Battery module including cooling pin having fixing protrusions formed thereon

Abstract

Provided is a battery module including a battery cell laminate and a cooling pin. The battery cell laminate includes a plurality of battery cells are arranged adjacent to each other, each of the battery cells having a structure in which an electrode assembly is sealed together with an electrolytic solution, within a battery case. The cooling pin is interposed between the battery cells, the cooling pin having a plate-shaped structure and including a plurality of fixing protrusions that are locally inserted into an outer surface of the battery case of the battery cell that faces the cooling pin and fixed in position with respect to the battery cell.

Claims

1. A battery module comprising: a plurality of battery cells arranged adjacent to each other, each of the battery cells having a structure in which an electrode assembly is sealed together with an electrolytic solution, within a battery case; and a cooling member, interposed between the plurality of battery cells, including a plate-shaped main body and a plurality of fixing protrusions each having a pointed distal end projecting from an outer surface of the main body, the cooling member being fixed in position with respect to an adjacent one of the battery cells of the plurality of battery cells by the fixing protrusions being inserted into an outer surface of a battery case of the adjacent one of the battery cells facing the cooling member such that the outer surface of the main body directly contacts the outer surface of the battery case, wherein the battery case is configured from a laminate sheet comprising a resin outer layer, a metal layer with barrier properties, and a resin sealant layer with thermofusible properties, wherein each of the fixing protrusions has a shaft with an end having an arrowhead or a harpoon shape when viewed from a vertical cross-section, and wherein the fixing protrusions of the cooling member are inserted into the resin outer layer of the battery case with an insertion depth less than a thickness of the resin outer layer of the battery case so that the fixing protrusions are separated from the metal layer to prevent a short-circuit.

2. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the insertion depth of the fixing protrusions with respect to the resin outer layer ranges from 20% to 90% of the thickness of the resin outer layer.

3. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the insertion depth of the fixing protrusions with respect to the resin outer layer is 20 m to 35 m.

4. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the fixing protrusions are arranged to be equidistantly spaced apart from each other, and an imaginary line connecting the fixing protrusions located at the outermost positions has a shape that is same as or similar to that of an outer periphery of the cooling member.

5. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the fixing protrusions are arranged to be equidistantly spaced apart from each other, and an imaginary line connecting the fixing protrusions located at the outermost positions has a shape that is same as or similar to that of an outer periphery of an adjacent one of the plurality of battery cells.

6. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the plane size of the cooling member is 90% to 120% of the plane size of an adjacent one of the plurality of battery cells.

7. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the cooling member includes a metallic material, a thermal conductive polymer resin or a resin composite.

8. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the cooling member has a one-side end portion that is vertically bent in a state of protruding outwardly from one surface of the battery cell laminate and forms a bent portion that comes into contact with the one surface of the battery cell laminate.

9. The battery module of claim 8, wherein the cooling member has an inner surface or an outer surface to which a heat sink is attached.

10. The battery module of claim 9, wherein the heat sink has a structure that comprises a refrigerant passage through which a refrigerant flows in a liquid or gaseous state.

11. The battery module of claim 1, wherein an entirety of each of the fixing protrusions is entirely inserted into the outer surface of the battery case of the adjacent one of the batter cells of the plurality of battery cells.

12. A device comprising one or more of the battery modules of claim 1.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Exemplary embodiments can be understood in more detail from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view partially illustrating a structure of a related art battery module;

(3) FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a battery module in accordance with an exemplary embodiment;

(4) FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of region A of FIG. 2.

(5) FIG. 4 is a horizontal plan view of a cooling pin of FIG. 2;

(6) FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a cooling pin of a battery module in accordance with another exemplary embodiment; and

(7) FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a battery module in accordance with still another exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(8) Hereinafter, although the present disclosure is further described with reference to the drawings in accordance with exemplary embodiments, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

(9) FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a battery module in accordance with one exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a schematically enlarged view of region A of FIG. 2.

(10) Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, a battery module 100 includes a battery cell laminate 110 and a cooling pin 120.

(11) The battery cell laminate 110 includes a plurality of pouch-type battery cells 111 arranged in a state in which side surfaces thereof are adjacent to each other.

(12) The cooling pins 120 are interposed between the battery cells 111.

(13) The cooling pins 120 has a plate-shaped structure and includes a plurality of fixing protrusions 121 that are fixed in position with respect to the battery cell 111 by being locally inserted into a resin outer layer 112a of a battery case 112 of the battery cell 111.

(14) The battery case 112 is configured from a laminate sheet including the resin outer layer 112a, a metal layer 112b with barrier properties, and a resin sealant layer 112c with thermofusible properties.

(15) The insertion depth (D) of the fixing protrusion 121 with respect to the resin outer layer 112a is 50% of the thickness (T) of the resin outer layer 112a.

(16) Each of the fixing protrusions 121 has a wedge structure with a conical shape, and has a triangular shape when viewed from a vertical cross-section.

(17) In FIG. 4, a horizontal plan view of the cooling pin of FIG. 2 is schematically illustrated.

(18) Referring to FIG. 4 in conjunction with FIG. 2, the fixing protrusions 121 are arranged to be equidistantly spaced apart from each other, and an imaginary line connecting the fixing protrusions 121a located at the outermost positions has a shape similar to that of an outer periphery of the cooling pin 120. Therefore, coupling forces between the cooling pin and the battery cell may be equally distributed. This can thus prevent the coupling forces at specific regions between the cooling pin and the battery cell from being weakened and also prevent the cooling pin and the battery cell from being separated even in case of external impact and vibration.

(19) Also, the plane size of the cooling pin 120 is 100% of the plane size of the battery cell 111.

(20) In FIG. 5, a vertical cross-sectional view of a cooling pin of a battery module in accordance with another exemplary embodiment is schematically illustrated.

(21) Referring to FIG. 5, each of fixing protrusions 221 of a cooling pin 220 has an arrowhead shape when viewed from a vertical cross-section. Accordingly, the fixing protrusion may be easily inserted into an outer surface of a battery case, but it is difficult to separate the fixing protrusion from the battery case in reverse order. As a result, a higher coupling force may be provided between the cooling pin and the battery cell.

(22) Since other structures except for the shape of the fixing protrusion are equal to those in the exemplary embodiment described in FIG. 2, detail description therefor will not be provided herein.

(23) In FIG. 6, a vertical cross-sectional view of a battery module in accordance with still another exemplary embodiment is schematically illustrated.

(24) Referring to FIG. 6, an upper end portion of a cooling pin 320 is vertically bent in a state of protruding outwardly from the top surface of a battery cell laminate 310 and thus forms a bent portion 322 that comes into contact with the top surface of the battery cell laminate 310.

(25) The bent portion 322 of the cooling pin 320 has an outer surface to which a heat sink 300 is attached, and the heat sink 300 has a structure that includes a refrigerant passage 331 through which a refrigerant flows. Accordingly, heat generated from a battery cell 311 may be transferred to the heat sink via the bent portion of the cooling pin and may be cooled in the heat sink.

(26) Since other structures, except for the bent portion of the cooling pin and the heat sink, are equal to those in the exemplary embodiment described in FIG. 2, detail description therefor will not be provided herein.

(27) As described above, a battery module in accordance with the exemplary embodiments includes a plurality of fixing protrusions that are disposed on the outer surface of a cooling pin and fixed in position with respect to a battery cell by being locally inserted into the outer surface of a battery case of the battery cell facing the cooling pin. Therefore, the battery module may prevent the coupling force between the battery cell and the cooling pin from being loosened due to the external impact and vibration, and thus may prevent the electrical disconnection caused by separation of some battery cells from the battery module to thereby ensure safety.

(28) It will be apparent by those skilled in the art that various applications and modifications can be made thereto, on the basis of the above-descriptions, within the scope of the present disclosure.