EP-4742369-A1 - BATTERY PACK AND VEHICLE COMPRISING SAME

EP4742369A1EP 4742369 A1EP4742369 A1EP 4742369A1EP-4742369-A1

Abstract

Disclosed is a battery pack, which includes a cell array structure including a plurality of battery cells and a plurality of cooling tubes provided between the plurality of battery cells; a pack case configured to accommodate the cell array structure; and a cooling pipe unit installed in communication with a cooling line for circulation of a cooling medium and configured to connect the plurality of cooling tubes in one direction within the pack case along a stacking direction of the plurality of cooling tubes.

Inventors

JUNG, In-Hyuk
PARK, SO-JEONG
AHN, JUN-YOUNG
OH, KWANG-KEUN
LEE, YONG-HO
YANG, JIN-OH

Assignees

LG Energy Solution, Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20240719

Claims (15)

A battery pack, comprising: a cell array structure including a plurality of battery cells and a plurality of cooling tubes provided between the plurality of battery cells; a pack case configured to accommodate the cell array structure; and a cooling pipe unit installed in communication with a cooling line for circulation of a cooling medium and configured to connect the plurality of cooling tubes in one direction within the pack case along a stacking direction of the plurality of cooling tubes.
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the cooling pipe unit is disposed between ends of the plurality of cooling tubes and configured not to protrude beyond the ends of the plurality of cooling tubes in a direction toward an inner wall of the pack case.
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the cooling pipe unit has a smaller thickness than ends of the plurality of cooling tubes.
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the cooling pipe unit is configured not to protrude beyond ends of the plurality of cooling tubes in a height direction of the ends of the plurality of cooling tubes.
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the cooling pipe unit is provided in plurality, and wherein the plurality of cooling pipe units are sequentially connected to the plurality of cooling tubes in the one direction along the stacking direction of the plurality of cooling tubes when assembling the cell array structure.
The battery pack according to claim 5, wherein the plurality of cooling pipe unit includes: a main cooling pipe unit connected to the cooling line; and a plurality of side cooling pipe units configured to communicate with the main cooling pipe.
The battery pack according to claim 6, wherein the main cooling pipe unit is disposed between the plurality of side cooling pipe units.
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the cell array structure includes a side frame that accommodates the plurality of battery cells in a longitudinal direction of the pack case, and wherein the cooling pipe unit is provided to face the side frame in the longitudinal direction and disposed to be spaced apart from the side frame by a predetermined distance.
The battery pack according to claim 8, wherein the side frame includes: a pair of side walls disposed on both sides of an outermost side of the cell array structure and configured to support at least one row of battery cells in the longitudinal direction of the pack case; and a plurality of side structures provided between the pair of side walls and configured to support at least two rows of battery cells in the longitudinal direction of the pack case, wherein the cooling pipe unit is provided to face the plurality of side structures in the longitudinal direction of the pack case and disposed to be spaced apart from the plurality of side structures by a predetermined distance.
The battery pack according to claim 9, wherein the cooling pipe unit is provided in plurality, and wherein a length of each cooling pipe unit is smaller than or equal to a width of each side structure in the stacking direction.
The battery pack according to claim 8, wherein ends of the plurality of cooling tubes protrude out of the side frame in the longitudinal direction of the pack case, and wherein the cooling pipe unit is sequentially connected to the plurality of cooling tubes along a stacking direction of the side frame.
The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the cooling pipe unit includes: an inlet pipe configured to guide the cooling medium from the cooling line to the plurality of cooling tubes; and an outlet pipe configured to export the cooling medium, which has circulated through the plurality of cooling tubes, to the cooling line, wherein the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe are disposed between ends of the plurality of cooling tubes in a height direction of the ends of the plurality of cooling tubes.
The battery pack according to claim 12, wherein the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe are configured not to protrude beyond the ends of the plurality of cooling tubes in the height direction of the ends of the plurality of cooling tubes.
The battery pack according to claim 12, wherein the inlet pipe is disposed lower than the outlet pipe in the height direction of the ends of the plurality of cooling tubes.
A vehicle, comprising the battery pack according to any one of claims 1 to 14.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0129708 filed on September 26, 2023 in the Republic of Korea, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. The present disclosure relates to a battery pack and a vehicle including the battery pack, and more particularly, to a battery pack with improved energy density and a vehicle including the battery pack BACKGROUND ART Secondary batteries which are highly applicable to various products and exhibit superior electrical properties such as high energy density, etc. are commonly used not only in portable devices but also in electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) driven by electrical power sources. The secondary battery is drawing attentions as a new energy source for enhancing energy efficiency and environment friendliness in that the use of fossil fuels can be reduced greatly and no byproduct is generated during energy consumption. Secondary batteries widely used at present include lithium ion batteries, lithium polymer batteries, nickel cadmium batteries, nickel hydrogen batteries, nickel zinc batteries and the like. An operating voltage of the unit secondary battery cell, namely a unit battery cell, is about 2.5V to 4.2V. Therefore, if a higher output voltage is required, a plurality of battery cells may be connected in series to configure a battery pack. In addition, depending on the charge/discharge capacity required for the battery pack, a plurality of battery cells may be connected in parallel to configure a battery pack. Thus, the number of battery cells included in the battery pack may be variously set according to the required output voltage or the demanded charge/discharge capacity. Meanwhile, when a plurality of battery cells are connected in series or in parallel to configure a battery pack, it is common to configure a battery module composed of at least one battery cell first, and then configure a battery pack by using at least one battery module and adding other components. The conventional battery pack has a cooling line structure to cool the battery cells. The cooling line structure includes a plurality of cooling tubes provided between the battery cells, a cooling line connected to an external cooling device for supplying or recovering a cooling medium to/from the plurality of cooling tubes, and a cooling pipe connecting the cooling line and the plurality of cooling tubes. The conventional cooling pipe is generally formed in a predetermined length within the pack case of the battery pack for connection to the plurality of cooling tubes, and is provided on both sides of the edge of the pack case of the battery pack. However, the cooling pipe structure of the conventional battery pack has a disadvantage in terms of energy density of the battery pack since the volume occupied by the structure within the pack case increases. In addition, the cooling structure of the conventional battery pack has a problem in that the connection structure of the cooling pipe connected to the plurality of cooling tubes is complicated, and thus the resulting assembly process is also complicated. Therefore, there is a need to find a way to provide a battery pack that may increase space utilization and increase energy density. In addition, it is necessary to find a way to increase process efficiency by increasing assembly. DISCLOSURE Technical Problem Therefore, the present disclosure is directed to providing a battery pack that may increase space utilization and maximize energy density by simplifying a cooling line structure, and a vehicle including the battery pack. In addition, the present disclosure is also directed to providing a battery pack that may increase process efficiency by increasing assembly, and a vehicle including the battery pack. However, the technical problems that the present disclosure seeks to solve are not limited to the above, and other problems not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description. Technical Solution In one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery pack, comprising: a cell array structure including a plurality of battery cells and a plurality of cooling tubes provided between the plurality of battery cells; a pack case configured to accommodate the cell array structure; and a cooling pipe unit installed in communication with a cooling line for circulation of a cooling medium and configured to connect the plurality of cooling tubes in one direction within the pack case along a stacking direction of the plurality of cooling tubes. Also, preferably, the cooling pipe unit may be disposed between ends of the plurality of cooling tubes and configured not to protrude beyond the ends of the plurality of cooling tubes in a direction toward an inner wall of the pack case. Also, preferably, the cooling pipe unit may have a smaller thickness than ends of the plurality of cooling tub