Battery module and battery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11081741-B2
Application number	US-201715658784-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2017
Priority date	Aug 1, 2016
Publication date	Aug 3, 2021
Grant date	Aug 3, 2021

Abstract

A battery module includes a plurality of individual electrical cells which are arranged within a common housing, wherein an end side of the housing has mechanical connecting elements for connecting the battery module to a temperature-control element which is provided outside the battery module in order to thereby enable good heat transfer between the battery module and the temperature-control element. The mechanical connecting elements are provided as corresponding upper and lower cutouts in the end side of the housing, which upper and lower cutouts are connected to one another by a through-passage, for receiving a connector of which the head can be positioned in the one cutout. The connector can extend vertically along the through-passage and can be connected to a mating piece which can be positioned at least partially in the other cutout and is fixedly connected to the temperature-control element.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A battery module comprising:
a plurality of individual electrical cells which are arranged within a common housing, wherein an end side of the common housing has mechanical connecting elements for connecting the battery module to a temperature-control element which is provided outside the battery module in order to thereby enable good heat transfer between the battery module and the temperature-control element,
wherein the mechanical connecting elements are provided as corresponding upper and lower cutouts in the end side of the housing,
wherein the battery module has a step in an upper or in a lower region of the end side, two electrical pole contacts of the battery module being arranged on said step in a horizontal direction in such a way that said electrical pole contacts are positioned either above or below the or each upper or lower cutout, and the electrical pole contacts being arranged at least partially outside of the common housing of the battery module, wherein the two electrical pole contacts are spaced apart from each other, positioned on opposite sides of the step and disposed on the end side of the common housing,
wherein the battery module has two electrical pole connectors that are respectively connected to the electrical pole contacts and extend from the housing for connecting to further battery modules, wherein one of the two electrical pole connectors is configured to be connected to an adjacent battery module arranged beside the battery module, and the other of the two electrical pole connectors is configured to be connected to an opposing battery module arranged opposite the battery module, wherein said other of the two electrical pole connectors has an elongated and straight body that extends at an acute angle with respect to said one of the two electrical pole connectors and said battery module.

2. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cutouts are provided on the left-hand or right-hand edge of the end side.

3. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the temperature-control element is provided either below or next to the battery module.

4. An underbody battery in an electrically driven motor vehicle, having battery modules as claimed in claim 1 .

5. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an entirety of each electrical pole connector is disposed beneath a top side of the housing.

6. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said one of the two electrical pole connectors extends parallel to the end side of the common housing, and the other of the two electrical pole connectors extends outwardly from the common housing at an acute angle with respect to the end side of the common housing.

7. A battery assembly comprising the battery module of claim 1 , the adjacent battery module, and the opposing battery module, and wherein the battery modules are interconnected by the electrical pole connectors.

8. The battery module as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the battery module, the adjacent battery module, and the opposing battery module each have a long axis and a short axis that is transverse to the long axis,
wherein the long axes of the battery module, and the adjacent battery module and the opposing battery module are oriented parallel to each other,
wherein the short axes of the battery module, the adjacent battery module, and the opposing battery module are oriented parallel to each other,
wherein the short axes of the battery module and the opposing battery module are spaced apart from each other in a direction of the lone axis of the battery module.

9. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said one of the two electrical pole connectors structurally differs from said other of the two electrical pole connectors.

10. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said other of the two electrical pole connectors extends further from the end side of the common housing than said one of the two electrical pole connectors.

11. The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein said end side of the common housing faces an end side of the opposing battery module.

12. The battery module as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the upper and lower cutouts are connected to one another by a through-passage, the through-passage being configured for receiving a connecting means of which the head is configured to be positioned in one cutout of the upper and lower cutouts, which connecting means is configured to extend vertically along the through-passage and is configured to be connected to a mating piece which is configured to be positioned at least partially in the other cutout of the upper and lower cutouts and is fixedly connected to the temperature-control element.

13. The battery module as claimed in claim 12 , wherein a second set of upper and lower cutouts are provided in another end side of the battery module, which second set of upper and lower cutouts are connected to one another by a second through-passage, for receiving a second connecting element of which the head of the second connecting element is configured to be positioned in one cutout of the second set of upper and lower cutouts, which second connecting element is configured to extend vertically along the second through-passage and is configured to be connected to a second mating piece which is configured to be positioned at least partially in the other cutout of the second set of upper and lower cutouts and is fixedly connected to the temperature-control element.

14. The battery module as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the connecting means are in the form of screws, and the mating piece has a corresponding threaded insert.

15. The battery module as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the step is a planar surface that extends between and interconnects the upper cutouts in the end side of the housing.

16. The battery module as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the mating piece is positioned at least partially in the lower cutout and is fixedly connected to the temperature-control element.

17. The battery module as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the head of the connecting means bears on a top surface of a protrusion of the housing through which the through-passage extends.

18. The battery module as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the top surface of the protrusion and the head are positioned at an elevation beneath the step and the electrical pole contacts.

Assignees

• Porsche Ag
• Audi Ag

Inventors

• Steck Armin
• Brendecke Felix
• Foth Johannes
• Gyulai Tamas

Classifications

• H01M50/262

  with fastening means, e.g. locks · CPC title

• H01M50/204

  Racks, modules or packs for multiple batteries or multiple cells · CPC title

• B60L50/64 Primary

  Constructional details of batteries specially adapted for electric vehicles · CPC title

• H01M10/627

  Stationary installations, e.g. power plant buffering or backup power supplies · CPC title

• B60L58/26

  by cooling · CPC title