US-20260128447-A1 - BATTERY MODULE

US20260128447A1US 20260128447 A1US20260128447 A1US 20260128447A1US-20260128447-A1

Abstract

A battery module includes battery cells, a housing in which the battery cells are accommodated in a row, a connector electrically connected to the battery cells, and a fracture prevention part on the battery cell and protruding from the battery cell to prevent fatigue failure due to a swelling phenomenon.

Inventors

Hyo Geun GIL

Assignees

SAMSUNG SDI CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20251104
Priority Date: 20241107

Claims (20)

1 . A battery module comprising: battery cells; a housing in which the battery cells are accommodated in a row; a connector electrically connected to the battery cells; and a fracture prevention part on the battery cell and protruding from the battery cell to prevent fatigue failure due to a swelling phenomenon.
2 . The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the battery cell comprises: a case having an open upper side and in which one or more electrode assemblies including a positive electrode and a negative electrode are accommodated; a cap cover covering an open area of the case; and a terminal assembled to the cap cover, connected to the electrode assembly, and connected to the connector.
3 . The battery module as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the case comprises: a rectangular lower surface; a pair of long side surfaces extending upward from long sides of the lower surface to face each other; and a pair of short side surfaces extending upward from short sides of the lower surface to face each other and connected to the pair of long side surfaces.
4 . The battery module as claimed in claim 2 , wherein the fracture prevention part is at an upper portion of the case.
5 . The battery module as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the fracture prevention part protrudes toward the housing.
6 . The battery module as claimed in claim 5 , wherein a protruding length of the fracture prevention part increases from a central portion of the housing to an edge of the housing.
7 . The battery module as claimed in claim 5 , wherein a protruding length of the fracture prevention part is smaller than a length by which the case is deformable due to a swelling phenomenon.
8 . The battery module as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a spacer between the battery cells to maintain a gap between the battery cells.
9 . The battery module as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the spacer is between a pair of neighboring battery cells among the battery cells accommodated in a row.
10 . The battery module as claimed in claim 9 , wherein the spacer comprises: a cap seating portion seated on an upper side of the battery cell; and a cap insertion portion extending from the cap seating portion and inserted between the neighboring battery cells.
11 . The battery module as claimed in claim 10 , wherein a width of the cap insertion portion is proportional to a deformable length of the battery cell.
12 . The battery module as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the spacer is integrally formed and arranged between the neighboring battery cells.
13 . The battery module as claimed in claim 12 , wherein the spacer comprises: cap seating portions seated on upper sides of the battery cells; a cap insertion portion extending from the cap seating portion and inserted between the neighboring battery cells; and a cap connection portion connecting the cap seating portions.
14 . The battery module as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the spacer is connected to the connector.
15 . The battery module as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the spacer comprises: a cap seating portion seated on an upper side of the battery cell; a cap insertion portion extending from the cap seating portion and inserted between the neighboring battery cells; and a cap extension portion extending from the cap seating portion and connected to the connector.
16 . The battery module as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the cap extension portion is movable along a guide hole of the connector.
17 . The battery module as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the spacer is integrally connected to the connector.
18 . The battery module as claimed in claim 17 , wherein the spacer comprises: cap seating portions seated on upper sides of the battery cells; a cap insertion portion extending from the cap seating portion and inserted between the neighboring battery cells; a cap connection portion connecting the cap seating portions; and a cap extension portion extending from the cap seating portion and connected to the connector.
19 . The battery module as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the spacer comprises a resin material.
20 . The battery module as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the spacer comprises an elastic material.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0156912, filed on Nov. 7, 2024 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Field Aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a battery module. 2. Description of the Related Art In general, as demand for portable electronic products, such as laptops, video cameras, and portable phones, increases rapidly and commercialization of robots, electric vehicles, and the like begins in earnest, research on high-performance secondary batteries capable of repeated charging and discharging is being actively conducted. Secondary batteries are widely used for powering or storing energy in not only small devices, such as portable electronic devices, but also medium-to-large devices, such as electric vehicles and energy storage systems (ESSs). In particular, in the case of the medium-to-large devices, one battery module may be configured in a form in which multiple battery cells are electrically connected to each other to improve the output and capacity of the battery. A conventional battery module maintains durability by applying a certain level of surface pressure to the battery cell through a housing structure installed to surround the battery cell. However, in such a structure, when a swelling phenomenon in which a battery cell expands due to fast charging, overcharging, overdischarging, short-circuiting, or high temperature storage occurs, the pressure acting between the battery cell and the housing may be continuously increased to accelerate degradation of the battery cell. The above-described information disclosed in the background technology of the present disclosure is provided for improving understanding of the background of the present disclosure, and may include information that does not constitute the related art. SUMMARY According to an aspect of embodiments of the present invention, a battery module for extending the life of a product and preventing (preventing or substantially preventing) safety accidents by preventing (preventing or substantially preventing) damage to battery cells caused by deformation due to a swelling phenomenon is provided. However, aspects and technical problems to be solved by the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described aspects and problems to be solved, and other aspects and problems to be solved which are not mentioned, will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the invention disclosed below. According to one or more embodiments of the present invention, a battery module includes: battery cells; a housing in which the battery cells are accommodated in a row; a connector electrically connected to the battery cells; and a fracture prevention part on the battery cell and protruding from the battery cell to prevent fatigue failure due to a swelling phenomenon. The battery cell may include: a case having an open upper side and in which one or more electrode assemblies including a positive electrode and a negative electrode are accommodated; a cap cover covering an open area of the case; and a terminal assembled to the cap cover, connected to the electrode assembly, and connected to the connector. The case may include: a rectangular lower surface; a pair of long side surfaces extending upward from long sides of the lower surface to face each other; and a pair of short side surfaces extending upward from short sides of the lower surface to face each other and connected to the pair of long side surfaces. The fracture prevention part may be at an upper portion of the case. The fracture prevention part may protrude toward the housing. A protruding length of the fracture prevention part may increase from a central portion of the housing to an edge of the housing. The protruding length of the fracture prevention part may be smaller than a length by which the case is deformable due to a swelling phenomenon. The battery module may further include a spacer between the battery cells and maintaining a gap between the battery cells. The spacer may be between a pair of neighboring battery cells among the battery cells accommodated in a row. The spacer may include a cap seating portion seated on an upper side of the battery cell and a cap insertion portion extending from the cap seating portion and inserted between the neighboring battery cells. A width of the cap insertion portion may be proportional to a deformable length of the battery cell. The spacer may be integrally formed and arranged between the neighboring battery cells. The spacer may include: cap seating portions seated on upper sides of the battery cells; a cap insertion portion extending from the cap seating portion and inserted between the neighboring battery cells; and a cap connection portion connecting the cap seating portions. The spacer may be conn