BATTERY MODULE INCLUDING SIDE PRESSURE PLATES AND POUCH CELL MODULES

Abstract

A battery module made from a plurality of side-by-side pouch cell modules, wherein each pouch cell module is formed with a pair of cells on either side of an insulation pad with the cells in turn positioned between first and second metal brackets such that each cell contacts an insulation pad on one side and a metal bracket on the other. Also included is a pair of pressure plates at the ends of the stack of side-by-side pouch cells and a compression band wrapping around the plurality of side-by-side pouch cells and the pressure plates. A busbar electrically connects the plurality of side-by-side pouch cells together.

Claims

1. A battery module, comprising: a pouch cell module comprising: a first cell; a second cell; and an insulator disposed between the first cell and the second cell; a busbar in electrical communication with the pouch cell module; a first tab extending away from the first cell in a first direction; and a second tab comprising: a first portion extending away from the second cell in a second direction across the insulator to make contact with the first tab; and a second portion extending from the first portion in the first direction away from the insulator to make contact with the busbar.

2. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the insulator is thermally coupled to the first cell and the second cell and configured to transfer heat away from each of the first cell and the second cell.

3. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the first tab and the second tab are ultrasonically welded together.

4. The battery module of claim 1, further comprising: a third tab extending away from the first cell in a third direction opposite the first direction; and a fourth tab extending away from the second cell in the third direction.

5. The battery module of claim 4, wherein the third tab and the fourth tab are coupled together.

6. The battery module of claim 1, further comprising a control board in electrical communication with the pouch cell module.

7. The battery module of claim 6, wherein the control board is configured to monitor a voltage and a temperature of the pouch cell module.

8. The battery module of claim 1, further comprising: a first bracket; and a second bracket, wherein the first cell and the second cell are disposed between the first bracket and the second bracket.

9. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the first tab extends across the insulator to make contact with the second tab.

10. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

11. A battery module comprising: a busbar; and a plurality of pouch cell modules in electrical communication with the busbar, each pouch cell module of the plurality of pouch cell modules comprising: a first cell; a second cell; an insulator disposed between the first cell and the second cell; a first tab extending away from the first cell in a first direction; and a second tab comprising: a first portion extending away from the second cell in a second direction across the insulator to make contact with the first tab; and a second portion extending from the first portion in the first direction away from the insulator to make contact with the busbar.

12. The battery module of claim 11, wherein the insulator is thermally coupled to the first cell and the second cell and configured to transfer heat away from each of the first cell and the second cell.

13. The battery module of claim 11, wherein the first tab and the second tab are ultrasonically welded together.

14. The battery module of claim 11, further comprising: a third tab extending away from the first cell in a third direction opposite the first direction; and a fourth tab extending away from the second cell in the third direction.

15. The battery module of claim 14, wherein the third tab and the fourth tab are coupled together.

16. The battery module of claim 11, further comprising a control board in electrical communication with each pouch cell module of the plurality of pouch cell modules.

17. The battery module of claim 16, wherein the board is configured to monitor a voltage and a temperature of each pouch cell module of the plurality of pouch cell modules.

18. The battery module of claim 11, further comprising: a first bracket; and a second bracket, wherein the first cell and the second cell are disposed between the first bracket and the second bracket.

19. The battery module of claim 11, wherein the first tab extends across the insulator to make contact with the second tab.

20. The battery module of claim 11, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of the present system.

[0015] FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view corresponding to FIG. 1.

[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one of the individual battery cells.

[0017] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a pair of the systems of FIGS. 1 and 2 positioned side-by-side and separated by a cooling plate.

[0018] FIG. 5 is a plurality of systems of FIG. 4 positioned together end-to-end.

[0019] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a plurality of the present systems positioned together in a tunnel arrangement along the center console.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a battery module 10 is provided. Module 10 includes a plurality of pouch cell modules 20 positioned together side-by-side. Each pouch cell module 20 includes a first bracket 22 and a second bracket 24. A pair of pouch cells 32 and 34 is positioned between the first and second brackets 22 and 24. An insulation pad 35 is positioned between cells 32 and 34, as shown. In operation, brackets 22 and 24 provide strong structural support at the sides of cells 32 and 34. In addition, brackets 22 and 24 are preferably made from a highly thermally conductive material which may optionally be aluminum to efficiently conduct excess heat away from cells 32 and 34. Preferably as well, cells 32 and 34 have large side surface areas (see FIG. 3) which directly contact brackets 22 and 24 so as to ensure efficient thermal energy transfer. As can also be seen, each individual battery cell (i.e.: every cell 32 or 34) in each pouch cell module 20 in overall system module 10 is in direct physical contact with a metal bracket (either 22 or 24) such that heat can be quickly and efficiently conducted away from the cells. Preferably, first and second brackets 22 and 24 are made of aluminum, or other suitable highly thermally conductive material, and the insulation pad is preferably made of low thermal conductivity material, or any suitable insulating material.

[0021] A pressure plate 38 is provided on each of the two side ends of battery module 10. An optional insulation pad 39 may be provided adjacent to each pressure plate 38 to prevent overheating at the lateral ends of the device module 10. An optional slave board or module control unit 50 can be attached to pressure plate 38 by a harness 52. Slave board 50 can optionally be used to measure cell voltage and temperature and communicate this information with a battery management unit.

[0022] A busbar 60 is provided to electrically connect each of the plurality of side-by-side pouch cell modules 20 together. As best seen in FIG. 3, each of cells 32 and 34 may have top and bottom tabs 31 extending therefrom, and the top and bottom tabs are fastened together. Specifically, this placement also keeps each of cells 32 and 34 in direct physical contact with insulation pad 35. It also assists in holding the whole pouch cell module 20 together as busbar 60 is also electrically and preferably physically connected to tabs 31. In preferred embodiments, busbar 60 is ultrasonically welded to the top tabs 31 of the cells 32 and 34.

[0023] As can also be seen in FIG. 1, first bracket 22 may have longitudinally extending side edges 23 that are received around second bracket 24 such that cells 32 and 34 together with insulation pad 35 are all positioned between the longitudinally extending side edges 23 of first bracket 22. This has the advantage of providing structural stability to each pouch cell module 20.

[0024] In preferred aspects, at least one compression band 70 is wrapped around the plurality of side-by-side pouch cell modules 20 and the pair of pressure plates 38. In one preferred aspect, the longitudinally extending side edges 23 of the first brackets 22 all have notches 27 therein such that the compression band 70 can be is received into the notches, thereby holding the full assembly together. To further provide structural stability, also provided are an optional top cover 80 spanning across the tops of the plurality of side-by-side pouch cell modules 20 and an optional bottom cover 84 spanning across the bottoms of the plurality of side-by-side pouch cell modules 20. Top cover 80 preferably has downwardly extending edges 82 that wrap around top ends of each of the plurality of pouch cell modules 20, and the bottom cover 84 preferably has upwardly extending edges 86 that wrap around bottom ends of each of the plurality of pouch cell modules 20. As can be seen, the at least one compression bands 70 preferably includes an upper compression band and a lower compression band both wrapping around the plurality of side-by-side pouch cells 32/34 (and also wrapping around the two end pressure plates 38). It is to be understood, however, that any number of compression bands 70 may be provided as desired. In addition, such compression bands may be thin and only cover only a small portion of the device, or may be wide and cover a large or very large portion of the surfaces longitudinally extending side edges 23.

[0025] It is to be understood that the present system is not limited to any particular wiring arrangements for electrically connecting together the individual batteries used in each of cells 32 and 34. For example, the present system can be used with different pouch cell wiring designs such as pouch cells wired together in 3S4P (i.e.: 3 batteries in series, 4 batteries in parallel) or 3P12S (i.e.: 3 batteries in series, 12 batteries in parallel), 6P8S (i.e.: 6 batteries in parallel, 8 batteries in series) and or any other desired configuration.

[0026] In optional embodiments, a voltage and temperature sensing board 90 can be positioned in electrical communication with each of the plurality of side-by-side pouch cell modules 20. Voltage and temperature sensing board 90 can optionally measure the voltage from each cell group and the temperature at several locations. These signals can then be communicated to a master battery management unit (not shown) for processing.

[0027] As seen in FIG. 4, a pair of the present battery module devices 10 can be positioned together side-by-side with a cooling plate 100 therebetween. Cooling plate 100 functions similar to brackets 22 and 24 described above and may be made of the same material(s). Cooling plate 100 may optionally be made of aluminum with coolant circulating therein. Between the cooling plate and the modules there is enough thermal interface material to transfer heat from the module to the cooling plate. The advantage of the embodiment of the present system shown in FIG. 4 is simply that it provides more power (and meet a voltage range requirement) than the single embodiment shown in FIG. 1. The present design's modularity provides such advantages as various numbers of pouch cells 32/34 can be stacked in each of battery module devices 10 and various numbers of battery module devices 10 may in turn be stacked together. For example, as seen in FIG. 5, a plurality of four of the present systems as shown in FIG. 4 can be positioned together on top of a battery bottom enclosure 120. Lastly, as seen in FIG. 6, a plurality of battery module devices 10 can be positioned together as a flat floor battery pack that can be positioned in the chassis of an electric vehicle.