KR20160041311A - Battery Pack Comprising Fire-resistance Safety Member - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a battery pack and a device including the same. The battery pack includes: a battery module array in which two or more battery modules including a plurality of battery cells having electrode terminals are electrically connected with each other; an external input/output connector of the battery pack; external input/output connection members for electrically connecting the battery module array to the external input/output connector; and a pack case in which the battery module array and the external input/output connection members are accommodated, and the external input/output connector is positioned on an outer surface of one side, wherein at least one of the external input/output connection members is connected to the external connector in a state of facing one surface of the battery module array, and an insulating member and a fire-resistant member are provided between the battery module array and the at least one external input/output connection member.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The present invention relates to a battery pack including a fire-

The present invention relates to a battery pack including a fire-resistant safety member.

A rechargeable secondary battery is widely used as an energy source for wireless mobile devices. In addition, the secondary battery is an electric vehicle (EV), a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), and the like, which are proposed as solutions for air pollution of existing gasoline vehicles and diesel vehicles using fossil fuels (Plug-In HEV) and the like.

In a small mobile device, one to four battery cells are used per device. In contrast, a middle- or large-sized device such as an automobile uses a battery module in which a plurality of battery cells are electrically connected to each other due to the necessity of a high output large capacity.

Since the battery module is preferably manufactured in a small size and a weight as much as possible, a prismatic battery, a pouch-shaped battery, and the like, which can be charged with a high degree of integration and have a small weight to capacity ratio, are mainly used as battery cells of a middle- or large-sized battery module. Particularly, a pouch-shaped battery using an aluminum laminate sheet or the like as an exterior member has recently attracted a great deal of attention due to its advantages such as low weight and low manufacturing cost.

In addition, since various combustible materials are embedded in the lithium secondary battery, there is a danger of overheating or explosion due to overcharging, overcurrent, other physical external impact, and the like, which has a serious disadvantage in safety. Therefore, in the case of a battery module or a battery pack including a plurality of such secondary batteries, a battery management system (BMS) may be used to manage the battery safely and efficiently.

However, in spite of such measures, a fire may occur inside the battery pack due to an external impact, an abnormal operation of the internal battery cell, a control failure by the BMS, or the like.

When a fire occurs inside the battery pack, the insulation coating of the electric wire existing inside due to the high-temperature flame may be burned. In this case, the electric wire whose insulation function is lost may be connected to other parts in the battery pack, The leakage or short circuit of the high voltage current may occur, resulting in further accelerating the fire inside the battery pack.

Conventional battery packs mainly use electric wires coated with an insulating member made of a plastic material, and since such insulating members have a melting point of about 300 캜, when the battery pack is exposed to a high temperature flame, There was a problem of accelerating the fire.

In order to prevent such a problem, there has been an attempt to additionally install a safety member for preventing fire inside the battery pack. In this case, although the energy density of the battery pack is reduced and the internal wiring is complicated Resulting in a problem of impeding the assembling processability.

Therefore, there is a high need for a technique that can minimize the energy density reduction of the battery pack, maintain the wiring easily, and improve the safety of the battery pack by preventing the fire from accelerating even if a fire occurs therein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and the technical problems required from the past.

The inventors of the present application have conducted intensive research and various experiments. As described later, when the refractory member is included between the external input / output connection member and the battery module arrangement existing in the battery pack, And the safety of the battery pack can be unexpectedly improved while maintaining the wiring simpler. The present invention has been accomplished based on this finding.

Accordingly, the battery pack according to the present invention includes: a battery module array having a plurality of battery cells having electrode terminals formed therein, the battery modules being electrically connected in two or more numbers; An external input / output connector of the battery pack; External input / output connection members for electrically connecting the battery module arrangement to an external input / output connector; And a pack case in which the battery module arrangement and the external input / output connection member are incorporated, and the external input / output connector is located on one external surface,

At least one external input / output connection member of the external input / output connection members is connected to an external input / output connector in a state of being faced to one surface of the battery module arrangement body, and includes an insulating member and a refractory member .

When the fire-resistant member is included, even if a fire occurs in the battery pack, the flame is hardly accessible to the external input / output connection member by the refractory member, so that the external input / output connection member can maintain the insulation state with the battery module arrangement have. Therefore, the acceleration of the fire inside the battery pack due to the loss of insulation of the external input / output connection member does not occur, and the safety of the battery pack can be improved.

In one specific example, the battery cells of the battery module may be plate-shaped battery cells.

In the battery module, the plate-shaped battery cells are stacked so that their relatively large surfaces face each other, and the gas discharge direction can be formed perpendicularly to the stacking direction when the internal pressure is increased by the gas.

When the gas discharge direction is formed as described above, the path of the gas and the flame can be predicted when a fire occurs inside the battery pack, thereby effectively preventing the fire from expanding inside the battery pack.

In one specific example, the plate-shaped battery cells are stacked such that the electrode terminals are positioned in the same direction, and the plate-shaped battery cells may be arranged such that the cathodes and the anodes are alternately arranged based on the stacking direction.

When the electrode terminals of the battery cells are positioned in the same direction, it is easy to electrically connect the battery cells. Particularly, when the cathodes and the anodes are alternately arranged, it is very easy to connect the battery cells in series.

In addition, the external input / output connection member can be positioned in a direction in which the electrode terminals are located. In this case, the external input / output connection member and the electrode terminal are easily electrically connected, and the wiring in the battery pack can be simplified.

In one specific example, the external input / output connection member may be a connection member for 60 to 600 volts.

The external input / output connection member may be, for example, a bus bar, a wire, or a cable, although it is not particularly limited as long as electrical connection is possible.

In one specific example, the battery modules of the battery module arrangement are connected in series, and the external input / output connection members are connected to the electrode terminals of the battery modules positioned at the outermost of the battery module arrangement.

In this case, the external input / output connector includes a first input / output terminal and a second input / output terminal, and the external input / output connection members are connected to a first external input / output connection member connected to the first input / output terminal and a second input / And a second external input / output connection member.

The second external input / output connection member may have a structure that is relatively longer than the first external input / output connection member and is connected to the second input / output terminal while facing the battery module arrangement body.

In one specific example, the refractory member may comprise a highly flame resistant material, and such material is not particularly limited, but may be, for example, mica.

Specifically, the refractory member may be a refractory tape or a silicone foam in which the refractory mica is coated with glass fiber and silicone resin.

Further, the insulating member and / or the refractory member may be a structure that is coated on the outer surface of the external input / output connection member.

Specifically, when the refractory member is in the form of a tape, the outer surface of the external input / output connection member may be covered by taping in an oblique direction. When the refractory member is in the form of a foam, the outer surface of the external input / .

In one specific example, the outer surface of the external input / output connection member may be covered with an insulating member, and the outer surface of the insulating member may be coated with a refractory member.

In this case, since the refractory member is located at the outermost portion of the external input / output connection member, the insulative member located inside the external input / output connection member is not directly exposed to the flame, Can be improved.

However, when the fire is continued for a long time, the insulating member may not be directly exposed to the flame but may be melted in the interior due to the high temperature, and the fixing force of the refractory member covering the outer surface of the insulating member, May result in deviation.

Therefore, the outer surface of the external input / output connection member may be covered with a refractory member, and the outer surface of the refractory member may be covered with an insulating member.

In this case, the insulating member covering the outermost portion of the external input / output connection member can be directly exposed to the flame and can be prematurely disappeared. However, the refractory member positioned in the inside of the external input / Can be maintained. Although the insulation performance of the refractory member is lower than that of the insulative member, since the external input / output connection member has insulation performance enough to prevent the battery from contacting the conductive parts or the battery cell inside the battery pack to accelerate the fire, The safety is further improved.

In one specific example, the refractory member may be in the form of a sheet or a pad.

Such a sheet-like or pad-type refractory member may be disposed at least partially or entirely on the outer surface of the battery module arrangement facing the external input / output connection member, and more specifically, may be disposed perpendicular to the gas discharge direction.

The gas generated when a fire occurs inside the battery pack is guided to advance in the gas discharge direction and moves along the flow of the flame gas, and so forth. The gas and flame thus induced may further accelerate the fire in the direction of travel, but if a sheet-like or padded fire-resistant member is disposed perpendicular to the direction of travel, the progress of the gas and the flame can be prevented, Can be prevented from being accelerated.

At this time, the refractory member may be disposed on an outer surface of the outer surface of the battery module array where the electrode terminal is located, and the electrode terminal and the external input / output connection member may be disposed with the refractory member therebetween.

As described above, it is preferable that the external input / output connection member is located near the electrode terminal in order to construct the wiring inside the battery pack compactly. However, when the external input / output connection member and the electrode terminal are electrically connected, a short circuit occurs to accelerate the fire. Therefore, it is very important to prevent electrical connection between the external input / output connection member and the electrode terminal. Therefore, it is preferable that the electrode terminal and the external input / output connection member are disposed with the refractory member therebetween.

Specifically, the refractory member may have the same area as the outer surface of the battery module where the electrode terminals are located, and may be disposed in the same number as the battery modules. In this case, when the battery module is manufactured, The refractory member can be disposed in advance on the surface of the battery pack, so that the assembly of the battery pack can be performed more quickly.

In one specific example, the battery modules may each include a voltage sensing member and a temperature measurement sensor for the battery module, and the voltage sensing members and the temperature measurement sensors for the battery module may be connected to each other by a wiring harness, System).

The present invention also provides a device that incorporates the battery pack as a power source.

The device may, for example, be an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or a power storage device, but is not limited thereto.

The structure and manufacturing method of such a device are well known in the art, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted herein.

As described above, the battery connector according to the present invention includes the refractory member between the external input / output connector and the battery module arrangement to reduce the energy density of the battery pack to a minimum, maintain the wiring easily, Can be improved.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing a structure of a battery pack according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing a structure of the battery module of FIG. 1; FIG.
3 is a perspective view schematically showing a structure in which an insulating member and a refractory member are covered with the external input / output connecting member of Fig. 1;
4 is a perspective view schematically showing a structure in which an insulating member and a refractory member are covered with an external input / output connecting member according to another embodiment of the present invention;
5 and 6 are schematic views showing a method of covering the insulating member and the refractory member with the external input / output connecting member;
7 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the structure of a battery pack including a sheet-like refractory member according to still another embodiment of the present invention;
8 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a refractory member and a battery module having the same area as the outer surface of the battery module according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited by the scope of the present invention.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a battery pack 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a battery module arrangement 200 and external input and output connection members 410 and 420 are embedded in a pack case 500 The battery pack 100 shown in FIG.

1, the pack case 500 includes a battery module arrangement body 200 and external input / output connection members 410 and 420. An external input / output connector 300 ).

Five battery modules 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250 including a plurality of battery cells (not shown) are electrically connected to each other to form a battery module arrangement body 200.

The external input / output connector 300 includes a first input / output terminal 310 and a second input / output terminal 320. The external input / output connection members 410 and 420 in the form of a bus bar having a rectangular cross- And is connected to the battery module arrangement body 200 and the external input / output connector 300. The battery module assembly 200 is connected to the external input /

The battery modules 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250 of the battery module arrangement 200 are all connected in series and the external input and output connection members 410 and 420 are connected to the battery module arrangement 200, (Not shown) of the first battery module 210 and the fifth battery module 250 located at the outermost of the first battery module 210 and the fifth battery module 250, respectively. The first external input / output connection member 410 is electrically connected to one of the electrode terminals (not shown) of the first battery module 210, and the second external input / output connection member 420 is electrically connected to the fifth battery module (Not shown) of the first and second electrodes 250 and 250, respectively.

The first external input / output connection member 410 is electrically connected to the first input / output terminal 310 and the second external input / output connection member 420 is electrically connected to the second input / output terminal 320. The second external input / output connection member 420 is configured to be relatively longer than the first external input / output connection member 410 in order to form such a serial connection structure within the battery pack 100.

2 schematically shows a structure of a battery module 210 which is one of the battery modules 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250 of FIG. 1, and other battery modules 220, 230, 240, 250) is similar.

2, the battery module 210 includes a total of four plate-shaped battery cells 211, 212, 213 and 214 in the battery module case 218, and the plate-shaped battery cells 211, 212 and 213 And 214 are stacked in a horizontal direction so that relatively large planes face each other.

The first plate-shaped battery cell 211 has a positive electrode terminal 211a and a negative electrode terminal 211b at its upper end, and the other battery cells 212, 213 and 214 have a similar structure.

Since the plate-shaped battery cells 211, 212, 213, and 214 are stacked in the horizontal direction, gas is generated inside and a gas discharge direction (arrow) is formed in a direction perpendicular to the stacking direction when the internal pressure is increased.

The battery cells 211, 212, 213, and 214 are stacked in the same direction so that the electrode terminals 211a, 211b, 212b, 213a, and 214b are positioned at the top, The positive terminal 211a of the first battery cell 211 is followed by the negative terminal 212b of the second battery cell 212 and then the positive terminal 213a of the third battery cell 213 and then the fourth battery cell 214 Are arranged alternately so that the cathode terminal 214b of the cathode terminal is positioned.

When the electrode terminals 211a, 211b, 212b, 213a and 214b are positioned in the same direction, it is easy to electrically connect the battery cells 211, 212, 213 and 214. In particular, It is very easy to connect the battery cells 211, 212, 213, and 214 in series.

3 schematically shows a structure in which the first external input / output connection member 410 of FIG. 1 is covered with the insulating member 600 and the refractory member 700. As shown in FIG.

3, an outer surface of the first external input / output connection member 410 is covered with an insulating member 600, and an outer surface of the insulating member 600 is covered with a refractory member 700.

In this case, since the outermost portion of the external input / output connection member 410 is covered by the refractory member 700, the insulative member 600 positioned inside the insulative member 600 is not directly exposed to the flame, The insulating property of the external input / output connection member 410 can be improved.

4 schematically shows a structure in which the insulating member 600 and the refractory member 700 are covered with the external input / output connection member 410 according to another embodiment of the present invention.

4, an outer surface of the external input / output connection member 410 is covered with a refractory member 700, and an outer surface of the refractory member 700 is covered with an insulating member 600. As shown in FIG.

In this case, the insulating member 600 covering the outermost portion of the external input / output connection member 410 can be directly exposed to the flame and can be prematurely destroyed. However, It can be held on the outer surface of the external input / output connection member 410 as it is. Therefore, safety against long-term fire can be further improved.

5 and 6 schematically show a method of covering the insulating member 600 and the refractory member 700 with the external input / output connecting member 410. As shown in FIG.

5, the outer surface of the external input / output connection member 410 is covered with the insulating member 600, and the outer surface of the insulating member 600 is covered with the tape-like refractory member 700. As shown in FIG.

The tape-shaped refractory member 700 is coated with a pressure-sensitive adhesive on the surface facing the insulating member 600, which facilitates taping and enhances the fixing force.

Further, when the refractory member is tapered in the oblique direction as shown in the drawing, the covering operation is easy, and the refractory member 700 can be covered so that the insulating member 600 is not exposed.

6, the outer surface of the external input / output connection member 410 is covered with the insulating member 600, and the outer surface of the insulating member 600 is covered with the refractory member 700 in the form of a foam.

The foam-like refractory member 700 can cover the external input / output connection member 410 entirely at one time, unlike the case of FIG. 5, and thus the operation efficiency is high.

7 schematically shows an exploded perspective view of a battery pack 100a including a sheet-like refractory member 700a according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7, the battery module arrangement 200 includes five battery modules 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250, and the first plate-shaped battery cell 210, which constitutes the first battery module 210, The battery cell 211 includes a positive electrode terminal 211a and a negative electrode terminal 211b, and other battery cells have similar structures.

The plate-shaped battery cells constituting the battery modules 210, 220, 230, 240 and 250 are laminated such that relatively large faces face each other. As described above, when the internal pressure is increased by the gas, (Arrow).

The one side of the refractory member 700a faces the outer surface where the electrode terminals 211a and 211b are located on the outer surfaces of the battery module arrangement 200 and the other surface of the refractory member 700a And faces the external input / output connection members 410 and 420.

The refractory member 700a is disposed perpendicularly to the gas discharge direction (arrow) so as to prevent the progress of the gas and the flame at the time of occurrence of a fire, and the electrode terminals 211a and 211b And the external input and output connection members 410 and 420 are disposed so that the electrode terminals 211a and 211b and the external input and output connection members 410 and 420 contact each other to prevent the fire from being accelerated .

8 schematically shows an exploded perspective view of a refractory member 700a and a battery module 210 according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 8, the refractory member 700a having the same area as the outer surface of the battery module 210 where the electrode terminals 211a and 211b are located is disposed on the upper surface of the battery module 210.

In this case, the refractory member 700a can be disposed in advance on the surface of the battery module 210 on which the electrode terminals 211a and 211b of the battery module 210 are disposed, can do.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described, but it is to be understood that the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto.

≪ Example 1 >

Similar to the configuration of the battery pack shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 4,

An external input / output connector, external input / output connection members for electrically connecting the battery module arrangement to an external input / output connector, and a battery module assembly including five battery modules including four plate- And a pack case in which an arrangement body and an external input / output connection member are incorporated, and the external input / output connector is located on one external surface,

Wherein the external input / output connection member is connected to an external input / output connector in a state where the external input / output connection members face the external surface where the electrode terminals of the battery module arrangement are located, the external surface of the external input / output connection member is coated with a refractory tape, A battery pack in which an insulating member was coated was produced. At this time, the refractory member was a refractory tape having mica coated on glass fiber.

≪ Example 2 >

In the first embodiment, the outer surface of the external input / output connection member is not covered with the refractory tape but covered only with the insulating member,

7, a battery pack was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the sheet-like refractory member was disposed on the outer surface of the battery module array on which the electrode terminals were located .

≪ Comparative Example 1 &

In Example 1, a battery pack was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1, except that the outer surface of the external input / output connection member was not covered with the refractory tape but only the insulating member was covered.

<Experimental Example 1>

The battery packs according to Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 1 were overcharged to induce ignition due to an internal short circuit according to the UL2580 internal fire safety test, which is one of the battery pack safety tests. Then, the flame inside the battery pack was exposed And the time required for the flame to be exposed to the outside were measured. The results are shown in Table 1 below.

[Table 1]

Referring to Table 1, in the case of Examples 1 and 2, the flame was not exposed to the outside even though it passed over 120 minutes after the ignition in the battery pack. On the other hand, in Comparative Example 1, The flame was exposed.

For reference, the UL2580 internal fire safety test requires that the flame inside the battery pack is not exposed to the outside within one hour after ignition.

From the above results, it can be seen that when the fire-proof member is included between the external input / output connector and the battery module arrangement according to the present invention, the safety against the internal fire of the battery pack is remarkably improved and even the UL2580 internal fire safety test It can be confirmed that safety is maintained even though the time base is doubled.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims (26)

1. A battery module comprising: a plurality of battery modules including a plurality of battery cells each having an electrode terminal formed therein;
An external input / output connector of the battery pack;
External input / output connection members for electrically connecting the battery module arrangement to an external input / output connector; And
A pack case in which the battery module arrangement and an external input / output connection member are built in, and the external input / output connector is located on one external surface;
/ RTI &gt;
At least one external input / output connection member of the external input / output connection members is connected to an external input / output connector in a state of being faced to one surface of the battery module arrangement body, and includes an insulating member and a refractory member And the battery pack. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the battery cells of the battery module are plate-shaped battery cells. The battery module according to claim 2, wherein in the battery module, the plate-shaped battery cells are stacked so that their relatively large faces face each other, and the gas discharge direction is formed perpendicularly to the stacking direction when the internal pressure is increased by the gas . The battery pack according to claim 2, wherein the plate-shaped battery cells are stacked such that electrode terminals are positioned in the same direction. The battery pack according to claim 4, wherein the plate-shaped battery cells are alternately arranged with a cathode and an anode based on a lamination direction. The battery pack according to claim 4, wherein an external input / output connection member is disposed in a direction in which the electrode terminals are located. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the external input / output connection member is a connection member for 60 to 600 volts. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the external input / output connection member is a bus bar. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the external input / output connection member is a wire or a cable. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the battery modules of the battery module arrangement are connected in series, and the external input / output connection members are connected to the electrode terminals of the battery modules located at the outermost of the battery module arrangement Battery pack. The connector according to claim 1, wherein the external input / output connector includes a first input / output terminal and a second input /
Wherein the external input / output connection members comprise a first external input / output connection member connected to the first input / output terminal and a second external input / output connection member connected to the second input / output terminal. 12. The battery pack according to claim 11, wherein the second external input / output connection member is relatively longer than the first external input / output connection member and is connected to the second input / output terminal in a state of being faced to one surface of the battery module arrangement. . The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the refractory member includes mica. 14. The battery pack according to claim 13, wherein the refractory member is a refractory tape or a silicone foam in which mica is applied to glass fibers and silicone resin. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the insulating member and / or the refractory member are coated on an outer surface of the external input / output connection member. 16. The battery pack according to claim 15, wherein an outer surface of the outer input / output connection member is covered with an insulating member, and an outer surface of the insulating member is covered with a refractory member. 16. The battery pack according to claim 15, wherein an outer surface of the external input / output connection member is covered with a refractory member, and an outer surface of the refractory member is covered with an insulating member. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the refractory member is a sheet or a pad. The battery pack according to claim 18, wherein the refractory member is disposed on at least a part or the whole of the outer surface of the battery module arrangement facing the external input / output connection member. The battery pack according to claim 19, wherein the refractory member is disposed perpendicular to the gas discharge direction. 21. The battery module according to claim 19, wherein the refractory member is disposed on an outer surface of the outer surface of the battery module arrangement where the electrode terminal is located, and the electrode terminal and the external input / output connection member are disposed with the refractory member therebetween Battery pack. 22. The battery pack according to claim 21, wherein the refractory member has the same area as an outer surface of the battery module where the electrode terminals are located, and is arranged in the same number as the battery modules. The battery pack according to claim 1, wherein the battery modules each include a voltage sensing member and a temperature measurement sensor for a battery module. 24. The battery pack according to claim 23, wherein the voltage sensing members and the temperature measurement sensors for the battery module are connected to a battery management system (BMS) by a wiring harness. A device according to claim 1, wherein the battery pack is built as a power source. 26. The device of claim 25, wherein the device is an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or a power storage device.

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