Battery module having a plurality of battery cells, method for the production thereof, and battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10930905-B2
Application number	US-201716074030-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 4, 2017
Priority date	Feb 3, 2016
Publication date	Feb 23, 2021
Grant date	Feb 23, 2021

Abstract

The invention relates to a battery module having a plurality of battery cells, in particular lithium-ion battery cells, having a plurality of partitions ( 4 ), wherein a battery cell ( 2 ) is arranged between two partitions ( 4 ), and a spring element ( 6 ) is furthermore arranged between two partitions ( 4 ) adjacent to a battery cell ( 2 ), in particular a tension and/or compression spring element, which is arranged in a manner contacting and/or connected to the two partitions ( 4 ) such that a value of a deformation constant ( 12 ) of the spring element ( 6 ) determines a force transmitted by the two partitions ( 4 ) to the battery cell ( 2 ).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A battery module having a plurality of battery cells, and a plurality of partitions ( 4 ), wherein a battery cell ( 2 ) is arranged between two of the plurality of partitions ( 4 ), and wherein, between the two partitions ( 4 ), a spring element ( 6 ) is furthermore arranged contacting and/or connected to the two partitions ( 4 ) in such a way that a value of a deformation constant ( 12 ) of the spring element ( 6 ) determines a force transmitted from the two partitions ( 4 ) to the battery cell ( 2 ), and
wherein the spring element ( 6 ) is a first spring element ( 6 ) and a second spring element ( 6 ) is arranged between another two of the plurality of partitions ( 4 ), characterized in that the first spring element ( 6 ) and the second spring element ( 6 ) have different values of a deformation constant ( 12 ).

2. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the battery module ( 1 ) comprises two end plates ( 5 ) and the plurality of battery cells ( 2 ) are arranged between the two end plates ( 5 ), characterized in that the two end plates ( 5 ) are connected to one another by at least one bracing element ( 7 ) in such a way that the two end plates ( 5 ) transmit a force ( 8 ) for pressing the plurality of battery cells ( 2 ).

3. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the battery cells ( 2 ) respectively form a battery-cell housing ( 3 ), characterized in that the battery-cell housing ( 3 ) of at least one battery cell ( 2 ) includes at least one partition ( 4 ).

4. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein two adjacent partitions ( 4 ) are arranged in each instance with their largest lateral surfaces adjacent to one another in a longitudinal direction ( 10 ) of the battery module ( 1 ) and are spaced from one another by a spacing ( 9 ), wherein the battery cells ( 2 ) are each of prismatic design and are arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction ( 10 ) of the battery module ( 1 ) with their largest lateral surfaces adjacent to one another.

5. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the deformation constant ( 12 ) is a spring constant, a modulus of elasticity, a bulk modulus of compression, or a viscosity.

6. A battery module having first and second battery cells, first and second spring elements ( 6 ), and a plurality of partitions ( 4 ),
wherein the first battery cell and the first spring element are located in a first region in a longitudinal direction ( 10 ), the first region being defined between two of the plurality of partitions ( 4 ), the first spring element ( 6 ) contacting and/or being connected to the two partitions ( 4 ) defining the first region in such a way that a value of a deformation constant ( 12 ) of the first spring element ( 6 ) determines a force transmitted to the first battery cell by the two partitions ( 4 ) defining the first region,
wherein the second battery cell and the second spring element are located in a second region in a longitudinal direction ( 10 ), the second region being defined between another two of the plurality of partitions ( 4 ), the another two of the plurality of partitions including at least one of the plurality of partitions that does not define the first region, the second spring element ( 6 ) contacting and/or being connected to the two partitions ( 4 ) defining the second region in such a way that a value of a deformation constant ( 12 ) of the second spring element ( 6 ) determines a force transmitted to the second battery cell by the two partitions ( 4 ) defining the second region, and
wherein the value of the deformation constant ( 12 ) of the first spring element ( 6 ) is higher than or lower than the value of a deformation constant ( 12 ) of the second spring element ( 6 ).

7. The battery module as claimed in claim 6 , characterized in that the first region ( 13 ) and the second region ( 14 ) are configured in such a way that during operation the temperature ( 11 ) of the first and second battery cells ( 2 ) increases in the first region ( 13 ) in the longitudinal direction ( 10 ) and/or decreases in the second region ( 14 ) in the longitudinal direction ( 10 ).

8. A battery with a battery module as claimed in claim 1 .

9. A method for producing a battery module as claimed in claim 6 , wherein
in a first step, a temperature ( 11 ) of the first and second battery cells ( 2 ) for the operation of the battery module ( 1 ) is determined, and
in a second step, spring elements ( 6 ) are arranged in the battery module ( 1 ) in such a manner that the first spring element ( 6 ) has a higher value of a deformation constant ( 12 ) in comparison with the second spring element ( 6 ) if the determined temperature ( 11 ) of the first battery cell ( 2 ) is higher than the temperature ( 11 ) of the second battery cell ( 2 ).

10. A method for producing a battery module as claimed in claim 6 , wherein
in a first step, a temperature ( 11 ) of the first and second battery cells ( 2 ) for the operation of the battery module ( 1 ) is determined, and
in a second step, spring elements ( 6 ) are arranged in the battery module ( 1 ) in such a manner that the first spring element ( 6 ) has a lower value of a deformation constant ( 12 ) in comparison with the second spring element ( 6 ) if the determined temperature of the first battery cell is lower than the temperature ( 11 ) of the second battery cell ( 2 ).

11. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the spring element ( 6 ) is a tension-spring element and/or compression-spring element.

12. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the deformation constant ( 12 ) is a spring constant.

13. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the deformation constant ( 12 ) is a modulus of elasticity.

14. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the deformation constant ( 12 ) is a bulk modulus of compression.

15. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , characterized in that the deformation constant ( 12 ) is a viscosity.

16. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the battery cell ( 2 ) contacts the two of the plurality of partitions ( 4 ).

17. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the second spring element ( 6 ) is arranged nearer to a center of the plurality of partitions ( 4 ) than the first spring element ( 6 ), and wherein the value of the deformation constant ( 12 ) of the second spring element ( 6 ) is higher than the value of the deformation constant of the first spring element ( 6 ).

18. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a battery cell ( 2 ) is arranged contacting and/or connected to the two partitions ( 4 ), and wherein the battery cell ( 2 ) is separate from the spring element ( 6 ).

19. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the plurality of partitions ( 4 ) are movable toward and away from each other.

20. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a third spring element ( 6 ) is arranged contacting and/or connected to the two partitions ( 4 ) in such a way that a value of the deformation constant ( 12 ) of the second spring element ( 6 ) also determines the force transmitted from the two partitions ( 4 ) to the battery cell ( 2 ).

21. A battery module having a plurality of battery cells, and a plurality of partitions ( 4 ), wherein a battery cell ( 2 ) is arranged between two of the plurality of partitions ( 4 ) that are movable toward and away from each other, and wherein, between the two par

Assignees

• Bosch Gmbh Robert

Inventors

• Wagner Christian
• Greiner Daniel Bernd
• Riedmann Matthias
• Kohn Peter
• Hafenbrak Robert

Classifications

• H01M10/0481 Primary

  Compression means other than compression means for stacks of electrodes and separators · CPC title

• H01M50/209 Primary

  adapted for prismatic or rectangular cells (H01M50/216 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01M10/0525

  Rocking-chair batteries, i.e. batteries with lithium insertion or intercalation in both electrodes; Lithium-ion batteries · CPC title

• Y02P70/50

  Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product · CPC title

• Y02E60/10

  Energy storage using batteries · CPC title