SECONDARY BATTERY MODULE HAVING COOLING CONDUIT

• US 20110052960A1
• Filed: 03/12/2010
• Published: 03/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: KWON, Moon-seok, YU, Ji-sang, KIM, Dong-kwan, PAIK, Meen-seon
• Application Number:
  US12/722,641
• Publication Number:
  US 20110052960A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 429/120
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/0481 Compression means other than compression means for stacks of electrodes and separators
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6557 arranged between the cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6567 Liquids
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/209 adapted for prismatic or rectangular cells H01M50/216 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

A secondary battery module including sealed cooling conduits through which a heat transfer medium flows between adjacent unit batteries. The secondary battery module includes a plurality of cooling conduits disposed in parallel facing each other and sealed so that a heat transfer medium flows therein; a plurality of unit batteries disposed between the plurality of cooling conduits; a supply conduit for supplying the heat transfer medium to the plurality of cooling conduits; an exhaust conduit for exhausting the heat transfer medium from the plurality of cooling conduits; and a spacer for maintaining spaces in the cooling conduits by being disposed inside each of the plurality of cooling conduits.

Claims

1. A secondary battery module comprising:

a plurality of cooling conduits disposed in parallel facing each other and sealed so that a heat transfer medium flows therein;

a plurality of unit batteries disposed between the plurality of cooling conduits;

a supply conduit to supply the heat transfer medium to the plurality of cooling conduits;

an exhaust conduit to exhaust the heat transfer medium from the plurality of cooling conduits; and

a spacer disposed inside each of the plurality of cooling conduits to maintain a space in each of the cooling conduits.

2. The secondary battery module of claim 1, wherein the spacer serves as a compression spring having elasticity in a direction in which the cooling conduits are compressed by the unit batteries on each side of each of the cooling conduits.

3. The secondary battery module of claim 1, wherein the spacers have a shape of a bent board, a shape of a board having an uneven surface or having protrusions, a shape of a board partially cut or having a hole, a mesh shape, a wire shape, a sphere shape, a tube shape, or a combination of shapes thereof.

4. The secondary battery module of claim 1, wherein the spacers are formed separately from the cooling conduits and inserted into the cooling conduits.

5. The secondary battery module of claim 1, wherein the spacers are formed with the cooling conduits as a single body.

6. The secondary battery module of claim 1, wherein a shape, an arrangement configuration, or an arrangement frequency of the spacers differ according to a location of the spacers within the cooling conduits.

7. The secondary battery module of claim 6, wherein an occupation density or occupation surface area of the spacers increases downstream of a moving path of the heat transfer medium in the cooling conduits.

8. The secondary battery module of claim 6, wherein an occupation density of the spacers at the edge of a moving path of the heat transfer medium in the cooling conduits is higher than an occupation density of the spacers at the center of the moving path.

9. The secondary battery module of claim 6, wherein the cooling conduits are divided into a plurality of sections according to location, and spacers disposed in one of the plurality of sections have a shape different from spacers disposed in each of the other sections.

10. The secondary battery module of claim 1, wherein the plurality of cooling conduits and the plurality of unit batteries have flat board shapes having wide and flat surfaces in width and height directions, and narrow and long surfaces in a thickness direction.

11. The secondary battery module of claim 10, wherein the wide and flat surfaces of the cooling conduits and the unit batteries contact each other.

12. The secondary battery module of claim 11, wherein insulation films are disposed between each of the plurality of cooling conduits and the unit batteries.

13. The secondary battery module of claim 10, wherein a thickness of each of the plurality of cooling conduits ranges from about 0.1 mm to about 20 mm.

14. The secondary battery module of claim 1, wherein:

the supply conduit and the exhaust conduit are disposed on sides of the cooling conduits, and

a plurality of parallel grooves are formed on inner walls of the supply conduit and the exhaust conduit.

15. The secondary battery module of claim 14, wherein the plurality of cooling conduits are inserted into the plurality of grooves formed on the inner walls of the supply conduit and the exhaust conduit so as to connect the plurality of cooling conduits to the supply conduit and the exhaust conduit.

16. The secondary battery module of claim 15, wherein the cooling conduits are connected to the supply conduit and the exhaust conduit via a brazing method.

17. The secondary battery module of claim 1, wherein:

the supply conduit and the exhaust conduit have a pipe shape, the supply conduit is disposed on one edge of the cooling conduits, and the exhaust conduit is disposed on another edge of the cooling conduits, and

a plurality of first subsidiary conduits connected to the supply conduit are connected to one corner of the cooling conduits, and a plurality of second subsidiary conduits connected to the exhaust conduit are connected to another corner of the cooling conduits, so as to supply and exhaust the heat transfer medium.

18. The secondary battery module of claim 1, further comprising a separate heat exchanger connected to the supply conduit and the exhaust conduit.

19. The secondary battery module of claim 1, wherein the spacers have a parallel lattice pattern.

20. The secondary battery module of claim 19, wherein a width of the spacers is larger than a width of the cooling conduits.

21. The secondary battery module of claim 1, further comprising:

two end plates respectively disposed on each end of the secondary battery module; and

a restraining unit fixed between the two end plates to provide resistance in a direction such that a distance between the two end plates increases.