US-12626986-B2 - Battery unit with separated heat dissipation space

US12626986B2US 12626986 B2US12626986 B2US 12626986B2US-12626986-B2

Abstract

Proposed is a battery unit in which a plurality of cylindrical battery cells, each of which has an upper surface provided with a positive electrode and a negative electrode, are mounted in rows and columns, the battery unit including a lower housing in which a plurality of support recesses which support the plurality of battery cells are formed in rows and columns and a plurality of circulation holes communicating with the outside are formed, an upper housing coupled to the lower housing and having a plurality of straight removal regions; an electrode network provided on an upper surface of the upper housing and provided as a plurality of busbars connected to the positive electrodes of the plurality of battery cells; and a partition plate inserted into a space formed between the plurality of support recesses to divide the plurality of battery cells into predetermined rows and columns.

Inventors

Choul Woo Park

Assignees

Elentec., LTD

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20221129
Priority Date: 20220620

Claims (3)

1 . A battery unit in which a plurality of cylindrical battery cells, each of which has an upper surface provided with a positive electrode and a negative electrode, are mounted in rows and columns, the battery unit comprising: a lower housing in which a plurality of support recesses, each of which supports each of the plurality of battery cells while surrounding a lower surface of the battery cell and a portion of an outer periphery of the battery cell close to the lower surface, are formed in rows and columns and are spaced apart from each other, and a plurality of circulation holes communicating with the outside are formed in a region except for a region the plurality of support recesses are formed; an upper housing coupled to top of the lower housing and having a plurality of straight removal regions in which regions corresponding to the respective upper surfaces of the plurality of battery cells supported in the lower housing are connected to each other; an electrode network provided on an upper surface of the upper housing and provided as a plurality of busbars selectively connected to the respective positive electrodes of the plurality of battery cells exposed through the removal regions; and a partition plate inserted into a space formed between the plurality of support recesses formed in the lower housing to divide the plurality of battery cells inserted into the plurality of support recesses into predetermined rows and columns, wherein a part of a lower portion of the partition plate facing the lower housing is inserted into each of the circulation holes to divide the circulation holes for each separated region of the plurality of battery cells, wherein the lower housing comprises: a tray part provided in a quadrangular tray shape having an open upper surface having an inner space in which the plurality of battery cells are arranged; and a plurality of rhombic protrusions protruding upward from a bottom surface of the inner space of the tray part, wherein the plurality of protrusions are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval to form rows and columns, and at least two or more adjacent protrusions form each of the support recesses, wherein the support recesses support a specific battery cell and another battery cell adjacent in a row or column direction to the specific battery cell in contact with the portion of the outer periphery of each of the battery cells close to the lower surface thereof in a state in which the battery cells are spaced apart from each other at a regular interval, wherein each of the circulation holes communicating with the outside is formed in a center of each of the protrusions of the lower housing, wherein the partition plate comprises: a first division part provided in a plate shape having a length corresponding to a longitudinal length of the inner space of the lower housing and having a thickness corresponding to an interval between the plurality of support recesses in the column direction, having a plurality of first insertion pins formed in a lower portion thereof and each of which is inserted into the circulation hole of each of the protrusions to divide the circulation hole into two regions, disposed in the inner space of the lower housing to be vertical with respect to the lower housing in a state in which the plurality of first insertion pins are inserted into the circulation holes of the protrusions arranged in the row direction, and dividing the plurality of battery cells supported by the lower housing into predetermined rows; and a second division part provided in a plate shape having a length corresponding to the widthwise length of the inner space of the lower housing and having a thickness corresponding to the interval between the plurality of support recesses in the column direction, having a plurality of second insertion pins formed in a lower portion thereof and each of which is inserted into the circulation hole of each of the protrusions to divide the circulation hole into two regions, disposed in the inner space of the lower housing to be vertical with respect to the lower housing and cross the first division part in a state in which the plurality of first insertion pins are inserted into the circulation holes of the protrusions arranged in the column direction, and dividing the plurality of battery cells supported by the lower housing into predetermined columns.
2 . The battery unit of claim 1 , wherein the first division part has a plurality of first slits formed in an upper portion thereof to be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval and into each of which a part of a lower portion of the second division part is inserted, and a first notch formed in a part of the lower portion thereof opposite to a protruding portion of each of the protrusions spaced apart along the row direction of the lower housing.
3 . The battery unit of claim 2 , wherein the second division part has a plurality of second slits formed in the lower portion thereof to be spaced apart from each other at positions corresponding to the first slits formed in the first division part, and a second notch formed in a part of the lower portion thereof opposite to a protruding portion of each of the protrusions spaced apart along the column direction of the lower housing.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0075055, filed Jun. 20, 2022, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present disclosure relates to a battery unit in which a heat dissipation space in a battery cell mounting region is divided. Description of the Related Art With the spread of smart devices, the use of rechargeable and reusable secondary batteries is also increasing. Recently, such secondary batteries have been increasingly applied to electric vehicles (EVs) such as electric cars and electric trains, and an energy storage system (ESS) for industrial and home use. An ESS is a system technology that increases energy efficiency through charging (storage) and discharging (use) of energy storage devices. The energy storage devices are generally composed of a battery unit in a form in which a plurality of unit lithium-ion battery cells are mounted in a housing and then electrically connected. An example of such a battery unit structure technology is disclosed in Korean Patent No. 10-1724770 (application date: Jun. 4, 2010, publication date: Apr. 3, 2017, hereinafter referred to as the “related art”). In the case of a battery unit, because a plurality of battery cells are densely packed, the battery cells are likely to explode due to an increase in internal temperature, and such explosion may propagate to adjacent battery cells. This requires precise internal temperature control. However, the related art is provided with a cooling structure for managing the internal temperature, but when any one battery cell explodes due to reduced cooling efficiency or an electrical problem with a specific battery cell, it is difficult to prevent chain explosions of adjacent battery cells and thus is difficult to prevent secondary accidents caused by chain explosions and high repair costs. Also, when a high temperature heat is generated in a specific battery cell, the heat generated may transfer to adjacent battery cells and cause them to heat up, resulting in a reduction in dissipation efficiency for the entire battery unit. The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and is not intended to mean that the present disclosure falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present disclosure has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present disclosure provides a battery unit capable of preventing, when a battery cell explodes, chain explosions of adjacent battery cells while providing a separated battery cell heat dissipation space. In order to achieve the above objective, according to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery unit in which a plurality of cylindrical battery cells, each of which has an upper surface provided with a positive electrode and a negative electrode, are mounted in rows and columns, the battery unit including: a lower housing in which a plurality of support recesses, each of which supports each of the plurality of battery cells while surrounding a lower surface of the battery cell and a portion of an outer periphery of the battery cell close to the lower surface, are formed in rows and columns and are spaced apart from each other, and a plurality of circulation holes communicating with the outside are formed in a region except for a region the plurality of support recesses are formed; an upper housing coupled to top of the lower housing and having a plurality of straight removal regions in which regions corresponding to the respective upper surfaces of the plurality of battery cells supported in the lower housing are connected to each other; an electrode network provided on an upper surface of the upper housing and provided as a plurality of busbars selectively connected to the respective positive electrodes of the plurality of battery cells exposed through the removal regions; and a partition plate inserted into a space formed between the plurality of support recesses formed in the lower housing to divide the plurality of battery cells inserted into the plurality of support recesses into predetermined rows and columns, wherein a part of a lower portion of the partition plate facing the lower housing may be inserted into each of the circulation holes to divide the circulation holes for each separated region of the plurality of battery cells. Here, the lower housing may include: a tray part provided in a quadrangular tray shape having an open upper surface having an inner space in which the plurality of battery cells are arranged; and a plurality of rhombic protrusions protruding upward from a bottom surface of the inner space of the tray part. Furthermore, the plurality of protrusions may be spaced apart