High-Voltage Battery Module Including Outer Bridge Bus Bar

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a high-voltage battery module including a bridge bus bar configured to be exposed to the outside in order to reduce a danger of accident due to electric shock when handing the high-voltage battery module, wherein a cell assembly is temporarily electrically open-circuited and the bridge bus bar is connected only when the battery module is used. It is possible to remove dangerous factors that may injure the human body during manufacture and transportation of the high-voltage battery module and to use the high-voltage battery module in the state in which restrictions are minimized.

Claims

1. A battery module comprising: a cell assembly including stacked pouch-shaped secondary battery cells, each of the pouch-shaped secondary battery cells having electrode leads extending in opposite directions; a first vertical plate and a second vertical plate disposed at opposite sides of the cell assembly adjacent to positions of the electrode leads of each of the cells; and first bus bars and second bus bars provided at each of the first vertical plate and the second vertical plate, respectively, each of the electrode leads of each of the pouch-shaped secondary battery cells being electrically connected to a corresponding one of the bus bars, wherein final input and output terminals of the battery module or the first bus bars connected to the final input and output terminals are exposed at the first vertical plate, and the second bus bars are electrically connected to each other within the battery module, and each second bus bar has a part that is are exposed at the second vertical plate and that is electrically separated from the second vertical plate, the second bus bars being configured to be connected to each other via a separate bridge bus bar.

2. The battery module according to claim 1, further comprising: a bus bar frame including an upper plate connected to the first vertical plate and the second vertical plate, the upper plate being disposed above the cell assembly; and a mono frame extending around the cell assembly and the bus bar frame, the mono frame being formed in a quadrangular pipe shape.

3. The battery module according to claim 2, further comprising a first side frame and a second side frame coupled to the mono frame, the mono frame and the first and second side frames together enclosing the cell assembly and the bus bar frame therein, the first side frame and the second side frame protecting outer surfaces of the first vertical plate and the second vertical plate from exposure to an outside of the battery module.

4. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein a bridge coupling unit configured to allow the bridge bus bar to be coupled thereto is disposed at an upper end of the battery module.

5. The battery module according to claim 4, wherein the bridge coupling unit is disposed at an upper end of the second vertical plate.

6. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the bridge bus bar is configured to electrically interconnect the bus bars disposed at the second vertical plate in the state of being electrically separated from each other by manipulation outside the battery module.

7. (canceled)

8. A battery pack comprising the battery module according to claim 1.

9. A method of using the battery module according to claim 1, wherein the bridge bus bar is not connected until electricity is supplied using the battery module.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0029] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the structure of a conventional battery module.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing a first side frame of the conventional battery module.

[0031] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view showing a second side frame according to the present invention.

[0032] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view schematically showing a bridge coupling unit according to the present invention.

BEST MODE

[0033] Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings such that the preferred embodiments of the present invention can be easily implemented by a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains. In describing the principle of operation of the preferred embodiments of the present invention in detail, however, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when the same may obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

[0034] In addition, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to parts that perform similar functions or operations. In the case in which one part is said to be connected to another part in the specification, not only may the one part be directly connected to the other part, but also, the one part may be indirectly connected to the other part via a further part. In addition, that a certain element is included does not mean that other elements are excluded, but means that such elements may be further included unless mentioned otherwise.

[0035] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

[0036] The present invention is an improvement to the second vertical plate and the second side frame of the conventional battery module, and a description will be given based thereon.

[0037] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view showing a second side frame according to the present invention.

[0038] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view schematically showing a bridge coupling unit according to the present invention.

[0039] The bridge coupling unit 159 is disposed at the upper end of the battery module. Portions of outer exposure bus bars that may extend from the bus bars of the second vertical plate 122 or may be connected to the bus bars of the second vertical plate 122 are located at the bridge coupling unit 159. In the upper figure of FIG. 3, the bus bars are electrically separated from each other.

[0040] The bus bars, which are separated from each other, are connected to each other via a bridge bus bar 155, which is flat and rectangular, and the bridge bus bar is fixed to the bus bars using assembly screws 157. The lower figure of FIG. 3 shows the state in which the above components are coupled to each other.

[0041] FIG. 4 shows the enlarged state of the bridge coupling unit 159. FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of outer connection bus bars 153, which are outer exposure bus bars that can be connected to the bus bars of the second vertical plate 122. Each of the outer connection bus bars 153 is made of a conductive material, is fixed to a corresponding upper protruding portion of the second vertical plate 122, which is made of a non-conductive material, and is connected to a bus bar directly connected to a corresponding one of the electrode leads of the second vertical plate 112. Each of the outer connection bus bars 153 may be manufactured as a separate part, or may be integrally formed with a bus bar directly connected to a corresponding one of the electrode leads of the second vertical plate 112.

[0042] In the present invention, 60V has been mentioned as an example, and only one bridge bus bar is shown in the drawings by way of example. In the case of higher voltage and in a high-humidity work environment, however, one or more bridge bus bars may be used even in a conventional low-voltage battery module in order to extend the range thereof.

[0043] Although the specific details of the present invention have been described in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the detailed description thereof discloses only preferred embodiments of the present invention and thus does not limit the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications are possible, without departing from the category and the technical idea of the present invention, and it will be obvious that such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0044] As is apparent from the above description, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to provide a high-voltage battery module capable of removing dangerous factors that may injure the human body during manufacture and transportation of the high-voltage battery module and being used in the state in which restrictions are minimized. In particular, the present invention has an advantage in that the electrical connection of a cell assembly disposed in the battery module is divided into two or more parts before the cell assembly is used to finally supply electricity, whereby it is possible to reduce the voltage of the battery module to less than a voltage that may injure the human body.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0045] 100: Battery module [0046] 110: Cell assembly [0047] 111: Cells [0048] 112: Electrode leads [0049] 120: Bus bar fame [0050] 121: First vertical plate [0051] 122: Second vertical plate [0052] 123: Upper plate [0053] 125: Bus bars [0054] 130: Mono frame [0055] 140: First side frame [0056] 141, 142: Final input and output terminals [0057] 150: Second side frame [0058] 153: Outer connection bus bars [0059] 155: Bridge bus bar [0060] 157: Assembly screws [0061] 159: Bridge coupling unit