KR-20260063455-A - Battery module, Battery pack and vehicle including the same

Abstract

The battery module of the present invention may include a cell stack comprising a plurality of battery cells, a module case accommodating the cell stack and having an opening formed on one side in the longitudinal direction, an end plate covering the opening of the module case, and a heat shrink member disposed to surround the end plate and configured to shrink when heat above a specified temperature is applied.

Inventors

• 곽원석

Assignees

• 주식회사 엘지에너지솔루션

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241030

Claims (18)

1. A cell stack comprising a plurality of battery cells; A module case that accommodates the above-mentioned cell stack and has an opening formed on one side in the longitudinal direction; An end plate covering the opening of the module case; and A battery module comprising: a heat shrink member positioned to wrap around the end plate and configured to shrink when heat above a specified temperature is applied.
2. In Article 1, It further includes an isolation cover disposed between the end plate and the cell stack; A battery module characterized in that the isolation cover has a module terminal exposed to the outside of the battery module through a hole formed in the end plate.
3. In Article 2, A battery module characterized in that the heat shrink member is positioned to cover the module terminal.
4. In Article 2, A battery module characterized in that the melting point of the heat shrink member is higher than the melting point of the isolation cover.
5. In Article 1, A battery module characterized by the above-mentioned heat shrink member having a melting point of 300 degrees or more and 600 degrees or less.
6. In Article 1, A battery module characterized by the above-mentioned heat shrink member being formed to shrink when heat of 60 degrees or more and 150 degrees or less is applied.
7. In Article 1, The above heat shrink member is, A first heat-shrinkable member wrapping a first end plate covering a first opening formed on one side in the longitudinal direction of the module case; and A battery module characterized by having a second heat shrink member that wraps a second end plate covering a second opening formed on the other side in the longitudinal direction of the module case.
8. In Article 1, A battery module characterized in that the above-mentioned heat-shrinkable member comprises polyolefin.
9. In Article 1, A battery module characterized in that the heat shrink member comprises a front portion covering the front of the end plate and a plurality of side portions extending vertically from the front portion and contacting the module case.
10. In Article 1, A battery module characterized in that the front surface of the heat shrink member is exposed to the outside of the battery module.
11. In Article 1, A battery module characterized in that the heat shrink member and the end plate are bonded together by an adhesive at least in part.
12. A cell stack comprising a plurality of battery cells; and A battery module comprising: a heat shrink member locally disposed at the terminal portion of the battery cells, which begins to shrink when heat above a specified temperature is applied and melts away when it reaches a melting point.
13. In Article 12, A battery module characterized by the above-mentioned heat shrink member having a melting point of 300 degrees or more and 600 degrees or less.
14. In Article 12, A battery module characterized by the above-mentioned heat shrink member being formed to shrink when heat of 60 degrees or more and 150 degrees or less is applied.
15. In Article 12, A battery module characterized in that the above-mentioned heat-shrinkable member comprises polyolefin.
16. A battery pack characterized by including at least one battery module described in any one of claims 1 to 15.
17. In Paragraph 16, The above battery pack includes a plurality of the above battery modules, and When a thermal event occurs in a battery cell within any one of the above-mentioned battery modules, the thermal shrinkage member is configured to melt, and A battery pack characterized by the fact that a thermal shrinkage member of another battery module adjacent to the battery module where the above thermal event occurred is configured to shrink.
18. An automobile characterized by comprising at least one battery module described in any one of claims 1 to 15.

Description

Battery module, battery pack including the same, and vehicle including the same The present invention relates to a battery module, a battery pack including the same, and an automobile. Secondary batteries, which possess electrical characteristics such as high energy density and high applicability across product groups, are widely applied not only to portable devices but also to electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) powered by electric sources. These secondary batteries are attracting attention as a new energy source for enhancing eco-friendliness and energy efficiency, not only for the primary advantage of drastically reducing the use of fossil fuels but also because they generate no by-products from energy use. Currently, widely used types of secondary batteries include lithium-ion batteries, lithium-polymer batteries, nickel-cadmium batteries, nickel-hydrogen batteries, and nickel-zinc batteries. When a high output voltage is required, multiple battery cells are connected in series to form a battery module or battery pack. Additionally, to increase charge/discharge capacity, multiple battery cells are connected in parallel to form a battery module or battery pack. Therefore, the number of battery cells included in the battery module or pack can be varied depending on the required output voltage or charge/discharge capacity. When configuring a battery pack by connecting multiple battery cells in series or parallel, it is common practice to first construct a battery module containing at least one battery cell, and then use this at least one battery module to add other components to form a battery pack or battery rack. Alternatively, recently, battery packs in the form of a "Cell-to-Pack," in which multiple battery cells are directly housed in a pack housing without modularization, are also being manufactured. However, when multiple battery modules are contained within a battery pack in this manner, it can be vulnerable to thermal chain reactions between the modules. For example, if an event such as thermal runaway occurs within a single battery module, this runaway can propagate to other battery modules. If the propagation of thermal runaway between battery modules is not properly suppressed, an event originating in a specific module can trigger a chain reaction across multiple modules, potentially causing serious problems such as explosions or fires. Therefore, there is a need to develop a structure capable of suppressing and delaying thermal propagation so that even if a thermal event occurs in a battery cell within a battery module, gases or flames may transfer to other cells within the battery module or to adjacent battery modules, thereby preventing thermal runaway. The following drawings attached to this specification illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention and serve to further enhance understanding of the technical concept of the present invention together with the detailed description of the invention provided below; therefore, the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited only to the matters described in such drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a battery module according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a battery module with a heat shrink member separated according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a battery module according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 is a diagram showing the change in a thermal shrinkage member when thermal runaway occurs in any one of a plurality of adjacent battery modules. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a heat shrink member according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a heat shrink member according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a cross-section of a heat-shrinkable member according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a battery pack including a battery module according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle including a battery pack according to one embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Prior to this, terms and words used in this specification and claims should not be interpreted as being limited to their ordinary or dictionary meanings, but should be interpreted in a meaning and concept consistent with the technical spirit of the present invention, based on the principle that the inventor can appropriately define the concept of the terms to best describe his invention. Therefore, the embodiments described in this specification and the configurations illustrated in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and do not represent all of the technical ideas