Patent Description:
The secondary battery is drawing attentions as a new energy source for enhancing energy efficiency and environment friendliness in that the use of fossil fuels can be reduced greatly and no byproduct is generated during energy consumption.

5V to <NUM>.

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 composed of at least one battery cell first, and then configure a battery pack by using at least one battery module and adding other components.

A conventional battery pack is generally configured to include a pack case mounted to a vehicle, such as an electric vehicle, and at least one battery module provided inside the pack case. Here, at least one battery module may include a water-cooled cooling pipe unit for cooling the battery cells, and the battery pack may further include has a coolant inflow and outflow pipe mounted through the pack case to supply and discharge a coolant using the cooling pipe unit.

In the conventional battery pack, it is necessary to isolate the cooling water flowing through the water-cooling coolant inflow and outflow pipe and the cooling pipe unit not to come into contact with the battery cells inside the battery pack. That is, it is important to block the risk of the cooling water from flowing to the battery cells inside the battery module.

Therefore, it is required to find a way to implement a tighter watertight structure in a water-cooled battery pack.

Further prior art is described in <CIT> and published on <NUM>. <NUM>), <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT>.

The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and therefore the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery pack, which may implement a tighter watertight structure in a water-cooled battery pack, and a vehicle including the battery pack.

In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery pack, comprising: at least one battery module including at least one battery cell and having a cooling pipe unit including a pipe housing and a connection pipe disposed in the pipe housing and including a coolant flow path for cooling the at least one battery cell is formed; a pack case configured to accommodate the at least one battery module; a coolant inflow and outflow pipe mounted through the pack case and connected to the connection pipe inside the pipe housing to supply a coolant to the coolant flow path from the outside of the pack case and discharge the coolant from the coolant flow path to the outside of the pack case; a first sealing unit disposed between the coolant inflow and outflow pipe and the pack case; and a second sealing unit disposed to be spaced apart from the first sealing unit by a predetermined distance and disposed between an inner pipe of the coolant inflow and outflow pipe and the pipe housing of the cooling pipe unit, wherein the coolant inflow and outflow pipe includes a pipe body provided through the pack case and disposed to contact an outer surface of the pack case; an outer pipe configured to protrude out of the pack case from the pipe body and connected to an external cooling unit; and an inner pipe disposed to be spaced apart from the outer pipe by a predetermined distance, configured to protrude into the pack case from the pipe body, and connected to the connection pipe of the cooling pipe unit.

The first sealing unit may be disposed between the pipe body and the pack case.

The first sealing unit may be disposed to contact the outer surface of the pack case.

The pipe body may include a fastening plate disposed at an outer side of the pack case and fastened with the pack case, and the first sealing unit may be disposed between the fastening plate and the pack case.

The fastening plate may have a first sealing unit insert groove into which the first sealing unit is inserted.

The second sealing unit may be provided in plural, and the plurality of second sealing units may be arranged to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance along a longitudinal direction of the inner pipe.

The first sealing unit may be provided as a planar O-ring member.

The second sealing unit may be provided as an axial O-ring member.

In addition, the present disclosure also provides a vehicle, comprising at least one battery pack according to the former embodiments.

According to various embodiments as above, it is possible to provide a battery pack, which may implement a tighter watertight structure in a water-cooled battery pack, and a vehicle including the battery pack.

<FIG> is a diagram for illustrating a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and <FIG> is a diagram for illustrating a main part of the battery pack of <FIG>.

Referring to <FIG> and <FIG>, the battery pack <NUM> may be provided to a vehicle as a fuel source of the vehicle. For example, the battery pack <NUM> may be provided to an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid vehicle, and various other types of vehicles that may use the battery pack <NUM> as a fuel source.

Also, the battery pack <NUM> may be provided to other devices, instruments and facilities, such as an energy storage system, using a battery cell as a secondary battery, in addition to the vehicle.

The battery pack <NUM> includes a battery module <NUM>, a pack case <NUM>, a coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM>, a first sealing unit <NUM>, and a second sealing unit <NUM>.

At least one battery module <NUM> or a plurality of battery modules <NUM> may be provided. The battery module <NUM> is mounted inside a pack case <NUM>, explained later.

The battery module <NUM> includes at least a battery cell <NUM> and a cooling pipe unit <NUM>.

The battery cell <NUM> is a secondary battery and may be provided as a pouch-type secondary battery, a cylindrical secondary battery, or a prismatic secondary battery. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the battery cell <NUM> will be described as a pouch-type secondary battery.

At least one battery cell <NUM> or a plurality of battery cells <NUM> are provided. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, it will be described that the battery cell <NUM> is provided in plural so that the plurality of battery cells <NUM> are stacked on each other to be electrically connected with each other.

The cooling pipe unit <NUM> is for cooling the at least one battery cell <NUM>, or the plurality of battery cells <NUM> in this embodiment, and is connected to an external cooling unit C through a coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM>, explained later.

The cooling pipe unit <NUM> has a coolant flow path formed for cooling the at least one battery cell <NUM> or the plurality of battery cells <NUM>. In the coolant flow path, a coolant supplied from the external cooling unit C circulates.

The coolant is a water-cooling type and may be provided as a cooling water. The coolant is supplied through the coolant inflow pipe <NUM>, explained later, from the external cooling unit C, circulates through the coolant flow path, and is then discharged through the coolant outflow pipe <NUM>, explained later, to the external cooling unit C again.

The cooling pipe unit <NUM> includes a pipe housing <NUM> and a connection pipe <NUM>.

The pipe housing <NUM> forms the appearance of the cooling pipe unit <NUM>. The pipe housing <NUM> is disposed between the plurality of battery cells <NUM>.

The connection pipe <NUM> is disposed in the pipe housing <NUM> and includes the coolant flow path. The connection pipe <NUM> is connected to the coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM>, explained later, inside the pipe housing <NUM>.

The pack case <NUM> accommodates the at least one battery module <NUM>. In addition to the battery module <NUM>, the pack case <NUM> may accommodate various electric components or other components constituting the battery pack <NUM>. The pack case <NUM> may be mounted to other devices, instruments, and facilities, such as the vehicle, the energy storage system, and the like.

The coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM> is for supplying a coolant from the outside of the pack case <NUM> to the coolant flow path and discharging the coolant from the coolant flow path to the outside of the pack case <NUM>, and is mounted through the pack case <NUM> and is connected to the cooling pipe unit <NUM>.

The coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM> is provided as a pair for supplying and discharging the coolant.

Hereinafter, the pair of coolant inflow and outflow pipes <NUM>, the first sealing unit <NUM> and the second sealing unit <NUM> will be described in more detail.

<FIG> is a diagram for illustrating a coolant inflow and outflow pipe of the battery pack of <FIG>, <FIG> is a diagram for illustrating a first sealing unit of the battery pack of <FIG>, <FIG> is a diagram for illustrating a second sealing unit of the battery pack of <FIG>, and <FIG> and <FIG> are diagrams for illustrating that the coolant inflow and outflow pipe of <FIG> is mounted to the first and second sealing units.

Referring to <FIG>, each coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM> may include a pipe body <NUM>, an outer pipe <NUM>, and an inner pipe <NUM>.

The pipe body <NUM> may be mounted through the pack case <NUM>. At least a portion of the pipe body <NUM> may be disposed to contact the outer surface of the pack case <NUM>.

The pipe body <NUM> may include a fastening plate <NUM>.

The fastening plate <NUM> is disposed at the outer side of the pack case <NUM>, and may be fastened with the pack case <NUM>.

The fastening plate <NUM> includes a pack case mounting portion <NUM> and a first sealing unit insert groove <NUM>.

The pack case mounting portion <NUM> is for coupling with the pack case <NUM>, and may be fastened with the pack case <NUM> by screw coupling or the like. To this end, the pack case mounting portion <NUM> may be provided as one or more screw holes for screw coupling.

A first sealing unit <NUM>, explained later, may be inserted and mounted in the first sealing unit insert groove <NUM>. Accordingly, the first sealing unit insert groove <NUM> is provided in a shape corresponding to the first sealing unit <NUM>, explained later.

The outer pipe <NUM> protrudes from the pipe body <NUM> to the outside of the pack case <NUM>, and is connected to the external cooling unit C. Specifically, the outer pipe <NUM> is provided to protrude out of the pack case <NUM> from the fastening plate <NUM> by a predetermined length.

The inner pipe <NUM> is disposed to be spaced apart from the outer pipe <NUM> by a predetermined distance, protrude into the pack case <NUM> from the pipe body <NUM>, and is connected to the cooling pipe unit <NUM>.

Specifically, at least a portion of the inner pipe <NUM> is connected to the connection pipe <NUM> through the pipe housing <NUM> of the cooling pipe unit <NUM>.

The first sealing unit <NUM> is for implementing a watertight structure and is provided as an O-ring member. Specifically, the first sealing unit <NUM> is provided as a planar O-ring member of an approximately rectangular planar shape.

The first sealing unit <NUM> provided as such a planar O-ring member is inserted into the first sealing unit insert groove <NUM> of the fastening plate <NUM>, and then maintains the sealing by a surface pressure generated by compression caused by screw coupling between the fastening plate <NUM> and the pack case <NUM>.

The first sealing unit <NUM> is disposed between the coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM> and the pack case <NUM>. Specifically, the first sealing unit <NUM> is disposed between the pipe body <NUM> and the pack case <NUM>. More specifically, the first sealing unit <NUM> is disposed to contact the outer surface of the pack case <NUM>, and is disposed between the fastening plate <NUM> and the pack case <NUM>. For this, the first sealing unit <NUM> is inserted and mounted in the first sealing unit insert groove <NUM>.

The second sealing unit <NUM> is for implementing a watertight structure, and may be provided as an O-ring member. Specifically, the second sealing unit <NUM> may be provided as an axial O-ring member in a circular axial shape.

The second sealing unit <NUM> provided as the axial O-ring member may be formed to have a thickness greater than the difference between the outer diameter of the inner pipe <NUM> and the inner diameter of the pipe housing <NUM>. Accordingly, the second sealing unit <NUM> may maintain the sealing by the surface pressure generated by compression when the inner pipe <NUM> and the pipe housing <NUM> are connected.

The second sealing unit <NUM> is disposed to be spaced apart from the first sealing unit <NUM> by a predetermined distance, and is disposed between the coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM> and the cooling pipe unit <NUM>.

Specifically, the second sealing unit <NUM> is disposed between the inner pipe <NUM> of the coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM> and the cooling housing <NUM> of the cooling pipe unit <NUM>.

At least one second sealing unit <NUM> or a plurality of second sealing units <NUM> may be provided. Hereinafter, in this embodiment, it will be described that a plurality of second sealing units <NUM> are provided.

The plurality of second sealing units <NUM> may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance along the longitudinal direction of the inner pipe <NUM>. Specifically, in this embodiment, the second sealing unit <NUM> is provided as a pair so that the pair of second sealing units <NUM> are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance along the longitudinal direction of the inner pipe <NUM>. In this embodiment, since the second sealing unit <NUM> is provided as a pair and the pair of second sealing units <NUM> are spaced apart from each other, the watertight structure may be more firmly implemented.

As such, in this embodiment, by means of the second sealing unit <NUM> and the first sealing unit <NUM>, it is possible to implement a more robust watertight structure in both the cooling housing <NUM> of the cooling pipe unit <NUM> and the pack case <NUM>.

Moreover, in this embodiment, by means of the two sealing structures of the first sealing unit <NUM> and the second sealing unit <NUM>, even if any one sealing structure has a problem, the other sealing structure may compensate for it.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the first sealing unit <NUM> and the second sealing unit <NUM> are structurally independent from each other as a planar structure and an axial structure, respectively, they may not affect each other in relation to sealing.

<FIG> is a diagram for illustrating a coolant inflow and outflow pipe according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, the coolant inflow and outflow pipe <NUM> further includes a third sealing unit <NUM>.

The third sealing unit <NUM> is to further improve the implementation of the watertight structure, and may be provided as an O-ring member. In this embodiment, by means of the third sealing unit <NUM>, the watertight structure is implemented even inside the pipe housing <NUM> of the cooling pipe unit <NUM>, and thus the watertight structure may be made more robust.

<FIG> is a diagram for illustrating a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, the vehicle <NUM> according to this embodiment may include at least one battery pack <NUM> of the former embodiment. The battery pack <NUM> provided to the vehicle <NUM> may be provided as a fuel source for the vehicle. As an example, the battery pack <NUM> may also be provided to an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, and other types of vehicles <NUM> in which the battery pack <NUM> may be used as a fuel source.

According to various embodiments as described above, it is possible to provide a battery pack <NUM>, which may implement a tighter watertight structure in a water-cooled battery pack <NUM>, and a vehicle <NUM> including the battery pack <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A battery pack (<NUM>), comprising:
at least one battery module (<NUM>) including at least one battery cell (<NUM>) and having a cooling pipe unit (<NUM>) including a pipe housing (<NUM>) and a connection pipe (<NUM>) disposed in the pipe housing (<NUM>) and including a coolant flow path for cooling the at least one battery cell (<NUM>);
a pack case (<NUM>) configured to accommodate the at least one battery module (<NUM>);
a coolant inflow and outflow pipe (<NUM>) mounted through the pack case (<NUM>) and connected to the connection pipe (<NUM>) inside the pipe housing (<NUM>) to supply a coolant to the coolant flow path from the outside of the pack case (<NUM>) and discharge the coolant from the coolant flow path to the outside of the pack case (<NUM>);
a first sealing unit (<NUM>) disposed between the coolant inflow and outflow pipe (<NUM>) and the pack case (<NUM>); and
a second sealing unit (<NUM>) disposed to be spaced apart from the first sealing unit (<NUM>) by a predetermined distance and disposed between an inner pipe (<NUM>) of the coolant inflow and outflow pipe (<NUM>) and the pipe housing (<NUM>) of the cooling pipe unit (<NUM>),
wherein the coolant inflow and outflow pipe (<NUM>) includes:
a pipe body (<NUM>) provided through the pack case (<NUM>) and disposed to contact an outer surface of the pack case (<NUM>);
an outer pipe (<NUM>) configured to protrude out of the pack case (<NUM>) from the pipe body (<NUM>) and connected to an external cooling unit (C); and
the inner pipe (<NUM>) disposed to be spaced apart from the outer pipe (<NUM>) by a predetermined distance, configured to protrude into the pack case (<NUM>) from the pipe body (<NUM>), and connected to the connection pipe (<NUM>) of the cooling pipe unit (<NUM>).