TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates to a battery module having a cooling structure using
an insulation cooling liquid, and a battery pack and a vehicle including the battery module,
and more specifically, to a battery module having a structure in which an insulation
10 cooling liquid introduced into a module housing to cool battery cells comes into direct
contact with components such as electrode leads and bus bars of the battery cells to realize
efficient cooling and also the insulation cooling liquid may efficiently flows through a
channel between adjacent battery cells, and a battery pack and a vehicle including the
battery module.
15 The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-
0101935 filed on August 13, 2020 in the Republic of Korea, the disclosures of which are
incorporated herein by reference. Also, the present application claims priority to Korean
Patent Application No. 10-2020-0158074 filed on November 23, 2020 in the Republic of
Korea, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. Also, the present
20 application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0074434 filed on
June 8, 2021 in the Republic of Korea, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by
reference.
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BACKGROUND ART
In the case of a battery module adopting an indirect water cooling method using a
cooling water, the cooling performance is limited because the cooling water does not
directly contact battery cells but indirectly contacts the battery cells through a module
5 housing that accommodates the battery cells. In addition, since a cooling device such as a
separate heatsink must be provided outside the module housing to form a channel for
cooling, the overall volume of the battery module is inevitably increased, which causes a
loss in terms of energy density.
In order to solve the problem of the indirect water cooling method, it is demanded
10 to develop a battery module having a structure that allows a cooling liquid to flow directly
into the module housing and realize rapid cooling through direct contact with the battery
cells and electrical connection parts.
Meanwhile, in the case of a battery module having a direct cooling structure using
such an cooling liquid, it is important to develop a channel structure for efficient cooling,
15 but it is also very important to maintain airtightness so that the insulation cooling liquid
does not leak out of the module housing and an end plate.
In particular, in the case of a battery module having a structure in which the pair of
external terminals functioning as high-potential terminals of the battery module are
exposed to the outside of the sealing plate and the end plate, for the electrical connection
20 between an external terminal located outside the sealing plate and an internal terminal
located inside the sealing plate, the sealing plate must have a structure that is partially
perforated. Therefore, there is a risk that the insulation cooling liquid inside the module
housing may leak through the perforated portion of the sealing plate, and it is demanded to
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develop a sealing structure that may effectively prevent such leakage in the perforated
portion of the sealing plate.
DISCLOSURE
5 Technical Problem
The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and
therefore the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery module having a structure
in which an insulation cooling liquid is introduced into a module housing and comes into
direct contact with battery cells and electric connection components to realize efficient
10 cooling and also the cooling liquid introduced into the module housing may smoothly
flows.
In addition, the present disclosure is also directed to providing a battery module
having a structure in which a pair of external terminals functioning as high-potential
terminals of the battery module are exposed to the outside of the sealing plate and the end
15 plate, where it is possible to efficiently prevent the cooling liquid from leaking through a
perforated portion of the sealing plate.
However, the technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is not
limited to the above, and other objects not mentioned herein will be understood from the
following description by those skilled in the art.