Battery module including cooling member, and battery pack and energy storage system including the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12002939-B2
Application number	US-202017267948-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 27, 2020
Priority date	Jun 17, 2019
Publication date	Jun 4, 2024
Grant date	Jun 4, 2024

Abstract

A battery module reduces the risk of secondary ignition or explosion and increases durability against external impacts. The battery module includes a plurality of secondary batteries respectively having a gas venting portion for discharging a gas generated therein to the outside at a predetermined pressure and arranged in a front and rear direction in two rows; and a cooling member including a body portion interposed between two rows of the plurality of secondary batteries and having a size corresponding to left and right sides of the plurality of secondary batteries, and a gas discharge portion provided to at least one of an upper portion and a lower portion of the body portion and having a gas discharge passage elongated from a front end to a rear end of the body portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A battery module, comprising:
a plurality of secondary batteries, each secondary battery of the plurality of secondary batteries having a gas venting portion for discharging a gas generated therein to the outside at a predetermined pressure and the plurality of secondary batteries arranged in a front and rear direction in two rows;
a cooling member including a body portion having an upper wall, a lower wall and side walls, the cooling member interposed between the two rows of the plurality of secondary batteries and having a size corresponding to left and right sides of the plurality of secondary batteries;
a fixing groove elongated from a front end to a rear end of the body portion in the lower wall of the cooling member;
a tray including a support portion extending in a horizontal direction so that the plurality of secondary batteries are mounted to an upper surface of the support portion, and side portions extending upward from a left end and a right end of the support portion; and
a protrusion extending upwardly from the support portion, the protrusion extending into the fixing groove.

2. The battery module according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a bus bar assembly including a bus bar configured to electrically connect the plurality of secondary batteries, and a bus bar housing coupled to a side portion of the tray in a state where the bus bar is mounted thereto;
an upper plate coupled to the bus bar housing and configured to cover an upper portion of the plurality of secondary batteries;
a front cover coupled to a front end of the support portion and configured to cover a foremost side of the plurality of secondary batteries; and
a rear cover coupled to a rear end of the support portion and configured to cover a rearmost side of the plurality of secondary batteries.

3. The battery module according to claim 2 , wherein a front end of the cooling member is coupled to the front cover,
wherein a rear end of the cooling member is coupled to the rear cover, and
wherein a lower end of the cooling member is coupled to the support portion of the tray.

4. The battery module according to claim 3 , wherein an insert opening indented inward is formed at a portion of each of the front cover and the rear cover so that a portion of each of the front end and the rear end of the cooling member is respectively inserted therein.

5. The battery module according to claim 4 , wherein a coolant injection port and a coolant discharge port are provided to the front end and the rear end of the cooling member, respectively.

6. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein a coolant injection port is provided to an upper center of the cooling member, and a coolant discharge port is provided to each of a front end and a rear end of the body portion, and
wherein a coolant channel configured to allow a coolant injected into the coolant injection port to move in the front and rear direction is formed inside the cooling member.

7. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein beading portions raised in a left and right direction are provided to outer sides of the cooling member in the left and right direction.

8. A battery pack, comprising at least one battery module as defined in claim 1 .

9. An energy storage system, comprising the battery pack as defined in claim 8 .

10. The battery module according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a gas discharge portion provided to at least one of an upper portion and a lower portion of the body portion and having a gas discharge passage elongated from a front end to a rear end of the body portion; and
a vent hole in the bus bar assembly, the vent hole being vertically aligned with the gas discharge passage of the body portion.

11. The battery module according to claim 1 , further comprising a gas discharge portion provided to at least one of an upper portion and a lower portion of the body portion and having a gas discharge passage elongated from a front end to a rear end of the body portion.

12. The battery module according to claim 11 , further comprising a coolant channel configured to allow a coolant injected into the coolant injection port to move in the front and rear direction inside the cooling member.

13. The battery module according to claim 12 , further comprising a coolant injection port at the front end of the body portion and a coolant discharge port at the rear end of the body portion.

14. The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the body portion of the cooling member has a first side wall and a second side wall.

15. The battery module according to claim 3 , wherein a first projection on the front cover engages the body portion, and
wherein a second projection on the rear cover engages the body portion.

16. The battery module according to claim 3 , further comprising a first opening in the front cover and a second opening in the rear cover,
wherein the cooling member extends through the first opening and the second opening.

17. The battery module according to claim 16 , wherein a first projection in the first opening engages the body portion, and
wherein a second projection in the rear cover engages the body portion.

18. The battery module according to claim 17 , wherein the first projection and second projection engage the fixing groove.

Assignees

• Lg Chemical Ltd
• Lg Energy Solution Ltd

Inventors

• Yoo Jae-Min
• Mun Jeong-O
• Shin Eun-Gyu
• Lee Yoon-Koo

Classifications

• H01M50/242

  adapted for protecting batteries against vibrations, collision impact or swelling · CPC title

• H01M10/6557 Primary

  arranged between the cells · CPC title

• H01M10/613 Primary

  Cooling or keeping cold · CPC title

• H01M10/625

  Vehicles · CPC title

• H01M10/6568

  characterised by flow circuits, e.g. loops, located externally to the cells or cell casings · CPC title