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EP-4297167-B1 - BATTERY ASSEMBLY HAVING IMPROVED SAFETY

EP4297167B1EP 4297167 B1EP4297167 B1EP 4297167B1EP-4297167-B1

Inventors

  • JANG, SUNG-HWAN
  • SEONG, JUN-YEOB
  • PARK, MYUNG-KI

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20221212

Claims (14)

  1. A battery assembly comprising: a plurality of battery cells (100); and a venting unit (200) located between adjacent battery cells of the plurality of battery cells, comprising a venting passage (V) therein, and configured to discharge venting gas discharged from the plurality of battery cells, characterized in that the venting unit comprises two inlets corresponding to one battery cell, and an outlet formed between the two inlets.
  2. The battery assembly according to claim 1, further comprising a cell case (300) having an inner space in which the plurality of battery cells and the venting unit are accommodated.
  3. The battery assembly according to claim 2, wherein the cell case comprises two unit cases (310, 320) that are coupled to each other.
  4. The battery assembly according to claim 3, wherein each of the two unit cases comprises a main body (301) formed in a plate shape, an upper bent portion (302) bent in a horizontal direction at an upper end of the main body, and a lower bent portion (303) bent in the horizontal direction at a lower end of the main body.
  5. The battery assembly according to claim 1, wherein the venting unit is formed in a plate shape and is located between the adjacent battery cells.
  6. The battery assembly according to claim 1, wherein the venting unit comprises an inlet formed in a side surface facing the plurality of battery cells and an outlet formed in a side surface not facing the plurality of battery cells.
  7. The battery assembly according to claim 1, wherein the venting unit comprises an inlet (I) formed in a portion facing terrace (T) portions of the adjacent battery cells.
  8. The battery assembly according to claim 1, wherein the venting unit comprises an outer partition wall (210) protruding outward from a surface to be located between a plurality of battery cells located on a same side surface.
  9. The battery assembly according to claim 1, wherein the venting unit comprises, in an inner space, an inner partition wall (220) dividing the venting passage into a plurality of unit passages (V1-V5).
  10. The battery assembly according to claim 9, wherein the venting unit comprises two or more inlets connected to different unit passages.
  11. The battery assembly according to claim 2, wherein the cell case is configured to be stackable in a longitudinal direction.
  12. A battery module comprising a plurality of battery assemblies according to any one of claims 1 to 11.
  13. A battery pack comprising a plurality of battery assemblies according to any one of claims 1 to 11.
  14. A vehicle comprising a plurality of battery assemblies according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2021-0187532 and 10-2022-0156399, respectively filed on December 24, 2021 and November 21, 2022 in the Republic of Korea. The present disclosure relates to a battery, and more particularly, to a battery assembly having improved safety, and a battery module, a battery pack, and a vehicle including the battery assembly. BACKGROUND ART As the demand for portable electronic products such as laptops, video cameras, and mobile phones has recently rapidly increased and the commercialization of robots, electric vehicles, etc. has begun in earnest, research on high-performance secondary batteries capable of repeated charging/discharging has been actively conducted. Currently commercialized secondary batteries include nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydride batteries, nickel zinc batteries, and lithium secondary batteries. Among them, lithium secondary batteries are in the spotlight because they have almost no memory effect compared to nickel-based secondary batteries, and thus, have advantages of free charge/discharge, very low self-discharge rate, and high energy density. A lithium secondary battery mainly uses a lithium-based oxide and a carbon material as a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material, respectively. A lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate coated with a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material are located with a separator therebetween, and a casing in which the electrode assembly is air-tightly accommodated together with an electrolyte, that is, a battery case. In general, according to a shape of a casing, lithium secondary batteries may be classified into can-type secondary batteries in which an electrode assembly is received in a metal can, and pouch-type secondary batteries in which an electrode assembly is received in a pouch of an aluminum laminate sheet. Recently, secondary batteries have been widely used for driving or energy storage not only in small devices such as portable electronic devices but also in medium and large-sized devices such as electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESSs). A plurality of secondary batteries that are battery cells may be electrically connected to each other and accommodated together in a module case to constitute one battery module. However, when a plurality of battery cells are included in a battery module, the battery module may be vulnerable to a thermal chain reaction between the battery cells. For example, when an event such as thermal runaway occurs in one battery cell, propagation of the thermal runaway to other battery cells needs to be suppressed. When propagation of thermal runaway between battery cells is not suppressed, an event occurring in a specific cell may cause a chain reaction between several battery cells. This may cause an explosion or fire, or may cause great damage to other nearby equipment, devices, or users. The document CN 113826270 A discloses a battery assembly known in the prior art. DISCLOSURE Technical Problem The present disclosure is designed to solve the problems of the related art, and therefore the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery assembly in which safety is effectively improved by suppressing propagation of a thermal event, and a battery module, a battery pack, and a vehicle including the battery assembly. However, technical objectives to be achieved by the present disclosure are not limited thereto, and other unmentioned technical objectives will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art from the description of the present disclosure. Technical Solution A battery assembly according to the present invention is set out in the independent claim. Favorable embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims. Here, the battery assembly according to the present disclosure may further include a cell case having an inner space in which the plurality of battery cells and the venting unit are accommodated. Also, the cell case may include two unit cases that are coupled to each other. Also, each of the two unit cases may include a main body formed in a plate shape, an upper bent portion bent in a horizontal direction at an upper end of the main body, and a lower bent portion bent in the horizontal direction at a lower end of the main body. Also, the battery assembly according to the present disclosure may further include an end cover covering an opening formed in the cell case. Also, the venting unit may be formed in a plate shape and may be located between the adjacent battery cells. Also, the venting unit may include an inlet formed in a side surface facing the plurality of battery cells and an outlet formed in a side surface not facing the plurality of battery cells. Also, the venting unit may include an inlet formed in a portion facing terrace portions of