Patent Application
20240405361
The present disclosure relates to a battery pack and a vehicle including the same, and more particularly, to a battery pack configured to ensure structural stability even when a thermal event occurs, and a vehicle including the same.
Currently commercialized secondary batteries include nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydride batteries, nickel zinc batteries, and lithium secondary batteries. Among the currently commercialized secondary batteries, lithium secondary batteries are in the spotlight because they have almost no memory effect compared to nickel-based secondary batteries, and thus have advantages of free charge/discharge, very low self-discharge rate, and high energy density.
A lithium secondary battery mainly uses a lithium-based oxide (as a positive electrode active material) and a carbon material (as a negative electrode active material). Additionally, the lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate coated with the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material, respectively are disposed with a separator interposed therebetween, and a casing for sealing and accommodating the electrode assembly along with an electrolyte.
Meanwhile, depending on the shape of the battery case, lithium secondary batteries may be classified into a can-type secondary battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a metal can, and a pouch-type secondary battery in which an electrode assembly is embedded in a pouch of an aluminum laminate sheet. In addition, the can-type secondary battery can be further classified into a cylindrical battery and a prismatic battery according to the shape of the metal can.
The pouch of the pouch-type secondary battery can be largely classified into a lower sheet and an upper sheet covering it. At this time, an electrode assembly formed by stacking and winding a positive electrode, a negative electrode, and a separator is stored in the pouch. In addition, after receiving the electrode assembly, the edges of the upper sheet and the lower sheet are sealed by thermal fusion or the like. And an electrode tab drawn out from each electrode may be coupled to an electrode lead, and an insulating film may be added to a portion of the electrode lead in contact with the sealing portion.
In this way, the pouch-type secondary battery can have the flexibility to be configured in various forms. In addition, the pouch-type secondary battery has the advantage of being able to implement a secondary battery of the same capacity with a smaller volume and mass.
The lithium secondary batteries are used to construct a battery module or a battery pack by stacking a plurality of battery cells themselves or in a cartridge to form a densely packed structure and electrically connecting them to provide high voltage and high current.
In the battery pack, typically, one of the important issues is safety. In particular, when a thermal event occurs in any of the battery cells included in the battery pack, it is necessary to suppress the propagation of the event to the other battery cell.
Unless thermal propagation between the battery cells is properly suppressed, the thermal event may spread to the other battery cell included in the battery pack, causing a greater problem such as a fire or explosion in the battery pack. Moreover, the fire or explosion in the battery pack may cause human and economic loss and damage. Accordingly, the battery pack needs a configuration for properly controlling the thermal event.
The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting context of the disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art, or suggestions of the prior art, by inclusion in this section.
The present disclosure is designed to solve among other things, the problems of the related art (exemplary examples given above), and therefore an object of the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery pack configured to ensure structural stability even when a thermal event occurs, and a vehicle including the same.
However, the technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned problem, and this and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the present disclosure described below.
A battery pack according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises a battery cell; a pack housing configured to accommodate the battery cell within a cell accommodation portion and have a venting path including a first path and a second path in communication with the cell accommodation portion at a side and a lower part, respectively; and a cooling module included in the lower part of the pack housing and configured to cool a venting gas or flame discharged from the battery cell and introduced into the second path.
In an embodiment, the pack housing may include a side frame configured to constitute (define) the side of the pack housing and to include the first path that communicates with the cell accommodation portion through a distribution hole; and a floor frame connected to the side frame and configured to constitute (define) the lower part of the pack housing and to include the second path that communicates with the cell accommodation portion through a venting hole.
In an embodiment, the battery cell may have an electrode lead provided on at least one side to face the venting path, and the venting hole may be formed in an area on the floor frame corresponding to the electrode lead.
In an embodiment, the length of the venting hole in the front and rear directions of the pack housing may be shorter than the length of the second path in the front and rear directions of the pack housing.
In an embodiment, the cooling module may include a first cooling unit; and a second cooling unit disposed on the opposite side of the first cooling unit within the floor frame with the second path interposed therebetween.
In an embodiment, the battery cell may be provided in plurality, the cell accommodation portion may be provided in plurality, the plurality of battery cells may be accommodated within the plurality of cell accommodation portions, respectively, and the pack housing may further include a plurality of barriers having both sides connected to the side frame and configured to be in close contact with the front or rear any one of the plurality of battery cells to seal the plurality of cell accommodation portions from each other.
In an embodiment, the pack housing may further include a guide portion formed by bending from the venting hole toward the inside of the second path.
In an embodiment, the pack housing may further include a flow limiting portion provided on at least one of the upper and lower surfaces of the second path and configured to collide with particles contained in the flame.
In an embodiment, the pack housing may further include a filtering portion provided within the second path and configured to filter particles contained in the flame, and the filtering portion may be configured to face the cooling module.
In addition, a vehicle according to another aspect of the present disclosure comprises at least one battery pack according to an aspect of the present disclosure.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the flow of venting gas and/or flame can be guided in a certain direction. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize or prevent simultaneous ignition of a plurality of battery cells by preventing thermal runaway or flame propagation between battery cells.
In addition, according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, the venting path is configured on the side and lower part of the pack housing, respectively, so that the flow of venting gas and/or flame, which typically flows straight, is primarily directed to the side of the pack housing, and the flow of the remaining venting gas and/or flame can be guided to the lower part of the pack housing and cooled. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize or prevent high temperature venting gas and/or flame from being rapidly discharged outside the pack housing.
In addition, according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure, since the venting gas and/or flame can be cooled in the lower part of the pack housing, it is possible to minimize or prevent the venting gas and/or flame from being directed toward the driver's side located above the battery pack.
In addition, various additional effects can be achieved by various embodiments of the present disclosure. Various effects of the present disclosure will be described in detail in each embodiment, or descriptions of effects that can be easily understood by those skilled in the art will be omitted.
The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure and together with the foregoing disclosure, serve to provide further understanding of the technical features of the present disclosure, and thus, the present disclosure is not construed as being limited to the drawing.
Hereinafter, 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 an 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 terms “comprise,” “include” and “have” are used herein to designate the presence of characteristics, numbers, steps, actions, components, or members described in the specification or a combination thereof, and it should be understood that the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other characteristics, numbers, steps, actions, components, members, or a combination thereof is not excluded in advance. In addition, when a part of a layer, a film, a region, or a plate is disposed “on” another part, this includes not only a case in which one part is disposed “directly on” another part, but a case in which a third part is interposed there between. In contrast, when a part of a layer, a film, a region, or a plate is disposed “under” another part, this includes not only a case in which one part is disposed “directly under” another part, but a case in which a third part is interposed there between. In addition, in this application, “on” may include not only a case of disposed on an upper part but also a case of disposed on a lower part.
The terms indicating directions as used herein such as upper, lower, left, right, front, and rear are used for convenience of description only, and it is obvious to those skilled in the art that the term may change depending on the position of the stated element or an observer.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the X-axis direction shown in the drawings may mean front and rear directions of the battery pack 10, which will be described later, the Y-axis direction may mean left and right directions of the battery pack 10 perpendicular to the X-axis direction on the horizontal plane (XY plane), and the Z-axis direction may mean upper and lower directions perpendicular to both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.
Referring to
The battery cell 100 may refer to a secondary battery. This battery cell 100 may be prepared as a pouch-type battery cell, a cylindrical battery cell, or a prismatic battery cell. As an example, the battery cell 100 may be a pouch-type battery cell. Additionally, an electrode lead 110 may be provided on at least one side (Y-axis direction) of the battery cell 100.
Meanwhile, two or more battery cells 100 may be provided to form a cell assembly C. At this time, the battery cells 100 may be stacked in one direction (e.g., X-axis direction) to form the cell assembly C.
The pack housing 200 may be configured to accommodate the battery cell 100 therein. For this purpose, a cell accommodation portion S may be formed in the pack housing 200. The cell accommodation portion S is an empty space and may be provided in a shape that can accommodate at least one battery cell 100 therein. Specifically, the cell accommodation portion S may be provided in a shape that can accommodate the battery cell 100 therein through a barrier W, which will be described later. Meanwhile, the pack housing 200 may include a material with strong heat resistance and rigidity.
Specifically, the pack housing 200 may include a side frame 210, a floor frame 220, and an upper cover 230.
The side frame 210 may define the side of the pack housing 200. As an example, the side frame 210 may define the side of the pack housing 200 in the front and rear directions (X-axis direction) and the side of the pack housing 200 in the left and right directions (Y-axis direction).
The floor frame 220 constitutes the lower part of the pack housing 200 and may be connected to the lower part of the side frame 210.
The upper cover 230 is coupled to the upper part of the side frame 210 and may cover the upper side of the battery cell 100 accommodated inside the pack housing 200. At this time, a heat transfer material (not shown) may be provided on the lower part of the upper cover 230.
Referring to
The venting path P may include a first path P1 and a second path P2 in communication with the cell accommodation portion S at the side and the lower part of the pack housing 200, respectively. That is, the first path P1 may be configured in the side frame 210 and communicate with the cell accommodation portion S. In addition, the second path P2 may be configured in the floor frame 220 and communicate with the cell accommodation portion S.
Additionally, the battery pack 10 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a cooling module 300.
The cooling module 300 may be installed at the lower part (floor frame 220) of the pack housing 200. As an example, the cooling module 300 may be a heat sink.
In a typical battery pack, events such as thermal runaway may occur in certain battery cells. In this case, high-temperature and high-pressure venting gas may be generated from a specific battery cell, and when this venting gas meets oxygen, a flame may be generated inside or outside the battery pack.
In addition, there is a high risk that the flame generated in one battery cell will transfer to another battery cell adjacent to one battery cell, and thus, simultaneous ignition of a plurality of battery cells may occur.
The battery pack 10 of the present disclosure can solve the above-mentioned problems by being equipped with the venting path P of the pack housing 200 and the cooling module 300 as described above. Specifically, the venting path P may be configured to guide the discharge of venting gas and/or flame to the outside of the pack housing 200. In other words, the venting path P may provide a flow space so that the venting gas and/or flame discharged from the battery cell 100 can be discharged to the outside of the pack housing 200.
Specifically, the first path P1 may be provided on the side frame 210 and configured to face the electrode lead 110 of the battery cell 100 in the left and right directions (Y-axis direction) of the pack housing 200. Since the first path P1 may be configured to face the electrode lead 110 in this way, venting gas and/or flame with strong straightness (i.e., tendency to flow straight) may primarily flow into the first path P1 when the battery cell 100 thermally runs away. The venting gas and/or flame flowing into the side frame 210 through first path P1 in this way may collide with the inner surface of the side frame 210, thereby weakening its flow. As an example, a flame may contain particles. The particles are high-temperature active material particles or sparks discharged from the battery cell 100, and may be an ignition source.
Additionally, the cooling module 300 may be configured to cool the venting gas and/or flame discharged from the battery cell 100 and introduced into the second path P2.
Specifically, the venting gas and/or flame discharged from the battery cell 100, excluding the venting gas and/or flame flowing into the first path P1, may be introduced into the second path P2 provided in the floor frame 220. The venting gas and/or flame introduced into the second path P2 in this way is cooled by the cooling module 300, and its flow may be weakened as the venting gas and/or flame flows within the second path P2.
Meanwhile, although not shown in detail, the side frame 210 may include a discharge hole. This discharge hole may be configured to communicate with the first path P1 to discharge venting gas and/or flame to the outside of the pack housing 200. Additionally, the floor frame 220 may include a discharge hole. This discharge hole may be configured to communicate with the second path P2 to discharge venting gas and/or flame to the outside of the pack housing 200.
According to this embodiment of the present disclosure, the flow of venting gas and/or flame can be guided in a certain direction. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize or prevent simultaneous ignition of a plurality of battery cells 100 by preventing thermal runaway or flame propagation between the battery cells 100.
In addition, according to this embodiment of the present disclosure, the venting path P is provided at the side and the lower part of the pack housing 200, so that the flow of venting gas and/or flame, which has strong straightness, is primarily directed to the side of the pack housing 200, and the flow of the remaining venting gas and/or flame is guided to the lower part of the pack housing 200 to be cooled. Accordingly, it is possible to minimize or prevent high temperature venting gas and/or flame from being rapidly discharged to the outside of the pack housing 200.
According to this embodiment of the present disclosure, since the venting gas and/or flame can be cooled at the lower part of the pack housing 200, it is possible to minimize or prevent the venting gas and/or flame from being directed toward the driver's side located above the battery pack 10.
Referring again to
Additionally, the floor frame 220 described above may include a venting hole 222. At this time, the second path P2 may communicate with the cell accommodation portion S through the venting hole 222. That is, the venting gas and/or flame may quickly flow into the second path P2 through the venting hole 222 corresponding to the lower part of the cell accommodation portion S where the battery cell 100 is accommodated.
According to this embodiment, simultaneous ignition of the plurality of battery cells 100 can be minimized or prevented by more stably guiding the flow of venting gas and/or flame to the venting path P.
Referring again to
At this time, the venting hole 222 may be formed in an area on the floor frame 220 corresponding to the electrode lead 110.
That is, according to this embodiment, the venting hole 222 is not formed in an area on the floor frame 220 corresponding to the entire lower part of the battery cell 100, but formed only in a narrow area of the floor frame 220, especially at both sides in the left and right directions (Y-axis direction) (see
In the event of thermal runaway of the battery cell 100, most of the venting gas and/or flame, which typically flows straight, may be introduced through the first path P1. Additionally, the venting gas and/or flame that does not flow into the first path P1 is introduced into the second path P2 through the venting hole 222, which has a relatively narrow area compared to the cell accommodation portion S, so that its flow may be weakened. In addition, the venting gas and/or flame introduced into the second path P2 through the venting hole 222, which has a relatively narrow area compared to the cell accommodation portion S, may be restricted from flowing back into the cell accommodation portion S.
In addition, since the venting gas and/or flame flows into the second path P2 through both left and right sides of the floor frame 220, the time during which high temperature venting gas and/or flame can be cooled by the cooling module 300 within the second path P2 may be increased.
According to this embodiment, the flow of venting gas and/or flame can be clearly weakened, and also the time of cooling the high temperature venting gas and/or flame can be increased. Accordingly, the rapid discharge of high temperature venting gas and/or flame to the outside of the pack housing 200 can be more clearly minimized or prevented.
Referring again to
In other words, the area of the venting hole 222 may be smaller than the area of the corresponding second path P2 on the horizontal plane (XY plane). Accordingly, when the venting gas and/or flame passes through the venting hole 222, the flow speed of venting gas and/or flame within second path P2 may be slower than the flow speed of venting gas and/or flame within the cell accommodation portion S.
According to this embodiment, the flow of venting gas and/or flame introduced into the second path P2 can be further weakened, so the time of cooling the high temperature venting gas and/or flame by the cooling module 300 can be further increased.
Referring again to
The first cooling unit 310 may be a heat sink.
The second cooling unit 320 may be disposed on the opposite side of the first cooling unit 310 within the floor frame 220 with the second path P2 interposed therebetween. That is, the first cooling unit 310 and the second cooling unit 320 may be arranged within the floor frame 220 with the second path P2 interposed therebetween, when viewed in the front and rear directions (X-axis direction) of the pack housing 200.
Accordingly, the high temperature venting gas and/or flame introduced into the second path P2 can be cooled between the first cooling unit 310 and the second cooling unit 320.
According to this embodiment, the efficiency of cooling high temperature venting gas and/or flame by the cooling module 300 can be improved.
Referring to
At this time, the battery cell 100 may be accommodated in the cell accommodation portion S, respectively. Meanwhile, the cell accommodation portion S may accommodate the cell assembly C having two or more battery cells 100.
Also, the pack housing 200 may include plurality of barriers W. Both sides of the barrier W may be connected to the side frame 210. At this time, both ends in the left and right directions (Y-axis direction) of the barrier W may be coupled to the side frame 210 disposed along the front and rear directions (X-axis direction) of the pack housing 200 among the side frames 210. Additionally, the barrier W may be formed to extend in the upper and lower directions to correspond to the height of the side frame 210. Additionally, the floor frame 220 may be coupled to the lower side of the barrier W, and the upper cover 230 may be coupled to the upper side of the barrier W.
In addition, the barrier W may be in close contact with the front of rear surface of the battery cell 100 to seal the plurality of cell accommodation portions S from each other, when viewed in the front and rear directions (X-axis direction) of the pack housing 200. Meanwhile, when the cell assembly C is accommodated within each cell accommodation portion S, the barrier W may be in close contact with the front and rear surfaces of the cell assembly C.
At this time, the distribution hole 212 of the side frame 210 and the venting hole 222 of the floor frame 220 may be configured to correspond to each cell accommodation portion S.
According to this configuration, simultaneous ignition between adjacent battery cells 100 can be suppressed more reliably, and also the battery cells 100 can be compactly arranged within the pack housing 200.
In addition, since the barrier W seals the space between adjacent cell accommodation portions S and the battery cell 100 comes into closer contact with the barrier W, the venting gas and/or flame can be guided to be introduced into the venting path P through the distribution hole 212 and the venting hole 222 more stably.
Since the battery pack 12 according to this embodiment is similar to the battery pack 10 of’ the previous embodiment, redundant descriptions of components substantially the same as or similar to those of the previous embodiment will be omitted, and differences from the previous embodiment will be described below.
Referring to
The guide portion G may be formed by bending from the venting hole 222 toward the inside of the second path P2.
Specifically, one end of the guide portion G may be coupled to a portion of the venting hole 222 close to the side frame 210. Additionally, the guide portion G may be bent from one end coupled to the venting hole 222 toward the inside of the second path P2, and the other end may be coupled to the lower part of the second path P2.
This guide portion G can provide more direction to the flow of venting gas and/or flame introduced into the second path P2 through the venting hole 222. In other words, the venting gas and/or flame introduced through the venting hole 222 can be guided through the guide portion G and flow into the second path P2 more reliably.
According to the battery pack 12 of this embodiment, the flow of venting gas and/or flame can be guided more stably, and also the high temperature venting gas and/or flame can be cooled more reliably by the cooling module 300.
Since the battery pack 14 according to this embodiment is similar to the battery pack of the previous embodiment, redundant descriptions of components substantially the same as or similar to those of the previous embodiment will be omitted, and differences from the previous embodiment will be described below.
Referring to
The flow limiting portion T may be provided on at least one of the upper surface and the lower surface of the second path P2. Specifically, the flow limiting portion T may be provided on the upper inner surface and/or the lower inner surface of the second path P2, and at least one flow limiting portion T may be provided in the form of protrusion.
This flow limiting portion T may be configured to collide with particles contained in the flame emitted from the battery cell 100.
According to the battery pack 14 of this embodiment, since the flame discharged from battery cell 100 may collide with the protrusion-shaped flow limiting portion T, the flow of the flame within the second path P2 may be further weakened. Accordingly, the time of cooling the flame by the cooling module 300 can be increased by increasing the residual time of the flame within the second path P2.
In addition, by allowing the particles contained in the flame to remain in the second path P2 by the flow limiting portion T, the discharge of ignition sources to the outside of the pack housing 200 can be further minimized.
Since the battery pack 16 according to this embodiment is similar to the battery pack of the previous embodiment, redundant descriptions of components substantially the same as or similar to those of the previous embodiment will be omitted, and differences from the previous embodiment will be described below.
Referring to
The filtering portion M is provided in the second path P2 and may be configured to filter particles contained in the flame. Additionally, the filtering portion M may be configured to face the cooling module 300. As an example, the filtering portion M may be configured in the form of a mesh in which a plurality of fine holes are formed.
Specifically, the filtering portion M may be configured as a pair to face the first cooling unit 310 and the second cooling unit 320 in the front and rear directions (X-axis direction) of the pack housing 200, respectively.
As shown in
According to the battery pack 16 of this embodiment, the process of filtering particles of the flame by the filtering portion M and the process of cooling the flame by the cooling module 300 can be performed sequentially, so the effect of cooling the flame by the cooling module 300 can be further improved.
In addition, by filtering particles contained in the flame through the filtering portion M, the discharge of ignition sources to the outside of the pack housing 200 can be further minimized.
Meanwhile, the battery pack 10, 12, 14, 16 according to the present disclosure can be applied to vehicles such as electric vehicles. In other words, the vehicle according to the present disclosure may include at least one battery pack 10, 12, 14, 16 according to the present disclosure.
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.
On the other hand, in the present disclosure, terms indicating directions such as up, down, left, right, front, and back are used, but it is obvious to those skilled in the art of the present disclosure that these terms are only for convenience of explanation and they may vary depending on the location of the target object or the location of the observer.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2022-0112578 | Sep 2022 | KR | national |
This application is a National Phase entry pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2023/009789, filed on Jul. 10, 2023, and claims the benefit of and priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0112578, filed on Sep. 6, 2022, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2023/009789 | 7/10/2023 | WO |
