US-20260128406-A1 - BATTERY

US20260128406A1US 20260128406 A1US20260128406 A1US 20260128406A1US-20260128406-A1

Abstract

A battery includes a battery accommodation portion accommodating an electrode stack including an electrode and a separator, and a cooling portion including recessed grooves formed in a plate surface of the cooling portion, the cooling portion being disposed to be tightly attached to an external surface of the battery accommodation portion and defining flow paths in a space between the recessed grooves and the external surface of the battery accommodation portion so that a refrigerant flows along the flow paths so that performance in dissipating heat from a battery cell may be improved, shortening a fast-charging time, ensuring a high output of the battery cell, and reducing costs and weight.

Inventors

Gun Goo LEE
Jeong Won Cho

Assignees

HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY
KIA CORPORATION

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20250527
Priority Date: 20241105

Claims (15)

1 . A battery comprising: a battery accommodation portion accommodating an electrode stack including an electrode and a separator; and a cooling portion including recessed grooves formed in a plate surface of the cooling portion, the cooling portion attached to an external surface of the battery accommodation portion and defining flow paths in a space between the recessed grooves and the external surface of the battery accommodation portion so that a refrigerant flows along the flow paths.
2 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein regions of the flow paths, which are disposed at end portions of the plate surface of the cooling portion, are repeatedly bent so that the flow paths are continuously formed in a direction of the plate surface of the cooling portion, and first and second opposite end portions of the flow paths fluidically communicate with each other to define a closed loop.
3 . The battery of claim 2 , wherein the cooling portion includes: a vaporization portion attached to at least one side surface of the battery accommodation portion so that the refrigerant vaporizes in the flow paths; and a condensation portion attached to a lower surface of the battery accommodation portion to condense the refrigerant in the condensation portion.
4 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein a coolant flows passes on the condensation portion so that the refrigerant condenses in the flow paths.
5 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the cooling portion is configured by a single cooling plate including a plate shape, and the cooling plate is bent so that a first portion of the cooling plate defines the vaporization portion attached to one side surface of the battery accommodation portion, and a second portion of the cooling plate defines the condensation portion attached to the lower surface of the battery accommodation portion so that a longitudinal section including a ‘L’ shape as a whole of the cooling portion is formed.
6 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the cooling portion is configured by a plurality of cooling plates each including a plate shape, and the cooling plates are joined to one another by brazing so that some of the cooling plates define the vaporization portion attached to one side surface of the battery accommodation portion, and some of the remaining cooling plates define the condensation portion so that a longitudinal section including a ‘L’ shape as a whole of the cooling portion is formed.
7 . The battery of claim 6 , wherein the cooling portion is provided as two cooling portions disposed to be symmetric with respect to the battery accommodation portion so that the vaporization portions of the two cooling portions are respectively attached to two opposite surfaces of the battery accommodation portion, and the condensation portions of the two cooling portions are attached to the lower surface of the battery accommodation portion.
8 . The battery of claim 4 , wherein the cooling portion is configured by a single cooling plate including a plate shape, and a plurality of portions of the cooling plate are bent so that some of the plurality of portions define the vaporization portions attached to two opposite surfaces of the battery accommodation portion, and some of the remaining plurality of portions define the condensation portion attached to the lower surface of the battery accommodation portion.
9 . The battery of claim 8 , wherein the vaporization portions are formed at two opposite sides based on a bent region of the cooling plate, and the condensation portion, which is in thermal contact with the coolant, is formed between the vaporization portions.
10 . The battery of claim 3 , wherein the vaporization portion is disposed on a side surface of the battery accommodation portion including a relatively larger area than an area of the condensation portion.
11 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the cooling portion is joined to the battery accommodation portion by brazing.
12 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the cooling portion is formed integrally with the battery accommodation portion.
13 . The battery of claim 11 , wherein the battery accommodation portion is configured as an angular cell.
14 . The battery of claim 1 , further including a coolant channel disclosed on the cooling portion.
15 . The battery of claim 1 , wherein the recessed grooves is formed to be debossed in the plate surface of the cooling portion so that the flow paths are formed between the external surface of the battery accommodation portion and the cooling portion.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0155658 filed on Nov. 5, 2024, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference. BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE Field of the Present Disclosure The present disclosure relates to a battery, and more particularly, to a battery, in which heat dissipation performance of a battery cell may be improved, shortening a fast-charging time, ensuring a high output of the battery cell, and reducing costs and weight. Description of Related Art With the increasing technological development and demands for mobile devices such as mobile phones, laptops, camcorders, and digital cameras, studies on technologies related to secondary batteries capable of being charged and discharged are being actively conducted. Furthermore, as an alternative energy source to fossil fuel that causes air pollutants, the secondary battery is being applied to an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (P-HEV), or the like. Therefore, the need to develop secondary batteries is increasing. As currently commercially available secondary batteries, there are a nickel cadmium battery, a nickel hydrogen battery, a nickel zinc battery, a lithium secondary battery, and the like. Among these batteries, in comparison with the nickel-based secondary battery, the lithium secondary battery has almost no memory effect and is in the spotlight for their free charging or discharging. Furthermore, the lithium secondary battery has a very low self-discharge rate and a high energy density, and thus the lithium secondary battery is in the limelight. Meanwhile, when the above secondary battery is used for a device that requires a large capacity and a high voltage, such as an electric vehicle, the secondary battery is used in a form of a battery cell assembly or a battery pack with a structure in which a plurality of battery cells are disposed. The battery cell assembly, the battery pack, or the like may be affected by various operation environments of the device, and for example, the charging amount and output of the battery pack or the like may significantly vary depending on temperature conditions. Therefore, a cooling means or a heating means is also provided together to maintain a temperature of the battery pack under a predetermined condition. Because the battery cells are densely crammed in a small space, it is very important to easily dissipate heat generated from each of the battery cells. A process of charging or discharging the battery cells is carried out by an electrochemical reaction. For the present reason, if heat, which is generated from the battery module during the charging or discharging process, is not effectively removed, the heat accumulates, and as a result, deterioration of the battery module may be accelerated and it may lead to ignition or explosion in some instances. Examples of common cooling means may include water-cooled and air-cooled cooling means. The water-cooled cooling means is provided with a flow path provided outside or inside the battery pack so that a refrigerant may flow along the flow path, and the water-cooled cooling means includes a port protruding outward to circulate the refrigerant. However, in case that the port is damaged by an external impact or the like applied thereto, there is a risk that the refrigerant may enter the inside of the battery pack, which leads a severe accident. To prevent the risk, a coolant channel is mounted on the outside of a battery system to prevent a risk of a short circuit in the battery due to a leak of a coolant. However, in the instant case, in case that single-sided cooling is applied, there is a restriction in transferring the heat, which is generated from the battery cell, to the coolant channel because of low thermal conductivity of the battery cell. In case that double-sided cooling is applied, there is a problem in that a large amount of costs are incurred because of the addition of the coolant channel, and various constraints occur because a process of avoiding a venting hole is required. The information included in this Background of the present disclosure is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the present disclosure and may not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art. BRIEF SUMMARY Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to providing a battery, in which performance in dissipating heat from a battery cell may be improved, shortening a fast-charging time, ensuring a high output of the battery cell, and reducing costs and weight. To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present disclosure provides a battery including: a battery accommodation portion accommodating an electrode stack including an electrode and a separator; and