Patent Description:
The present invention relates to a battery pack housing including a bent portion formed at the end of an upper cover fastening portion and an extension portion formed at the end of a lower case fastening portion in order to prevent introduction of oxygen, thereby inhibiting spread of fire.

With technological development of mobile devices, such as smartphones, laptop computers, and digital cameras, and an increase in demand therefor, research on secondary batteries, which are capable of being charged and discharged, has been actively conducted. In addition, secondary batteries, which are energy sources substituting for fossil fuels causing air pollution, have been applied to an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (P-HEV), and an energy storage system (ESS).

There are a lithium ion battery, a lithium polymer battery, a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickelhydride battery, and a nickel-zinc battery as secondary batteries that are widely used at present. The operating voltage of a unit secondary battery cell, i.e. a unit battery cell, is about <NUM>. 0V to <NUM>. In the case in which output voltage higher than the above operating voltage is required, therefore, a plurality of battery cells may be connected to each other in series to constitute a battery cell assembly. In addition, battery cell assemblies may be connected to each other in series or in parallel to constitute a battery module depending on required output voltage or charge and discharge capacities. In general, a battery pack is manufactured using at least one battery module by adding an additional component.

Since a lithium secondary battery has a risk of explosion or fire due to heat generation, however, securing safety is an important problem. If such an abnormal phenomenon is not dealt with in the initial stage, the abnormal phenomenon propagates to an adjacent secondary battery, whereby a battery pack may be greatly damaged.

Meanwhile, a battery pack is generally manufactured so as to have a structure in which a plurality of battery cells and various components are received in a battery pack housing.

<FIG> is a perspective view briefly showing a conventional battery pack housing <NUM>. The conventional battery pack housing <NUM> includes a lower case <NUM> configured to receive a plurality of battery cells, an upper cover <NUM> coupled to the lower case <NUM> in order to form the battery pack housing <NUM> together with the lower case, and a fastening means <NUM> configured to couple the lower case <NUM> and the upper case <NUM> to each other.

In addition, an upper cover fastening portion <NUM> is formed at the edge of the upper cover <NUM> in a state of protruding and extending outwards, a lower case fastening portion <NUM> is formed at the lower case <NUM> so as to have a shape corresponding to the upper cover fastening portion, and the upper cover <NUM> and the lower case <NUM> are coupled to each other via a fastening means <NUM>, such as a bolt and nut.

Even though fastening is performed as described above, however, airtight hermetic sealing is not completely achieved at the joint at which the upper cover <NUM> and the lower case <NUM> are coupled to each other.

When fire breaks out in the conventional battery pack housing <NUM>, therefore, external oxygen is abruptly introduced through a microscopic gap in the joint of the lower case <NUM> and the upper cover <NUM> due to an instantaneous difference in pressure between the inside and outside of the conventional battery pack housing, whereby fire may spread and explosion may occur in a severe case.

In order to solve such a sealing problem, a method of sealing the entirety of the joint using a sealing member may be used. In this case, however, an additional process is necessary and thus cost is increased. Furthermore, it is difficult to separate the lower case <NUM> and the upper cover <NUM> from each other after sealing.

<CIT>, <CIT>, <CIT> and <CIT> relate to battery pack housings.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery pack housing including a bent portion formed at the end of an upper cover fastening portion and an extension portion formed at the end of a lower case fastening portion in order to prevent introduction of oxygen, thereby inhibiting spread of fire.

In order to accomplish the above object, a battery pack housing according to the present invention defined in claim <NUM> includes a lower case configured to receive a plurality of battery cells and an upper cover located on the lower case so as to be coupled to the lower case in order to inhibit fire spread when fire breaks out in a battery pack, wherein the lower case includes a lower case fastening portion formed at the edge of the lower case so as to protrude and extend outwards, the upper cover includes an upper cover fastening portion formed at the edge of the upper cover so as to protrude and extend outwards, the upper cover fastening portion being coupled to the lower case fastening portion, and the upper cover fastening portion includes a first bent portion formed as the result of the end of the upper cover fastening portion being bent downwards.

Also, the battery pack housing according to the present invention further includes a fastening means configured to couple the lower case and the upper cover to each other.

Also, in the battery pack housing according to the present invention, the fastening means may be a bolt and nut.

Also, in the battery pack housing according to the present invention, the fastening means may be inserted through a through-hole formed in the upper cover fastening portion and a through-hole formed in the lower case fastening portion to fasten the upper cover fastening portion and the lower case fastening portion to each other.

Also, in the battery pack housing according to the present invention, the lower case fastening portion includes an extension portion formed as the result of the end of the lower case fastening portion being bent in the same direction as the first bent portion, the extension portion being located at a position corresponding to the first bent portion.

Also, in the battery pack housing according to the present invention, the upper cover fastening portion may further include a second bent portion formed at the end of the first bent portion so as to be bent toward the center of the battery pack housing.

Also, in the battery pack housing according to the present invention, each of the first bent portion and the extension portion are made of thermoplastic.

Also, in the battery pack housing according to the present invention, the second bent portion may be made of thermoplastic.

In addition, a battery pack according to the present invention includes one of the battery pack housings according to the present invention.

In addition, a device according to the present invention includes the battery pack according to the present invention.

A battery pack housing according to the present invention has an advantage in that a bent portion is provided at the end of an upper cover fastening portion and an extension portion is provided at the end of a lower case fastening portion, whereby it is possible to prevent introduction of oxygen from the outside and to inhibit discharge of flames to the outside when fire breaks out in a battery pack.

In addition, the battery pack housing according to the present invention has an advantage in that hermeticity between the inside and outside of the battery pack housing is improved even though a separate sealing process is not added.

In addition, the battery pack housing according to the present invention has an advantage in that the degree of coupling between the upper cover and the lower case is increased due to the bent portion provided at the upper cover fastening portion and the extension portion provided at the lower case fastening portion, whereby mechanical stiffness against vibration and impact is increased.

Hereinafter, a battery pack housing according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a perspective view briefly showing a battery pack housing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When describing the battery pack housing <NUM> according to the present invention with reference to <FIG>, the battery pack housing <NUM> includes a lower case <NUM> configured to receive a plurality of battery cells and various components constituting a battery pack and an upper cover <NUM> coupled to the lower case <NUM> in order to form the battery pack housing <NUM> together with the lower case.

In general, a battery cell used to manufacture a battery pack may be classified as a cylindrical battery cell, a prismatic battery cell, or a pouch-shaped battery cell depending on the shape of a case. The battery pack housing <NUM> according to the present invention may be used to manufacture various battery packs without being limited to the shape of the battery cell.

In addition, the battery pack housing <NUM> further includes a fastening means <NUM> configured to couple the lower case <NUM> and the upper cover <NUM> to each other.

In the present invention, bolts and nuts capable of mechanically coupling the lower case <NUM> and the upper cover <NUM> to each other may be used as the fastening means <NUM>. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various known fastening means may be used.

Meanwhile, although parts unnecessary to describe features of the battery pack housing <NUM> according to the present invention are briefly shown, as shown in <FIG>, the battery pack housing <NUM> according to the present invention may generally have various structures such that various components, such as an apparatus for connection with an external device or a cooling apparatus, are provided inside or outside a battery pack.

<FIG> is a sectional view showing coupling between an upper cover fastening portion and a lower case fastening portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When describing the structure of the battery pack housing <NUM> according to the present invention in more detail with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>, an upper cover fastening portion 110a is formed at the edge of the upper cover <NUM> in a state of protruding and extending outwards, and a lower case fastening portion 210a is formed at the edge of the lower case <NUM> in a state of protruding and extending outwards so as to correspond to the upper cover fastening portion.

Consequently, the lower case fastening portion 210a is located at the upper cover fastening portion 110a, and then the lower case <NUM> and the upper cover <NUM> are coupled to each other using the fastening means <NUM>.

When bolts and nuts are used as the fastening means <NUM>, the bolts are inserted through a plurality of through-holes formed in each of the upper cover fastening portion 110a and the lower case fastening portion 210a, and then the nuts are fastened to the bolts, whereby the lower case <NUM> and the upper cover <NUM> are coupled to each other.

Even though fastening is performed using the fastening means <NUM>, however, hermetic sealing is not completely achieved. As shown in <FIG>, therefore, the battery pack housing <NUM> according to the present invention is provided with a first bent portion 111a formed as the result of the end of the upper cover fastening portion 110a being bent downwards and an extension portion 211a formed as the result of the end of the lower case fastening portion 210a being bent downwards so as to correspond to the first bent portion 111a.

When fire breaks out in the battery pack housing <NUM>, introduction of oxygen into the battery pack housing is difficult due to the provision of the first bent portion 111a and the extension portion 211a, compared to a conventional battery pack housing.

As a result, it is possible to inhibit fire spread due to introduction of oxygen from the outside, and flames in the battery pack housing are prevented from being directly discharged to the outside.

In addition, when the first bent portion 111a and the extension portion 211a are formed, an additional sealing process of hermetically sealing the battery pack housing <NUM> is not necessary, and the upper cover <NUM> and the lower case <NUM> may be easily separated from each other by simply removing the fastening means.

<FIG> is a sectional view showing coupling between an upper cover fastening portion and a lower case fastening portion according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in <FIG>, the battery pack housing <NUM> according to the present invention may further include a second bent portion formed at the end of a first bent portion 111b so as to be bent therefrom in a direction toward the center of the battery pack housing <NUM>.

In the case in which the second bent portion <NUM> is provided at the upper cover fastening portion 110b in addition to the first bent portion 111b, as described above, it is more difficult to form an oxygen introduction path, whereby it is possible to more effectively prevent introduction of oxygen from the outside.

Meanwhile, as shown in <FIG>, the upper cover fastening portion 110a or 110b and the lower case fastening portion 210a or 210b coupled to each other via the fastening means <NUM> are fastened to each other in contact with each other.

In addition, the first bent portion 111a or 111b and the extension portion 211a or 211b and the second bent portion <NUM> and the extension portion 211b may be configured to contact each other at the time of fastening.

Additionally, in the battery pack housing <NUM> according to the present invention, each of the first bent portion 111a or 111b, the second bent portion <NUM>, and the extension portion 211a or 211b may be made of a material that is plastically deformed by heat generated when fire breaks out or a material that melts at a portion or the entirety of the contact surface thereof, such as thermoplastic.

In this case, the gap between the first bent portion 111a or 111b and the extension portion 211a or 211b and the gap between the second bent portion <NUM> and the extension portion 211b is hermetically sealed by the molten material, whereby it is possible to prevent introduction of oxygen from the outside.

In addition, the entireties of the upper cover fastening portion 110a or 110b and the lower case fastening portion 210a or 210b may be made of such a material, instead of only the first bent portion 111a or 111b, the second bent portion <NUM>, and the extension portion 211a or 211b, which are ends of the upper cover fastening portion 110a or 110b and the lower case fastening portion 210a or 210b, being made of the material.

Alternatively, the entirety of the upper cover <NUM> may be made of a material that is plastically deformed by heat generated when fire breaks out, such as thermoplastic, whereby it is possible to prevent introduction of oxygen from the outside as the result of deformation of the upper cover.

In the case in which the entirety of the upper cover <NUM> is made of the same material, as described above, it is possible to more easily manufacture the upper cover <NUM> using various known plastic processing methods.

Meanwhile, in the case in which a structure, such as the first bent portion 111a or 111b, the second bent portion <NUM>, or the extension portion 211a or 211b, is added to the battery pack housing <NUM>, as described above, the degree of coupling between the upper cover <NUM> and the lower case <NUM> is increased, whereby mechanical stiffness against vibration and impact is increased.

In addition, a plurality of battery cells may be received in the battery pack housing <NUM> having the fire inhibition function according to the present invention, and various components configured to control operation of the battery cells may be added to manufacture a battery pack.

Claim 1:
A battery pack housing (<NUM>) comprising:
a lower case (<NUM>) configured to receive a plurality of battery cells; and
an upper cover (<NUM>) located on the lower case (<NUM>) so as to be coupled to the lower case (<NUM>),
wherein the lower case (<NUM>) comprises a lower case fastening portion (210a, 210b) formed at an edge of the lower case (<NUM>) so as to protrude and extend outwards,
wherein the upper cover (<NUM>) comprises an upper cover fastening portion (<NUM>, 110a, 110b) formed at an edge of the upper cover (<NUM>) so as to protrude and extend outwards, the upper cover fastening portion (<NUM>, 110a, 110b) being coupled to the lower case fastening portion (210a, 210b), and
wherein the upper cover fastening portion (<NUM>, 110a, 110b) comprises a first bent portion (111a, 111b) formed as a result of an end of the upper cover fastening portion (<NUM>, 110a, 110b) being bent downwards,
the battery pack housing (<NUM>) further comprising a fastening means (<NUM>) configured to couple the lower case (<NUM>) and the upper cover (<NUM>) to each other,
wherein the lower case fastening portion (210a, 210b) comprises an extension portion (211a, 211b) formed as a result of an end of the lower case fastening portion (210a, 210b) being bent in an identical direction to the first bent portion (111a, 111b), the extension portion (211a, 211b) being located at a position corresponding to the first bent portion (111a, 111b),
wherein each of the first bent portion (111a, 111b) and the extension portion (211a, 211b) is made of thermoplastic.