 4  are diagrams for illustrating a process of coupling a cover frame and a bus bar unit of the battery module of  FIG. 2 ,  FIG. 5  is a diagram for illustrating a disposed form of the bus bar unit of  FIG. 3  at a first location,  FIGS. 6 and 7  are diagrams for illustrating a tension stopper of the bus bar unit of  FIG. 5 , and  FIGS. 8 to 10  are diagrams for illustrating a disposed form of the bus bar unit of  FIG. 3  at a second location. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 10 , the battery module  10  may include a battery cell  100 , a base frame  200 , a cover frame  300 , a front cover  400 , a rear cover  450  and a bus bar unit  500 . 
     The battery cell  100  is a secondary battery and may be any one of a pouch-type secondary battery, a rectangular secondary battery and a cylindrical secondary battery. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the battery cell  100  is described as a pouch-type secondary battery. 
     The battery cell  100  may be provided in plural. The plurality of battery cells  100  may be stacked on each other to be electrically connected to each other. The plurality of battery cells  100  may be electrically connected by means of the connection of electrode leads  150  of the plurality of battery cells  100  and a bus bar unit  500 , explained later. 
     The base frame  200  is to support the plurality of battery cells  100  and may support a bottom portion of the plurality of battery cells  100 . A top surface of the base frame  200  may have a shape corresponding to a bottom surface of the plurality of battery cells  100 . Accordingly, the plurality of battery cells  100  may be stably supported on the top surface of the base frame  200 . 
     The base frame  200  may have a hook insert groove  210 . 
     The hook insert groove  210  is to stably fix the bus bar housing  510  of the bus bar unit  500 , explained later, at a second location, explained later, and may be provided at front and rear ends of the base frame  200 . 
     The hook insert groove  210  may be provided solely or in plural. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the hook insert groove  210  may be provided in plural, and the plurality of hook insert grooves  210  may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. 
     The cover frame  300  may be coupled to the base frame  200  to cover the plurality of battery cells  100 . The cover frame  300  may cover an upper side and both sides of the plurality of battery cells  100 . 
     The cover frame  300  may have a rotation guide groove  310 . 
     The rotation guide groove  310  is provided at both side ends of the cover frame  300  and may guide the pivoting of the bus bar unit  500 , explained later. A rotation shaft projection  530  of the bus bar unit  500 , explained later, may be mounted into the rotation guide groove  310 . 
     The cover frame  300  may have a connector  330 . 
     The connector  330  is to connect the battery module  10  to an external power source or electric component and may be provided on a front inner wall of the cover frame  300 . 
     The cover frame  300  may have a guide groove  350 . 
     The guide groove  350  may be provided at both side ends of the cover frame  300 . A guide projection  540 , explained later, may be inserted into the guide groove  350 , when the bus bar unit  500 , explained later, is pivoted from a first location, explained later, to a second location, explained later. 
     The front cover  400  covers a front portion of the bus bar unit  500  and may form a front surface of the battery module  10 . The rear cover  450  covers a rear portion of the bus bar unit  500  and may form a rear surface of the battery module  10 . 
     The bus bar unit  500  electrically connects the plurality of battery cells  100  and may be coupled to the cover frame  300  in a tiltable form to be pivoted at a predetermined angle between a first location fixed to the cover frame  300  at a predetermined angle and a second location fixed to the base frame  200 . 
     In this embodiment, the first location may mean a location at which the bus bar housing  510  of the bus bar unit  500 , explained later, is fixed at a predetermined angle from the cover frame  300 , and the second location may mean a location at which the bus bar housing  510 , explained later, is fixed to the base frame  200 . 
     Hereinafter, the bus bar unit  500  according to this embodiment will be described in more detail. 
     The bus bar unit  500  may include a bus bar housing  510 , a connection bus bar  520 , and a rotation shaft projection  530 . 
     The bus bar housing  510  is pivotally coupled to the cover frame  300  and may be fixed to the base frame  200 . The bus bar housing  510  may cover the front and rear sides of the plurality of battery cells  100 . 
     The connection bus bar  520  is provided to the bus bar housing  510  and may be connected to the electrode leads  150  of the plurality of battery cells  100 . The connection bus bar  520  may be provided in plural, and the plurality of connection bus bars  520  may be mounted to the bus bar housing  510  to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. 
     The rotation shaft projection  530  is provided at both sides of the top portion of the bus bar housing  510  and may be pivotally inserted into the rotation guide groove  310  of the cover frame  300 . 
     The bus bar unit  500  may have a guide projection  540 . 
     The guide projection  540  is provided to a side surface of the bus bar housing  510  and may guide the disposition positioning of the bus bar housing  510  at the second location. The guide projection  540  may be inserted into the guide groove  350  to guide the bus bar housing  510  to be assembled at an accurate location. 
     The bus bar unit  500  may have a fixing hook  550 . 
     The fixing hook  550  is to fix the bus bar housing  510  to the base frame  200  at the second location and may be provided to a bottom portion of the bus bar housing  510 . 
     The fixing hook  550  may be provided solely or in plural. 
     The bus bar unit  500  may have a tension stopper  560 . 
     The tension stopper  560  is provided to the bus bar housing  510  and may be caught by the bottom portion of the cover frame  300  at the first location to make the bus bar housing  510  be spaced apart from the base frame  200  at a predetermined angle. 
     The tension stopper  560  may include a protrusion  562 , a first bent portion  564 , and a second bent portion  566 . 
     The protrusion  562  is provided to the top surface of the bus bar housing  510  and may protrude from the top surface of the bus bar housing  510  by a predetermined length. 
     The first bent portion  564  may be bent from the protrusion  562  to contact the bottom surface of the cover frame  300  at the first location and may be spaced apart from the bottom surface of the cover frame  300  at the second location. 
     The second bent portion  566  may be bent from the first bent portion  564  to be spaced apart from the bottom surface of the cover frame  300  at the first location and to contact or be disposed adjacent to the bottom surface of the cover frame  300  at the second location. 
     Hereinafter, the rotating operation of the bus bar unit  500  between the first location and the second location will be described in detail. 
     First, at the first location (see  FIG. 5 ), the bus bar housing  510  may be fixed to be spaced apart from the cover frame  300  at a predetermined angle to keep the front and rear portions of the cover frame  300  open at a predetermined size. 
     The bus bar housing  510  may be fixed disposed at a predetermined angle by means of the tension stopper  560 . As shown in  FIG. 7 , at the first location, the first bent portion  564  of the tension stopper  560  is in close contact with the inner wall of the cover frame  300 , thereby preventing the bus bar housing  510  from moving. 
     In this embodiment, since the bus bar housing  510  is fixedly disposed at a predetermined angle without movement at the first location, when the cover frame  300  and the base frame  200  are assembled, it is possible to prevent the electrode lead  150  of the battery cells  100  and other components from being damaged or broken. 
     Thus, in this embodiment, the cover frame  300  and the base frame  200  may be assembled with each other more accurately. For this reason, the plurality of battery cells  100  disposed inside the cover frame  300  and the base frame  200  may be assembled at more accurate locations, and it is possible to effectively prevent electrical components or the electrode leads  150  near the bus bar housing  510  from being broken during the assembling process. 
     After the battery cells  100  are accurately disposed inside the cover frame  300  and the base frame  200 , a manufacturer or the like may pivot the bus bar housing  510  so that the bus bar housing  510  of the bus bar housing  500  may be disposed at the second location (see  FIG. 8 ). 
     After that, the manufacturer or the like may electrically connect the connection bus bars  520  of the bus bar unit  500  and the electrode leads  150  of the battery cells  100 . 
     When the bus bar housing  510  is pivoted from the first location to the second location, the guide projection  540  may be inserted into the guide groove  350  of the cover frame  300  to guide the bus bar housing  510  to be arranged at an accurate location. 
     When the bus bar housing  510  is pivoted from the first location to the second location, the tension stopper  560  is also pivoted together. Thus, the first bent portion  564  of the tension stopper  560  may be spaced apart from the inner wall of the cover frame  300 , and the second bent portion  566  may be disposed in contact with or adjacent to the inner wall of the cover frame  300 . 
     In addition, the fixing hook  550  of the bus bar housing  510  may be inserted into the hook insert groove  210  of the base frame  200  according to the pivoting to fix the bus bar housing  510  at the second location. 
     Meanwhile, the bus bar housing  510  is disposed to form a separated space S of a predetermined size with the connector  330  provided to the cover frame  300  (see  FIG. 6 ), thereby causing no interference problem with the connector  330  during the pivoting. 
       FIGS. 11 to 16  are diagrams for illustrating an assembling process of the battery module of  FIG. 1 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 11 , first, the manufacturer or the like may stack the plurality of battery cells  100  side by side in a predetermined direction. Referring to  FIG. 12 , the manufacturer or the like may place the plurality of battery cells on the base frame  200 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 13 , the manufacturer or the like may mount the cover frame  300  to the base frame  200  to cover the upper side and both sides of the plurality of battery cells  200 . 
     At this time, since the bus bar unit  500  coupled to the cover frame  300  is disposed to be fixed at a predetermined angle without movement, the manufacturer or the like may easily assemble the cover frame  300  to the base frame  200  without any interference problem caused by the movement or the like of the bus bar unit  500 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 14 , if the cover frame  300  and the base frame  200  are completely assembled, the manufacturer or the like may pivot the bus bar unit  500  to electrically connect the electrode leads  150  from the battery cells  100  (see  FIG. 11 ) to the bus bar unit  500 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 15 , after that, the manufacturer or the like may mount the front cover  400  and the rear cover  450  to cover the front and rear sides of the bus bar unit  500 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 16 , if the front cover  400  and the rear cover  450  are completely mounted, the manufacturer or the like may finally couple the base frame  200 , the cover frame  300 , the front cover  400  and the rear cover  450  by means of welding S or the like, so that the battery cells  100  (see  FIG. 11 ) and the bus bar unit  500  (see  FIG. 15 ) are hermetically packaged. 
     As described above, in this embodiment, the assembling process of the battery module  10  may be performed without interference between components coupled to each other during the assembling process of the battery module  10 , thereby significantly improving the efficiency of the assembling process. 
       FIG. 17  is a diagram for illustrating a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 18  is a diagram for illustrating a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 17 and 18 , a battery pack  1  may include at least one battery module  10  according to the former embodiment and a pack case  50  for packaging the at least one battery module  10 . 
     The battery pack  1  may be provided to a vehicle V as a fuel source of the vehicle V. As an example, the battery pack  1  may be provided to a vehicle V such as an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, and various other-type vehicles capable of using the battery pack  1  as a fuel source. 
     In addition, the battery pack  1  may be provided in other devices, instruments or facilities such as an energy storage system using a secondary battery, in addition to the vehicle V. 
     As described above, the battery pack  1  of this embodiment and devices, instruments or facilities such as a vehicle V, which have the battery pack  1 , include the battery module  10 ,  20  as described above, and thus it is possible to implement a battery pack  1  having all the advantages of the battery module  10 ,  20  described above, or devices, instruments, facilities or the like such as a vehicle V, which have the battery pack  1 . 
     According to various embodiments as above, it is possible to provide the battery module  10 , which may improve the efficiency of the assembling process, the battery pack  1  including the battery module  10 , and the vehicle V including the battery pack  1 . 
     While the embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown and described, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the specific embodiments described, and that various changes and modifications can be made within the scope of the present disclosure by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be understood individually from the technical ideas and views of the present disclosure.