Battery cell holder of improved connecting reliability and battery module employed with the same

• US 8,999,540 B2
• Filed: 07/26/2013
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Energy Solution Limited (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Chem Limited (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Bang, Seung Hyun, Kim, Sooryoung, Kwon, Gi Hwan, Choi, Burn, Lee, Kyung Min
• Primary Examiner(s): Jelsma, Jonathan
• Assistant Examiner(s): ALAM, RASHID A
• Application Number:
  US13/952,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20130316202A1
• Time in Patent Office: 620 Days
• Field of Search: 429/72, 429/100, 429/96
• US Class Current: 429/72
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/613 Cooling or keeping cold
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/625 Vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/63 Control systems charging or discharging in response to temperature H01M10/44 , H01M10/443; measurement of temperature H01M10/48 , H01M10/486
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/643 Cylindrical cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 10/6557 arranged between the cells
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 2220/20 Batteries in motive systems, e.g. vehicle, ship, plane
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/202 Casings or frames around the primary casing of a single cell or a single battery
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/213 adapted for cells having curved cross-section, e.g. round or elliptic H01M50/209, H01M50/216 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/262 with fastening means, e.g. locks
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/503 characterised by the shape of the interconnectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01M 50/569 Constructional details of current conducting connections for detecting conditions inside cells or batteries, e.g. details of voltage sensing terminals battery terminal connectors with integrated measuring arrangements G01R31/364
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/10 Energy storage using batteries

Abstract

Disclosed is a battery cell holder configured so that a cylindrical battery cell is mounted therein, the battery cell holder including an upper cover including a first main body to cover an upper part of the battery cell in a state in which a first electrode terminal of the battery cell is exposed and at least one first extension fastening part extending downward from the first main body and a lower cover including a second main body to cover a lower part of the battery cell in a state in which a second electrode terminal of the battery cell having a polarity opposite to that of the first electrode terminal is exposed and at least one second extension fastening part extending upward from the second main body.

Claims

1. A battery cell holder configured so that a single cylindrical battery cell is mounted therein, the battery cell holder comprising:

an upper cover comprising a first main body to cover an upper part of the battery cell in a state in which a first electrode terminal of the battery cell is exposed and at least one first extension fastening part extending downward from the first main body; and

a lower cover comprising a second main body to cover a lower part of the battery cell in a state in which a second electrode terminal of the battery cell having a polarity opposite to that of the first electrode terminal is exposed and at least one second extension fastening part extending upward from the second main body, wherein

an end of the at least one first extension fastening part and an end of the at least one second extension fastening part are fastened to each other in a state in which the battery cell is mounted in the battery cell holder,

the upper cover and/or the lower cover is provided at an outer side thereof with at least one side fastening part and a coolant flow channel is formed at a space defined between side fastening parts, by which a side of the battery cell holder is fastened to that of another battery cell holder,

the at least one side fastening part is configured to have a sliding fastening type groove structure formed in a longitudinal direction of the battery cell holder, and

the sliding fastening type groove structure comprises a hook and a depressed groove corresponding to the hook in a sectional shape perpendicular to the longitudinal direction.

2. The battery cell holder according to claim 1, wherein the first main body and/or the second main body is configured to have an inner structure corresponding to an outer shape of the cylindrical battery cell.

3. The battery cell holder according to claim 1, wherein the first main body is provided at an upper end thereof with an opening, through which the corresponding first electrode terminal of the battery cell is exposed, the second main body is provided at a lower end thereof with an opening, through which the corresponding second electrode terminal of the battery cell is exposed, and each of the openings has an outer circumferential part protruding from the corresponding first electrode terminal or the corresponding second electrode terminal by a predetermined thickness.

4. The battery cell holder according to claim 3, wherein each of the openings is circular in a planar shape.

5. The battery cell holder according to claim 3, wherein the outer circumferential part of each of the openings has a thickness of 0.1 to 1 mm.

6. The battery cell holder according to claim 1, wherein the at least one first extension fastening part comprises two or more first extension fastening parts symmetric with respect to a central axis of the battery cell holder, and the at least one second extension fastening part comprises two or more second extension fastening parts symmetric with respect to the central axis of the battery cell holder.

7. The battery cell holder according to claim 1, wherein the at least one first extension fastening part comprises even-numbered first extension fastening parts, and the at least one second extension fastening part comprises even-numbered second extension fastening parts.

8. The battery cell holder according to claim 1, wherein one of the first and second extension fastening parts has a coupling protrusion, and the other of the first and second extension fastening parts has a coupling groove corresponding to the coupling protrusion.

9. The battery cell holder according to claim 8, wherein the fastening protrusion is fastened into the fastening groove in a forced fitting fashion.

10. The battery cell holder according to claim 1, wherein the depressed groove is formed inside at a bent portion of the hook.

11. The battery cell holder according to claim 1, wherein, when each of the extension fastening parts comprises quadruple-numbered extension fastening parts, bent portions of the hooks are alternately arranged by two units.

12. The battery cell holder according to claim 11, wherein, when the bent portions of the hooks at a pair of extension fastening parts are inwardly directed to each other, the bent portions of the hooks at neighboring extension fastening parts are outwardly directed from each other.

13. The battery cell holder according to claim 1, wherein the side fastening parts are formed at the upper cover and the lower cover at opposite sides of an imaginary extension line of the extension fastening parts.

14. A unit module comprising a battery cell holder according to claim 1 and a cylindrical battery cell mounted in the battery cell holder.

15. A battery module comprising two or more unit modules according to claim 14 and at least one connection member to electrically connect the unit modules to each other.

16. The battery module according to claim 15, wherein the battery module is configured to have a structure in which the unit modules are arranged in at least two rows and/or in at least two columns.

17. The battery module according to claim 15, wherein the battery module has a coolant flow channel formed among neighboring unit modules at a space defined between side fastening parts in a longitudinal direction of battery cells.

18. The battery module according to claim 15, wherein the battery module has a coolant flow channel formed among neighboring unit modules at a space defined between extension fastening parts in a lateral direction of battery cells.

19. The battery module according to claim 15, wherein the battery module is configured to have a structure in which the unit modules are arranged in a matrix of 5×

5, in which electrode terminals having the same polarity are arranged in a column direction (vertical direction), and electrode terminals having different polarities are arranged in a row direction (horizontal direction).

20. The battery module according to claim 15, wherein the at least one connection member is formed of a conductive plate.

21. The battery module according to claim 19, wherein the at least one connection member comprises a first connection member to electrically connect a first column of the unit modules to one another at a front of the battery module, a second connection member to electrically connect a second column and a third column of the unit modules to one another at the front of the battery module, the second connection member having at least one extension extending in a row direction, and a third connection member to electrically connect a fourth column and a fifth column of the unit modules to one another at the front of the battery module, the third connection member having at least one extension extending in the row direction.

22. The battery module according to claim 15, wherein the at least one connection member comprises a voltage detection terminal bent in a lateral direction of the unit modules.

23. The battery module according to claim 20, wherein a conductive wire is connected to the conductive plate to constitute an external input and output terminal.

24. A device comprising a battery module according to claim 15 as a power source.

25. The device according to claim 24, wherein the device is an electric vehicle, a hybrid electric vehicle, a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, an electric motorcycle, or a power storage device.