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EP-4160803-B1 - SECONDARY BATTERY

EP4160803B1EP 4160803 B1EP4160803 B1EP 4160803B1EP-4160803-B1

Inventors

  • PARK, BYUNG JUN
  • CHANG, TAE HYUN

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20220824

Claims (11)

  1. A battery module (1) comprising: a battery assembly (200) including a plurality of sub-packing units (100), each sub-packing unit (100) including a housing (110), at least one battery cell (120) accommodated in an internal space of the housing (110), and at least one vent hole (113) disposed in the housing (110) and connecting the internal space to an outside of the housing (110); and a flame blocking structure (300) including a flame guiding portion (310) sealingly coupled to one side of the battery assembly (200) and a flame blocking portion (320) coupled to the flame guiding portion (310) to define an inner chamber (330); wherein the flame guiding portion (310) has a plurality of inlet holes (311), each connected to a vent hole (113), so as to guide gas or a flame ejected from the vent holes (113) to the inner chamber (330) ; the flame blocking portion (320) has at least an outlet hole (321) communicating with the outside; and at least one partition wall (324) protrudes into the inner chamber (330), said at least one partition wall (324) being configured such that gas or a flame ejected from the inlet hole (311) has to bypass the at least one partition wall (324) to exit through the outlet hole (321), characterized in that : the flame guiding portion (310) includes a first base plate (312) covering said side surface of the battery assembly (200), and each inlet hole (311) is defined by a pipe (314) penetrating through a portion of said first base plate (312) and protruding from one side of the first base plate (312) to connect to a vent hole (113) and further protruding from the other side of the first base plate (312) toward the inside of the inner chamber (330).
  2. The battery module (1) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of inlet holes (331) is opened in a first direction toward the inner chamber (330), and the at least one outlet hole (321) is opened from the inner chamber (330) in a second direction, intersecting the first direction.
  3. The battery module (1) of claim 2, wherein the at least one partition wall (324) at least partially overlaps the at least one outlet hole (321) in the second direction.
  4. The battery module (1) of claim 2, wherein the at least one partition wall (324) is disposed in a flow path between the plurality of inlet holes (311) and the at least one outlet hole (321), and extends in the first direction.
  5. The battery module (1) of claim 1, wherein the vent holes (113) communicate with the inner chamber (330) through the plurality of inlet holes (311).
  6. The battery module (1) of claim 1, wherein the flame blocking portion comprises a second base plate (322) spaced apart from the first base plate (312), and an extension portion extending from an end of the second base plate (322) to the first base plate (312) and defining the at least one outlet hole (321).
  7. The battery module (1) of claim 6, wherein the at least one partition wall (324) extends from the second base plate (322) to the first base plate (312) and includes a first partition wall (324) disposed between the plurality of inlet holes (311) and the at least one outlet hole (321).
  8. The battery module (1) of claim 7, wherein the flame guiding portion (310) includes the pipes (314) defining the plurality of inlet holes (311), and the first partition wall (324) extends to a position closer to the first base plate (312) than openings of the pipes (314) in an inner chamber side.
  9. The battery module (1) of claim 7, wherein the flame guiding portion (310) includes a second partition wall (313) extending from the first base plate (312) to the second base plate (322) and disposed between the extension portion and the first partition wall (324).
  10. The battery module (1) of claim 9, wherein the second partition wall (313) extends to a position closer to the second base plate (322) than an end of the first partition wall (324).
  11. The battery module (1) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of inlet holes (311) includes a first inlet hole and a second inlet hole, and the at least one partition wall (324) includes a third partition wall (325) disposed between the first inlet hole and the second inlet hole.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) This application claims benefit of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0117245 filed on September 2, 2021 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office. BACKGROUND 1. FIELD The present disclosure relates to a battery module. 2. DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART As technological development of, and demand for, mobile devices, electric vehicles, energy storage systems (ESS) and the like increase, demand for secondary battery cells as an energy source is rapidly increasing. A secondary battery cell is a battery capable of repeated charging and discharging, because mutual conversion between chemical energy and electrical energy is reversible. The secondary battery cell includes an electrode assembly of a positive electrode, a negative electrode, a separator, an electrolyte and the like, which are main components of a secondary battery, and a cell body member of a laminated film case protecting the electrode assembly. However, such an electrode assembly generates heat while undergoing charging and discharging, and the temperature rise due to such heat deteriorates the performance of the secondary battery cell. In addition, when such heat is severe, the internal pressure of the secondary battery cell increases, causing a problem in which the secondary battery cell is ignited. Moreover, when a plurality of secondary battery cells are mounted, such as in an energy storage system (ESS), the secondary battery cell may explode with such ignition, and flames propagating to other secondary battery cells in the vicinity may also occur. In detail, one important issue in relation to the safety of the battery pack is direct exposure to flames. In the case of a battery pack, it is a top priority to prevent a fire from occurring inside, but in some cases, a fire may occur inside the battery pack. At this time, when a large amount of flames or high-temperature gas is exposed to the outside of the battery pack, the exposed flames or high-temperature gas may destroy or damage other components around the battery pack and also lead to secondary ignition. In detail, when a fire occurs inside a battery pack mounted on a vehicle, the generated fire may become a very dangerous factor for occupants. Moreover, when the battery pack is installed in a hybrid vehicle or the vehicle collides with another vehicle, exposure to flames or hot gas in the fuel storage tank may cause the fuel to explode, which may lead to a serious accident. In the case of an energy storage system, a plurality of battery modules may be accommodated in one container, and in this case, if a problem occurs in one battery module and a flame is ejected, the fire may spread to other battery modules, which may lead to a significantly large fire. CN 112 531 246 A, forming the basis for the preamble of claim 1, discloses a battery tray comprising a number of partitions which divide a bottom plate into a number of accommodating spaces each being provided with a hole. US 2019/097192 A1 discloses a battery module which comprises a case frame configured to accommodate a plurality of battery cells and a case cover having an anti-exposure channel provided therein. US 2016/099451 A1 discloses a power storage module, which has a plurality of power storage elements arranged therein, and an outlet of a discharge path for discharging gas is provided. SUMMARY The aim of the present invention is to provide a secondary battery in which flames, transferred to other battery modules, may be prevented by preventing flames from being ejected to the outside of a battery module even when the flames are ejected from the battery cell inside the battery module, and damage to surrounding objects or the human body due to thermal runaway of the battery module may be prevented. Accordingly, the invention as defined in claim 1 is directed to a battery module comprising a battery assembly including a plurality of sub-packing units, each sub-packing unit including a housing, at least one battery cell accommodated in an internal space of the housing, and at least one vent hole disposed in the housing and connecting the internal space to an outside of the housing; and a flame blocking structure including a flame guiding portion sealingly coupled to one side of the battery assembly and a flame blocking portion coupled to the flame guiding portion to define an inner chamber; wherein the flame guiding portion has a plurality of inlet holes, each connected to a vent hole, so as to guide gas or a flame ejected from the vent holes to the inner chamber; the flame blocking portion has at least an outlet hole communicating with the outside; and at least one partition wall protrudes into the inner chamber, said at least one partition wall being configured such that gas or a flame ejected from the inlet hole has to bypass the at least one partition wall to exit through the outlet hole, characterized in that the flame guiding portion includes a first base plate covering s