Patent ID: 12230822

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 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 disclosure 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 disclosure, so it should be understood that other equivalents and modifications could be made thereto without departing from the scope of the disclosure.

The embodiments disclosed herein are provided for more perfect explanation of the present disclosure, and thus the shape, size and the like of components may be exaggerated, omitted or simplified in the drawings for better understanding. Thus, the size and ratio of components in the drawings do not wholly reflect the actual size and ratio.

An electric component housing, which will be described below, is used to accommodate and protect various electric components inside a battery module or a battery pack. That is, the electric component housing mentioned in this embodiment may be included as a component of a battery module or a battery pack. Of course, the electric component housing according to the present disclosure does not necessarily have to be used only as a component of a battery module or battery pack. For example, the electric component housing may be applied as an electric component housing for an energy storage system and other electric devices.

FIG.1is a schematic perspective view showing an electric component housing according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, andFIG.2is a diagram showing a state where electric components are accommodated in the electric component housing ofFIG.1.

Referring to these drawings, an electric component housing10according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a housing body100forming an appearance, and a metal support structure200embedded in the housing body100.

The housing body100includes a bottom portion110and a wall portion120.

The bottom portion110is a portion that forms a bottom surface of the housing body100and may be provided in a substantially rectangular plate shape with a predetermined thickness. Electric components may be fixedly installed at a predetermined position on the bottom portion110. The electric components may be, for example, a main relay20a,a current sensor20b,a precharge relay20c,a register20d,and the like.

The wall portion120is a portion that forms walls along a peripheral edge of the bottom portion110and may be integrally formed with the bottom portion110. The electric components are arranged in the space of the bottom portion110surrounded by the wall portion120. The housing body100may be fixedly installed at one side inside a battery module or a battery pack in a state where the space is shielded by a cover or is opened.

The metal support structure200is a component that acts as the skeleton of the housing body100inside the housing body100. For example, the housing body100may be manufactured by insert injection molding in which the metal support structure200is put into an injection mold and resin serving as a raw material for injection is injected thereto. As will be described later, the metal support structure200may be embedded in at least one of the bottom portion110and the wall portion120of the housing body100, and there is no particular limitation as long as it is a metal with mechanical rigidity such as stainless steel, copper, and aluminum alloy.

The metal support structure200has a relatively smaller thermal deformation coefficient than an injection-molded plastic product. In other words, since the metal support structure200has much better thermal durability than plastic, deformation hardly occurs even after injection. Since the metal support structure200is integrated into the injection-molded product, the amount of shrinkage of the injection-molded product may be reduced immediately after injection.

Therefore, the electric component housing10according to the present disclosure including the metal support structure200has an advantage of better dimensional accuracy and higher mechanical strength in comparison to a general injection-molded plastic product.

Meanwhile, the metal support structure200according to this embodiment may include at least one bus bar210, a horizontal frame220, and a vertical frame230.

The bus bar210is a metal plate with certain thickness, width and length, and is a member that forms a large current path of the battery module/pack. The bus bar210may be provided to form various paths by bending or twisting to connect specific devices or terminals.

In the present disclosure, the bus bar210is used as one of the metal support structures200. In other words, in the present disclosure, a significant part of the bus bar210is embedded into the electric component housing10and thus is utilized to reinforce the mechanical strength, and the insulation and space freedom in the electric component housing10may be improved.

The bus bar210includes both terminal portions211,212and a connection portion213defining a current path between the both terminal portions211,212. The terminal portions211,212have fastening holes and are bolted to terminals of external devices or electric components to make electrical connection and mechanical fixation. The connection portion213may extend as a predetermined path between both terminal portions211,212to form various current paths.

Specifically, referring toFIGS.3and4together, the bus bar210may be used as a part of the metal support structure200in the form that the terminal portions of the bus bar210are exposed to the inner space of the bottom portion110and the connection portion213of the bus bar210is embedded in at least one of the bottom portion110and the wall portion120.

A box-shaped terminal support140may be further provided at a corner area of the bottom portion110. The terminal support140is a structure that supports the terminal portion211of the bus bar210at a certain height from the bottom portion110and provides a place for embedding a part of the connection portion213therein.

One terminal portion211of the bus bar210may be placed horizontally on the upper surface of the terminal support140, and the other terminal portion212may be disposed to stand upright from the bottom portion110at a position spaced apart from the one terminal portion211by a predetermined distance. Hereinafter, one terminal portion will be referred to as a first terminal portion211and the other terminal portion will be referred to as a second terminal portion212.

Although not shown for convenience of drawing, the first terminal portion211may contact one end of another bus bar or one end of a cable connected to one of electrode terminals of a cell assembly, and may be fixed by being fastened with a bolt. At this time, an outer portion of the corner area of the housing body100where the terminal support140is provided may have a concave shape so that the bolt may pass through the terminal support140and be easily fastened to the fastening hole of the first terminal portion211.

In addition, the second terminal portion212may contact one of electrode terminals of the main relay20alocated in the space inside the bottom portion110. The electrode terminal of the main relay20amay include a bolt that may be inserted into the fastening hole of the second terminal portion212and a metal plate corresponding to the second terminal portion212.

The connection portion213is bent at least once and may extend from the first terminal portion211to the second terminal portion212through the inside of the terminal support140and the inside of the bottom portion110.

In the conventional bus bar210, the connection portion213is generally coated with an insulating tube for insulation and is disposed inside the electric component housing10to be exposed to the outside. However, in the present disclosure, the connection portion213is embedded in the housing body100to serve as a part of the metal support structure200, so it is possible to exclude coatings such as insulating tubes. In particular, the rigid bus bar with a complicated path is difficult to be coat by inserting into an insulating tube or the like, and the insulating tube itself is also expensive. In this respect, the present disclosure is advantageous not only in enhancing the mechanical strength of the electric component housing10, but also in manufacturing the bus bar210and reducing cost.

In this embodiment, one of the two bus bars210is used to form a current path between a positive electrode terminal of the cell assembly and a positive electrode terminal of the relay device, and the other bus bar210is used to form a current path between a negative electrode terminal of the cell assembly and a negative electrode terminal of the relay device. Although not shown, in addition to the relay device, an additional bus bar210may be further embedded in the electric component housing10in a similar manner for electrical connection of a current sensor, a precharge relay or the like.

If the intensity of the current flowing through the bus bar210is very large, heat may be generated, so the bus bar210for high voltage/high current needs to be cooled to maintain the temperature properly.

To this end, the housing body100according to this embodiment may further include a plurality of heat dissipation holes130formed by cutting a part of the bottom portion110so that at least a part of the connection portion213of the bus bar210is exposed out of the housing body100.

That is, as shown inFIG.5, the heat dissipation holes130are provided at a rear surface of the bottom portion110in which the connection portion213of the bus bar210is embedded, among the bottom portion110of the housing body100. The heat dissipation holes130may be formed, for example, in a grating structure. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the heat generated from the bus bar210may be dissipated toward the bottom of the housing body100through the heat dissipation holes130. In order to more actively cool the bus bar210, a small fan may be mounted under the heat dissipation holes130to air-cool the bus bar210.

Meanwhile, the metal support structure200according to an embodiment of the present disclosure further includes a plurality of horizontal frames220and vertical frames230. It may be desirable to evenly arrange the horizontal frames220and the vertical frames230within the area range of the bottom portion110so as to reduce the deformation of the bottom portion110as much as possible. To this end, referring toFIGS.1and6together, the horizontal frames220are elongated along a horizontal direction (X-axis direction) of the bottom portion110and are disposed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance, and the vertical frames230may also be elongated along a vertical direction (Y-axis direction) of the bottom portion110and are disposed to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance.

The assembly tolerance is generated larger when the bottom portion110forming the bottom surface of the electric component housing10is contracted and twisted, rather than when the wall portion120of the electric component housing10is contracted and twisted, so this embodiment focuses on preventing the deformation of the bottom portion110by embedding the metal support structure200in the bottom portion110. However, unlike in this embodiment, it is also possible to further embed the horizontal frame220or the vertical frame230in the wall portion120additionally as desired.

The housing body100may further include a flange portion150configured to protrude out of the wall portion120from the bottom portion110. The flange portion150may be used as a bolt fastening place when fixing the electric component housing10to, for example, a tray of the battery module or the battery pack.

Four flange portions150may be provided in total by providing two flange portions to each of both sides of the housing body100in the vertical direction (Y-axis direction). In addition, both ends of the vertical frame230may be located inside the flange portion150. A bushing hole240through which a bolt may pass may be provided at the end of the vertical frame230. In other words, the bushing hole240may be in a metal tube shape that is formed at the end of the vertical frame230.

In the present disclosure, since the bushing hole240of the vertical frame230is located inside the flange portion150, it is possible to prevent deformation of the housing body100after injection and reinforce the mechanical strength of the flange portion150. Therefore, even if the flange portion150is strongly coupled to another structure using bolts in the future, the flange portion150may not be easily broken or damaged. This may be an advantage in stably installing the electric component housing10to the tray of the battery module or the battery pack.

Next, a method of manufacturing the electric component housing10according to the present disclosure will be briefly described as follows.

The method of manufacturing the electric component housing10includes a housing injection molding step of performing insert injection molding to make the housing body100such that the metal support structure200is embedded therein.

First, a step of designing the housing body100including the bottom portion110and the wall portion120according to various conditions such as the number and shape of electric components to be mounted and the path of the bus bar210for connect the electric components, and a step of preparing the metal support structure200to be embedded in the housing body100are performed.

Next, a housing injection molding step of performing insert injection molding such that the metal support structure200is embedded in housing body100is performed.

The housing injection molding step may be carried out by firstly putting the metal support structure200into an injection mold and injecting a plastic resin into the injection mold. At this time, the plastic resin may be any resin as long as it has certain durability and electrical insulation.

As described above, the metal support structure200may employ all of the bus bar210, the horizontal frame220, and the vertical frame230.

In the case of the bus bar210, the connection portion213is entirely embedded inside at least one of the bottom portion110and the wall portion120, except for the terminal portion of the bus bar210. Also, all of the horizontal frame220and the vertical frame230are elongated along the horizontal and vertical directions of the bottom portion110and are embedded to be evenly distributed over the area of the bottom portion110.

Next, the housing body100is cooled and solidified while maintaining the pressure in the injection mold. At this time, as described above, since the metal support structure200is evenly embedded in the housing body100, the change in dimensions of the injection-molded product may be minimized Subsequently, the electric component housing10hardened inside the injection mold is taken out, thereby completing the manufacturing process.

As described above, in the electric component housing10according to the present disclosure, since the metal support structure200is included in the housing body100, the dimensional accuracy and mechanical strength of the housing body100may be improved after injection molding.

In addition, since the bus bar210is included in an integral structure with the housing body100as a part of the metal support structure200, there is no need to separately coat the bus bar210with an insulating tube or the like and the space freedom is increased, so the electric components may be packaged very efficiently. By using the electric component housing10, it may be very advantageous to simplify the overall assembly process of the battery module or the battery pack.

Meanwhile, the battery module according to the present disclosure may be configured to include the electric component housing described above, and the battery pack may be configured to include at least one battery module.

The battery pack may be applied to vehicles such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid electric vehicle. Also, the battery pack may be applied to energy storage systems or other IT products.

The present disclosure has been described in detail. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Meanwhile, even though the terms expressing directions such as “upper”, “lower”, “left” and “right” are used in the specification, they are just for convenience of description and can be expressed differently depending on the location of a viewer or a subject, as apparent to those skilled in the art.