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EP-4738559-A1 - BATTERY MODULE, BATTERY PACK AND VEHICLE INCLUDING SAME

EP4738559A1EP 4738559 A1EP4738559 A1EP 4738559A1EP-4738559-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure may provide a battery module including a plurality of battery cells having a storage portion and a sealing portion, respectively, and configured to be stacked on each other, a module case configured to store the plurality of battery cells in an inner space, a bus-bar assembly located on a side of a terrace portion where an electrode lead is located, among the sealing portions of the battery cells, and electrically connected to the electrode lead, and a pressing member coupled to the bus-bar assembly and configured to pressurize the terrace portion when internal pressure of the battery cell increases.

Inventors

  • PARK, GI-CHAN
  • KIM, SOO-YOUL
  • CHANG, Hyuk-Kyun
  • JUNG, Hye-Mi

Assignees

  • LG Energy Solution, Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20241101

Claims (18)

  1. A battery module comprising: a plurality of battery cells having a storage portion and a sealing portion, respectively, and configured to be stacked on each other; a module case configured to store the plurality of battery cells in an inner space; a bus-bar assembly located on a side of a terrace portion where an electrode lead is located, among the sealing portions of the battery cells, and electrically connected to the electrode lead; and a pressing member coupled to the bus-bar assembly and configured to pressurize the terrace portion when internal pressure of the battery cell increases.
  2. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member is configured to be inserted into spaces between at least some of the plurality of battery cells.
  3. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the bus-bar assembly comprises a bus-bar terminal and a bus-bar frame, wherein the pressing member is located on the inner side of the bus-bar frame, and wherein the bus-bar terminal is located on the outer side of the bus-bar frame.
  4. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member and the bus-bar assembly are stored in the module case while being coupled to each other.
  5. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein adjacent pressing members are configured to pressurize the terrace portion of the battery cell from both sides.
  6. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member is configured to pressurize the storage portion of the battery cell inward.
  7. The battery module according to claim 6, wherein a horizontal length of the pressing member is configured to be equal to or greater than a distance between the bus-bar assembly and the battery cell.
  8. The battery module according to claim 6, wherein the pressing member is configured to be deformed in shape by the storage portion of the battery cell during assembly.
  9. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the pressing member is formed to match a shape of an empty space between the bus-bar assembly and the battery cell.
  10. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member comprises an elastic body.
  11. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member comprises two or more different materials.
  12. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member comprises two or more materials with different strengths from each other.
  13. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member comprises an insulating or heat-resistant material.
  14. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member is disposed to be surrounded by the bus-bar assembly, the storage portion, and the sealing portion.
  15. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein a vertical height of the pressing member is greater than a vertical height of the battery cell.
  16. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein a vertical height of the pressing member is configured to be greater than a distance between an upper plate and a lower plate of the module case, and wherein the pressing member is configured to be pressurized in a vertical direction by the upper plate and the lower plate.
  17. A battery pack comprising a battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 16.
  18. A vehicle comprising a battery module according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a battery module, and a battery pack and a vehicle including the same. This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0151093, filed on November 03, 2023, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0104118, filed on August 05, 2024, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. This application is based on and claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0152848, filed on October 31, 2024, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. BACKGROUND ART Secondary batteries, which are easy to apply depending on the product group and have electrical features such as high energy density and the like, are generally used in electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) that are driven by an electrical drive source, as well as in portable devices. These secondary batteries are attracting attention as a new energy source for improving eco-friendliness and energy efficiency because of the primary advantage of dramatically reducing the use of fossil fuels and another advantage of not generating byproducts resulting from energy use. Secondary batteries currently widely used include lithium-ion batteries, lithium-polymer batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries, nickel-zinc batteries, and the like. When a higher output voltage is required, a battery module or battery pack may be configured by connecting a plurality of battery cells in series. In addition, a battery module or battery pack may be configured by connecting multiple battery cells in parallel in order to increase the charge/discharge capacity. Accordingly, the number of battery cells included in the battery module or pack may be set in various ways depending on the required output voltage or charge/discharge capacity. Meanwhile, since the battery cells undergo chemical reactions during charging and discharging, their performance may deteriorate if they are used at a temperature higher than an appropriate temperature, and if the temperature is not controlled to the appropriate temperature, unexpected ignition or explosion is likely to occur. In addition, the battery module has a structure in which the battery cells are densely stored inside a module frame. Therefore, if a thermal event occurs in any battery cell, high-temperature gas and flames emitted therefrom may spread to adjacent battery cells, causing a chain reaction of explosion in the battery cells, which is very dangerous. In particular, if the battery module contains multiple battery cells, the high-temperature gas, flames, or sparks generated during thermal runaway in a specific battery cell are likely to erupt to the front and rear of the battery cells where the electrode leads of the battery module are located. As a result, the components located at both ends of the battery module, such as end plates or parts of a bus-bar frame, may be damaged by heat, which may bring about structural collapse. In addition, the flames emitted to the outside through the end plates may cause thermal propagation to adjacent battery modules. In particular, if flame or the like generated from a specific battery module spreads to the end plate of another battery module, there is a high risk of thermal propagation or chain ignition between modules. This may cause the thermal runaway to spread to the entire battery pack including multiple battery modules. Therefore, there is a need to develop a structure capable of preventing the discharge of high-temperature gas or flame emitted from a battery cell where a thermal event occurs or appropriately controlling the discharge direction, thereby delaying thermal runaway between the battery cells or battery modules. 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 module with improved safety and reliability by appropriately controlling the venting direction of high-temperature gas or flames generated from a battery cell in the event of an abnormal situation of the battery module, thereby effectively preventing thermal propagation between battery cells or battery modules. The present disclosure is also to provide a battery pack including a battery module with an improved structure, and a vehicle including the battery pack. The technical problems that the present disclosure seeks to solve are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the invention described below. Technical So