Abstract: Disclosed is a power switching module for a battery module assembly in which a plurality of rectangular battery modules, each having a plurality of battery cells or unit modules connected in series to each other, are stacked in the width (longitudinal) and height (transverse) direction by at least twos such that the battery modules constitute a hexahedral structure (hexahedral stack), outer edges of the hexahedral stack are fixed by a frame member, and input and output terminals of the battery modules are oriented such that the input and output terminals of the battery modules are directed toward one surface (a) of the stack, wherein the power switching module comprises an insulative substrate mounted to the surface (a) of the stack, elements mounted on the substrate for controlling voltage and current during charge and discharge of the battery modules, and connection members mounted on the substrate for interconnecting the control elements.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a battery module assembly configured to have a structure in which a plurality of rectangular battery modules, each of which has two or more battery cells or unit modules connected in series and/or in parallel to each other, are stacked by two or more in a width direction (a longitudinal direction) thereof and in a height direction (a transverse direction) thereof so that the rectangular battery modules generally constitute a hexahedral structure (a hexahedral stack), outer edges of the hexahedral stack are fixed by a frame member, and coupling parts for mounting, through which the battery module assembly is mounted to an external device, are provided at one side of the frame member.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for estimating the maximum power of a battery, which can inexpensively perform an estimation of the maximum power of a battery in a relatively simple manner of using the internal resistance of the battery, which has a correlation with and a largest effect on the maximum power of the battery. The method includes the steps of: measuring an internal resistance and a temperature of the battery and estimating a state of charge, if an estimation of the maximum power of the battery is requested; and reading a value of the maximum power of the battery, which corresponds to the measured temperature, the estimated state of charge, and the measured internal resistance, from a table in which the internal resistances and the maximum powers of the battery are mapped according to the temperatures and states of charge.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a plate-shaped secondary battery used as a unit cell for middle- or large-sized battery pack, the secondary battery having an electrode assembly, which can be charged and discharged, mounted in a sheet-shaped battery case including a metal layer and a resin layer in a sealed state, the electrode assembly having electrode terminals protruding outside a sealing part of the battery case, wherein at least one of the electrode terminals is provided at a position spaced a predetermined distance from the sealing part with a self cutting part having a vertical sectional area less than that of the remaining part of the at least one electrode terminal such that the self cutting part can break first when overcurrent flows in the secondary battery.

Abstract: Provided is a battery exchanging type charging station system for an electric vehicle. The battery exchanging type charging station system includes a charging station body formed with a structure in which the electric vehicle freely enters and exits and including a battery loading unit for receiving the battery, a battery replacing robot mounted in the charging station body to perform a battery replacement operation, a charging station control unit to control the battery replacing robot such that the battery replacement operation is performed by controlling the battery replacing robot, an information recognition unit configured to obtain data on an electric vehicle that enters the charging station body and/or data on a type, size, charging state, release date, charging date or the like of the battery, and a charging station control unit that allows a replacement operation of the battery to be performed by controlling the battery replacing robot.

Abstract: Provided is a battery exchange method for an electric vehicle. The battery exchange method includes (a) opening a protection cover of a battery mounting module installed at an upper portion of the electric vehicle, and transmitting an open signal to a battery charge station; (b) releasing a locking unit of a pre-mounted battery, and transmitting an unlocking signal to the battery charge station; (c) determining and storing a mounting location of the battery using an image sensor; (d) controlling movements and operations of a battery replacing robot when the unlocking signal is confirmed, and ejecting the pre-mounted battery from a battery seating base of the battery mounting module; (e) controlling movements and operations of the battery replacing robot to move a prepared fully charged battery into the battery mounting module, and mounting the fully charged battery on the battery seating base in the battery charge station.

Abstract: Disclosed is a method for estimating the maximum power of a battery, which can inexpensively perform an estimation of the maximum power of a battery in a relatively simple manner of using the internal resistance of the battery, which has a correlation with and a largest effect on the maximum power of the battery. The method includes the steps of: measuring an internal resistance and a temperature of the battery and estimating a state of charge, if an estimation of the maximum power of the battery is requested; and reading a value of the maximum power of the battery, which corresponds to the measured temperature, the estimated state of charge, and the measured internal resistance, from a table in which the internal resistances and the maximum powers of the battery are mapped according to the temperatures and states of charge.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus and method for estimating a state of charge (SOC) in a battery, the apparatus including a detector unit; a soft computing unit for calculating and outputting a battery SOC estimation value by processing a current, a voltage and a temperature detected by the detector unit using a computing algorithm, which is a fuzzy algorithm implemented as a neural network, the soft computing unit storing the battery SOC estimation value in a memory, where the fuzzy algorithm has a form expressed as F=?(P,X)W, where ? is one of a fuzzy radial function, a radial basis function, and an activation function in the neural network, P is a learning parameter, X is an input, and W is a weight to be updated during learning.

Abstract: Provided is a battery exchanging type charging station system for an electric vehicle. The battery exchanging type charging station system includes a charging station body formed with a structure in which the electric vehicle freely enters and exits and including a battery loading unit for receiving the battery, a battery replacing robot mounted in the charging station body to perform a battery replacement operation, a charging station control unit to control the battery replacing robot such that the battery replacement operation is performed by controlling the battery replacing robot, an information recognition unit configured to obtain data on an electric vehicle that enters the charging station body and/or data on a type, size, charging state, release date, charging date or the like of the battery, and a charging station control unit that allows a replacement operation of the battery to be performed by controlling the battery replacing robot.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a middle- or large-sized battery pack including a plurality of unit cells electrically connected with each other, wherein the battery pack is constructed in a structure in which a heat transfer medium flows through gaps defined between the unit cells for controlling the overall temperature of the battery pack to be within a predetermined temperature range for the optimum operation of the battery pack, and each unit cell is provided at the outer surface thereof, at which the heat transfer medium is brought into contact with each unit cell, with a layer containing a phase transformation material (‘phase transformation layer’) for minimizing individual temperature difference between the unit cells. The present invention has the effect of controlling the overall temperature of the battery pack and individual controlling the temperatures of unit cells constituting the battery pack.

Abstract: Provided is a battery exchange method for an electric vehicle. The battery exchange method includes (a) opening a protection cover of a battery mounting module installed at an upper portion of the electric vehicle, and transmitting an open signal to a battery charge station; (b) releasing a locking unit of a pre-mounted battery, and transmitting an unlocking signal to the battery charge station; (c) determining and storing a mounting location of the battery using an image sensor; (d) controlling movements and operations of a battery replacing robot when the unlocking signal is confirmed, and ejecting the pre-mounted battery from a battery seating base of the battery mounting module; (e) controlling movements and operations of the battery replacing robot to move a prepared fully charged battery into the battery mounting module, and mounting the fully charged battery on the battery seating base in the battery charge station.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a battery module assembly configured to have a structure in which a plurality of rectangular battery modules, each of which has two or more battery cells or unit modules connected in series and/or in parallel to each other, are stacked by two or more in a width direction (a longitudinal direction) thereof and in a height direction (a transverse direction) thereof so that the rectangular battery modules generally constitute a hexahedral structure (a hexahedral stack), outer edges of the hexahedral stack are fixed by a frame member, and coupling parts for mounting, through which the battery module assembly is mounted to an external device, are provided at one side of the frame member.

Abstract: Disclosed is a power switching module for a battery module assembly in which a plurality of rectangular battery modules, each having a plurality of battery cells or unit modules connected in series to each other, are stacked in the width (longitudinal) and height (transverse) direction by at least twos such that the battery modules constitute a hexahedral structure (hexahedral stack), outer edges of the hexahedral stack are fixed by a frame member, and input and output terminals of the battery modules are oriented such that the input and output terminals of the battery modules are directed toward one surface (a) of the stack, wherein the power switching module comprises an insulative substrate mounted to the surface (a) of the stack, elements mounted on the substrate for controlling voltage and current during charge and discharge of the battery modules, and connection members mounted on the substrate for interconnecting the control elements.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a power switching module for a battery module assembly constructed in a structure in which a plurality of rectangular battery modules, each having a plurality of battery cells or unit modules connected in series to each other, are stacked in the width direction (the longitudinal direction) and the height direction (the transverse direction) by at least twos such that the rectangular battery modules generally constitute a hexahedral structure (hexahedral stack), outer edges of the hexahedral stack are fixed by a frame member, and input and output terminals of the rectangular battery modules are oriented such that the input and output terminals of the rectangular battery modules are directed toward one surface (a) of the hexahedral stack, wherein the power switching module comprises an insulative substrate mounted to the surface (a) of the hexahedral stack in a coupling fashion, elements mounted on the insulative substrate for controlling voltage and current during the charge and discharge o

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a secondary battery module constructed approximately in a rectangular parallelepiped structure. The battery module includes a pair of side members (right and left side members) having pluralities of grooves formed at the inside surfaces thereof such that the sides of unit cells are securely fitted in the grooves and at least one connection member integrally formed with the side members such that the side members are spaced apart from each other by the width of the unit cells while the grooves of the side members face each other. A medium- or large-sized battery system is manufactured using one or more secondary battery module. The secondary battery module allows a plurality of unit cells to be mounted in the battery module with high density. Consequently, the total size of the battery system can be considerably reduced, and the electrical connection between the electrodes is highly stable.

Abstract: A battery cartridge includes a pair of outer frame members for receiving unit cells and an inner frame member disposed between the outer frame members. The unit cells are mounted between the outer and inner frame members. The inner frame member has a plurality of through-holes, which communicate with the outside while the unit cells are mounted between the outer and inner frame members. An opened type battery module includes such a battery cartridge. The battery cartridge and the battery module have a high structural integration and mechanical strength. Consequently, the present invention has the effect of minimizing the size of a battery system, stably mounting unit cells having low mechanical strength, and effectively removing heat from the unit cells.

Abstract: Disclosed is an apparatus and method for estimating a state of charge (SOC) in a battery, in which the battery SOC is estimated using a fusion type soft computing algorithm, thereby accurately estimating the battery SOC in a high C-rate environment. The apparatus includes a detector unit for detecting current, voltage and temperature of a battery cell; and soft computing unit for outputting a battery SOC estimation value of processing the current, the voltage and the temperature detected by the detector unit using a radial function based on a neural network algorithm. Especially, the soft computing unit combines the neural network algorithm with any one of a fuzzy algorithm, a genetic algorithm (GA), a cellular automata (CA) algorithm, an immune system algorithm, and a rough-set algorithm, and thereby adaptively updates the parameters of the neural network algorithm.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for discharging a voltage in a battery pack. The apparatus includes a discharge resistance connected to a discharge target battery of plural batteries in the battery pack and discharging a voltage of the discharge target battery, a switching section for connecting the discharge target battery and the discharge resistance, a voltage measuring section for measuring a voltage of the discharge target battery, and a control section for controlling the switching section depending on the measured voltage value of the battery. The method includes measuring a voltage of the discharge target battery, calculating a PWM duty rate of a switching section connecting the discharge target battery and a discharge resistance using the measured voltage value and a value of the discharge resistance, and controlling the switching section based on the duty rate to maintain an energy consumed in the discharge resistance to be constant.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a battery module for medium- or large-sized battery packs, including a plurality of unit cells, wherein the unit cells are generally plate-shaped unit cells, and the unit cells are electrically connected with each other while the unit cells are arranged in a module case so as to constitute at least two rows and at least two columns. According to the present invention, integration of the battery module is highly improved. Especially, the vertical-direction mechanical strength of the battery module is further increased, and the number of connecting members necessary for the electrical connection between the unit cells is reduced.

Abstract: A battery cartridge-connecting system for battery modules including bus bars, each of which includes a plate-shaped bar body, coupling parts, and electrical connection parts; a base plate, to which the bus bars are easily mounted; and a printed circuit board (PCB), which is easily coupled to the bus bars and is mounted to the base plate in a compact structure. The present invention also provides a battery module and a medium- or large-sized battery system including the battery cartridge-connecting system.