Battery module having structure for preventing mixing of coolant and vent gas

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016204398-A1
Application number	US-201414913008-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Aug 27, 2014
Priority date	Aug 28, 2013
Publication date	Jul 14, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a battery module including two or more battery cells, which can be charged and discharged, arranged in a stacked state and cartridges for fixing the battery cells to constitute a battery cell stack, wherein each of the cartridges includes a cooling fin contacting the battery cells and a cartridge frame for fixing the cooling fin, the cooling fin includes two cooling plates, the cooling plates being mounted to the cartridge frame in a state of being spaced apart from each other in order to define a coolant flow channel, the cartridge frame is provided with openings communicating with the coolant flow channel defined between the cooling plates, and one side or opposite sides of each of the battery cells are sealed by a sealing member on an interface between each of the battery cells and the coolant flow channel in order to prevent gases generated in the battery cells from being introduced into the coolant flow channel.

First claim

1 . A battery module comprising two or more battery cells, which can be charged and discharged, arranged in a stacked state and cartridges for fixing the battery cells to constitute a battery cell stack, wherein
each of the cartridges comprises a cooling fin contacting the battery cells and a cartridge frame for fixing the cooling fin, the cooling fin comprises two cooling plates, the cooling plates being mounted to the cartridge frame in a state of being spaced apart from each other in order to define a coolant flow channel, the cartridge frame is provided with openings communicating with the coolant flow channel defined between the cooling plates, and one side or opposite sides of each of the battery cells are sealed by a sealing member on an interface between each of the battery cells and the coolant flow channel in order to prevent gases generated in the battery cells from being introduced into the coolant flow channel.

2 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the sealing member seals the opposite sides of each of the battery cells excluding regions of each of the battery cells from which electrode terminals protrude.

3 . The battery module according to claim 2 , wherein the sealing member seals the opposite sides of each of the battery cells in a state of surrounding the opposite sides of each of the battery cells.

4 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the sealing member is made of a thermoplastic resin.

5 . The battery module according to claim 4 , wherein the thermoplastic resin is a hot-melt resin.

6 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein sealing is achieved by potting.

7 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein each of the battery cells is a rectangular plate-shaped battery cell.

8 . The battery module according to claim 7 , wherein the plate-shaped battery cell is a pouch-shaped battery cell configured to have a structure in which an electrode assembly is mounted in a cell case made of a laminate sheet comprising a resin layer and a metal layer, an edge of the cell case is sealed by thermal bonding.

9 . The battery module according to claim 7 , wherein the plate-shaped battery cell is a pouch-shaped battery cell configured to have a structure in which an electrode assembly is mounted in a cell case made of a laminate sheet comprising a resin layer and a metal layer, an edge of the cell case is bonded with a hot-melt resin.

10 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the cartridge frame is provided in an inside thereof with two or more ribs for supporting the battery cells while defining the coolant flow channel.

11 . The battery module according to claim 10 , wherein the ribs are arranged in parallel to each other in a direction in which the coolant flow channel is defined.

12 . The battery module according to claim 10 , wherein each of the openings has a width corresponding to a distance between the ribs.

13 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling plates are configured such that surfaces of the cooling plates contacting the battery cells are formed in a flat shape.

14 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the cooling plates are configured such that opposite ends of the cooling plates corresponding to one side of the cartridge frame in which the openings are formed and the other side of the cartridge frame in which the openings are formed are integrally mounted to the cartridge frame.

15 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein the battery cell stack is configured to have a structure in which two battery cells are mounted between one cartridge and an adjacent cartridge.

16 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein each of the battery cells is configured to have a structure in which a positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal protrude from one side of an edge of each of the battery cells or a structure in which the positive electrode terminal protrudes from one side of the edge of each of the battery cells and the negative electrode terminal protrudes from the other side of the edge of each of the battery cells.

17 . The battery module according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an upper end plate and a lower end plate for respectively supporting an upper end and a lower end of the battery cell stack in which the battery cells are stacked in a vertical direction in a state of being fixed by the cartridges; and a front plate and a rear plate mounted to the battery cell stack such that the front plate and the rear plate respectively surround one side and the opposite side of each of the battery cells from which electrode terminals of each of the battery cells protrude.

18 . The battery module according to claim 17 , wherein at least one of the upper and lower end plates is provided with two or more beads.

19 . The battery module according to claim 17 , wherein at least one of the upper and lower end plates is provided at opposite ends of the edge thereof with extensions, which are perpendicularly bent to cover corner parts of one side and the opposite side of each of the battery cells from which the electrode terminals of each of the battery cells protrude.

20 . The battery module according to claim 19 , wherein the perpendicularly bent extensions are coupled to the front plate or the rear plate.

21 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein each of the battery cells is a lithium secondary battery.

22 . A battery pack comprising a battery module according to claim 1 as a unit module.

23 . A device comprising a battery pack according to claim 22 .

24 . The device according to claim 23 , wherein the device is an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or a power storage apparatus.

Assignees

• Lg Chemical Ltd

Inventors

• Moon Jung Oh
• Kang Dal Mo
• Choi Jong Woon
• Seong Jun Yeob
• Kong Byung O
• Eom Youngsop

Classifications

• H01M10/6554 Primary

  Rods or plates · CPC title

• H01M50/291

  characterised by their shape · CPC title

• H01M50/105

  Pouches or flexible bags · CPC title

• H01M50/211

  adapted for pouch cells · CPC title

• H01M50/186

  characterised by the disposition of the sealing members · CPC title