Flexible circuit board and frame assembly including same

A frame assembly for fixing a cell assembly formed by stacking one or more battery cells, comprising:

• a frame disposed to surround the cell assembly and provided with an upper plate and side plates connected to both ends of the upper plate;
• bus bars disposed on and fixed to the side plates;
• and
• a flexible circuit board disposed along the upper plate and the side plates to sense voltages of the battery cells,
• wherein the upper plate has a path groove recessed at a predetermined depth on an upper surface of the upper plate,
• the flexible circuit board includes,
• a band-shaped central portion provided with an outwardly-extending temperature sensing portion and seated in the path groove;
• first connection circuit portions formed at both ends of the central portion and disposed to face each other;
• second connection circuit portions extending from both ends of each of the first connection circuit portions in parallel with the central portion;
• and
• third connection circuit portions extending from the first connection circuit portions and the second connection circuit portions and connected to the bus bars,
• the flexible circuit board further includes an overlapped portion including a first overlapped portion formed by folding each of the second connection circuit portions toward each of the first connection circuit portions along a first bending line and a second overlapped portion formed by bending and folding each of the second connection circuit portions in a longitudinal direction of each of the first connection circuit portions along a second bending line,
• when the overlapped portion is formed, each of the second connection circuit portions is disposed on the same line as each of the first connection circuit portions, and the third connection circuit portions formed in the second connection circuit portions are disposed in series with the third connection circuit portions formed in the first connection circuit portions.

A frame assembly for fixing a cell assembly formed by stacking one or more battery cells, comprising:

• a frame disposed to surround the cell assembly and provided with an upper plate and side plates connected to both ends of the upper plate;
• bus bars disposed on and fixed to the side plates;
• a flexible circuit board disposed along the upper plate and the side plates to sense voltages of the battery cells;
• and
• a reinforcing plate closely fixed to one side of each of the side plates and configured to cover end portions of the flexible circuit board,
• wherein the upper plate has a protection groove recessed at a predetermined depth on a bottom surface of the upper plate,
• the flexible circuit board includes,
• a band-shaped central portion provided with an outwardly-extending temperature sensing portion and accommodated in the protection groove;
• first connection circuit portions formed at both ends of the central portion and disposed to face each other;
• second connection circuit portions extending from both ends of each of the first connection circuit portions in parallel with the central portion;
• and
• third connection circuit portions extending from the first connection circuit portions and the second connection circuit portions and connected to the bus bars,
• the flexible circuit board further includes an overlapped portion including a first overlapped portion formed by folding each of the second connection circuit portions toward each of the first connection circuit portions along a first bending line and a second overlapped portion formed by bending and folding each of the second connection circuit portions in a longitudinal direction of each of the first connection circuit portions along a second bending line,
• when the overlapped portion is formed, each of the second connection circuit portions is disposed in parallel with each of the first connection circuit portions, and the third connection circuit portions formed in the second connection circuit portions are disposed in parallel with the third connection circuit portions formed in the first connection circuit portions.