The present disclosure relates to a battery module, a method for manufacturing
the same and a battery pack, and more particularly to a battery module that improves
space utilization rate and minimizes damage to parts, a method for manufacturing the
same, and a battery pack.
15
【BACKGROUND ART】
Secondary batteries, which are easily applied to various product groups and has
electrical characteristics such as high energy density, are universally applied not only for
a portable device but also for an electric vehicle (EV) or a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV),
20 an energy storage system or the like, which is driven by an electric driving source. Such
secondary battery is attracting attention as a new environment-friendly energy source for
improving energy efficiency since it gives a primary advantage of remarkably reducing
the use of fossil fuels and also does not generate by-products from the use of energy at
all.
25 Small-sized mobile devices use one or several battery cells for each device,
2
whereas middle- or large-sized devices such as vehicles require high power and large
capacity. Therefore, a middle- or large-sized battery module having a plurality of battery
cells electrically connected to one another is used.
Preferably, the middle- or large-sized battery module is manufactured so as to
have as small a size and weight as possible. 5 Consequently, a prismatic battery or a
pouch-shaped battery, which can be stacked with high integration and has a small weight
to capacity ratio, is usually used as a battery cell of the middle- or large-sized battery
module. Meanwhile, in order to protect the cell stack from external shock, heat, or
vibration, the battery module may include a frame member whose front and back
10 surfaces are opened so as to accommodate the battery cell stack in an internal space.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a battery module having a mono frame
according to the related art
Referring to FIG. 1, the battery module may include a battery cell stack 12
formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells 11, a mono frame 20 whose front and back
15 surfaces are opened so as to cover the battery cell stack 12, and an end plate 60 covering
the front and back surfaces of the mono frame 20. In order to form such a battery module,
it is necessary for the battery module to be horizontally assembled such that the battery
cell stack 12 is inserted into opened front surface or back surface of the mono frame 20
along the X-axis direction as shown by an arrow in FIG. 1. However, a sufficient
20 clearance has to be secured between the battery cell stack 20 and the mono frame 20
such that the battery module is stably assembled horizontally. Here, the clearance means
a gap caused by fitting or the like. If the clearance is small, parts may be damaged in a
process of horizontally assembling the battery module. Therefore, in consideration of the
maximum height of the battery cell stack 12 and the assembly tolerance in the insertion
25 process, the height of the mono frame 20 has to be designed to be large and thus,
3
unnecessarily wasted space may be caused.
【DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION】
【Technical Problem】
The present 5 disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems,
and an object of the present disclosure is to provide a battery module that improves
space utilization rate and minimizes damage to parts by modifying a structure of a frame
member that covers the battery cell stack, a method of manufacturing the same and a
battery pack.
10 However, the problem to be solved by embodiments of the present disclosure is
not limited to the above-described problems, and can be variously expanded within the
scope of the technical idea included in the present disclosure.
【TECHNICAL SOLUTION】
15 A battery module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure
includes: a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked, a first Lshaped
frame accommodating the battery cell stack, and an upper part and one side
surface of which are opened, and a second L-shaped frame accommodating the battery
cell stack, and a lower part and one side surface of which are opened, wherein the first
20 L-shaped frame and the second L-shaped frame are engaged with each other to surround
four surfaces of the battery cell stack, a lower surface of the first L-shaped frame
includes a first part and a second part, the first part is located at the edge with respect to
a lengthwise direction of the battery cell, the second part is located in the inside of the
first part, and a thickness of the first part is smaller than the thickness of the second part.
25 The battery module may further include a busbar frame that is connected to the
4
battery cell stack, the first L-shaped frame is opened at both sides facing each other with
respect to the direction in which the electrode leads of the battery cell stack protrude,
the busbar frame is connected to the battery cell stack on opened both sides of the first
L-shaped frame, and the busbar frame may include a main frame disposed perpendicular
to a direction in which the electrode leads protrude, and 5 a bending part extending from a
lower part of the main frame.
The bending part may be located on the first part of the bottom part of the first Lshaped
frame.
The total thickness of the thickness of the bending part and the thickness of the
10 first part may be smaller than that of the second part.
The battery cell may include a protrusion part formed in a widthwise direction
thereof, and the protrusion part may be located on the bending part.
The battery module may further include a pad part that is located between the
second part and the battery cell stack.
15 The battery module may further include a thermally conductive resin layer
located between the second part and the battery cell stack, and the pad part is located
between the thermally conductive resin layer and the first part.
The lower surface of the battery cell stack that is perpendicular to a stacking
direction of the plurality of the battery cell may be mounted on the lower surface of the
20 first L-shaped frame.
The battery module may further include end plates each coupled to opened both
sides of the module frame, and the opened both sides of the module frame may face each
other based on the direction in which the electrode leads of the battery cell stack
protrude.
25 A battery pack according to another embodiment of the present disclosure
5
includes the above-mentioned battery module.
A method for manufacturing a battery module according to another embodiment
of the present disclosure includes: mounting a battery cell stack on a lower surface of a
first L-shaped frame, of which an upper part and one side surface are opened, covering
the battery cell stack with a second L-shaped frame so 5 as to cover an opened surface of
the battery cell stack that is not covered with the first L-shaped frame, coupling the first
L-shaped frame and the second L-shaped frame, and coupling each of end plates on
opened both sides of the battery cell stack surrounded by the first L-shaped frame and
the second L-shaped frame, wherein the battery cell stack is mounted on the lower
10 surface of the first L-shaped frame while moving along a direction that is perpendicular
to the lower surface of the first L-shaped frame.
The method for manufacturing the battery module may further include
connecting the battery cell stack and the busbar frame while moving the busbar frame
toward an opposite direction to a direction in which an electrode lead of a battery cell
15 included in the battery cell stack protrudes before mounting the battery cell stack on the
lower surface of the first L-shaped frame.
The method for manufacturing the battery module may further include applying a
thermally conductive resin on the lower surface of the first L-shaped frame before
mounting the battery cell stack on the lower surface of the first L-shaped frame.
20 The method for manufacturing the battery module may further include forming a
pad part on the lower surface of the first L-shaped frame before applying the thermally
conductive resin, and the pad part may guide an application location of the applied
thermally conductive resin.
The battery cell stack may be inserted into the lower surface of the first L-shaped
25 frame in a direction that is perpendicular to a stack direction of a plurality of battery cell
6
included in the battery cell stack.
【ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS】
According to the embodiments, an L-shaped frame may be realized to reduce a
tolerance between a battery stack and a frame as 5 compared with the related art, thereby
improving space utilization rate.
Further, a protective cover that is necessary for preventing damage during an
assembling operation may be removed.
Further, a periphery of a lower surface of the L-shaped frame may be machined
10 to reduce a gap between the battery cell stack and the frame, so that space utilization rate
in the height direction may be improved.
【BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS】
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a battery module having a
15 mono frame according to the related art.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a battery module according to
an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which elements of the battery
module of FIG. 2 are coupled to each other.
20 FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating one battery cell included in the battery
cell stack of FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a first L-shaped frame in the battery
module of FIG. 2.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a busbar frame in the battery module of
25 FIG. 2.
7
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the XZ plane in a lengthwise
direction of a battery cell stack in FIG. 3.
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the battery module corresponding to a comparative
example of FIG. 7.
FIGS. 9 to 11 are views illustrating a method 5 for manufacturing a battery module
according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
【DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS】
Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in
10 detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art can
easily implement them. The present disclosure may be modified in various different
ways, and is not limited to the embodiments set forth herein.
Parts that are irrelevant to the description will be omitted to clearly describe the
present disclosure, and like reference numerals designate like elements throughout the
15 specification.
Further, in the drawings, the size and thickness of each element are arbitrarily
illustrated for convenience of description, and the present disclosure is not necessarily
limited to those illustrated in the drawings. In the drawings, the thickness of layers,
regions, etc. are exaggerated for clarity. In the drawings, for convenience of description,
20 the thicknesses of some layers and regions are shown to be exaggerated.
In addition, it will be understood that when an element such as a layer, film,
region, or plate is referred to as being "on" or "above" another element, it can be directly
on the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an
element is referred to as being "directly on" another element, it means that other
25 intervening elements are not present. Further, the word "on" or "above" means disposed
8
on or above a reference portion, and does not necessarily mean being disposed on the
upper end of the reference portion toward the opposite direction of gravity.
Further, throughout the specification, when a part is referred to as "including" a
certain component, it means that it can further include other components, without
5 excluding the other components, unless otherwise stated.
Further, throughout the specification, when referred to as "planar", it means
when a target portion is viewed from the top, and when referred to as "cross-sectional",
it means when a target portion is viewed from the side of a cross section cut vertically.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a battery module according to
10 an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state
in which elements of the battery module of FIG. 2 are coupled to each other. FIG. 4 is a
perspective view illustrating one battery cell included in the battery cell stack of FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 2, and FIG. 3, a battery module 100 according to the present
embodiment includes a battery cell stack 120 including a plurality of battery cell 110, a
15 first L-shaped frame 300, of which an upper surface, a front surface, and a rear surface
are opened, a second L-shaped frame 400, of which an lower surface, a front surface,
and a rear surface are opened, end plates 150 each located on a front surface and a rear
surface of the battery cell stack 120; and a busbar frame located between the battery cell
stack 120 and the end plate 150.
20 When it is assumed that opened both sides of the first L-shaped frame 300 are a
first side and a second side, respectively, the L-shaped frame 300 includes a plateshaped
structure bent so as to continuously cover mutually adjacent a lower surface and
one side surface among the remaining outer surfaces except surfaces of the battery cell
stack 120 corresponding to the first side and the second side. Similarly, when it is
25 assumed that opened both sides of the second L-shaped frame 400 are a first side and a
9
second side, respectively, the L-shaped frame 400 includes a plate-shaped structure bent
so as to continuously cover mutually adjacent upper surface and another side surface
among the remaining outer surfaces except for surfaces of the battery cell stack 120
corresponding to the first side and the second side.
The first L-shaped frame 300 and the second 5 L-shaped frame 400 are coupled to
each other through welding and the like in a state in which corresponding edge parts
thereof contact each other to form a structure covering the battery cell stack 120. The
first L-shaped frame 300 and the second L-shaped frame 400 are engaged with each
other to surround four surfaces of the battery cell stack 120. That is, the first L-shaped
10 frame 300 and the second L-shaped frame 400 may form a coupling part CP formed at
the corresponding edge parts thereof through a coupling method such as welding or the
like.
The battery cell stack 120 includes a plurality of battery cells 110 stacked in one
direction thereof, and the plurality of the battery cells 110 may be stacked in the Y-axis
15 direction as illustrated in FIG 2. It is preferable that the battery cell 110 is a pouchshaped
battery cell. For example, referring to FIG. 4, the battery cell 110 according to
the present embodiment has a structure in which two electrode leads 111 and 112 face
each other and protrude from one end part 114a and another one end part 114b of a
battery body 113, respectively. The battery cell 110 may be manufactured by bonding
20 both end parts of a battery case 114a and 114b and both side surfaces 114c connecting
them. That is, the battery cell 110 according to the present embodiment includes a total
of three places of sealing parts 114sa, 114sb, and 114sc, the sealing parts 114sa, 114sb,
and 114sc are sealed in a method such as thermal fusion, and a remaining another one
side part may have a connecting part 115. A section between the both ends 114a and
25 114b of the battery case 114 may be defined as a lengthwise direction of the battery cell
10
110, and a section between one side part 114c and the connecting part 115 connecting
the both end parts of the battery case 114 may be defined as a widthwise direction of the
battery cell 110.
The connecting part 115 is an area extending long along one periphery of the
battery cell 110, and a protrusion part 110p may 5 be formed at an end part of the
connecting part 115. The protrusion part 110p may be formed at at least one of both end
parts of the connecting part 115, and may protrude in a direction that is perpendicular to
a direction in which the connecting part 115 extends. The protrusion 110p may be
positioned between one of the sealing portions 114sa and 114sb of both ends 114a and
10 114b of the battery case 114 and the connection portion 115.
The battery case 114 is generally formed of a stacked structure of a resin
layer/metal layer and a thin film layer/a resin layer. For example, when a surface of the
battery case is formed of an oriented (O)-nylon layer, a surface of the battery case tends
to easily slip due to an external impact when the plurality of battery cell are stacked to
15 form a middle-or large-sized battery module. Accordingly, in order to prevent this and
maintain a stable stacked structure of the battery cell, the battery cell stack 120 may be
formed by attaching an adhesive member such as a cohesive type adhesive agent of a
double-side tape or a chemical adhesive agent coupled due to a chemical reaction when
sticking on a surface of the battery case. In the present embodiment, the battery cell
20 stack 120 is stacked in the Y-axis direction, and is accommodated in a first L-shaped
frame 300 in the Z-axis direction so that the battery cell stack 120 may be cooled by a
thermally conductive resin layer, which will be described below. For a comparative
example for the present embodiment, the battery cell is formed of cartridge-shaped
components so that the battery cells may be fixed by assembling a frame of the battery
25 module. In the comparative example, a cooling operation may be hardly performed or
11
may progress in a surface direction of the battery cell due to existence of the cartridgeshaped
components and may not properly progress in a heightwise direction of the
battery module.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a first L-shaped frame in the battery
5 module of FIG. 2.
Referring to FIGS. 5, the first L-shaped frame 300 according to the present
embodiment includes a lower surface 300a and a side surface part 300b bent from the
lower surface 300a. Before the battery cell stack 120 described in FIG. 2 is mounted on
the lower surface 300a of the first L-shaped frame 300, the thermally conductive resin
10 layer 310 may be formed by applying a thermally conductive resin on the lower surface
300a of the first L-shaped frame 300 and curing the thermally conductive resin. Before
the thermally conductive resin layer 310 is formed, that is, the applied thermally
conductive resin is cured, the battery cell stack 120 may be mounted on the lower
surface 300a of the first L-shaped frame 300 while moving along in a direction that is
15 perpendicular to the lower surface 300a of the first L-shaped frame 300. Thereafter, the
thermally conductive resin layer 310 that is formed as the thermally conductive resin is
cured, is located between the lower surface 300a and the battery cell stack 120. The
thermally conductive resin layer 130 may function to transfer heat generated from the
battery cell 110 to a bottom of the battery module 100, and fix the battery cell stack 120.
20 The battery module according to the present embodiment may further include a
pad part 320 formed on the lower surface 300a of the first L-shaped frame 300. The pad
part 320 may guide an application location of the thermally conductive resin or prevent
the thermally conductive resin from overflowing to the outside of the bottom part 300a,
and at least one thereof may be formed. FIG. 5 illustrates that one pad part is formed at
25 the center of the lower surface 300a, and each of pad parts is formed at both end parts of
12
the lower surface 300a with respect to the X-axis direction, but the size, the location, the
number, and the like may be modified and designed in consideration of an application
amount of the thermally conductive resin. The pad part 320 may be formed of an
insulation film. Then, the pad part 320 may be formed of a material such as polyurethane
(PU) foam or rubber such that the thermally 5 conductive resin may be compressed when
the battery cell 110 contacts an upper part of the bottom part 300a.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3 again, the distance between a side surface part of the
first L-shaped frame 300 and a side surface part of the second L-shaped frame 400
according to the present embodiment may be same as the width of the lower surface of
10 the first L-shaped frame 300 or the width of the upper surface of the second L-shaped
frame 400. That is, an edge part along the X-axis direction of the side surface part of the
second L-shaped frame 400 and an edge part along the X-axis direction of the side
surface part of the first L-shaped frame 300 may directly contact each other to be
coupled to each other through a method such as welding and the like.
15 FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a busbar frame in the battery module of
FIG. 2.
Referring to FIG. 6, the busbar frame 130 according to the present embodiment
includes a main frame 130a disposed to be perpendicular to a direction in which the
electrode leads 111 and 112 described in FIG. 4 protrudes, and a bending part 130b
20 extending from a lower part of the main frame 130a. The busbar frame 130 is connected
to the battery cell stack 120 as described in FIGS. 2 and 3. A structure in which the
electrode lead passes through a slot to be coupled to the busbar may be formed in the
main frame 130a. The bending part 130b may be bent by approximately 90 degrees with
respect to the main frame 130a to be located on the lower surface 300a of the first L25
shaped frame 300. The bending part 130b and peripheral configurations will be
13
additionally described with reference to FIG. 7.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the XZ plane of a lengthwise
direction of a battery cell stack in FIG. 3. FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the battery
module corresponding to a comparative example of FIG. 7.
Referring to FIG. 7, the battery cell 110 5 according to the present embodiment
includes a protrusion part 110p formed in a widthwise direction thereof and the
protrusion part 110p may be located on the bending part 130b. Here, a widthwise
direction of the battery cell 110 may be the Z-axis direction of FIG. 7. The lower surface
300a of the first L-shaped frame according to the present embodiment includes a first
10 part 300a1 and a second part 300a2, the first part 300a1 is located at a periphery thereof
with respect to a lengthwise direction of the battery cell 110, and the second part 300a2
is located inside the first part 300a1. Then, it is preferable that the thickness of the first
part 300a1 is smaller than the thickness of the second part 300a2. Here, a lengthwise
direction of the battery cell 110 may be the X-axis direction of FIG. 7.
15 Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the bending part 130b of the busbar frame 130 in the
present embodiment is located on the first part of the lower surface 300a of the first Lshaped
frame. Then, it is preferable that the total thickness of the thickness of the
bending part 130b and the thickness of the first part 300a1 is smaller than the thickness
of the second part 300a2. This is because the protrusion part 110p of the battery cell 110
20 is caught by a step between the first part 300a1 and the second part 300a2 to be
prevented from moving due to an external impact. In addition, a gap between the battery
cell 110 and a frame may be reduced through machining of the first L-shaped frame
lower surface 300a , and such a gap reducing effect may cause the gap reducing effect
together with a synergy effect obtained by heightwisely assembling the batter module to
25 maximize overall space efficiency. Because the machining of the first L-shaped frame
14
lower surface 300a progresses through press molding, thereby a step of the lower surface
300a may be formed at the same time while forming a L-shaped frame structure. The
press molding, numerical control work (NC) processing, or the like may be used for
forming the step.
The pad part 320 is located between the second 5 part 300a2 and the battery cell
110, and the thermally conductive resin layer 310 is located inside the pad part 320. That
is, the pad part is located between the thermally conductive resin layer 310 and the first
part 300a1 of the lower surface 300a to define a location at which the thermally
conductive resin layer 310 is formed.
10 Referring to FIG. 8, the thickness of the lower surface 300a’ of the first L-shaped
frame is uniform when compared with an embodiment of FIG. 7. If a battery cell 110’
having the same size as the battery cell 110 described in FIG. 7, and a protrusion part
110p’ are mounted on a lower surface 300a’ of the first L-shaped frame, the heights of a
thermally conductive resin layer 310’ and a pad part 320’ may become larger as there is
15 no such step as on the lower surface 300a’ of FIG. 7. Accordingly, as compared with a
comparative example of FIG. 8, a tolerance between the battery cell 110 and the frame
may be reduced to not only improve the space utilization but also decrease the thickness
of the thermally conductive resin layer 310 so that the usage of the thermally conductive
resin for forming the thermally conductive resin layer 310 may be reduced.
20 Hereinafter, an example of a method for manufacturing the battery module
according to the above-mentioned embodiment will be described.
FIGS. 9 to 11 are views illustrating a method for manufacturing the battery
module according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to FIG. 9, the method for manufacturing the battery module according
25 to the present embodiment includes stacking a battery cell stack 120 on a lower surface
15
300a of a first L-shaped frame 300 of which an upper part and one side surface are
opened. Then, it is preferable that the battery cell stack 120 is inserted into the lower
surface 300a of the first L-shaped frame 300 in a direction (the Z-axis direction) that is
perpendicular to the stacking direction of the plurality of the battery cell 110 included in
the battery cell stack 120. In the present 5 embodiment, before the first L-shaped frame
moves in the Z-axis direction, the battery cell stack 120 may move in the Y-axis
direction along the opened one side surface of the first L-shaped frame. That is, the
battery cell stack 120 may be disposed on the lower surface 300a of the first L-shaped
frame in the Z-axis direction after moving to the top of the lower surface 300a by a
10 margin in a space in which one side surface of the first L-shaped frame is opened.
The method for manufacturing the battery module according to the present
embodiment may further include connecting the battery cell stack 120 and the busbar
frame 130 while moving the busbar frame 130 toward an opposite direction to a
direction in which an electrode lead of a battery cell 110 included in the battery cell
15 stack 120 protrudes before mounting the battery cell stack 120 on the lower surface 300a
of the first L-shaped frame 300. In addition, the method for manufacturing the battery
module may further include applying a thermally conductive resin on the lower surface
300a of the first L-shaped frame 300 before the battery cell stack 120 is mounted on the
lower surface 300a of the first L-shaped frame 300. The method may further include
20 forming the pad part 320 described in FIG. 5 on the lower surface 300a of the first Lshaped
frame 300 before applying the thermally conductive resin. Referring to FIGS. 5
and 9, the thermally conductive resin may be applied between the pad parts 320 not only
to allow the pad part 320 to guide the application location of the thermally conductive
resin, but also to prevent the thermally conductive resin from overflowing and easily
25 control the application amount of the thermally conductive resin.
16
In contrast, the thermally conductive resin layer for transferring heat and fixing a
battery cell stack may be formed between the lower of the battery cell stack 12 and the
mono frame 20 as described in Fig.1. Generally, after the cell stack 10 is inserted into
the mono frame 20, the thermally conductive resin is inserted through an injection hole
formed in the mono frame 20 to form the thermally 5 conductive resin layer. However, in
the injection method, because of a tolerance of components of each battery module, it is
difficult to inject the thermally conductive resin quantitatively and there is a limit in
forming the thermally conductive resin layer having a uniform thickness.
Referring to FIG. 10, the method for manufacturing the battery module according
10 to the present embodiment includes covering the battery cell stack 120 with the second
L-shaped frame 400 so as to cover an opened surface of the battery cell stack 120 that is
not covered with the first L-shaped frame 300. In the present embodiment, because the
second L-shaped frame 400 is coupled to the first L-shaped frame 300 in the Z-axis
direction through welding and the like, a protective cover (not illustrated) that is
15 necessary for protecting a battery cell 11 in the process of inserting the mono frame 20
of FIG. 1 into the battery cell stack 12 may be omitted. In detail, the lower surface of the
first L-shaped frame 300 and the side surface part 400b of the second L-shaped frame
may be welded to each other, and the side surface part 300b of the first L-shaped frame
300 and the upper surface 400a may be welded to each other.
20 Referring to FIG. 11, the method for manufacturing the battery module according
to the present embodiment includes coupling the second L-shaped frame 400 and the
first L-shaped frame 300, and coupling each end plate 150 to the opened both sides of
the battery cell stack 120 surrounded by the first L-shaped frame 300 and the second Lshaped
frame 400. The lower surface 300a of the first L-shaped frame 300 and the side
25 surface part 400b of the second L-shaped frame are coupled to each other, and methods
17
such as welding, bonding using an adhesive, bolting, riveting, taping, and the like may
be used to couple the side surface part 300b of the first L-shaped frame 300 and the
upper surface 400a of the second L-shaped frame 400.
Meanwhile, one or more battery modules according to an embodiment of the
present disclosure can be packaged in a pa 5 ck case to form a battery pack.
The above-mentioned battery module and a battery pack including the same may
be applied to various devices. These devices may be applied to vehicles such as an
electric bicycle, an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, but the present disclosure is not
limited thereto but can be applied to various devices that can use the battery module and
10 the battery pack including the same, which also belongs to the scope of the present
disclosure.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure have been
described in detail above, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and
various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic
15 concepts of the present disclosure defined in the following claims also belong to the
scope of rights.
【Description of Reference Numerals】
100: battery module
20 110p: protrusion part
130a: main frame
130b: bending part
150: end plate
300: first L-shaped frame
25 400: second L-shaped frame

WE CLAIMS

A battery module comprising:
a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells are stacked,
a first L-shaped frame accommodating the battery 5 cell stack, and an upper part
and one side surface of which are opened, and
a second L-shaped frame accommodating the battery cell stack, and a lower part
and one side surface of which are opened,
wherein the first L-shaped frame and the second L-shaped frame are engaged
10 with each other to surround four surfaces of the battery cell stack, a lower surface of the
first L-shaped frame includes a first part and a second part, the first part is located at the
edge with respect to a lengthwise direction of the battery cell, the second part is located
in the inside of the first part, and a thickness of the first part is smaller than the thickness
of the second part.
15
【Claim 2】
The battery module of claim 1, further comprising a busbar frame that is
connected to the battery cell stack,
wherein the first L-shaped frame is opened at both sides facing each other with
20 respect to the direction in which the electrode leads of the battery cell stack protrude,
the busbar frame is connected to the battery cell stack on opened both sides of
the first L-shaped frame, and
the busbar frame comprises a main frame disposed perpendicular to a direction in
which the electrode leads protrude, and a bending part extending from a lower part of the
25 main frame.
19
【Claim 3】
The battery module of claim 2, wherein the bending part is located on the first
part of the lower surface of the first L-shaped frame.
5
【Claim 4】
The battery module of claim 3, wherein a total thickness of the thickness of the
bending part and the thickness of the first part is smaller than that of the second part.
10 【Claim 5】
The battery module of claim 4, wherein the battery module of claim 4, wherein
the battery cell comprises a protrusion part formed in a widthwise direction thereof and
the protrusion part is located on the bending part.
15 【Claim 6】
The battery module of claim 1, further comprising:
a pad part located between the second part and the battery cell stack.
【Claim 7】
20 The battery module of claim 6, further comprising:
a thermally conductive resin layer located between the second part and the
battery cell stack, wherein the pad part is located between the thermally conductive resin
layer and the first part.
25 【Claim 8】
20
The battery module of claim 1, wherein the lower surface of the battery cell stack
that is perpendicular to a stack direction of the plurality of the battery cell is mounted on
the lower surface of the first L-shaped frame.
5 【Claim 9】
The battery module of claim 1, further comprising:
end plates each coupled to the opened both sides of the first L-shaped frame,
wherein the opened both sides of the first L-shaped frame face each other with respect to
a direction in which an electrode lead of the battery cell stack protrudes.
10
【Claim 10】
A method for manufacturing a battery module comprising:
mounting a battery cell stack on a lower surface of a first L-shaped frame, of
which an upper part and one side surface are opened;
15 covering the battery cell stack with a second L-shaped frame so as to cover
opened surface of the battery cell stack that is not covered with the first L-shaped frame;
coupling the first L-shaped frame and the second L-shaped frame; and
coupling end plate on opened both sides of the battery cell stack surrounded by
the first L-shaped frame and the second L-shaped frame,
20 wherein the battery cell stack is mounted on the lower surface of the first Lshaped
frame while moving along a direction that is perpendicular to the lower surface
of the first L-shaped frame.
【Claim 11】
25 The method of claim 10, further comprising:
21
connecting the battery cell stack and the busbar frame while moving the busbar
frame toward an opposite direction to a direction in which an electrode lead of a battery
cell included in the battery cell stack protrudes before mounting the battery cell stack on
the lower surface of the first L-shaped frame.
5
【Claim 12】
The method of claim 10, further comprising:
applying a thermally conductive resin on the lower surface of the first L-shaped
frame before mounting the battery cell stack on the lower surface of the first L-shaped
10 frame.
【Claim 13】
The method of claim 12, further comprising:
forming a pad part on the lower surface of the first L-shaped frame before
15 applying the thermally conductive resin,
wherein the pad part guides an application location of the applied thermally
conductive resin.
【Claim 14】
20 The method of claim 10, wherein the battery cell stack is inserted into the lower
surface of the first L-shaped frame in a direction that is perpendicular to a stack direction
of a plurality of battery cell included in the battery cell stack.
【Claim 15】
25 A battery pack comprising the battery module of claim 1.