Title of Invention: Battery module and battery rack and power storage device comprising such battery module
technical field
[One]
The present invention relates to a battery module and a battery rack and power storage device comprising such a battery module.
[2]
This application is a priority claim application for Korean Patent Application No. 10-2019-0117415 filed on September 24, 2019, and all contents disclosed in the specification and drawings of the application are incorporated herein by reference.
background
[3]
Secondary batteries that are easy to apply according to product groups and have electrical characteristics such as high energy density are not only portable devices, but also electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrid vehicles (HEVs) driven by an electric drive source. It is universally applied. These secondary batteries are attracting attention as a new energy source for improving eco-friendliness and energy efficiency in that not only the primary advantage of being able to dramatically reduce the use of fossil fuels but also the fact that no by-products are generated from the use of energy.
[4]
The types of secondary batteries currently widely used include a lithium ion battery, a lithium polymer battery, a nickel cadmium battery, a nickel hydride battery, a nickel zinc battery, and the like. The unit secondary battery cell, that is, the operating voltage of the unit battery cell is about 2.5V ~ 4.5V. Accordingly, when a higher output voltage is required, a plurality of battery cells are connected in series to form a battery pack. In addition, a plurality of battery cells may be connected in parallel to form a battery pack according to the charge/discharge capacity required for the battery pack. Accordingly, the number of battery cells included in the battery pack may be variously set according to a required output voltage or charge/discharge capacity.
[5]
On the other hand, when configuring a battery pack by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series/parallel, a battery module including at least one battery cell is first configured, and other components are added using the at least one battery module. A method of configuring the battery pack is common.
[6]
A conventional battery module is generally configured to include a plurality of battery cells stacked on each other and a module case for accommodating the plurality of battery cells. In the case of such a conventional battery module, when overheating due to an abnormal situation occurs in a specific battery cell among a plurality of battery cells, heat generated from the overheated battery cell is transferred to adjacent battery cells as it is, and thermal runaway occurs and the battery module explodes. There are issues that lead to greater risk, such as
[7]
Therefore, when overheating occurs due to an abnormal situation in the battery cell, it is necessary to find a way to distribute the heat of the abnormal battery cell to prevent thermal runaway and prevent direct heat transfer to adjacent battery cells. is requested
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
technical challenge
[8]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a battery module capable of preventing thermal runaway when overheating of a specific battery cell according to an abnormal situation occurs, and a battery rack and power storage device including such a battery module.
[9]
And, another object of the present invention, a battery module capable of dissipating the heat of the battery cell in which an abnormal situation has occurred, and preventing direct heat transfer to adjacent battery cells, and a battery rack and power storage device including the battery module is to provide
means of solving the problem
[10]
In order to solve the above object, the present invention, as a battery module, a plurality of battery cells stacked on each other; a module case accommodating the plurality of battery cells; and a plurality of thermal runaway prevention units provided in the module case and disposed between the plurality of battery cells in a stacking direction of the plurality of battery cells.
[11]
The battery module may include a pair of heat transfer members disposed on upper and lower sides of the plurality of battery cells and disposed in contact with the plurality of thermal runaway prevention units and an inner surface of the module case.
[12]
The plurality of thermal runaway prevention units may include a pair of cooling fins disposed in contact with side surfaces of the battery cells facing each other; and a heat insulating member disposed between the pair of cooling fins and formed to have a predetermined length in a longitudinal direction of the plurality of battery cells.
[13]
Both ends of the pair of cooling fins may contact the pair of heat transfer members.
[14]
Each of the pair of cooling fins may include a fin body in contact with a side surface of the facing battery cell; and elastic parts formed at both ends of the fin body and contacting each heat transfer member.
[15]
The elastic part may include an inclined part extending obliquely from the pin body at a predetermined angle and spaced apart from an end of the battery cell by a predetermined distance; and a horizontal portion bent from the inclined portion and in contact with each heat transfer member.
[16]
The end of the horizontal part may be disposed on the upper and lower sides of the heat insulating member.
[17]
The horizontal portion may be in surface contact with each heat transfer member.
[18]
And, the present invention, as a battery pack, at least one battery module according to the above-described embodiments; and a rack case for packaging the at least one battery module; provides a battery rack comprising a.
[19]
In addition, the present invention provides a power storage device comprising a; at least one battery rack according to the above-described embodiment as a power storage device.
Effects of the Invention
[20]
According to various embodiments as described above, it is possible to provide a battery module capable of preventing thermal runaway when overheating of a specific battery cell according to an abnormal situation occurs, and a battery rack and power storage device including such a battery module. .
[21]
And, according to various embodiments as described above, a battery module capable of dissipating the heat of the battery cell in which an abnormal situation occurs, and preventing direct heat transfer to adjacent battery cells, and a battery rack and power including such a battery module A storage device may be provided.
Brief description of the drawing
[22]
The following drawings attached to this specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention, and serve to further understand the technical spirit of the present invention together with the detailed description of the present invention to be described later, so that the present invention is described in such drawings should not be construed as being limited only to
[23]
1 is a view for explaining a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[24]
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a main part of FIG. 1 .
[25]
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the thermal runaway preventing unit of FIG. 2 .
[26]
4 is an exploded view of the thermal runaway prevention unit of FIG. 3 .
[27]
5 is a view for explaining a thermal runaway prevention unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[28]
6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining prevention of thermal runaway when an abnormal situation occurs in a battery cell of the battery module of FIG. 1 .
[29]
8 is a view for explaining a battery rack according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[30]
9 is a diagram for explaining a power storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Modes for carrying out the invention
[31]
The present invention will become more apparent by describing preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the embodiments described herein are illustratively shown to aid understanding of the invention, and the present invention may be implemented with various modifications different from the embodiments described herein. In addition, in order to help the understanding of the invention, the accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale, but dimensions of some components may be exaggerated.
[32]
FIG. 1 is a view for explaining a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the main part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a view for explaining the thermal runaway prevention unit of FIG. , FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the thermal runaway prevention unit of FIG. 3 .
[33]
1 to 4 , the battery module 10 may include a battery cell 100 , a module case 200 , a heat transfer member 300 , and a thermal runaway preventing unit 500 .
[34]
At least one battery cell 100 may be provided in plurality. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the battery cell 100 will be described by limiting it to being provided in plurality.
[35]
The plurality of battery cells 100 may be stacked to be electrically connected to each other. The plurality of battery cells 100 may be provided as at least one of a pouch-type secondary battery, a prismatic secondary battery, and a cylindrical secondary battery as a secondary battery. Hereinafter, in the present embodiment, the plurality of battery cells 100 will be described as being limited to pouch-type secondary batteries.
[36]
The module case 200 may accommodate the plurality of battery cells 100 . To this end, an accommodation space capable of accommodating the plurality of battery cells 100 may be provided in the module case 200 .
[37]
The heat transfer member 300 is disposed above and below the plurality of battery cells 100 , and may be disposed between a plurality of thermal runaway prevention units 500 and the module case 200 to be described later. The heat transfer member 300 may be formed of the thermal interface material.
[38]
The heat transfer member 300 may be provided as a pair. The pair of heat transfer members 300 may be disposed in contact with a plurality of thermal runaway prevention units 500 to be described later and the module case 200 . Specifically, the pair of heat transfer members 300 are disposed in contact with the upper and lower inner surfaces of the module case 200 , and may be in contact with a plurality of facing thermal runaway preventing units 500 .
[39]
The thermal runaway prevention unit 500 is to prevent thermal runaway toward the adjacent battery cells 100 when overheating occurs due to an abnormal condition of a specific battery cell 100 among the battery cells 100 , can be provided.
[40]
The plurality of thermal runaway prevention units 500 may be provided in the module case 200 and disposed between the plurality of battery cells 100 along a stacking direction of the plurality of battery cells 100 . .
[41]
Each of the plurality of thermal runaway prevention units 500 may include a pair of cooling fins 510 , a heat insulating member 530 , and an adhesive member 550 .
[42]
The pair of cooling fins 510 may be disposed in contact with the opposite side surfaces of the battery cell 100 . The pair of cooling fins 510 may have a length equal to or greater than a side length of the battery cell 100 .
[43]
The pair of cooling fins 510 may be made of a metal material having high thermal conductivity. The pair of cooling fins 510 may transfer heat generated in the battery cell 100 to the heat transfer member 500 . To this end, both ends 515 of the pair of cooling fins 510 may be in contact with the pair of heat transfer members 500 .
[44]
The pair of cooling fins 510 may include a fin body 512 and an elastic part 515 , respectively.
[45]
The pin body 512 may be in contact with the facing side surface of the battery cell 100 . To this end, the pin body 512 may have a predetermined length and area capable of covering the facing battery cell 100 .
[46]
The elastic part 515 is formed at both ends of the fin body 512 and may be in contact with each heat transfer member 300 . Through the elastic part 515, when the module case 200 of the thermal runaway prevention unit 500 is mounted inside the module case 200, the contact arrangement structure with the heat transfer member 300 more stably even if there is an assembly tolerance, etc. can be implemented effectively.
[47]
The elastic part 515 may include an inclined part 517 and a horizontal part 519 .
[48]
The inclined portion 517 may extend to be inclined at a predetermined angle from the pin body 512 , and may be disposed to be spaced apart from both ends of the battery cell 100 by a predetermined distance.
[49]
The horizontal portion 519 may be bent from the inclined portion and may be in contact with each heat transfer member. The horizontal portion 519 may be in surface contact with each heat transfer member 300 . Accordingly, the heat transfer efficiency of the pair of cooling fins 510 may be further increased.
[50]
The end of the horizontal part 519 may be disposed on the upper and lower sides of the heat insulating member 530 . That is, the distal end of the horizontal portion 519 may be disposed on the upper and lower sides of the heat insulating member 530 rather than the vertical direction of the battery cell 100 from the inclined portion 517 . Accordingly, when assembling or mounting the thermal runaway prevention unit 500 , or when the horizontal part 519 is moved due to an external impact, the battery cell 100 by the end of the horizontal part 519 . It can effectively prevent the risk of unexpected damage.
[51]
The heat insulating member 530 is disposed between the pair of cooling fins 500 , and may be formed to have a predetermined length along the longitudinal direction of the plurality of battery cells 100 . When the overheating of the battery cell 100 according to an abnormal situation occurs, the heat insulating member 530 directly transfers heat from the side of the overheated battery cell 100 to the adjacent battery cells 100 in the horizontal direction. can be prevented
[52]
The adhesive member 550 is provided on both sides of the heat insulating member 530 , and may couple the heat insulating member 530 and the pair of cooling fins 510 to each other. The adhesive member 550 may be provided as a double-sided tape.
[53]
5 is a view for explaining a thermal runaway prevention unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.
[54]
Since the thermal runaway prevention unit 600 according to this embodiment is similar to the thermal runaway prevention unit 500 of the previous embodiment, hereinafter, redundant descriptions of components substantially the same or similar to those of the previous embodiment will be omitted, Differences from the previous embodiment will be mainly described.
[55]
Referring to FIG. 5 , the thermal runaway prevention unit 600 may include a pair of cooling fins 610 and a plurality of heat insulating members 630 and 635 .
[56]
The pair of cooling fins 610 are substantially the same as or similar to the pair of cooling fins 510 of the previous embodiment, and thus, redundant descriptions thereof will be omitted.
[57]
The plurality of heat insulating members 630 and 635 may be stacked on each other and disposed between the pair of cooling fins 610 . The plurality of heat insulating members 630 and 635 may be coupled to each other with the adhesive member (not shown) and coupled to the cooling fins 610 facing each other.
[58]
In the present embodiment, since a plurality of the insulating members 630 and 635 are provided, when the battery cell 100 is overheated according to an abnormal situation, the battery cells 100 adjacent to the overheated battery cell 100 side. Direct heat transfer in the horizontal direction to the side can be prevented more effectively.
[59]
Hereinafter, in the battery module 10 according to this embodiment, when the specific battery cell 100 overheats due to the occurrence of an abnormal situation, the thermal runaway prevention mechanism through the thermal runaway prevention unit 500 will be described in more detail. take a look
[60]
6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining prevention of thermal runaway when an abnormal situation occurs in a battery cell of the battery module of FIG. 1 .
[61]
6 and 7 , in the battery module 10, at least one specific battery cell 100 (see the middle battery cell of FIG. 6 and the left battery cell of FIG. 7) may overheat according to an abnormal situation. have.
[62]
At this time, the heat generated in the specific battery cell 100 in which the abnormal situation has occurred is transferred to the heat transfer member through the cooling fin 510 of the thermal runaway prevention unit 500 in contact with the specific battery cell 100 . 300 and the module case 200 can be quickly transferred.
[63]
Thereafter, the heat generated in the specific battery cell 100 is partially discharged out of the module case 200 , and a part is cooled by the module case 200 , the heat transfer member 300 and other thermal runaway preventing units 500 . The pins 510 may be uniformly distributed.
[64]
The battery module 10 according to the present embodiment can effectively prevent thermal runaway when overheating occurs due to an abnormal condition of the specific battery cell 100 through such heat dissipation.
[65]
In addition, the heat insulating member 530 of the thermal runaway prevention unit 500 disposed on both sides of the overheated specific battery cell 100 is a battery cell in which the heat of the overheated specific battery cell 100 is disposed close to each other. It is possible to effectively block direct transmission in the horizontal direction to the (100) side.
[66]
As such, the battery module 10 according to the present embodiment, through the thermal runaway prevention unit 500 , can prevent thermal runaway when overheating occurs due to an abnormal situation in a specific battery cell 100 . It is possible to dissipate the heat of the specific battery cell 100 in which the situation has occurred, and effectively prevent direct heat transfer to the adjacent battery cells 100 .
[67]
Therefore, the battery module 10 according to the present embodiment secures the safety of the battery module 10 through the thermal runaway prevention unit 500, and It is possible to effectively block in advance that a greater risk such as explosion of the battery module 10 is caused.
[68]
8 is a view for explaining a battery rack according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[69]
Referring to Figure 8, the battery rack (1), at least one or more of a plurality of battery modules 10 and the at least one or more of the previous embodiment a rack case for accommodating the plurality of battery modules (10) (50) may include
[70]
The battery rack (1) according to this embodiment, to include the battery module 10 of the previous embodiment, to provide a battery rack (1) including all the advantages of the battery module 10 of the previous embodiment can
[71]
9 is a diagram for explaining a power storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[72]
Referring to FIG. 9 , the power storage device E may be used as an energy source for home or industrial use. The power storage device (E), at least one of the preceding embodiment, in the case of this embodiment, a plurality of battery racks (1) and a rack container (C) for accommodating the plurality of battery racks (1) may include .
[73]
The power storage device (E) according to this embodiment, including the battery rack (1) of the previous embodiment, the power storage device (E) including all the advantages of the battery rack (1) of the previous embodiment can provide On the other hand, the battery rack (1), other than the power storage device (E) can be applied to other devices or devices using the battery rack (1) as an energy source, for example, an electric vehicle, etc. of course .
[74]
According to various embodiments as described above, when overheating of a specific battery cell 100 according to an abnormal situation occurs, a battery module 10 capable of preventing thermal runaway and a battery rack including such a battery module 10 (1) and a power storage device (E) may be provided.
[75]
And, according to various embodiments as described above, the battery module 10 capable of dissipating the heat of the battery cell 100 in which an abnormal situation has occurred and preventing direct heat transfer to the adjacent battery cells 100 and such a battery It is possible to provide a battery rack (1) and a power storage device (E) including the module (10).
[76]
In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and it is common in the technical field to which the present invention pertains without departing from the gist of the present invention as claimed in the claims. Various modifications may be made by those having the knowledge of, of course, and these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or perspective of the present invention.
Claims
[Claim 1]
A battery module comprising: a plurality of battery cells stacked on each other; a module case accommodating the plurality of battery cells; and a plurality of thermal runaway prevention units provided in the module case and disposed between the plurality of battery cells in a stacking direction of the plurality of battery cells.
[Claim 2]
The battery module according to claim 1, further comprising: a pair of heat transfer members disposed on upper and lower sides of the plurality of battery cells and disposed in contact with the plurality of thermal runaway prevention units and an inner surface of the module case; .
[Claim 3]
According to claim 2, wherein the plurality of thermal runaway prevention units, respectively, a pair of cooling fins disposed in contact with the side of the battery cell facing; and a heat insulating member disposed between the pair of cooling fins and formed to have a predetermined length in a longitudinal direction of the plurality of battery cells.
[Claim 4]
The battery module according to claim 3, wherein both ends of the pair of cooling fins are in contact with the pair of heat transfer members.
[Claim 5]
The battery cell according to claim 3, wherein the pair of cooling fins comprises: a fin body in contact with a side surface of the battery cell facing each other; and an elastic part formed at both ends of the fin body and contacting each heat transfer member.
[Claim 6]
According to claim 5, wherein the elastic portion, The slanted portion extending obliquely from the pin body at a predetermined angle and spaced apart from the end of the battery cell by a predetermined distance; and a horizontal portion that is bent from the inclined portion and is in contact with each heat transfer member.
[Claim 7]
The battery module according to claim 6, wherein an end of the horizontal part is disposed on the upper and lower sides of the heat insulating member.
[Claim 8]
The battery module according to claim 6, wherein the horizontal portion is in surface contact with each heat transfer member.
[Claim 9]
at least one battery module according to claim 1; and a rack case for packaging the at least one battery module.
[Claim 10]
The power storage device comprising a; at least one battery rack according to claim 9.