US-12626982-B2 - Battery module, battery pack including the same and manufacturing method of the same

US12626982B2US 12626982 B2US12626982 B2US 12626982B2US-12626982-B2

Abstract

A battery module according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells including electrode leads are stacked; an insulating cover that covers the front surface and rear surface of the battery cell stack in which the electrode leads protrude; and a sensing assembly located between the battery cell stack and the insulating cover. The sensing assembly is mounted on the inside surface of the insulating cover and connected to the electrode lead.

Inventors

Won Kyoung Park
JunYeob SEONG
Subin Park

Assignees

LG ENERGY SOLUTION, LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20210701
Priority Date: 20200702

Claims (13)

1 . A battery module comprising: a battery cell stack in which a plurality of battery cells including electrode leads are stacked; an insulating cover that covers a first surface and a second surface of the battery cell stack from which the electrode leads protrude; and a sensing assembly disposed between the battery cell stack and the insulating cover, the sensing assembly comprising a connector and a connection member for connecting the connector and the electrode leads, the sensing assembly further comprising a joining member disposed at a first end of the connection member and directly coupled to the electrode leads, wherein the connector is configured to transmit and receive signals to and from an external control device, wherein the connection member is a flexible printed circuit board or a flexible flat cable, spaced from the electrode leads and coupled to the electrode leads by the joining member, wherein the joining member comprises a metal material having electrical conductivity, and wherein the sensing assembly is mounted on an inside surface of the insulating cover facing the electrode leads.
2 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein: the inside surface of the insulating cover faces the electrode leads, and is formed with a mounting part that is indented so as to couple the sensing assembly thereto.
3 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein: the insulating cover comprises at least one opening part, and the opening part is formed at a position corresponding to a section where the joining member is coupled to the electrode leads.
4 . The battery module according to claim 3 , wherein: the insulating cover comprises a cover part for covering the opening part, and the cover part forms an opening/closing structure configured to transition between an open state and a closed state.
5 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein: a connector opening part for guiding an external connection of the connector is formed in the insulating cover.
6 . The battery module according to claim 1 , further comprising: a terminal busbar connected to at least one of the electrode leads, wherein a terminal busbar opening part for guiding an external connection of the terminal busbar is formed in the insulating cover.
7 . The battery module according to claim 1 , wherein: at least two of the electrode leads are bent and joined to form an electrode lead joint body, and the sensing assembly is coupled to the electrode lead joint body.
8 . A battery pack comprising: the battery module as set forth in claim 1 ; a pack frame for housing the battery module; and a thermal conductive resin layer disposed between the battery module and the pack frame.
9 . A method of manufacturing a battery module, comprising the steps of: stacking a plurality of battery cells to form a battery cell stack; joining electrode leads protruding from at least two adjacent battery cells to form an electrode lead joint body; and coupling an insulating cover on a first surface and a second surface opposing the first surface of the battery cell stack, wherein a sensing assembly is mounted on an inside surface of the insulating cover, and the sensing assembly faces the electrode lead joint body in the step of coupling the insulating cover, wherein the sensing assembly comprises a connector, a connection member for connecting the connector and the electrode leads, and a joining member located at one end of the connection member, wherein the connector is configured to transmit and receive signals to and from an external control device, wherein the connection member is a flexible printed circuit board or a flexible flat cable, spaced from the electrode leads and coupled to the electrode leads by the joining member, wherein the joining member comprises a metal material having electrical conductivity, and the method further comprises directly joining the joining member and the electrode leads.
10 . The method of manufacturing a battery module according to claim 9 , wherein: the joining member and the electrode lead are joined via an opening part formed in the insulating cover.
11 . The method of manufacturing a battery module according to claim 10 , wherein: the insulating cover comprises a cover part that forms an opening/closing structure configured to transition between an open state and a closed state.
12 . The method of manufacturing a battery module according to claim 9 , wherein: the step of forming a battery cell stack comprises, applying an adhesive between adjacent battery cells to couple the adjacent battery cells to each other; and bending the electrode leads of each of the adjacent battery cells and coupling the electrode leads to each other.
13 . The method of manufacturing a battery module according to claim 9 , wherein: before the step of coupling an insulating cover, wrapping surfaces of the battery cell stack with a holding band.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2021/008380, filed on Jul. 1, 2021, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0081308 filed on Jul. 2, 2020 with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a battery module, a battery pack including the same and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a battery module capable of simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing the weight of parts, a battery pack including the same and a method of manufacturing the same. BACKGROUND In modern society, as portable devices such as a mobile phone, a notebook computer, a camcorder and a digital camera are used daily, the development of technologies in the fields related to mobile devices as described above has increased. In addition, chargeable/dischargeable secondary batteries are used as a power source for an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (P-HEV) and the like, in an attempt to solve air pollution and the like caused by existing gasoline vehicles using fossil fuel. Therefore, there is a growing need for development of the secondary battery. Currently commercialized secondary batteries include a nickel cadmium battery, a nickel hydrogen battery, a nickel zinc battery, a lithium secondary battery, and the like. Among them, the lithium secondary battery has come into the spotlight because they have advantages, for example, hardly exhibiting memory effects compared to nickel-based secondary batteries and thus being freely charged and discharged, and having very low self-discharge rate and high energy density. Such lithium secondary battery mainly uses a lithium-based oxide and a carbonaceous material as a positive electrode active material and a negative electrode active material, respectively. The lithium secondary battery includes an electrode assembly in which a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate each coated with the positive electrode active material and the negative electrode active material are disposed with a separator being interposed between them, and a battery case that seals and houses the electrode assembly together with an electrolyte solution. Generally, the lithium secondary battery may be classified based on the shape of the exterior material into a can-type secondary battery in which the electrode assembly is mounted in a metal can, and a pouch-type secondary battery in which the electrode assembly is mounted in a pouch made of an aluminum laminate sheet. In the case of a secondary battery used for small-sized devices, two to three battery cells are disposed, but in the case of a secondary battery used for a middle or large-sized device such as an automobile, a battery module in which a large number of battery cells are electrically connected is used. In such a battery module, a large number of battery cells are connected to each other in series or in parallel to form a cell stack, thereby improving capacity and output. In addition, one or more battery modules may be mounted together with various control and protection systems such as BDU (battery disconnect unit), BMS (battery management system) and a cooling system to form a battery pack. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional battery module. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional battery module 10 is formed by housing a battery cell stack 20 in a module frame 30 and an end plate 40. The battery cell stack 20 is formed by stacking a plurality of battery cells along one direction, whereby the electrode lead 21 may protrude in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the battery cells are stacked. The module frame 30 may be made of a material having a predetermined strength in order to protect the battery cell stack 20 from external impact and the like, and may be structurally formed by coupling an upper frame 31 and a lower frame 32. The end plate 40 may be located in the protruding direction of the electrode lead 21 with respect to the battery cell stack 20, and a busbar frame 50 may be located between the battery cell stack 20 and the end plate 40. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the busbar frame 50 and the end plate 40 included in the battery module of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a partial view showing a section “A” of FIG. 2 in an enlarged manner. At this time, for convenience of explanation, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the electrode lead 21 of the battery cells is included. Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the busbar 51 may be mounted on the busbar frame 50. The busbar 51 is to electrically connect between a plurality of battery cells, and the electrode lead 21 of the battery cells is bent after passing through a slit formed in the busbar frame 50, so that it can be connected to the bu