KR102809006B1 - Method for manufacturing battery pack case and battery pack case manufactured by the same - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for manufacturing a battery pack case and a battery pack case manufactured through the method are disclosed. The method for manufacturing the battery pack case may include a step of compression-molding a first preform corresponding to a corner of the battery pack case; a step of joining the first preform to a second preform corresponding to a body of the battery pack case to form a composite molded body; and a step of press-working the composite molded body. In addition to these, various embodiments are possible as determined through the specification.

Description

METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING BATTERY PACK CASE AND BATTERY PACK CASE MANUFACTURED BY THE SAME

Embodiments disclosed in this document relate to a method for manufacturing a battery pack case and a battery pack case manufactured thereby.

Recently, research and development are being conducted on next-generation transportation means such as electric vehicles, urban air mobility (UAM), and purpose-built vehicles (PBV). These next-generation transportation means are driven by electric energy stored in battery packs. Since battery packs are susceptible to ignition and explosion when subjected to external impact, a battery pack case is required to protect the battery pack from external impact.

Battery pack cases can be manufactured through drawing forming. Drawing forming is difficult to break because it is performed by injecting material from the flange portion, but wrinkles are likely to occur in the flange portion at the corner portion where the amount of inflow differs.

Conventional battery pack cases and manufacturing methods have problems in that excessive wrinkles occur at corners during press molding, corners are formed excessively thinner than side portions, or corners are torn.

According to the embodiments disclosed in this document, it is intended to solve various problems occurring in conventional corner portions, improve the quality of manufactured battery pack cases, and provide a method for manufacturing a battery pack case capable of process automation.

According to embodiments disclosed in this document, a method for manufacturing a battery pack case and a battery pack manufactured thereby are disclosed.

The method for manufacturing the battery pack case may include a step of compression-molding a first preform corresponding to a corner of the battery pack case; a step of joining the first preform to a second preform corresponding to a body of the battery pack case to form a composite molded body; and a step of press-working the composite molded body.

In various embodiments, the step of compression molding the first preform comprises positioning a prepreg in a lower die having a cavity of a predetermined shape formed therein, and compressing the prepreg with an upper die including a protrusion having a shape corresponding to the cavity, wherein the predetermined shapes of each of the cavity and the protrusion may be shapes corresponding to corners of the battery pack case.

In various embodiments, the step of forming the composite molded body may include a placing step of placing the second preform in a cavity of a die, and an inserting step of placing the first preform in the cavity of the die so as to partially overlap the second preform.

In various embodiments, in the insert step, the first preform may be positioned adjacent to a corner portion of the cavity.

In various embodiments, the press working step may include thermally fusion bonding the overlapping portions of the first preform and the second preform to each other so that the overlapping portion is processed to a uniform thickness corresponding to the other portion.

In various embodiments, the second preform may include an upper portion, a plurality of side portions extending from the upper portion, and a plurality of flange portions extending from each of the plurality of side portions, and the first preform may include a first portion partially overlapping each of two adjacent side portions of the plurality of side portions, a second portion extending to one side from one end of the first portion and at least partially overlapping the upper portion, and a third portion extending to the other side from the other end of the first portion and at least partially overlapping the flange portion.

In various embodiments, the side surface of the battery pack case may be formed by heat-fusing the first portion of the first preform and the two adjacent side portions of the second preform, the upper surface of the battery pack case may be formed by heat-fusing the second portion of the first preform and the upper surface portion of the second preform, and the flange of the battery pack case may be formed by heat-fusing the third portion of the first preform and the upper surface portion of the second preform.

In various embodiments, the first portion of the first preform can be extended to a length corresponding to the height of the battery pack case.

In various embodiments, the first preform and the second preform may comprise the same thermosetting resin.

The method for manufacturing a battery pack case and the battery pack case according to the embodiments disclosed in this document separately prepare a first preform corresponding to a corner and a second preform corresponding to a body, and perform press forming after joining the first preform and the second preform so as to sufficiently overlap each other, thereby solving various problems occurring in conventional corner portions and improving the quality of the manufactured battery pack case.

In addition, the method for manufacturing a battery pack case according to the embodiments disclosed in this document has the advantageous effect of automating a significant portion of the manufacturing method by forming each of the first preform and the second preform using a PCM process and pressing the overlapping composite molded bodies.

This can improve the cycle time of the manufacturing process and enhance productivity. In addition, it is possible to manufacture battery pack cases of uniform quality.

In addition, various effects may be provided that are directly or indirectly identified through this document.

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a battery pack case according to one embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating a first preform for manufacturing a battery pack case according to one embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a second preform and a first preform for manufacturing a battery pack case according to one embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating a composite molded body for manufacturing a battery pack case according to one embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a method for manufacturing a battery pack case according to one embodiment.
In connection with the description of the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals may be used for identical or similar components.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, but should be understood to include various modifications, equivalents, and/or alternatives of the embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a drawing illustrating a battery pack case (10) according to one embodiment.

The battery pack case (10) according to the embodiments disclosed in this document can be configured to accommodate a battery pack. The battery pack case (10) can protect the battery pack accommodated in the internal space from external impact. The battery pack case (10) can be applied to various devices utilizing batteries, such as electric vehicles, urban air mobility (UAM), or purpose-built vehicles (PBV).

Referring to FIG. 1, the battery pack case (10) may include an upper surface (11), a side surface (12) formed to surround the upper surface (11), and a flange (13) extending from the side surface (12). The side surface (12) may extend from an edge of the upper surface (11). The battery pack case (10) has an internal space defined by the upper surface (11) and the side surface (12), and a battery pack may be placed in the internal space. The battery pack case (10) may have an open lower portion and a flange (13) formed on a peripheral portion of the open lower portion.

Referring to FIG. 1, the battery pack case (10) is illustrated as having a rectangular cross-section including four corners (C), but is not necessarily limited thereto. For example, the battery pack case (10) may be provided in various polygonal shapes including at least three corners (C).

FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating a first preform (110) for manufacturing a battery pack case (10) according to one embodiment. FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a second preform (120) and a first preform (110) for manufacturing a battery pack case (10) according to one embodiment. FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating a composite preform (130) for manufacturing a battery pack case (10) according to one embodiment.

In one embodiment, the battery pack case (10) can be manufactured by heat-fusing a first preform (110) and a second preform (120).

Referring to FIG. 2, the first preform (110) can be formed by compression molding the prepreg (P). For example, the first preform (110) can be manufactured through prepreg compression molding (PCM). For example, the prepreg (P) can include a thermosetting resin and a carbon resin. The thermosetting resin can include at least one of a phenol resin, an epoxy resin, a melamine resin, a urea resin, an alkyd resin, a silicone resin, and a polyester resin. In addition, the thermosetting resin can include various thermosetting plastic materials.

In one embodiment, the first preform (110) can be formed by positioning the prepreg (P) in the lower die (21), pressing the prepreg (P) to form a predetermined shape, and cutting out unnecessary portions.

In manufacturing the first preform (110), a cavity (23) having a predetermined shape may be formed in the lower die (21), and a protrusion (24) corresponding to the shape of the cavity (23) may be formed in the upper die (22). For example, a cavity (23) substantially elongated into a V shape may be formed in the lower die (21) for manufacturing the first preform (110), and a protrusion (24) having a triangular shape corresponding to the cavity (23) may be formed in the upper die (22).

In one embodiment, the shape of the cavity (23) and the shape of the protrusion (24) may correspond to the shape of the corner (C) of the battery pack case (10). For example, the cavity (23) may be formed with a curvature substantially the same as the curvature of the corner (C) of the battery pack case (10) to be manufactured. In one embodiment, at least a portion of the first preform (110) may form the corner (C) of the completed battery pack case (10). The first preform (110) may be formed with a shape corresponding to the corner (C) of the battery pack case (10), the shape of the cavity (23), or the shape of the protrusion (24).

In one embodiment, the first preform (110) may include a first portion (111) formed in a shape corresponding to a corner (C) of the battery pack case (10), a second portion (112) extending to one side from a first end of the first portion (111), and a third portion (113) extending to the other side from the second end of the first portion (111).

In one embodiment, the first part (111) of the first preform (110) may include a first region (111a) and a second region (111b) that extend at different angles. For example, the first preform (110) may be provided such that, when viewed in a cross-section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, the first region (111a) and the second region (111b) form a predetermined angle with respect to each other. In this case, the predetermined angle may be related to the shape of the battery pack case (10). For example, in the case of the square-shaped battery pack case (10) illustrated in FIG. 1, the first region (111a) and the second region (111b) of the first preform (110) may be inclined at a substantially 90-degree angle.

In one embodiment, in the composite molded body (130) prepared before press processing, the first part (111) of the first preform (110) can at least partially overlap each of the first side portion (122a) and the second side portion (122b) of the second preform (120), which are adjacent to each other. For example, in the composite molded body (130) prepared before press processing, the first region (111a) of the first preform (110) can contact the first side portion (122a) of the second preform (120), and the second region (111b) of the first preform (110) can contact the second side portion (122b) of the second preform (120).

In one embodiment, the first preform (110) may be extended to a length corresponding to the height of the battery pack case (10).

In one embodiment, the second portion (112) of the first preform (110) may extend to one side from the first end of the first preform (110) and may include a flat region. The second portion (112) of the first preform (110) may form a portion of an upper surface of a completed battery pack case (10). The second portion (112) of the first preform (110) may extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to an extension direction of the first portion (111) (e.g., a height direction of the battery pack case (10)). In one embodiment, in a composite molded body (130) prepared before press processing, the second portion (112) of the first preform (110) may at least partially overlap an upper surface portion (121) of the second preform (120).

In one embodiment, the third portion (113) of the first preform (110) may extend from the second end of the first preform (110) to the other side and may include a flat region. The third portion (113) of the first preform (110) may form a portion of a flange (13) of a completed battery pack case (10). The third portion (113) of the first preform (110) may extend in a direction substantially perpendicular to the extension direction of the first portion (111). In one embodiment, in a composite molded body (130) prepared before press working, the third portion (113) of the first preform (110) may at least partially overlap a flange portion (123) of the second preform (120).

In one embodiment, the second portion (112) and the third portion (113) of the first preform (110) may extend in opposite directions. The third portion (113) of the first preform (110) may have a larger area than the second portion (112). For example, referring to FIG. 3, the second portion (112) may extend from the first portion (111) to the inside of the battery pack case (10), and the third portion (113) may extend from the first portion (111) to the outside of the battery pack case (10).

Referring to FIG. 3, the second preform (120) may be formed by pressing a prepreg (P). In one embodiment, the second preform (120) may include an upper surface portion (121), a plurality of side portions (122) extending from the upper surface portion (121), and a plurality of flange portions (123) extending from each of the plurality of side portions (122). At this time, the plurality of side portions (122) may be formed to partially surround the upper surface portion (121). The plurality of side portions (122) may be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval. For example, a corner portion of the second preform (120) may be formed in an open shape. In one embodiment, in the case of a square-shaped battery pack case (10), two adjacent side portions (122a, 122b) may be arranged at a 90-degree interval.

In one embodiment, the upper surface (121) of the second preform (120) may correspond to the upper surface (11) of the completed battery pack case (10), the plurality of side surfaces (122) of the second preform (120) may correspond to the side surfaces (12) of the completed battery pack case (10), and the plurality of flange surfaces (123) of the second preform (120) may correspond to the flanges (13) of the completed battery pack case (10).

That is, the plurality of side portions (122) of the second preform (120) can be processed into one side by performing the press working step while the first preform (110) is combined. The plurality of flange portions (123) of the second preform (120) can be processed into one flange (13) by performing the press working step while the first preform (110) is combined.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the composite molded body (130) can be formed by combining a first preform (110) and a second preform (120). For example, the first preform (110) can be combined to at least partially overlap the second preform (120). For example, the second preform (120) can be placed in a cavity of a die for press processing, and the first preform (110) can be placed inside the cavity to overlap the second preform (120). For example, the first preform (110) can be placed at a corner portion of the cavity (23).

In one embodiment, in the composite molded body (130), the first part (111) of the first preform (110) may overlap each of two adjacent side portions (122a, 122b) of the second preform (120). For example, the first region (111a) of the first preform (110) may contact the first side portion (122a) of the second preform (120), and the second region (111b) of the first preform (110) may contact the second side portion (122b) of the second preform (120). At this time, the first preform (110) may be provided in multiple numbers (for example, four in the case of the example illustrated in the drawing) corresponding to the number of corner portions of the second preform (120).

In one embodiment, in the composite molded body (130), the second part (112) of the first preform (110) may overlap the upper surface (121) of the second preform (120), and the third part (113) of the first preform (110) may overlap the flange part (123) of the second preform (120).

In one embodiment, the first preform (110) may be positioned inside the second preform (120). That is, when looking at the exterior of the composite molded body (130), the first preform (110) may be partially exposed between two adjacent side portions (122a, 122b) and between two adjacent flange portions (123a, 123b). Most of the exterior of the composite molded body (130) may be formed by the second preform (120).

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating a method (500) for manufacturing a battery pack case according to one embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 5, a method for manufacturing a battery pack case (500) may include a step (S1) of forming a first preform (110) corresponding to a corner (C) of a battery pack case (10), a step (S2) of forming a composite molded body (130) by joining the first preform (110) to a second preform (120) corresponding to a body of the battery pack case (10), and a step (S3) of press-working the composite molded body (130). Here, the body of the battery pack case (10) may be defined as including at least a portion of each of the side surface (12), the upper surface (11), and the flange (13) of the battery pack case (10) illustrated in FIG. 1.

The step (S1) of forming the first preform (110) may include compression molding using a prepreg (P). For example, the prepreg (P) may be formed by positioning the prepreg (P) in the lower die (21), pressing the prepreg (P) with the upper die (22) to form a predetermined shape, and cutting off unnecessary portions. At this time, a cavity (23) having a predetermined shape may be formed in the lower die (21), and a protrusion (24) corresponding to the shape of the cavity (23) may be formed in the upper die (22). For example, a cavity (23) substantially elongated in a V shape may be formed in the lower die (21), and a protrusion (24) having a triangular shape corresponding to the cavity (23) may be formed in the upper die (22). At this time, the extension direction of the cavity (23), the protrusion (24), and the first preform (110) can substantially correspond to the height direction of the battery pack case (10).

The step (S2) of forming the composite molded body (130) may include placing the second preform (120) in the cavity of the die, and placing the first preform (110) in the cavity such that the first preform (110) partially overlaps the second preform (120). At this time, the first preform (110) may be placed adjacent to a corner portion of the cavity of the die. That is, the first preform (110) may be located inside a space surrounded by the second preform (120). The first preform (110) may be placed at a corner portion of the second preform (120).

As described above, in the step (S2) of forming the composite molded body (130), the first part (111) of the first pre-molded body (110) can be arranged to contact two adjacent side parts (122a, 122b) of the second pre-molded body (120), respectively. The second part (112) of the first pre-molded body (110) can be arranged to contact the upper surface part (121) of the second pre-molded body (120). The third part (113) of the first pre-molded body (110) can be arranged to contact the flange part (123) of the second pre-molded body (120).

In the composite molded body (130), the portion where the first preform (110) and the second preform (120) overlap (e.g., corner portion, flange portion) may be thicker than other portions where they do not overlap.

In the press working step (S3), the first preform (110) and the second preform (120) can be thermally fused. For example, the first preform (110) and the second preform (120) can include the same thermosetting material. The press working step (S3) can be performed at a high temperature at which the first preform (110) and the second preform (120) can be hardened. In the press working step (S3), the first preform (110) and the second preform (120) overlap each other, and a relatively thick portion (e.g., a corner portion, a flange portion) can be processed to have a thickness that is uniform with that of a non-overlapping portion. Accordingly, after the press working is completed, the overlapped portion is thermally hardened to be integrally formed, and can be formed to have a thickness that is uniform with that of other portions (e.g., a side portion).

According to the embodiments disclosed in this document, a method for manufacturing a battery pack case (500) and a battery pack case (10) manufactured thereby are disclosed.

The method for manufacturing the battery pack case (500) may include a step (S1) of compression molding a first preform (110) corresponding to a corner (C) of the battery pack case (10); a step (S2) of joining the first preform (110) to a second preform (120) corresponding to a body of the battery pack case (10) to form a composite molded body (130); and a step (S3) of press-processing the composite molded body (130).

In various embodiments, the step (S1) of compression molding the first preform (110) includes positioning a prepreg (P) in a lower die (21) in which a cavity (23) of a predetermined shape is formed, and compressing the prepreg (P) with an upper die (22) including a protrusion (24) of a shape corresponding to the cavity (23), and the predetermined shapes of each of the cavity (23) and the protrusion (24) may be shapes corresponding to corners (C) of the battery pack case (10).

In various embodiments, the step (S2) of forming the composite molded body (130) may include a placement step of placing the second preform (120) in a cavity of a die, and an insert step of placing the first preform (110) in the cavity of the die so as to partially overlap the second preform (120).

In various embodiments, in the insert step, the first preform (110) may be positioned adjacent to a corner portion of the cavity.

In various embodiments, the press processing step (S3) may include thermally fusion bonding of the overlapping portions of the first preform (110) and the second preform (120) to each other, such that the overlapping portion is processed to a uniform thickness corresponding to the other portion.

In various embodiments, the second preform (120) may include an upper surface portion (121), a plurality of side surfaces portions (122) extending from the upper surface portion (121), and a plurality of flange portions (123) extending from each of the plurality of side surfaces portions (122), and the first preform (110) may include a first portion (111) partially overlapping each of two adjacent side surfaces (122a, 122b) among the plurality of side surfaces (122), a second portion (112) extending from one end of the first portion (111) to one side and at least partially overlapping the upper surface portion (121), and a third portion (113) extending from the other end of the first portion (111) to the other side and at least partially overlapping the flange portions (123).

In various embodiments, the side surface (12) of the battery pack case (10) may be formed by thermally fusing the first part (111) of the first preform (110) and the two adjacent side surfaces (122a, 122b) of the second preform (120), the upper surface (11) of the battery pack case (10) may be formed by thermally fusing the second part (112) of the first preform (110) and the upper surface portion (121) of the second preform (120), and the flange (13) of the battery pack case (10) may be formed by thermally fusing the third part (113) of the first preform (110) and the upper surface portion (121) of the second preform (120).

In various embodiments, the first portion (111) of the first preform (110) may be extended to a length corresponding to the height of the battery pack case (10).

In various embodiments, the first preform (110) and the second preform (120) may comprise the same thermosetting resin.

Conventional battery pack cases and manufacturing methods have problems in that excessive wrinkles occur at corners during press molding, corners are formed excessively thinner than side portions, or corners are torn.

The method for manufacturing a battery pack case (500) and the battery pack case (10) according to the embodiments disclosed in this document separately prepare a first preform (110) corresponding to a corner (C) and a second preform (120) corresponding to a body, and perform press forming after sufficiently overlapping the first preform (110) and the second preform (120), thereby solving various problems occurring in the conventional corner portion and improving the quality of the manufactured battery pack case (10).

In addition, the method (500) for manufacturing a battery pack case according to the embodiments disclosed in this document has the advantageous effect of automating a significant portion of the manufacturing method by forming each of the first preform (110) and the second preform (120) using a PCM process and pressing the overlapping composite molded body (130). As a result, the cycle time of the manufacturing process can be improved and productivity can be enhanced. In addition, a battery pack case (10) of uniform quality can be manufactured.

The various embodiments of this document and the terminology used herein are not intended to limit the technology described in this document to the specific embodiments, but should be understood to encompass various modifications, equivalents, and/or substitutes of the embodiments. In connection with the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used for similar components. The singular expressions may include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. In this document, expressions such as "A or B", "at least one of A and/or B", "A, B, or C" or "at least one of A, B and/or C" can include all possible combinations of the items listed together. Expressions such as "first," "second," "first," or "second" can modify the corresponding components, regardless of order or importance, and are only used to distinguish one component from another and do not limit the corresponding components. When it is said that a certain (e.g., a first) component is "(functionally or communicatively) connected" or "connected" to another (e.g., a second) component, said certain component may be directly connected to said other component, or may be connected through another component (e.g., a third component).

Claims (10)

In a method for manufacturing a battery pack case,
A step of compression molding a first preform corresponding to a corner of the battery pack case;
A step of forming a composite molded body by bonding the first preform to a second preform corresponding to the body of the battery pack case; and
A step of press-processing the above composite molded body;
The second preform comprises an upper surface portion, a plurality of side surfaces extending from the upper surface portion, and a plurality of flange portions extending from each of the plurality of side surfaces,
A method for manufacturing a battery pack case, wherein the first preform comprises a first portion partially overlapping with each of two adjacent side portions among the plurality of side portions, a second portion extending from one end of the first portion to one side and at least partially overlapping the upper surface portion, and a third portion extending from the other end of the first portion to the other side and at least partially overlapping the flange portion. In claim 1,
The step of compression molding the first preform comprises positioning the prepreg in a lower die having a cavity of a predetermined shape formed therein, and compressing the prepreg with an upper die including a protrusion having a shape corresponding to the cavity.
A method for manufacturing a battery pack case, wherein each of the above-described cavity and the above-described protrusion has a predetermined shape corresponding to a corner of the battery pack case. In claim 1,
The step of forming the above composite molded body is:
A method for manufacturing a battery pack case, comprising a placing step of placing the second preform in a cavity of a die, and an inserting step of placing the first preform in the cavity of the die so as to partially overlap the second preform. In claim 3,
A method for manufacturing a battery pack case, wherein in the above insert step, the first preform is placed adjacent to a corner portion of the cavity. In claim 1,
A method for manufacturing a battery pack case, wherein the press processing step includes heat-melting the overlapping portions of the first preform and the second preform to each other so that the overlapping portion is processed to a uniform thickness corresponding to the other portion. delete In claim 1,
The side surface of the battery pack case is formed by heat-fusing the first portion of the first preform and the two adjacent side surfaces of the second preform,
The upper surface of the above battery pack case is formed by heat-fusing the second portion of the first preform and the upper surface portion of the second preform.
A method for manufacturing a battery pack case, wherein the flange of the battery pack case is formed by heat-fusing the third portion of the first preform and the upper surface portion of the second preform. In claim 1,
A method for manufacturing a battery pack case, wherein the first part of the first preform is extended to a length corresponding to the height of the battery pack case. In claim 1,
A method for manufacturing a battery pack case, wherein the first preform and the second preform comprise the same thermosetting resin. A battery pack case manufactured by a method for manufacturing a battery pack case according to any one of claims 1 to 5 and claims 7 to 9.

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