KR-20260065427-A - INSPECTION APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BATTERY MODULE

KR20260065427AKR 20260065427 AKR20260065427 AKR 20260065427AKR-20260065427-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery module inspection device, comprising a magnetic body that applies magnetic force to a welded portion of a battery module, and a magnetic field monitoring member provided adjacent to the welded portion and displaying a magnetic field passing through the welded portion by the magnetic force applied to the welded portion as visual information. By detecting a defect in the welded portion based on the visual information displayed by the magnetic field monitoring member, the advantageous effect of simply and accurately monitoring defects in the welded portion of a battery module can be obtained.

Inventors

이보람

Assignees

주식회사 엘지에너지솔루션

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20241101

Claims (11)

A magnetic body that applies magnetic force to a welded portion of a battery module; and A magnetic field monitoring member provided adjacent to the welded area and displaying a magnetic field passing through the welded area as visual information by the magnetic force applied to the welded area; A battery module inspection device that detects defects in the welded area based on the visual information displayed in the magnetic field monitoring member.
In paragraph 1, The above magnetic field monitoring member is, First transparent sheet; A second transparent sheet laminated to the first transparent sheet; and A magnetic field display layer provided between the first transparent sheet and the second transparent sheet, which displays the magnetic field passing through the welded area as visual information; A battery module inspection device including
In paragraph 2, The magnetic field indicator layer above is, oil layer; and Metal particles mixed into the oil layer and provided to be movable on the oil layer based on changes in the magnetic field; A battery module inspection device including
In paragraph 3, The above metal particles are a battery module inspection device containing iron powder.
In paragraph 2, A battery module inspection device in which the first light-transmitting sheet and the second light-transmitting sheet are formed of a flexible material.
In paragraph 1, The above battery module is, Multiple battery cells; and A module case provided to surround the perimeter of the battery cell; comprising The above-mentioned weldable part is a battery module inspection device defined in at least one of the battery cell and the module case.
In paragraph 1, The above magnetic body is a battery module inspection device comprising at least one of a permanent magnet and an electromagnet.
A step of applying magnetic force to the welded portion of the battery module; and A step of displaying visual information about a magnetic field passing through a welded part by means of the magnetic force applied to the welded part; A step of detecting defects in the welded area based on the above visual information; A battery module inspection method including
In paragraph 8, In the step of applying magnetic force to the welded portion of the battery module, A battery module inspection method in which the magnetic force is applied to the welded portion of the battery module through a permanent magnet or an electromagnet.
In paragraph 8, The step of displaying the above visual information is performed via a magnetic field monitoring member, but, The above magnetic field monitoring member is, First transparent sheet; A second transparent sheet laminated to the first transparent sheet; and A magnetic field display layer provided between the first transparent sheet and the second transparent sheet, which displays the magnetic field passing through the welded area as visual information; A battery module inspection method provided, including
In paragraph 8, The above battery module is, Multiple battery cells; and A module case provided to surround the perimeter of the battery cell; comprising A battery module inspection method in which the above-mentioned welded portion is defined in at least one of the battery cell and the module case.

Description

Battery Module Inspection Apparatus and Inspection Method The present invention relates to a battery module inspection device and inspection method, and more specifically, to a battery module inspection device and inspection method capable of simply and accurately monitoring the presence of defects in the welded parts of a battery module. Recently, active research and development on secondary batteries has been underway. Here, the term "secondary battery" refers to a rechargeable battery, encompassing conventional Ni/Cd batteries, Ni/MH batteries, and the recent lithium-ion batteries. Among rechargeable batteries, lithium-ion batteries have the advantage of a much higher energy density compared to conventional Ni/Cd and Ni/MH batteries. In addition, lithium-ion batteries can be manufactured in a compact and lightweight manner, making them suitable for use as power sources for mobile devices. Recently, their scope of application has expanded to include electric vehicles, drawing attention as a next-generation energy storage medium. Meanwhile, recently, with the increasing need for large-capacity structures and their utilization as energy storage sources, the demand for battery packs that combine multiple secondary batteries or battery modules is growing. A battery module may include a plurality of electrically connected battery cells and a module case provided to surround the battery cells, and the battery cells and the module case may be modularized through a welding process. Meanwhile, if welding defects occur at the welded areas of the battery cells and module case constituting the battery module, the performance and structural health of the battery module may deteriorate; therefore, it must be possible to monitor the welding quality and defects of the welded areas of the battery module. Accordingly, methods for monitoring the welding quality of battery modules using cameras, ultrasound, X-rays, etc., have been proposed in the past. However, existing monitoring devices using cameras can only detect external (surface) defects of battery modules, and there is a problem in that it is difficult to accurately detect defects due to noise caused by lighting, etc. In addition, monitoring devices using ultrasound or X-rays require the use of expensive measuring equipment that demands a high level of skill from the operator, which results in a significant amount of time and cost being spent on the process of monitoring welding defects in battery modules, and there is a problem in that it is difficult to quickly inspect welding defects in battery modules on-site. Accordingly, various studies have recently been conducted to simply and accurately monitor for defects in the welded areas of battery modules, but these efforts are still insufficient, and further development is required. FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining a battery module inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a drawing for explaining a magnetic field monitoring member as a battery module inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a magnetic field passing through a welded part, in a battery module inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating a process for inspecting defects in a welded part of a case, according to an embodiment of the present invention, as a battery module inspection device. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a process for inspecting defects in a welded portion of a battery cell, according to an embodiment of the present invention, as a battery module inspection device. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a battery module inspection method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. However, the technical concept of the present invention is not limited to some of the described embodiments but can be implemented in various different forms, and within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention, one or more of the components among the embodiments may be selectively combined or substituted. In addition, terms used in the embodiments of the present invention (including technical and scientific terms) may be interpreted in a sense that is generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs, unless explicitly and specifically defined otherwise. Terms that are commonly used, such as terms defined in advance, may be interpreted in consideration of their meaning in the context of the relevant technology. Furthermore, the terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are for the purpose of describing the embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. In this specification, the singular form may include the plural form unless specifically stated otherwise in the text, and when