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EP-4318767-B1 - BATTERY MODULE AND BATTERY PACK INCLUDING THE SAME

EP4318767B1EP 4318767 B1EP4318767 B1EP 4318767B1EP-4318767-B1

Inventors

  • JANG, Sunghwan
  • SEONG, JUNYEOB
  • PARK, MyungKi
  • PARK, WON KYOUNG

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20220804

Claims (8)

  1. A battery module (10) comprising: a plurality of battery cell stacking bodies, each battery cell stacking body (100) including a plurality of battery cells; a frame member (200) for receiving the plurality of battery cell stacking bodies; and at least one cell barrier structure body (300) disposed between adjacent battery cell stacking bodies of the plurality of battery cell stacking bodies, wherein the at least one cell barrier structure body (300) includes two planar members (301, 302), and a venting passage (320) formed by the two planar members (301, 302), and wherein each of the planar members (301, 302) includes an inflow portion (330) that is formed to be opened and closed, characterized in that the inflow portion (330) includes: a first opening (310) formed by an opening in a respective planar member (301, 302); a blocking plate (331) for covering the first opening (310); and a plurality of support portions (332) attached to the blocking plate (331), wherein each of the plurality of support portions (332) includes: a column portion (332c) having a first end attached to the blocking plate (331), wherein the first end of the column portion (332c) is fixed to the insides of the planar members (301, 302); a raised portion (332b) at a second end of the column portion (332c); and an elastic portion (332a) around the column portion (332c) and variably supporting a gap between the raised portion (332b) and the blocking plate (331), wherein the elastic portion (332a) is a spring; and wherein the blocking plate (331) is configured to move toward the raised portion (332b) by pressure of a gas input through the first opening (310) to open the inflow portion (330).
  2. The battery module (10) of claim 1, wherein the at least one cell barrier structure body (300) includes a first end and a second end spaced from the first end in a length direction, and wherein the first opening (310) is formed near the first end, and the second end is connected to a first outlet (411) communicating with an outside of the battery module (10).
  3. The battery module (10) of claim 2, further comprising a first end plate (410) and a second end plate (420) for covering respective end portions of the plurality of battery cell stacking bodies in the length direction, wherein the first end plate (410) includes the first outlet (411).
  4. The battery module (10) of claim 3, further comprising at least one external venting passage (211) disposed at a side of one of the plurality of battery cell stacking bodies opposite the at least one cell barrier structure body (300).
  5. The battery module (10) of claim 4, wherein the at least one external venting passage (211) includes a first end and a second end spaced from the first end in the length direction, and includes a second opening (213) disposed near the first end and opened toward the plurality of battery cell stacking bodies.
  6. The battery module (10) of claim 5, wherein the second end of the external venting passage (211) is connected to a second outlet (212) communicating with the outside of the battery module (10).
  7. The battery module (10) of claim 4, wherein the second end plate (420) does not include an outlet, and wherein the first opening (310) of the venting passage (320) is connected to the external venting passage (211) by a space between an end portion of the plurality of battery cell stacking bodies and the second end plate (420).
  8. A battery pack comprising a battery module (10) of claim 1.

Description

[Technical Field] This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0112602 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on August 25, 2021. The present invention relates to a battery module and a battery pack including the same, and particularly relates to a battery module for improving safety and venting performance and a battery pack including the same. [Background Art] As technical developments and demands on mobile devices increase, demands on rechargeable batteries as energy sources are steeply increasing. Accordingly, studies on the rechargeable batteries for satisfying various demands are in active progress. The rechargeable batteries are gaining much attention as energy sources for power-based devices such as electric bicycles, electric vehicles, and hybrid electric vehicles in addition to mobile devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, and laptops. Recently, as needs for a large-capacity secondary battery structure increase in addition to the use as an energy storing source of the secondary battery, needs for the battery packs in a medium to large module structure in which battery modules in which secondary batteries are coupled in series or in parallel are gathered are increasing. The battery pack consists mainly of a battery module composed of at least one battery cell, and is composed by adding other constituent elements by using at least one battery module. Since the battery cells constituting the battery module are composed of a chargeable and dischargeable rechargeable battery, such a high power/large capacity rechargeable battery generates a large amount of heat during charge and discharge processes. Particularly, one or a couple of battery cells per device are used for small mobile devices, whereas medium and large devices such as automobiles require high power/large capacity. Therefore, a medium or large-sized battery module with a plurality of battery cells electrically connected to each other is used. Since it is preferable for medium and large battery modules to be manufactured with as small a size and weight as possible, a prismatic battery and a pouch-type battery, which may have a high integration degree and have a small weight with respect to capacity, are mainly used as a battery cell of the medium and large battery modules. When some of the battery modules receive an overvoltage or an overcurrent or they are overheated while in the above-noted integrated state, safety and operation efficiency of the battery pack may be problematic. Specifically, the capacity of the battery pack is in the increasing trend to improve mileage, and hence, there is a need to design a structure satisfying reinforcing safety standards and obtaining safety of vehicles and drivers. CN 111 668408 A, CN 111 668 409 A, and CN 111 668 406 A relate to a battery tray, a power battery pack and a vehicle. WO 2021 / 052 037 A1 relates to energy storage devices, and in particular to a lower box, a battery pack and a vehicle. US 2021/0194072 A1 relate to a thermal runaway detection system and a battery system including the same. WO 2012 133710 A1 relates to a power supply device for supplying power to a motor for driving a vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle and a vehicle provided with the same. CN 213 752 874 U relates to a battery box and a battery pack. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a conventional battery module. As shown in FIG. 1, regarding the battery module 1, when a battery pack is configured, a plurality of battery modules 1 are disposed near the same. In this instance, when thermal runaway is generated in one battery module 1 and is not quickly discharged to an outside, high-temperature gas and flame therein are exploded at once and are transmitted to an adjacent battery module 1. By this, thermal runaway is successively generated to the battery module 1 and damage of the battery module 1 is also transmitted. Therefore, it is required to prevent propagation to adjacent modules and minimize damage when the thermal runaway is generated, and for this purpose, needs of a configuration for minimizing the damage by efficiently discharging the gas and flame generated in part of the battery module without an additional transition. [Disclosure] The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a battery module for quickly discharging flame and gas to an outside to prevent transition of a thermal runaway phenomenon between a battery cell and battery modules when an ignition phenomenon is generated in the battery module, and a battery pack including the same. The technical problem to be solved of the present invention is not limited to the above-described problem, and problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art from the present specification and the accompanying drawings. An embodiment of the present invention provides a battery module including: a plurality of battery cell stacking