TWM544709U - Battery module - Google Patents

Description

Battery module

The present invention relates to a battery module, and more particularly to a battery module using battery cells of different capacities or sizes.

With the advancement of technology, transportation vehicles have evolved from using gasoline as a fuel for gasoline and locomotives to using natural gas as fuel for automobiles. As a power supply for steam and locomotives, steam and locomotives have been used, and bicycles have traditionally been driven by human resources. The machine acts as a power source for the bicycle to operate. Of course, with the gradual reduction of fuel raw materials, rising prices, and rising awareness of environmental protection, vehicles such as electric bicycles, electric locomotives, and electric vehicles have been developed. However, with the development of transportation vehicles and the importance of electric transportation vehicles facing the green energy industry, battery modules that provide transportation vehicle power have become an important component.

Figure 1 shows a conventional battery module. As shown in FIG. 1 , the battery module 100 includes a plurality of battery cells 110 , a circuit board 120 , and a plurality of voltage lines 130 and at least one connector 131 . Each battery unit 110 includes a plurality of battery cells 111 and two electrode sheets 112. The battery cells 111 in a battery unit 110 After the electrode sheets 112 are formed in series or in parallel, they are connected in series or in parallel with the other battery cells 110 to form the entire battery module 100. The shape of the battery module 100; and the space formed inside the shape of the battery module 100 for setting the battery cells 110.

In order to facilitate assembly, each battery unit 110 has the same capacity and size, that is, only a single type of battery is used, for example, a type 14500, 18650, 20650, 20700, 21700, 26650 or a polygonal lithium battery is used. However, in such a design, since each battery unit has the same volume, shape, or size, when it is installed in a space having an irregular shape, the space cannot be effectively filled, and thus the effective utilization rate of the space is limited.

2 shows a top view of a conventional battery module having an irregularly shaped housing space. The battery module 101 includes a housing 150 and a plurality of battery units 110. The outer casing 150 has an irregular shape, and its accommodation space is also irregular in shape, and the battery cells 110 are placed inside the outer casing 150. As shown in FIG. 1, since the shape of the battery unit 110 cannot be filled to fill the entire space of the outer casing 150, for example, the position indicated by a broken line, the battery unit 110 cannot be placed in the outer casing 150, so that the outer casing 150 also contains excess The space cannot effectively use the space, resulting in low effective utilization of space.

More particularly, the plurality of battery cells 110 may be connected in parallel to form a group of battery cells, and if a first group of battery cells and a second group of battery cells have substantially the same capacity, the first group may be The battery pack and the second group of battery cells are connected in series. In order to achieve a structure in which the battery cells 110 in a group are connected in parallel with each other, it is necessary to discharge the plurality of battery cells 110 in the group together or adjacent. This will also result in a decrease in the effective utilization of space.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved battery module architecture that can accommodate a variety of shapes and that can increase the effective utilization of space.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a battery module includes a housing, an electrical connection component, and a plurality of battery packs, and the battery pack and the electrical connection component are disposed in the housing. Each of the battery groups includes a plurality of battery cells that are connected in parallel through the electrical connection elements, and the battery cells have different capacities and sizes, respectively, to fill a space defined by the outer casing.

In one embodiment, the battery cells of each of the battery groups include a plurality of first battery cells and a plurality of second battery cells. The first battery cells and the second battery cells are connected to each other in parallel through the electrical connection elements. The size and capacity of the first battery cells are different from the size and capacity of the second battery cells.

In an embodiment, the electrical connection element is at least one electrical wire.

In one embodiment, the electrical connection component is at least one electrically conductive sheet.

In an embodiment, the battery module further includes an insulating layer. Multiple sets of battery packs contain a first A battery pack and a second battery pack. The insulating layer is disposed between the conductive sheet of the first group of batteries and the conductive sheet of the second group of batteries.

In one embodiment, the electrical connection component is a printed circuit board, and the printed circuit board electrically connects the first and second battery cells of the battery groups to connect the first and second of each of the battery groups The battery cells are connected in parallel.

In one embodiment, the printed circuit board is placed at one end of the first and second battery cells of the battery pack.

In one embodiment, the battery module further includes a first battery frame and a second battery frame, and the first battery frame and the second battery frame are shaped to match the first battery unit and the second battery unit. size.

In one embodiment, the first battery holder and the second battery holder are disposed within the housing.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, since the size of the first battery unit is different from the size of the second battery unit, it is possible to fill the excess space by designing the placement position, and effectively use the space, thereby improving the space efficiency. Utilization rate.

100‧‧‧ battery module

101‧‧‧ battery module

110‧‧‧ battery unit

111‧‧‧ battery core

112‧‧‧electrode

120‧‧‧ boards

130‧‧‧Multiple voltage lines

131‧‧‧Connector

150‧‧‧Shell

300‧‧‧ battery module

301‧‧‧ battery module

302‧‧‧ battery module

303‧‧‧ battery module

310‧‧‧First battery unit

320‧‧‧Second battery unit

330‧‧‧ battery pack

331‧‧‧Electrical sheet

332‧‧‧Wire

335‧‧‧First battery rack

336‧‧‧Second battery rack

350‧‧‧ Shell

351‧‧‧Shell

352‧‧‧Shell

353‧‧‧Shell

Figure 1 shows a conventional battery module.

2 shows a top view of a conventional battery module having an irregularly shaped housing space.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a battery module having an irregularly shaped housing space according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4A is a schematic diagram showing the parallel relationship of a plurality of battery cells in a battery group according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4B is a schematic diagram showing the parallel relationship of a plurality of battery cells in a battery group of another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a battery module of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a battery module having an irregularly shaped housing space according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3 , in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the battery module 300 includes a housing 350 , a plurality of first battery units 310 , and a plurality of second battery units 320 . The size and capacity of the first battery unit 310 are different from the size and capacity of the second battery unit 320. For example, the first battery unit 310 may be a lithium battery of the type 21700, and the second battery unit 320 may be of the type 18650 lithium battery.

As shown in FIG. 3 , the first battery unit 310 and the second battery units 320 are disposed in the outer casing 350 . Moreover, since the size of the first battery unit 310 is different from the size of the second battery unit 320, it is possible to fill the excess space by designing the placement position, and effectively use the space, thereby Effective utilization of high space.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 simultaneously, since the prior art of FIG. 2 uses only a single type and size of the battery unit 110, the outer casing 150 also contains a lot of remaining space that is not utilized. However, in the embodiment of FIG. 3 of the present invention, since the first battery unit 310 and the second battery unit 320 of two different sizes are used, and the size of the second battery unit 320 is smaller than the size of the first battery unit 310, the most After the first battery unit 310 of the lower row, the second battery unit 320 of the two rows is further filled. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the position of 110A, the space in which the first battery unit 310 cannot be originally filled can be filled with the second battery unit 320. Therefore, the space in which the battery unit cannot be placed is filled by other types of battery cells, and the remaining space in the outer casing 15o can be filled, thereby improving the effective utilization of the space.

4A is a schematic diagram showing the parallel relationship of a plurality of battery cells in a battery group according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4A, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the battery module 301 includes a housing 351 and a plurality of battery groups 330. The battery groups 330 are connected in series with each other, and the capacity of each battery group 330 is the same. Each of the battery groups 330 includes a conductive sheet 331, a plurality of first battery units 310, and a plurality of second battery units 320. The first battery units 310 and the second battery units 320 are connected in parallel with each other through the conductive sheets 331. And the size and capacity of the first battery unit 310 are different from the size and capacity of the second battery unit 320. In the present embodiment, since each battery group 330 includes two first battery units 310 and two second battery units 320, the capacity of each battery group 330 can be made the same.

4B is a schematic diagram showing the parallel relationship of a plurality of battery cells in a battery group of another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4B, according to another embodiment of the present creation, the battery module 302 has a special irregularity. shape. The battery module 302 includes a housing 352 and a plurality of battery groups 330. The battery groups 330 are connected in series with each other, and the capacity of each battery group 330 is the same. Each battery group 330 includes a wire 332, a plurality of first battery cells 310, and a plurality of second battery cells 320. The first battery cells 310 and the second battery cells 320 are connected to each other by wires 332, and The size and capacity of the first battery unit 310 are different from the size and capacity of the second battery unit 320. In the present embodiment, since each battery group 330 includes two first battery units 310 and two second battery units 320, the capacity of each battery group 330 can be made the same.

In order to achieve the same capacity of each battery group 330, it is necessary to appropriately select different battery cells to form a group, sometimes causing a situation in which the battery cells are far apart. As shown in FIG. 4B, the use of the wires 332, 332a, and 332b has an advantage in that the outer layers of the wires 332, 332a, and 332b have an insulating layer, so that it is easy to electrically connect two battery cells that are far apart, and different groups of wires 332, 332a and 332b are also not electrically connected to each other and short-circuited. For example, the battery group 330b electrically connected by the electric wire 332b and the battery group 330a electrically connected by the electric wire 332a do not cause a short circuit even if the electric wires 332a and 332b are overlapped. In addition, in an embodiment, if the conductive sheets 331 are to be used, different groups of conductive sheets 331 may be electrically contacted and short-circuited, so that a layered or multi-layer design may be adopted to make the two conductive sheets 331 in different layers. And an insulating layer is disposed between the two conductive sheets 331 to electrically connect the battery cells 310 and 320 in the same battery group 330 through different layers.

In an embodiment, the printed circuit board can also be used to design the circuit, instead of the electric wire 332 and the conductive piece 331 , so that the printed circuit board can be directly placed at one end of the battery units 310 and 320 to the batteries. Units 310 and 320 are grouped and electrically connected. In addition, in an embodiment The printed circuit board has only one circuit layout and no other control elements for electrically connecting the battery units 310 and 320. Preferably, in one embodiment, the battery module may further include a control board. Various required control elements are provided thereon.

The present invention does not limit the types of the battery cells 310 and 320, and may be a nickel-cadmium (N1-Cd) battery, a nickel metal hydride (N1-MH) battery, a lithium ion battery, and/or a lithium polymer battery.

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a battery module of another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, the battery module 303 includes a housing 353, a first battery holder 335 and a second battery holder 336, and a plurality of battery groups 330. The battery groups 330 are connected in series with each other, and the capacity of each battery group 330 is the same. The first battery holder 335 and the second battery holder 336 are combined to form a plurality of different volumes and sizes of accommodating spaces for accommodating the plurality of first battery units 310 and the plurality of second battery units 320. The first battery holder 335 and the second battery holder 336 are placed in the housing 353.

In an embodiment, the first battery unit 310 and the second battery unit 320 are different in size, especially in height, so that the shapes of the first battery holder 335 and the second battery holder 336 are matched with the first battery unit. The size and height of the 310 and the second battery unit 320 are designed such that the first battery unit 310 and the second battery unit 320 can be fixed to the first battery holder 335 and the second battery holder 336. As shown in FIG. 5, there is a high drop between the first battery unit 310 and the second battery unit 320, so that the conductive sheets, wires, and the like must cross the step.

In summary, according to an embodiment of the present creation, since the sizes of the first battery units 310 are different Because of the size of the second battery unit 320, it is possible to fill the excess space by designing the placement position, and effectively utilize the space, thereby improving the effective utilization of the space. Moreover, in one embodiment, a battery module 300 is provided having a plurality of battery cells 310 and 320 having different capacities, thicknesses, and/or sizes. The battery units 310 and 320 can also be disposed in the outer casing of the battery module, which can improve the effective utilization of space. For example, battery units 310 and 320 can be stacked on one another, placed side by side, etc., to accommodate a variety of different vehicles.

300‧‧‧ battery module

310‧‧‧First battery unit

320‧‧‧Second battery unit

350‧‧‧ Shell

Claims (11)

A battery module includes: a casing, an electrical connection component, and at least one battery group, wherein the at least one battery group and the electrical connection component are disposed in the casing, and the at least one battery group includes a plurality of battery cells, The battery cells are connected in parallel through the electrical connection elements, and the battery cells each have at least one of different capacities and sizes, thereby filling a space defined by the outer casing. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the battery cells of the at least one battery group comprise a plurality of first battery cells and a plurality of second battery cells, the first battery cells and the second batteries The units are connected to each other in parallel through the electrical connection elements, and the sizes of the first battery units are different from the sizes of the second battery units. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the battery cells of the at least one battery group comprise a plurality of first battery cells and a plurality of second battery cells, the first battery cells and the second batteries The units are connected to each other in parallel through the electrical connection elements, and the capacities of the first battery units are different from the capacities of the second battery units. The battery module of claim 1, wherein the electrical connection element is at least one conductive sheet. The battery module according to claim 4, wherein the at least one conductive sheet has a different width or a different thickness. The battery module of claim 4, further comprising an insulating layer, wherein the at least one battery group comprises a first battery group and a second battery group, and the insulating layer is disposed in the first battery group The conductive sheet and the second group of batteries Between conductive sheets. The battery module of claim 2, wherein the electrical connection component is a printed circuit board, the printed circuit board electrically connecting the first and second battery cells of the at least one battery group to the at least one battery group The first and second battery cells are connected in parallel. The battery module of claim 7, wherein the printed circuit board is placed on the same side of the first and second battery cells of the battery pack. The battery module according to claim 1, wherein the electrical connection element is at least one electric wire. The battery module of claim 2, further comprising a first battery holder and a second battery holder, and the first battery holder and the second battery holder are shaped to match the first battery unit and the second battery The size of the unit. The battery module of claim 10, wherein the first battery holder and the second battery holder are disposed within the housing.