Patent Description:
Conventionally, since the shape and size of a space in which a battery pack is installed is very diverse according to the specification of an OEM vehicle, the shape and size of the battery pack had to be limited in accordance with the specification of the OEM vehicle to be released.

Recently, with the advent of a platform dedicated to electric vehicles, there is a trend that it is possible to freely use <NUM>% to <NUM>% of the area of a lower portion of the vehicle as a space for installing a battery pack. However, even in such a trend, since there is inevitably limited space utilization in a specific part of the vehicle, such as near a wheel house, a relatively large amount of dead space is generated, which leads to a loss of energy density.

Accordingly, in order to improve energy density which is one of the most important factors in a battery pack for an electric vehicle, it is required to develop a battery module structure capable of minimizing the occurrence of such a dead space. In addition, in the case of pursuing excellence in terms of energy density, it is required to develop a battery module structure capable of preventing a decrease in cooling efficiency and a decrease in structural rigidity which may occur in return.

The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and therefore the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery module capable of minimizing the occurrence of a dead space when installed in a vehicle by allowing the shape of a battery pack to be freely changed as needed in configuring the battery pack.

Meanwhile, the present disclosure is also directed to providing a battery module having an excellent cooling structure and excellent structural rigidity in order to well resolve a large amount of heat due to a high energy density.

However, the technical problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the above problems, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the invention described below.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery module including: three cell stacks, each including a plurality of battery cells; a cell tray including a base plate on which the three cell stacks are seated, and three split plates disposed upright on the base plate and configured to partition a space so that the three cell stacks are disposed in spaces separated from each other; a module housing configured to accommodate the three cell stacks and the cell tray, and having a hexagonal pillar shape; and a bus bar frame assembly configured to cover an opening formed in an upper portion of the module housing and electrically connecting the plurality of battery cells, wherein the cell tray further comprises a pin holder extending upward from a central portion of the base plate, wherein a mounting pin is configured to sequentially penetrate a central portion of each of the bus bar frame assembly and the pin holder from a top; and wherein the mounting pin has a flow path formed by penetrating a central portion thereof to allow a cooling fluid to pass therethrough.

A planar shape of the base plate may be a hexagon.

Each of the three split plates may extend from a central portion of the base plate to an edge so that seating surfaces for the three cell stacks have the same area.

The module housing may include a tray holder configured to support an edge region of the base plate.

The base plate may be exposed through an opening formed in a lower portion of the module housing.

Each of the three split plates may be configured to penetrate the base plate to be exposed through the opening formed in the lower portion of the module housing.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery pack and a vehicle including the battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure as described above.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, in configuring the battery pack, it is possible to minimize the occurrence of the dead space when installed in the vehicle by allowing the shape of the battery pack to be freely changed as needed.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible to improve the cooling performance and the structural rigidity of the battery pack.

Therefore, the description proposed herein is just a preferable example for the purpose of illustrations only.

Referring to <FIG>, a vehicle <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a battery pack <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The battery pack <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a plurality of battery modules <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure and a pack tray <NUM> on which the plurality of battery modules <NUM> are mounted.

As shown in <FIG>, a planar shape of the battery module <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is a hexagon. The planar shape of the battery module <NUM> may be approximately a regular hexagon. The shape of the battery module <NUM> may greatly improve energy density by minimizing a dead space generated between the adjacent battery modules <NUM> when disposing the plurality of battery modules <NUM>. In addition, the battery module <NUM> has a mounting structure formed in a central portion thereof. That is, the battery module <NUM> includes a mounting pin <NUM> penetrating the central portion in a height direction of the battery module <NUM> as will be described below. Due to such a structure, when the plurality of battery modules <NUM> are fastened to the pack tray <NUM>, it is possible to prevent a reduction in energy density due to a space occupied by the structure for fastening.

Hereinafter, referring to <FIG>, the battery module <NUM> according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes three cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C, a cell tray <NUM>, a module housing <NUM>, and a bus bar frame assembly <NUM>. The battery module <NUM> includes a mounting pin <NUM> and may include a module cover <NUM> in addition to the above-described components.

Each of the cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C includes a plurality of battery cells <NUM>. As the battery cell <NUM>, a pouch type battery cell may be used. The battery cell <NUM> includes a pair of electrode leads 111a withdrawn in the same direction. The battery cell <NUM> is disposed upright so that the electrode leads 111a face upward in the module housing <NUM>.

The cell tray <NUM> includes a base plate <NUM> and three split plates 122a, 122b, and 122c. The cell tray <NUM> includes a pin holder <NUM> in addition to the above-described components.

The three cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C are mounted on the base plate <NUM>. A planar shape of the base plate <NUM> is a hexagon. The planar shape of the base plate <NUM> may be preferably an approximately regular hexagon. The three split plates 122a, 122b, and 122c are disposed upright substantially vertically on the base plate <NUM>. The split plates 122a, 122b, and 122c partition accommodation spaces of the cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C together with the base plate <NUM> in the module housing <NUM> so that the three cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C may be disposed in spaces separated from each other.

Each of the three split plates 122a, 122b, and 122c extends from the central portion of the base plate <NUM> to the edge to partition a seating surface of the base plate <NUM> so that seating surfaces for the three cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C have approximately the same area as each other. The three partitioned seating surfaces form an approximately parallelogram.

As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the first cell stack 110A is disposed in a space partitioned by the first split plate 122a and the second split plate 122b. The second cell stack 110B is disposed in a space partitioned by the second split plate 122b and the third split plate 122c. The third cell stack 110C is disposed in a space partitioned by the third split plate 122c and the first split plate 122a.

The pin holder <NUM> has a shape extending upward in an approximately vertical direction from the central portion of the base plate <NUM> and includes a through hole H formed by penetrating a central portion thereof in an extension direction. A mounting pin <NUM> to be described later is inserted into the through hole H of the pin holder <NUM>.

When the cell tray <NUM> includes the pin holder <NUM>, each of the three split plates 122a, 122b, and 122c extends from the pin holder <NUM> toward an edge region of the base plate <NUM>.

The cell tray <NUM> having the configuration as described above may be made of a metal material to secure structural rigidity and function as a cooling fin. As such, when the cell tray <NUM> is made of a metal material, in order to secure insulation between the battery cell <NUM> and the cell tray <NUM> and increase thermal conductivity, a thermal resin may be filled in a contact interface of the cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C and the base plate <NUM> and/or a contact interface between the cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C and the split plates 122a, 122b, and 122c. The thermal resin may not only enhance insulation, but also improve a thermal conductivity between the cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C and the cell tray <NUM>. In addition, due to the filling of the thermal resin, the cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C may be fixed to the cell tray <NUM> so that the cell stacks 110A, 110B and 110C are prevented from moving.

The module housing <NUM> accommodates a sub-module M including the three cell stacks 110A, 110B, and 110C and the cell tray <NUM> through an opening portion formed in an upper portion thereof. The module housing <NUM> has an approximately hexagonal pillar shape. The module housing <NUM> may preferably have an approximately regular hexagonal pillar shape. Due to the approximately regular hexagonal pillar shape, when the sub-module M is accommodated in the module housing <NUM>, the base plate <NUM> of the cell tray <NUM> is in close contact with an inner surface of the module housing <NUM> to prevent the base plate from moving in the module housing.

The module housing <NUM> may include a second opening formed in a lower portion thereof for a heat dissipation through the cell tray <NUM>, in addition to the first opening formed in the upper portion thereof for accommodation of the sub-module M. In this case, the base plate <NUM> is exposed through the second opening. In addition, each of the three split plates 122a, 122b, and 122c may penetrate the base plate <NUM> and be exposed to the outside of the module housing <NUM> through the second opening.

Meanwhile, referring to <FIG>, when the second opening is formed in the lower portion of the module housing <NUM> as described above, the module housing <NUM> includes a tray holder <NUM> for supporting the base plate <NUM>. The tray holder <NUM> is formed in a lower portion of the module housing <NUM> to support the edge region of the base plate <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the bus bar frame assembly <NUM> covers the first opening formed in the upper portion of the module housing <NUM> and electrically connects the plurality of battery cells <NUM>. The bus bar frame assembly <NUM> includes a bus bar frame <NUM>, a plurality of bus bars <NUM>, and a pair of module terminals <NUM>.

The bus bar frame <NUM> is made of an insulating material and has a size and a shape corresponding to the first opening of the module housing <NUM>. The bus bar <NUM> is disposed on the bus bar frame <NUM> and is coupled to the electrode lead 111a of the battery cell <NUM>. The plurality of battery cells <NUM> may be connected to each other by the bus bar <NUM> in series, in parallel, or a mixture of series and parallel. The module terminal <NUM> is connected to the bus bar <NUM>. The module terminal <NUM> may function as a connection terminal when electrically connecting the plurality of battery modules <NUM> to each other.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the mounting pin <NUM> sequentially penetrates a central portion of each of the bus bar frame <NUM> and the pin holder <NUM> from the top. When the battery module <NUM> according to the present disclosure includes a module cover <NUM> that covers the bus bar frame assembly <NUM>, the mounting pin <NUM> penetrates a central portion of each of the module cover <NUM>, the bus bar frame from <NUM>, and the pin holder <NUM> from the top.

The mounting pin <NUM> includes a flow path P formed by penetrating the central portion thereof to allow a cooling fluid to pass therethrough. When the flow path P is provided in the mounting pin <NUM>, the cooling fluid flowing through the flow path P discharges heat transferred from the battery cell <NUM> to the base plate <NUM> and/or the split plates 122a, 122b, and 122c to the outside of the battery module <NUM>.

In addition to such a cooling function, the mounting pin <NUM> may also function as a fixing pin for fixing the plurality of battery modules <NUM> to the pack tray <NUM> so as to form the battery pack <NUM>.

The module cover <NUM> covers the bus bar frame <NUM> so as to protect and insulate the bus bar <NUM> disposed on the bus bar frame <NUM>. The module cover <NUM> has a size and a shape corresponding to the first opening formed in the upper portion of the module housing <NUM>. When the module cover <NUM> is provided, the module terminal <NUM> provided in the bus bar frame assembly <NUM> may be exposed to the upper portion through a terminal exposure portion <NUM> formed in the module cover <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A battery module (<NUM>) comprising:
three cell stacks (110A, 110B, 110C), each comprising a plurality of battery cells (<NUM>);
a cell tray (<NUM>) comprising a base plate (<NUM>) on which the three cell stacks (110A, 110B, 110C) are seated, and three split plates (122a, 122b, 122c) disposed upright on the base plate (<NUM>) and configured to partition a space so that the three cell stacks (110A, 110B, 110C) are disposed in spaces separated from each other;
a module housing (<NUM>) configured to accommodate the three cell stacks (110A, 110B, 110C) and the cell tray (<NUM>), and having a hexagonal pillar shape; and
a bus bar frame assembly (<NUM>) configured to cover an opening formed in an upper portion of the module housing (<NUM>) and to electrically connect the plurality of battery cells (<NUM>);
wherein the cell tray (<NUM>) further comprises a pin holder (<NUM>) extending upward from a central portion of the base plate (<NUM>);
wherein a mounting pin (<NUM>) is configured to sequentially penetrate a central portion of each of the bus bar frame assembly (<NUM>) and the pin holder (<NUM>) from a top; and
wherein the mounting pin (<NUM>) has a flow path (P) formed by penetrating a central portion thereof to allow a cooling fluid to pass therethrough.