KR101793730B1 - Frame For Cell, And Cell Module And Cell Module Assembly Comprising The Same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a battery frame. A battery frame according to the present invention includes: a housing which covers an edge of a battery and has a fastening groove on one side so as to accommodate the battery; And a fastening protrusion inserted into the housing through the one end and fixed to the housing and protruding from the housing through the other end, wherein the fastening protrusion is made of a material having a greater hardness than the housing. A battery module and a battery module assembly including the battery frame are also disclosed.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a frame for a battery, a battery module including the battery frame,

The present invention relates to a battery frame having improved durability of a fastening member, a battery module including the frame, and a battery module assembly.

Recently, in order to reduce the air pollution caused by the exhaust gas of a vehicle, the vehicle is being manufactured based on a study for securing a driving force by using an internal combustion engine and / or an electric motor. Accordingly, the vehicle evolved in the order of a hybrid car, a plug-in hybrid car, and an electric car. In this case, the hybrid vehicle and the plug-in hybrid vehicle have an internal combustion engine, an electric motor and a battery pack, and the electric vehicle has an electric motor and a battery without an internal combustion engine.

In addition, the battery pack has evolved with hybrid cars, plug-in hybrid cars and electric vehicles. The battery pack is configured to be chargeable outside the electric vehicle. The battery pack has a plurality of battery modules in the battery module assembly. The battery modules have frames that respectively accommodate the secondary batteries and the secondary batteries. Each of the frames has fastening protrusions integrally formed with the housing and the housing. The fastening protrusions are formed of the same material as the housing, for example, plastic, and protrude from the housing.

Here, the battery modules are coupled by inserting the fastening protrusions of the other housing into the fastening recesses of one housing in two adjacent frames. Therefore, much research has been conducted on the fastening structure because the fastening structure of the fastening recesses and fastening protrusions facilitates coupling of the battery modules inside the battery. As an example, a change in the fastening structure of the fastening recesses and fastening protrusions is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0024502 (published on March 03, 2014) in a 'battery module having an assembly fastening structure' .

The battery module has pouch type battery cells and fixing members for accommodating the battery cells. Each of the fixing members has prefabricated fastening structures. The prefabricated fastening structures are integrally formed on one fixing member. The prefabricated fastening structures have fasteners and fastening grooves. The fasteners and the fastening grooves are formed of the same material as the fastening member, for example, plastic. The fasteners and the fastening grooves are opposed to each other and join with each other in two adjoining fastening members. However, referring to the above-mentioned prior art, the fastening protrusions or fasteners are integrally formed with the housing or the fixing member.

Therefore, when the housing or the fixing member is repeatedly applied with a sudden change in the physical force and / or the ambient temperature, the housing or the fixing member is positioned on the opposite side of the free ends of the fastening protrusions or fasteners during use Concentrate stress on the fixed ends. The fixed ends refer to the housing and fastening protrusions, or contact portions of fastening members and fasteners. The stress causes a physical deformation, for example a crack, in the fixed ends, causing severe damage to the housing or fixing member.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above background of the related art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a battery pack having a housing accommodating a secondary battery (hereinafter referred to as a "battery") and fastening protrusions projecting from the housing, A battery module including the frame, and a battery module assembly, which are suitable for continuously retaining the binding state of the housing and the fastening protrusions even when they are influenced by the influence of the housing.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery frame comprising: a housing which covers an edge of a battery and has a fastening groove on one side thereof to accommodate the battery; And a fastening protrusion inserted into the housing through the one end thereof and fixed to the housing and protruding from the housing through the other end of the fastening protrusion, wherein the fastening protrusion is made of a material having a greater hardness than the housing.

Preferably, the housing is made of plastic, and the fastening protrusion may be made of metal.

In one aspect, the housing may have a rectangular annular shape.

According to the present invention, the coupling groove has a first groove and a second groove successively along an extending direction from the one surface of the housing to the inside, and has a locking protrusion between the first groove and the second groove have.

Preferably, the fastening groove may be located around the edges of the housing.

In one aspect, the first groove may have a smaller width than the second groove in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction.

In another aspect, the first groove may have a side wall perpendicular to the one surface in the vicinity of the one surface.

In another aspect, the first groove may have an inclined surface inclined obliquely with respect to the one surface in the vicinity of the one surface.

According to the present invention, the fastening protrusion can be positioned beneath the fastening groove.

Preferably, the fastening protrusion includes: a plate-shaped member projecting from the other surface via the other surface opposite to the one surface from the inside of the housing; and a plurality of projections projecting from the plate- And an engagement member of a hook structure that forms a step with the member.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery module including: a battery; And a battery frame for housing the battery, wherein the battery frame includes a housing having a fastening groove on one side and covering the edge of the battery, And a fastening protrusion protruding from the housing through the end portion, wherein the fastening protrusion is made of a material having a greater hardness than the housing.

Preferably, the housing may expose a central region of the cell and cover an edge region of the cell.

In one aspect, the housing is made of plastic, and the fastening protrusion may be made of metal.

According to the present invention, the fastening groove may be vertically recessed from the one side of the housing inwardly and extend more horizontally toward the battery from the inside than from near the one side.

In one aspect, the fastening groove may have an inclined surface that is inclined relative to the one surface in the vicinity of the one surface of the housing and facing the battery.

According to the present invention, the fastening protrusions are each located below the fastening groove, and extend from the housing toward the opposite side of the housing, and can be stepped toward the battery at the end.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a battery module assembly including battery modules coupled to each other, each of the battery modules including a battery and a battery frame for receiving the battery, And a fastening protrusion which is inserted into the housing and is fixed to the housing and protrudes from the inside of the housing toward the outside of the housing, And the fastening protrusions are made of a material having a greater hardness than the housing.

Preferably, each of the engagement grooves may have a shape of 'C' extending vertically from the one surface of the housing to a predetermined level inwardly and extending from the predetermined level toward the battery.

In one aspect, each of the locking grooves may have a side wall perpendicular to the one side of the housing.

In another aspect, each of the locking grooves may have an inclined surface that is angled with respect to the one side of the housing at an acute angle and tilted toward the batteries.

In another aspect, a portion of the locking grooves has side walls perpendicular to the one side of the housing, the remainder of the locking grooves having an acute angle with the one side near the one side of the housing And may have an inclined surface inclined toward the cells.

According to the present invention, the battery modules may have fastening recesses in fastening housings and fastening protrusions inserted in the fastening recesses, respectively, in opposing housings in two adjacent frames.

Preferably, the fastening protrusions may have seating surfaces that respectively contact the engagement jaws of the fastening grooves at a lower portion of the fastening grooves.

According to the present invention, the housing is plastic and the fastening protrusions may be metal.

The battery frame according to the present invention is injection-molded with a housing made of plastic and fastening protrusions made of metal so that the fastening protrusions can be extended to the inside and the outside of the housing to disperse the influence of the external environment on the fastening protrusions through the housing .

The battery module according to the present invention includes a housing for accommodating a secondary battery and fastening protrusions protruding from the inside of the housing toward the outside. The housing and fastening protrusions are formed of different materials and are fastened together with fastening protrusions and a housing. It is possible to prevent the detachment of the fastening protrusions from the housing by dispersing the influence.

The battery module laminate according to the present invention includes battery modules that are coupled to each other through frames. In the adjacent frames, the fastening protrusions, which are materials different from the housings, are inserted into the fastening recesses of the housings, The fastening state of the housings and the fastening protrusions can be continuously maintained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate an embodiment of the invention and, together with the description given below, serve to further augment the technical spirit of the invention, And shall not be interpreted.
1 is a perspective view illustrating a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing the battery module taken along the line A-A 'in FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the battery module of Fig.
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another modification of the battery module of Fig. 2;
5 to 7 are schematic views for explaining a method for manufacturing a battery module laminate according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Prior to this, terms and words used in the present specification and claims should not be construed as limited to ordinary or dictionary meanings, and the inventor should appropriately interpret the concept of a term appropriately in order to describe its own application in the best way possible. It should be interpreted in accordance with the meaning and concept consistent with the technical idea of the present invention based on the principle that it can be defined. Therefore, the embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are only examples of the present invention, and are not intended to represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, various equivalents And variations are possible.

In the embodiment described below, the battery refers to a lithium secondary battery. Here, the lithium secondary battery is generally referred to as a secondary battery in which lithium ions act as working ions during charging and discharging to cause an electrochemical reaction between the positive electrode and the negative electrode. However, the present invention is not limited by the specific kind of the battery.

1 is a perspective view illustrating a battery module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a battery module 60 according to the present invention includes a battery 10 and a frame 50 that receives the battery 10. The battery (10) is surrounded by a frame (50) at its edge. The frame (50) includes a housing (40). Preferably, the housing 50 exposes the central region of the battery 10 and covers the edge region of the battery 10. Here, the housing 40 has a quadrangular annular shape.

The housing 40 is made of an insulating material including plastic. The housing 40 has a plurality of engagement grooves 39 on one surface S1. More specifically, the engagement grooves 39 are located around the corners (or corners) of the housing 40. On the other hand, the frame 50 further includes a plurality of engaging projections 29. The fastening protrusions 29 are located under the fastening grooves 39 respectively. According to one aspect, the fastening protrusions 29 project from the housing 40.

Specifically, each of the fastening protrusions 29 has a plate-like member 22 inserted into the housing 40 through one end thereof, and a hook-shaped member 22 formed integrally with the plate- Member (24). The plate-like member 22 protrudes from the inside of the housing 40 toward the outside from the other surface S2 via the other surface S2 facing the one surface S1. The engaging member 24 has a triangular prism shape directly below the plate-shaped member 22. [

The engaging member 24 is inclined with respect to the plate-like member 22 toward the edge of the housing 40 and protrudes from the plate-like member 22 toward the central region of the housing 40, And a step is formed. The fastening protrusions 29 are made of a metal material having a hardness larger than that of the housing 40, for example, the housing 40.

2 is a sectional view showing the battery module taken along the line A-A 'in Fig.

Referring to FIG. 2, the battery module 60 has fastening protrusions 29 and a housing 40 on a frame 50. The fastening protrusions 29 are located on the lower side of the housing 40. The fastening protrusions 29 are positioned directly below the fastening grooves 39 of the housing 40 and extend through the inside of the housing 40 to the plate member 22 projecting from the other surface S2 of the housing 40 And a locking member 24 extending from the opposite side of the housing 40 toward the battery 10. [

The engaging member 24 preferably has a seating surface 26 extending from the plate-shaped member 22 toward the battery 10 and facing the other surface S2 of the housing. The latching member 24 also has an inclined surface 28 which faces the opposite side of the battery 10 below the seating surface 26. Preferably, the slope 28 is acute with the seating surface 26. The retaining member 24 has a first width W1 in a direction parallel to the seating surface 26. On the other hand, the engagement grooves 39 are located on the upper side of the housing 40.

Each of the engagement grooves 39 is vertically recessed from the one surface S1 of the housing 40 to a predetermined depth inwardly and horizontally toward the battery 10 from the inside toward the one side S1 It extends closer. More specifically, each of the engaging grooves 39 has a first groove 33 and a second groove 36 sequentially in the extending direction from the one surface S1 of the housing 40 toward the inside thereof , And a locking protrusion (34) between the first groove (33) and the second groove (36).

The second width W2 of the first groove 33 is smaller than the third width W3 of the second groove 36 in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction of the engaging groove 39. [ According to an aspect, the second width W2 has a size larger than the first width W1. The first groove 33 has a side wall perpendicular to the one surface S1 near the one surface S1 of the housing 40. [

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the battery module of Fig.

Referring to FIG. 3, a battery module 60A according to a modification of the present invention has a structure similar to that of the battery module 60 of FIG. That is, the battery module 60A has fastening protrusions 29 and a housing 40A on the frame 50A. The fastening protrusions 29 have been described in detail in Figs. The housing 40A has a quadrangular ring shape and has fastening grooves 39A on one surface S1.

According to one aspect, each of the engaging grooves 39A is formed by a plurality of engaging recesses 39A, which are vertically recessed from the one surface S1 of the housing 50A to a predetermined level inwardly and which extend from the predetermined level toward the battery 10, It is made in the form of a 'character. Therefore, each of the engaging grooves 39A is divided into a first groove 33A and a second groove 36A having a different width from the first groove 33A. The first groove 33A has an inclined surface 38 that slopes obliquely with respect to the one surface S1 near the one surface S1.

Preferably, the first groove 33A has an inclined surface 38 which is acute angle to the one surface S1 and slopes toward the battery 10 near the one surface S1. In other words, the first groove 33A may have an inclined surface 38 that is inclined with respect to the one surface S1 and faces toward the battery 10 in the vicinity of the one surface S1. The second groove 36A is located immediately below the first groove 33A and communicates with the first groove 33A. Here, each of the engagement grooves 39A has a locking protrusion 34 between the first groove 33A and the second groove 36A, similar to the above-described embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another modification of the battery module of Fig. 2;

Referring to FIG. 4, a battery module 60A according to another modification of the present invention employs only some of the structural features of the battery module 60 of FIG. 2 and the battery module 60A of FIG. Specifically, the battery module 60B has fastening protrusions 29 and a housing 40B in a frame 50B. The fastening protrusions 29 are described in detail in Fig. 1 and Fig. The housing 40B has a quadrangular annular shape and has fastening grooves 39 and 39A on one surface S1. The fastening grooves 39 and 39A have been described in detail in FIGS. The engaging grooves 39 are located facing the engaging grooves 39A in the housing 40B.

5 to 7 are schematic views for explaining a method for manufacturing a battery laminate according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, two battery modules 60 may be prepared. Each of the battery modules 60 has been fully described in Figures 1 and 2. In order to facilitate the understanding of the present invention, the battery modules 60 are provided with fastening grooves 39 and fastening grooves 39 in the housings 40 facing each other in the adjacent two frames 50, And fastening protrusions 29, respectively, In each of the battery modules 60, the engagement of the fastening protrusions 29 with the housing 40 can be realized using an insert injection method.

6, in the frames 50 of the battery modules 60, the fastening protrusions 29 of the upper housing 40 are inserted into the fastening grooves 39 of the lower housing 40, (40). Specifically, when an external force is applied to the battery modules 60, the engaging member 24 of the fastening protrusion 29 is inserted into the first groove (not shown) of the fastening groove 39 through the plate- 33 and guided to the second groove 36 along the side wall of the first groove 33 and can be moved.

Here, the plate-like member 22 may be elastically deformed and bent against the side wall of the first groove 33. The plate-like member 22 can be dispersed through the housing 40 without accumulating external force between the fastening protrusions 29 and the housing 40 during the elastic deformation. This is because the end of the fastening protrusion 29 is extended and fixed to the inside of the housing 40.

Subsequently, when the latching member 24 reaches the second groove 36, the plate-like member 22 is restored from the resiliently deformed state to the initial shape, and the latching member 24 is returned to the second groove 36 36 to the battery 10. The fastening protrusion 29 contacts the fastening protrusion 34 between the first groove 33 and the second groove 36 in the second groove 39 through the seating surface 28.

Referring to FIG. 7, a plurality of different battery modules 60 may be sequentially coupled to the two battery modules 60. The combination of the plurality of different battery modules 60 in the two battery modules 60 and the combination of the plurality of different battery modules 60 may be realized in accordance with the description of FIGS. 5 and 6, (70). ≪ / RTI >

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the details thereof and that various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. And various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

10; Battery, 29; Engaging projection
39, 39A, 39B; Fastening grooves, 40, 40A, 40B; housing
50, 50A, 50B; Frame, 60, 60A, 60B; Battery module
70; Battery stack

Claims (24)

In a battery frame for accommodating a battery,
A housing covering an edge of the battery and having a fastening groove on one side; And
And a fastening protrusion inserted into the housing through one end portion thereof and fixed to the housing and projecting from the housing through the other end portion,
Wherein the fastening protrusion is made of a material having a greater hardness than the housing,
Wherein the fastening protrusion is fitted in a fastening groove of a battery frame facing in a projecting direction. The method according to claim 1,
The housing is made of plastic,
Wherein the fastening protrusion is made of metal. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the housing has a quadrangular annular shape. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the fastening groove has a first groove and a second groove successively along an extending direction from the one surface of the housing to the inside thereof and has a locking protrusion between the first groove and the second groove. . The method of claim 3,
Wherein the fastening groove is located around the edges of the housing. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the first groove has a smaller width than the second groove in a direction perpendicular to the extending direction. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the first groove has a side wall perpendicular to the one surface in the vicinity of the one surface. 5. The method of claim 4,
Wherein the first groove has an inclined surface inclined obliquely with respect to the one surface in the vicinity of the one surface. The method according to claim 1,
And the fastening protrusion is located below the fastening groove. The method according to claim 1,
The fastening protrusion
A plate-like member projecting from the other surface via the other surface opposite to the one surface from the inside of the housing;
And a hook member protruding from the plate-like member below the plate-like member to form a step with the plate-like member. battery; And
And a battery frame for accommodating the battery,
The battery frame includes:
A housing covering the edge of the battery and having a fastening groove on one side thereof,
And a fastening protrusion inserted into the housing through one end portion thereof and fixed to the housing and projecting from the housing through the other end portion,
Wherein the fastening protrusion is made of a material having a greater hardness than the housing,
Wherein the fastening protrusion is fitted in the fastening groove of the battery frame facing in the projecting direction. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the housing exposes a central region of the battery and covers an edge region of the battery. 12. The method of claim 11,
The housing is made of plastic,
Wherein the fastening protrusion is made of metal. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the fastening groove is recessed from the one side of the housing vertically inwardly and extends closer to the battery from the inside than horizontally near the one side. 15. The method of claim 14,
Wherein the fastening groove has an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the one surface in the vicinity of the one surface of the housing and faces the battery. 12. The method of claim 11,
Wherein the fastening protrusions are located below the fastening grooves, respectively, and extend from the housing toward the opposite side of the housing, and are stepped toward the battery at the ends thereof. And battery modules that are coupled to each other,
Wherein each of the battery modules includes a battery and a battery frame that houses the battery,
The battery frame includes:
A housing covering the edge of the battery and having fastening grooves on one side thereof,
And fastening protrusions inserted into the housing and fixed to the housing and protruding from the interior of the housing toward the outside of the housing,
Wherein the fastening protrusions are made of a material having a greater hardness than the housing,
Wherein the fastening protrusions are fitted in fastening grooves of battery frames facing each other in the projecting direction. 18. The method of claim 17,
Wherein each of the engagement grooves has a shape of 'C' which is vertically recessed from the one side of the housing to a predetermined level and extended from the predetermined level toward the battery. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein each of said fastening grooves has a side wall perpendicular to said one side near said one side of said housing. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein each of the fastening grooves has an inclined surface that is angled with respect to the one surface of the housing and tilted toward the batteries. 19. The method of claim 18,
Wherein a portion of the locking grooves has side walls perpendicular to the one side of the housing near the one side and the remainder of the locking grooves have an acute angle with the one side near the one side of the housing, Wherein the battery module has an inclined sloping surface. 18. The method of claim 17,
Wherein the battery modules have fastening recesses in fastening housings and fastening protrusions inserted in the fastening recesses, respectively, in opposing housings in two adjacent frames. 23. The method of claim 22,
Wherein the fastening protrusions have seating surfaces that respectively contact the engagement jaws of the fastening grooves at a lower portion of the fastening grooves. 18. The method of claim 17,
The housing is plastic,
Wherein the fastening protrusions are metal.

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