US-20260128488-A1 - Battery Pack and Device Including the Same

Abstract

A battery pack includes a first pack case, a second pack case, and an inflow port. The first pack case is for mounting a plurality of battery modules that house a battery cell stack. The second pack case is disposed while covering the battery module. The inflow port is provided at an upper end of the second pack case and is connected to a flow path that transmits a fire extinguishing liquid injected from the outside. A device including the same is also provided.

Inventors

• Sung Won Seo
• Jeong Oh Moon
• Hyeonki Yun

Assignees

• LG ENERGY SOLUTION, LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20231101

Priority Date

20221101

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A battery pack comprising: a first pack case accommodating a plurality of battery modules housing a battery cell stack; a second pack case disposed on the first pack case, so as to cover the plurality of battery modules; and an inflow port provided at an upper end of the second pack case, wherein the inflow port is coupled to a flow path configured to transmit a fire extinguishing liquid injected from an exterior of the battery pack.
2. 2 . The battery pack of claim 1 : further comprising a first area and a second area where the plurality of battery modules are in a state of being high voltage (HV)-connected, wherein the inflow port is provided adjacent to the first and second areas.
3. 3 . The battery pack of claim 2 , wherein: the inflow port is provided above the first and second areas.
4. 4 . The battery pack of claim 2 , wherein: the first area is an area where the plurality of battery modules are in a state of being electrically HV-connected to an external electrical equipment, and the second area is an area where the plurality of battery modules are in a state of being electrically HV-connected to adjacent ones of the plurality of battery modules.
5. 5 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein: the inflow port includes a rupture disk or a valve that is configured to be opened by an external pressure or an internal pressure of the battery pack.
6. 6 . The battery pack of claim 1 , wherein: the inflow port includes a hole and a cover part, wherein the hole is defined in the second pack case, and wherein the cover part is configured to cover the hole.
7. 7 . The battery pack of claim 6 , wherein: the cover part includes a material configured to melt at a predetermined temperature.
8. 8 . The battery pack of claim 7 , wherein: the cover part includes PP (Polypropylene), PC (Polycarbonate), or PET (Polyethylene terephthalate).
9. 9 . The battery pack of claim 2 , further comprising a heat insulating member provided inside the first and second pack cases.
10. 10 . The battery pack of claim 9 , wherein: the heat insulating member includes a first heat insulating member and a second heat insulating member, and the first heat insulating member and the second heat insulating member are disposed between the plurality of battery modules and the second pack case, and extend parallel to the second pack case.
11. 11 . The battery pack of claim 10 , wherein: the first heat insulating member is disposed in an area excluding the first area and the second area, and the second heat insulating member is disposed in an area where ones of the plurality of battery modules and adjacent ones of the plurality of battery module are electrically connected.
12. 12 . The battery pack of claim 9 , wherein: the heat insulating member includes a third heat insulating member disposed perpendicularly to the first pack case.
13. 13 . The battery pack of claim 12 , wherein: the third heat insulating member is disposed in an area where ones of the plurality of battery modules and an adjacent one of the plurality of battery modules are electrically connected.
14. 14 . The battery pack of claim 9 , wherein: the heat insulating member includes a fourth heat insulating member, and the fourth heat insulating member is disposed between a plurality of battery cells of the battery cell stack.
15. 15 . The battery pack of claim 9 , wherein: the heat insulating member includes at least one of a silicon, a MICA (mica), or an Aerogel.
16. 16 . A device comprising: the battery pack of claim 1 , and an inlet port connected to the flow path, so as to facilitate injection of the fire extinguishing liquid.
17. 17 . The device of claim 16 , wherein: an area of the inlet port increases as it extends along the flow path toward an outer surface of the device.
18. 18 . The device of claim 16 , wherein: the flow path is coupled to the inflow port.
19. 19 . The device of claim 16 , wherein: the flow path further comprises a heat resistant member surrounding an outer surface of the flow path.
20. 20 . The device of claim 19 , wherein: the heat resistant member includes one of a silicon, a MICA (mica), or an Aerogel.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) The present application is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2023/017295, filed on Nov. 1, 2023, which claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0143916, filed on Nov. 1, 2022, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a battery pack and a device including the same, and more particularly, to a battery pack that facilitates fire suppression and ensures safety in the event of a fire, and a device including the same. BACKGROUND As the technology development of and the demand for mobile devices have increased, the demand for secondary batteries as energy sources has rapidly increased. A variety of researches on batteries capable of meeting various needs have been carried out accordingly. A secondary battery has attracted considerable attention as an energy source for power-driven devices, such as an electric bicycle, an electric vehicle, and a hybrid electric vehicle, as well as an energy source for mobile devices, such as a mobile phone, a digital camera, and a laptop computer. In recent years, along with a continuous rise of the necessity for a large-capacity secondary battery structure, including the utilization of the secondary battery as an energy storage source, there is a growing demand for a battery pack of a multi-module structure which is an assembly of battery modules in which a plurality of secondary batteries are connected in series and/or in parallel. Meanwhile, when a plurality of battery cells are connected in series or in parallel to configure a battery pack, it is common to configure a battery module composed of at least one battery cell first and then configure a battery pack by using at least one battery module and adding other components. Since battery cells constituting such a medium-or large-sized battery module are composed of secondary batteries which can be charged and discharged, such a high-output large-capacity secondary battery generates a large amount of heat during a charging and discharging process. Consequently, the electrolyte is vaporized and the internal pressure is increased, thus enabling the battery cell pouch to break. In this case, flames may occur in the battery module and battery pack, and when a battery pack is mounted on a device such as an automobile, not only material damage but also human damage may occur. Therefore, a method of including additional parts for ensuring safety inside the battery pack has been proposed to prevent further heat diffusion in the event of a flame, but this has the problem of reducing the energy density of the battery and increasing the price due to the additional parts. Therefore, it is necessary to design other types of battery packs. FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which a conventional battery pack is mounted on a device. FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams showing a conventional battery pack mounted on the device of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1, when a conventional battery pack 1 is mounted on a device 5 such as an automobile, the battery pack 1 is located inside the front surface part of the automobile and inside the rear surface part of the automobile. Herein, the front surface part of the automobile refers to the general traveling direction of an automobile, which is the x-axis direction, and the rear surface part of the automobile is in the opposite direction to the general traveling direction of an automobile, which is the-x-axis direction. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the battery pack 1 includes an upper pack case 11 and a lower pack case 12. The upper pack case 11 is a case that covers a battery module mounted inside the battery pack, and can have a constant volume in the height direction (z-axis direction). The lower pack case 12 may be a flat plate to which a battery module is mounted. Since the conventional battery pack 1 has a constant volume in the height direction (z-axis direction) in this way, there is a problem that the battery pack 1 is heavy. In addition, when the battery pack 1 is mounted on an automobile, it has a structural feature that make it inevitably located at a front surface part and a rear surface part of the automobile. Therefore, in the event of a fire, there is a problem that it is difficult to directly inject water into the battery pack 1 from the outside and suppress the flame. SUMMARY Technical Problem It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a battery pack that facilitates fire suppression and ensures safety in the event of a fire and ensures safety, and a device including the same. However, the technical problems to be solved by aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to the above-described problems, and can be variously expanded within the scope of the technical idea included in the present disclosure. Technical Solution According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a battery p