Patent Description:
Secondary batteries commercially used at present includes nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, and lithium secondary batteries. Among them, the lithium secondary batteries are highly spotlighted due to substantially no memory effect to ensure free charging and discharging, very low self-discharge rate and high energy density, compared to nickel-based secondary batteries.

The lithium secondary battery mainly uses a lithium-based oxide and a carbonaceous material as a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material, respectively. The lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate respectively coated with a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material are disposed with a separator being interposed therebetween, and an exterior, namely a battery case, for hermetically accommodating the electrode assembly along with an electrolyte.

Generally, the lithium secondary battery may be classified into a can-type secondary battery in which the electrode assembly is included in a metal can and a pouch-type secondary battery in which the electrode assembly is included in a pouch made of aluminum laminate sheets, depending on the shape of the exterior.

Recently, secondary batteries have been widely used not only in small-sized devices such as portable electronic devices but also in medium-sized or large-sized devices such as vehicles and power storage systems. When used in the medium-sized or large-sized devices, a large number of secondary batteries are electrically connected to increase capacity and power. In particular, pouch-type cells are widely used for the medium-sized or large-sized devices because of they may be easily stacked.

However, the pouch-type cell is generally packaged in the battery case made of a laminate sheet of aluminum and polymer resin, and thus its mechanical stiffness is not large. Thus, when the battery module including a plurality of pouch-type cells is configured, a frame is often used to protect the secondary batteries from external impact, prevent shaking thereof, and facilitate stacking thereof.

The frame may be called in different ways such as a cartridge. In many cases, the frame has a rectangular shape having an empty center portion, and at this time, four sides of the frame surround the outer circumference of the pouch-type cell. In addition, a plurality of frames are stacked to configure the battery module, and the pouch-type cells may be placed in the empty space inside the frame when the frames are stacked.

Meanwhile, referring to <FIG>, a conventional battery module structure is shown. If a plurality of pouch-type cells <NUM> are stacked by using a plurality of frames <NUM>, in the conventional battery module structure, plate-shaped cooling fins <NUM> are applied on the outer surfaces of each of the pair of pouch-type cells <NUM>, thereby increasing the cooling efficiency.

The secondary battery may be used in high temperature environments such as summer, and the secondary battery may also generate heat from themselves. At this time, if a plurality of secondary batteries are stacked on each other, the temperature of the secondary batteries may become higher. If the temperature is higher than a proper temperature, the performance of the secondary batteries may deteriorate, and in severe cases, explosion or ignition may occur. Thus, when the battery module is configured, the cooling fins <NUM> are applied to contact the surface of the pouch-type cell <NUM>, and the cooling fins <NUM> are brought into contact with a cooling plate <NUM> located therebelow to prevent the overall temperature of the battery module from rising. This configuration is used frequently.

However, if the cooling fin <NUM> usually made of a metal material is interposed between the pouch-type cells <NUM> facing each other to configure the battery module, the process of stacking/fixing the pouch-type cells <NUM> and the cooling fin <NUM> takes a lot of time, resulting in deteriorated productivity. Also, it is difficult to obtain sufficient cooling effect only with the cooling fin <NUM>.

Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a battery module structure, which solves the problem in the above process and has an additional cooling path in addition to the cooling path made of the pouch-type cell-cooling fin. <CIT> discloses a battery module comprising a module case accommodating pouch-type battery unit cells.

The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and therefore the present disclosure is directed to simplifying the process of coupling a cooling fin and pouch-type cells and the process of coupling the pouch-type cells in a module case, and to improving the cooling efficiency by diversifying the cooling path of the battery module.

The scope of the invention is defined by claim <NUM>.

In one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery module, comprising: a module body including a cell assembly stack formed by stacking a plurality of cell assemblies and a module case configured to accommodate the cell assembly stack; and a pair of heatsinks disposed at an upper portion and a lower portion of the module body to dissipate heat transferred from the module case, wherein the cell assembly includes: at least one battery cell; a cartridge configured to accommodate the battery cell; and a pair of thermally conductive resin layers filled in empty spaces formed between a top end of the battery cell and the cartridge and between a bottom end of the battery cell and the cartridge.

The cartridge has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with both open sides, and the battery cell may be in contact with an inner surface of the cartridge.

The cartridge has a rectangular parallelepiped shape with both open sides, and an insulation sheet may be interposed between the battery cell and an inner surface of the cartridge.

The top end and the bottom end of the battery cell is in contact with the thermally conductive resin layer.

The cartridge may have an injection hole for injecting a resin paste to form the thermally conductive resin layer and a discharge hole for discharging the injected resin, which are formed at a top surface and a bottom surface thereof.

The injection hole may be formed at a center portion of the bottom surface of the cartridge, and the discharge hole may be formed at both longitudinal ends of the bottom surface of the cartridge.

The injection hole may be formed at a center portion of the top surface of the cartridge, and the discharge hole may be formed at both longitudinal ends of the top surface of the cartridge.

The battery module further comprises a pair of thermal interface material (TIM) layers interposed between the module body and the heatsink.

Meanwhile, a battery pack according to present invention comprises at least one battery module according to the above specification.

According to the present invention, since the process for coupling the cooling fins and the battery module is simplified, it is possible to improve productivity.

According to the present invention, since an additional cooling path capable of simply and efficiently dissipating heat is provided in addition to the heat dissipation path using the cooling fins, it is possible to improve the cooling efficiency.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the present invention and together with the foregoing disclosure, serve to provide further understanding of the technical features of the present invention and thus, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the drawing.

Prior to the description, it should be understood that the terms used in the specification and the appended claims should not be construed as limited to general and dictionary meanings, but interpreted based on the meanings and concepts corresponding to technical aspects of the present invention on the basis of the principle that the inventor is allowed to define terms appropriately for the best explanation. Therefore, the description proposed herein is just a preferable example for the purpose of illustrations only, not intended to limit the scope of the invention so it should be understood that other modifications could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the invention.

First, the overall structure of a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in brief with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing a battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and <FIG> is a perspective view showing a cell assembly stack applied to the battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to <FIG>, the battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a module body <NUM> and a heatsink <NUM> disposed at an upper portion and a lower portion of the module body <NUM>, and may further include a thermal interface material (TIM) layer <NUM> disposed between the module body <NUM> and the heatsink <NUM>.

The module body <NUM> is obtained by accommodating a cell assembly stack <NUM>, in which a plurality of cell assemblies <NUM> are stacked, in a module case <NUM> (see <FIG>). The plurality of cell assemblies <NUM> are stacked such that the widest surfaces of the cell assemblies <NUM> face and contact each other.

The heatsink <NUM> is disposed at the upper portion and the lower portion of the module body <NUM> and is in direct/indirect contact with a top surface and a bottom surface of the module case <NUM> to discharge heat to the outside. That is, the heat generated from the module body <NUM>, more specifically the heat generated from battery cells <NUM>, explained later, and conducted to the module case <NUM> are dissipated to the outside by means of the heatsink <NUM>.

In order to improve the heat dissipation efficiency, the heatsink <NUM> may have a space capable of accommodating cooling fluid (e.g., water) in a liquid state therein. In this case, the heatsink <NUM> may include a pipe <NUM> capable of introducing the cooling fluid into the inner space and discharging the introduced cooling fluid to the outside.

The heatsink <NUM> may be made of a metal material with excellent thermal conductivity, such as copper or copper alloy.

Meanwhile, as described above, the battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include the TIM layer <NUM> interposed between the module body <NUM> and the heatsink <NUM>. The TIM layer <NUM> may allow the heat to be transferred from the module body <NUM> to the heatsink <NUM> more efficiently by preventing the generation of an empty space that is formed since the top surface and the bottom surface of the module body <NUM> are not in contact with the heatsink <NUM>.

The TIM layer <NUM> is made of a thermal interface material (TIM). For example, the TIM may employ a thermal grease including materials with high thermal conductivity and low electrical conductivity, such as aluminum oxide (Al<NUM>O<NUM>), boron nitride (BN), zinc oxide (ZnO), and the like.

If the module body <NUM> and the heatsink <NUM> are in direct contact with each other without the TIM layer <NUM> interposed therebetween, the heat transfer path may be shorter than the case where the TIM layer <NUM> is interposed. However, due to empty spaces that may be created at the bonding interface between the surface of the module case <NUM> made of metal or plastic and the surface of the heatsink <NUM> made of metal, the actual thermal conductivity may be further deteriorated.

Thus, the TIM layer <NUM> may be interposed between the module body <NUM> and the heatsink <NUM> in order to completely fill the empty space with the TIM and thus improve substantial thermal conductivity.

Next, the cell assembly <NUM> applied to the battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a perspective view showing a cell assembly applied to the battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention and <FIG> is a perspective view showing a battery cell provided to the cell assembly depicted in <FIG>. Also, <FIG> is a perspective view showing a cartridge provided to the cell assembly depicted in <FIG>. Also, <FIG> is a diagram showing a bottom surface of the cartridge depicted in <FIG>, and <FIG> is a diagram showing that the battery cell and the cartridge respectively depicted in <FIG> and <FIG> are coupled. Also, <FIG> is a diagram for illustrating a process of completing the cell assembly by injecting a thermally conductive resin into the coupled unit of the battery cell and the cartridge depicted in <FIG>.

First, referring to <FIG>, each of the plurality of cell assemblies <NUM> employed at the battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes at least one battery cell <NUM>, a cartridge <NUM> for accommodating the battery cell <NUM>, and a thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> for filling an empty space between the battery cell <NUM> and the cartridge <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the battery cell <NUM> is a pouch-type battery cell that includes an electrode assembly (not shown), a pouch case <NUM>, a pair of electrode leads <NUM>, and a pair of sealants <NUM> interposed between an inner surface of the pouch case <NUM> and the electrode lead <NUM>.

Although not shown in the figures, the electrode assembly has a form in which separators are interposed between positive electrode plates and negative electrode plates, which are alternately stacked repeatedly, and the separators are preferably positioned at both outermost sides thereof for insulation.

The positive electrode plate includes a positive electrode current collector and a positive electrode active material layer coated on at least one surface thereof, and a positive electrode uncoated region not coated with the positive electrode active material is formed at one end thereof to protrude thereon. The positive electrode uncoated region functions as a positive electrode tab connected to the electrode lead <NUM>.

Similarly, the negative electrode plate includes a negative electrode current collector and a negative electrode active material layer coated on at least one surface thereof, and an uncoated region not coated with the negative electrode active material layer is formed at one end thereof to protrude thereon. The uncoated region functions as a negative electrode tab connected to the electrode lead <NUM>.

In addition, the separator is interposed between the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate to prevent electrode plates having different polarities from directly contacting each other, and the separator may be made of a porous material to ensure the transfer of ions between the positive electrode plate and the negative electrode plate through an electrolyte.

The pouch case <NUM> may include an upper case for covering an upper portion of the electrode assembly and a lower case for covering a lower portion thereof. Each of the upper case and the lower case may be made of a multilayer pouch film that includes a first resin layer corresponding to an innermost layer, a metal layer corresponding to an intermediate layer and a second resin layer corresponding to an outermost layer.

The first resin layer constituting the innermost surface of the pouch film may be made of a resin having thermal fusion such that the upper case and the lower case may be easily fused to each other when being heated in contact with each other. The first resin layer may adopt unstretched polypropylene, polypropylene, or mixtures thereof. The metal layer may adopt a metal with excellent thermal conductivity such as aluminum (Al). In addition, the second resin layer forming the outermost layer may adopt polyethylene terephthalate, nylon or mixtures thereof.

The pouch case <NUM> includes an accommodation portion <NUM> for accommodating the electrode assembly (not shown) and a sealing portion <NUM> extending in the circumferential direction of the accommodation portion <NUM> and thermally fused in a state where the electrode lead <NUM> is drawn outward to seal the pouch case <NUM>.

The electrode lead <NUM> is classified into a positive electrode lead connected to the positive electrode tab and a negative electrode lead connected to the negative electrode tab, and each of the positive electrode lead and the negative electrode lead is drawn out of the pouch case <NUM>. The figures of the present disclosure show only the case where the pair of electrode lead <NUM> are drawn in different directions. However, this is just an example, and the pair of electrode lead <NUM> may also be drawn in the same direction.

Meanwhile, the electrode lead <NUM> of the battery cell <NUM> is not shown in the figures except for <FIG>, for the sake of convenience. As described above, the pair of electrode lead <NUM> of the battery cell <NUM> applied to the present disclosure may be drawn out at one side or both sides of the battery cell <NUM>.

Next, referring to <FIG>, the cartridge <NUM> applied to the present disclosure has a rectangular parallelepiped frame shape having both open sides and an empty inside to accommodate the battery cell <NUM>. When at least one battery cell <NUM> is accommodated, an outer surface of the battery cell <NUM> or the cell stack formed by stacking the battery cells <NUM> may come into contact with the inner surface of the cartridge <NUM>. In addition, the cartridge <NUM> is preferably made of a metal material such as aluminum having excellent thermal conductivity in order to serve as a cooling fin that emits heat generated from the battery cell <NUM>. Also, an insulation sheet may be interposed between the outer surface of the cell stack and the inner surface of the cartridge <NUM> to enhance insulation between the cartridge <NUM> made of a metal material and the battery cell <NUM>.

In order to insert the cell stack into the accommodation space inside the cartridge <NUM> as described above, the accommodation space inside the cartridge <NUM> has a shape and size corresponding to the battery cell <NUM> or the cell stack.

Since the thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> should be formed inside the cartridge <NUM> as shown in <FIG>, a predetermined space S is formed between the top end and the bottom end of the battery cell <NUM> (meaning the top and bottom based on <FIG>) and the inner surface of the cartridge <NUM>.

Referring to <FIG>, the cartridge <NUM> has an injection hole 20a and a discharge hole 20b formed in a top surface and a bottom surface thereof. The injection hole 20a is formed at the longitudinal center portion of the top surface and the bottom surface of the cartridge <NUM> to function as an injection passage of a resin paste for forming the thermally conductive resin layer <NUM>.

In addition, the discharge hole 20b is formed at both longitudinal ends of the top surface and the bottom surface of the cartridge <NUM> to identify whether the thermally conductive resin paste injected through the injection hole 20a fully fills the empty space S formed between the battery cell <NUM> or the cell stack and the cartridge <NUM>. That is, if the thermally conductive resin paste starts being injected through the injection hole 20a located at the center portion of the bottom surface of the cartridge <NUM>, the thermally conductive resin paste is filled from the longitudinal center portion of the cartridge <NUM> toward both side ends. Also, if the thermally conductive resin paste is discharged to the outside through the discharge hole 20b located at both longitudinal ends of the cartridge <NUM>, a worker may identify that the empty space S is filled with the thermally conductive resin paste and stop the filling operation.

The thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> is a layer made of a material in which an additive giving thermal conductivity (for example, graphite) is added to a resin such as epoxy. The thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> is obtained by filling the thermally conductive paste in the empty space S between the battery cell <NUM> and the cartridge <NUM>.

The thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> fills the empty space S in the cartridge <NUM> to fix the battery cell <NUM> inside the cartridge <NUM> and also prevents an empty space from being created between the lower portion of the battery cell <NUM> and the inner surface of the cartridge <NUM> such that heat is easily transferred from the battery cell <NUM> to the cartridge <NUM>. As described above, considering that the thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> is used for fixing, a polymer binder component may be added in manufacturing the thermally conductive resin paste.

Meanwhile, in the battery module according to the present disclosure, since the plurality of cell assemblies <NUM> are stacked such that the resin is filled to each cell assembly <NUM> to perform coupling between the battery cell <NUM> and the cartridge <NUM>, the density of the resin of the thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> may be distributed evenly as a whole.

If the battery module is fabricated in such a way that the plurality of battery cells <NUM> are not accommodated in the cartridge <NUM> but accommodated directly in the module case <NUM> and the space formed between the battery cell <NUM> and the module case <NUM> is filled with a resin, the density of the resin of the thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> may be distributed very non-uniform at various locations.

That is, if the number of battery cells <NUM> accommodated in the module case <NUM> increases, the cell stack in which the battery cells <NUM> are collected becomes very thick. In this case, if the resin is injected by forming an injection hole in the top surface and/or the bottom surface of the module case <NUM>, the density of the resin may show a great difference at positions close to and far from the injection hole. This may result in irregular product quality. However, in the battery module according to the present disclosure, since the resin fills the minimized space, the above problem may be solved.

Next, a heat dissipation path in the battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a diagram showing a path for cooling in the battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Referring to <FIG>, the heat generated from the battery cell <NUM> is moved along the arrow, thereby cooling the battery module.

That is, the heat generated from the battery cell <NUM> generally moves along two paths. One path is formed along the broad surface of the battery cell <NUM><NUM> the cartridge <NUM> → the module case <NUM> → the TIM layer <NUM> → the heatsink <NUM> (a first path), and the other path is formed along the top end and the bottom end of the battery cell <NUM><NUM> the thermally conductive resin layer <NUM><NUM> the module case <NUM><NUM> the TIM layer <NUM><NUM> the heatsink <NUM> (a second path).

The battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may realize efficient cooling by dissipating heat from the battery cell <NUM> through two paths. Further, since the thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> forming the second path not only improves the cooling efficiency but also allows the battery cell <NUM> to be easily fixed in the cartridge <NUM>, it is possible to improve the reliability of the product.

In addition, in the battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the paste forming the thermally conductive resin layer <NUM> may be uniformly coated by injecting a thermally conductive resin individually into each cell assembly of the battery module. As a result, the fixing force between the battery cell <NUM> and the cartridge <NUM> may be increased, and the thermal conductivity between the bottom end of the battery cell <NUM> and the cartridge <NUM> may be maximized.

Meanwhile, a battery pack may be formed by stacking at least one battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure as described above, and the battery pack implemented in this way may also have excellent cooling efficiency and product reliability, like the battery module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Claim 1:
A battery module, comprising:
a module body (<NUM>) including a cell assembly stack (<NUM>) formed by stacking a plurality of cell assemblies (<NUM>) and a module case (<NUM>) configured to accommodate the cell assembly stack (<NUM>); and
a pair of heatsinks (<NUM>) disposed at an upper portion and a lower portion of the module body (<NUM>) to dissipate heat transferred from the module case (<NUM>),
wherein the cell assembly (<NUM>) includes:
at least one battery cell (<NUM>) being a pouch-type battery cell that includes an electrode assembly, a pouch case (<NUM>), a pair of electrode leads (<NUM>), and a pair of sealants (<NUM>) interposed between an inner surface of the pouch case (<NUM>) and the electrode lead (<NUM>);
a cartridge (<NUM>) configured to accommodate the battery cell (<NUM>); and
a pair of thermally conductive resin layers (<NUM>) filled in empty spaces formed between a top end of the battery cell (<NUM>) and the cartridge (<NUM>) and between a bottom end of the battery cell (<NUM>) and the cartridge (<NUM>),
wherein the cartridge (<NUM>) has a rectangular parallelepiped frame shape with both open sides and an empty inside to accommodate one battery cell (<NUM>) or a cell stack formed by stacking the at least one battery cells (<NUM>), and an outer surface of the battery cell (<NUM>) or of the cell stack is in contact with an inner surface of the cartridge (<NUM>) or an insulation sheet is interposed between an outer surface of the battery cell (<NUM>) or of the cell stack and an inner surface of the cartridge (<NUM>),
wherein the top end and the bottom end of the battery cell (<NUM>) are in contact with the thermally conductive resin layer (<NUM>), and
wherein the battery module further comprises a pair of thermal interface material (TIM) layers (<NUM>) interposed between the module body (<NUM>) and the heatsink (<NUM>) in order to completely fill the empty space between the module body and the heatsink (<NUM>).