JP2008181733A - Cooling system for battery for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling system for a battery of vehicles capable of installing a cooling member so as to cool sufficiently, while increasing production efficiency. <P>SOLUTION: The cooling system for the battery for vehicle is provided with a battery module 2 in which a plurality of batteries are integrated, a flange part 21 installed at the upper side of the battery module 2, a cold plate 5 to carry out heat exchange by flowing cooling medium inside, and a clip 6 which couples with elasticity both upper and lower flange parts in the state of clipping the cold plate 5 by the upper side of the battery module 2 and the lower side of the battery module 2 which is reversed upside down so that the flange part 21 may be lower side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention belongs to the technical field of a vehicle battery cooling system for cooling a traveling battery installed in a vehicle.

Conventionally, an assembled battery in which battery cells are stacked is used as a module, the modules are stacked and fixed with bolts, and the modules are connected in series to form a battery for driving a vehicle (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).
Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2006-92984 (page 2-8, full view)

However, conventionally, there has been a problem that the production efficiency is low because of bolt fastening.
Moreover, it was difficult to mount the cooling member, which was a problem.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle battery cooling system in which a cooling member can be attached so that sufficient cooling can be performed while improving production efficiency. There is to do.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, heat exchange is performed by flowing a refrigerant in a battery module in which a plurality of batteries are integrated, an engaging portion provided on an upper side portion of the battery module, and the inside. The upper and lower engaging portions in a state where the cooling plate is sandwiched between the cooling plate, the upper surface of the battery module, and the lower surface of the battery module turned upside down so that the engaging portion becomes the lower side portion have elasticity. And an elastic coupling means for coupling while performing the above.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the cooling member can be mounted so that sufficient cooling can be performed while increasing the production efficiency.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for realizing a vehicle battery cooling system of the present invention will be described based on Examples 1 to 4 corresponding to the first and second aspects of the invention.

First, the configuration will be described.
1 is a perspective view illustrating a battery structure of a vehicle battery cooling system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a battery structure of the vehicle battery cooling system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a battery of the vehicle battery cooling system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a battery installation position in the vehicle battery cooling system of the first embodiment.
The vehicle battery cooling system according to the first embodiment includes a battery device 1, a battery module 2, an upper case 3, a lower case 4, a cold plate 5, and a clip 6 as main components.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the battery device 1 has a plurality of battery modules 2 arranged in an upper case 3 and a lower case 4, and is installed under a vehicle trunk or a floor as shown in FIG. It is. And it will be used as a driving battery for traveling.

The battery module 2 includes a plurality of batteries in an assembled battery.
As a further specific example, a plurality of plate-like lithium ion batteries connected in series will be mentioned. In this case, in the entire battery device 1, the total number of lithium ion batteries reaches several tens or more.
The battery module 2 is a module whose outer surface is made of resin. The example by insert molding is mentioned as an example.
In addition, the battery module 2 is provided with a flange portion 21 that protrudes to the outside over the entire peripheral edge of the side upper end.

The upper case 3 is a case that covers the upper side and the side of the plurality of battery modules 2 on the lower case 4, and is a member that protects the battery module 2 from the surroundings. The lower case 4 is provided with a portion in contact with the lower case 4 at the lower end, and the upper case 3 is attached to the lower case 4 by fastening or the like.
The lower case 4 is a case that supports the lower side of the plurality of battery modules 2, and the lower surface of the lower case 4 is used for installation in a vehicle.
In the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery module 2 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction.

The cold plate 5 has a rectangular plate shape sandwiched between two battery modules 2 and cools the battery module 2 by flowing a refrigerant into the inside. Details will be described later.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the clip 6 is formed of a strip-shaped plate material, and has a flat surface portion 61 that comes into contact with the side surface of the battery module 2 by fastening or the like, and a curved portion curved in a substantially C shape. 62.

Here, the assembly structure of the battery device 1 will be described. First, the cold plate 5 is arranged on the upper surface of the battery module 2, and the battery module 2 is arranged upside down (upside down).
Thus, the cold plate 5 is sandwiched between the upper and lower battery modules 2.

Next, the clip 6 is assembled so that the two flange portions 21 are positioned inside the curved portion 62, and the flat portions 61 of the clip 6 are respectively attached to the side surfaces of the upper and lower battery modules 2 by fastening or the like.
Then, the elastic force of the curved portion 62 of the clip 6 exerts a biasing force in a direction to bring the two flange portions 21 closer, the upper and lower battery modules 2 strongly hold the cold plate 5 therebetween, and the upper and lower battery modules 2 are integrated. It is an assembly structure to be converted.

  A plurality of the battery modules 2 and the cold plate 5 in pairs are provided on the lower case 4 and the upper case 3 covers the periphery.

Next, the detailed structure of the cold plate 5 of the vehicle battery cooling system according to the first embodiment will be described.
FIG. 5 is a side view of the cold plate. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway plan view of the cold plate without the upper plate. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.

The cold plate 5 of the first embodiment mainly includes an inlet side pipe 51, an outlet side pipe 52, an upper plate 53, a first lower plate 54, a second lower plate 55, a tank 56, and an inner fin 57.
First, the 1st lower plate 54 and the 2nd lower plate 55 which became the cross-sectional shape dented so that a groove part may be comprised are provided. The second lower plate 55 has a wider groove width than the first lower plate 54.

The first lower plate 54 and the second lower plate 55 are juxtaposed and attached to the upper plate 53 that covers the upper part so as to form two long passages in the longitudinal direction.
This forms a passage that extends long in the longitudinal direction.
Inner fins 57 are provided in the two passages. The inner fin 57 has a structure that divides the two passages of the first passage and the second passage into a plurality of passages in the longitudinal direction, and rectifies the refrigerant flow.

The left ends of the first passage and the second passage constituted by the first lower plate 54, the second lower plate 55, and the inner fin 57 are closed, and the right end is connected to the opening of the tank 56 having an internal space. To.
As a result, the first passage is folded inside the tank 56 and is directed to the second passage.

Further, the inlet side pipe 51 is connected to the first lower plate 54 near the left end of the first passage, and the outlet side pipe 52 is connected to the second lower plate 55 near the left end of the second passage. To do.
The inner fin 57 portion and other portions in the vicinity of the inlet side pipe 51 are provided with a portion where the inner fin 57 is not partitioned. Further, the inner fin 57 portion in the vicinity of the outlet side pipe 52 and other portions are provided with portions where the inner fin 57 is not partitioned.

The internal space of the tank 56 has a predetermined space so that a sufficient amount of refrigerant flows to the second passage.
And in this cold plate 5, a battery is cooled by flowing the refrigerant | coolant of an air-conditioning system inside, for example.

The operation will be described.
[Operation of mounting cooling members to ensure sufficient cooling while improving production efficiency]
In the vehicle battery cooling system of the first embodiment, the battery device 1 has a structure in which the cold plate 5 is sandwiched by the battery module 2 that is a modular assembled battery. However, in the conventional bolt fastening structure, the production efficiency is high. In addition, it is difficult to mitigate cold deformation caused by temperature changes in the battery cells and the cold plate 5 in the battery module 2. For example, even if it is attempted to cope with torque management in a bolt fastening structure as in the prior art, there is a problem that the bolt or the module material is stressed and is likely to be damaged.

In the first embodiment, the cold plate 5 is positioned between the upper battery module 2 and the lower battery module 2 turned upside down, and the urging force is applied by the clip 6 and held in the direction in which the two flange portions 21 are brought closer. .
For this reason, even if the battery module 2 undergoes cold deformation, it is alleviated by the elastic deformation of the clip 6.

Further, the assembling process of holding the cold plate 5 by the battery module 2 and holding it by the clip 6 is very easy. Therefore, since it is a structure that does not have a large number of torque management and fastening processes that require very high accuracy, the production efficiency is very good. This also leads to cost reduction.
Moreover, since the group comprised using two battery modules 2 is comprised by making one side of the same-shaped battery module 2 upside down, there are few types and cost is suppressed. In addition, the presence of the flange portion 21 at a close position does not cause a useless portion in the clip 6, and a short size is sufficient, which also reduces the cost.

  Furthermore, since the battery module 2 absorbs heat on a wide surface by the cold plate 5 provided in contact with or opposed to the upper and lower wide surfaces, sufficient cooling is performed and the performance is sufficiently exhibited. be able to.

[High cooling effect]
In the vehicle battery cooling system of the first embodiment, the liquefied air-conditioner refrigerant flows from the inlet side pipe 51 of the cold plate 5, passes through the first lower plate 54 portion which is the first passage, and passes through the tank 56. Thus, the flow direction changes and the refrigerant changed so that the flow direction bends passes through the second lower plate 55 portion which is the second passage, and flows out from the outlet side pipe 52 to the outside.
The air-conditioner refrigerant is a liquid that boils from the liquid state and vaporizes between the inlet-side pipe 51, the first passage, the second passage, and the outlet-side pipe 52.

  Furthermore, the inner fin 57 provided in the first passage and the second passage allows the partition portion of the inner fin 57 that conducts high heat by metal contact with the upper plate 53, the first lower plate 54, and the second lower plate 55 to be a heat exchange area. Widely contacts with refrigerant to exchange heat. Thereby, cooling is performed with higher efficiency.

  In the vehicle battery cooling system according to the first embodiment, the cold plate 5 performs cooling in a wide interview. However, the cold plate 5 performs uniform and efficient cooling as described above, thereby further cooling a part of the battery. Since it is cooled more efficiently than before without becoming insufficient, it is advantageous for improving battery performance and saving space.

Next, the effect will be described.
In the vehicle battery cooling system of the first embodiment, the effects listed below can be obtained.

  (1) A battery module 2 in which a plurality of batteries are integrated, a flange 21 provided on the upper side of the battery module 2, a cold plate 5 that exchanges heat by flowing a refrigerant therein, and a battery module 2 The upper and lower flange portions 21 with the cold plate 5 sandwiched between the upper surface and the lower surface of the battery module 2 turned upside down so that the flange portion 21 becomes the lower side portion are connected with elasticity. Since the clip 6 is provided, the cooling member can be mounted so that sufficient cooling can be performed while increasing the production efficiency.

  (2) The elastic connecting means is a clip 6 made of a metal member that is connected while having elasticity by applying a force for biasing the flanges 21 closer to each other. On the other hand, it is possible to cope with cold deformation by giving elasticity appropriately.

The vehicle battery cooling system according to the second embodiment is an example in which the elastic connecting means is a clip having a substantially C-shaped cross section.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the battery structure of the vehicle battery cooling system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the battery structure of the vehicle battery cooling system of the second embodiment.

The configuration will be described.
In the second embodiment, the clip 7 is composed only of a belt-shaped metal plate that is substantially C-shaped.
Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

The operation will be described.
[Operation of mounting cooling members to ensure sufficient cooling while improving production efficiency]
In the second embodiment, since the clip 7 is configured only by a substantially C-shape, the connection between the battery module 2 and the vertically inverted battery module 2 is only the attachment of the clip 7 to the two flange portions 21. It becomes very easy.
Therefore, the production efficiency is very good. Further, the cost of the clip 7 can be reduced.

Explain the effect.
The vehicle battery cooling system of the second embodiment has the following effects in addition to the above (1) and (2).
(3) Since the elastic connecting member is the clip 7 having only a substantially C shape, the cooling member can be mounted so as to perform sufficient cooling while reducing the cost and further improving the production efficiency.
Other functions and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

The vehicle battery cooling system according to the third embodiment is an example in which the elastic connecting means is a clip having a substantially Z-shaped cross section at both ends.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the battery structure of the vehicle battery cooling system of the third embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the battery structure of the vehicle battery cooling system of the third embodiment.

The configuration will be described.
In the third embodiment, the clip 8 is configured by a belt-shaped metal plate having both ends substantially Z-shaped.
Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

The operation will be described.
[Operation of mounting cooling members to ensure sufficient cooling while improving production efficiency]
In the third embodiment, since the clip 8 is configured by a belt-shaped metal plate having both ends substantially Z-shaped, the connection between the battery module 2 and the vertically inverted battery module 2 is connected to the two flange portions 21. It is only easy to attach the clip 8 and it becomes very easy.
Therefore, the production efficiency is very good. Further, the cost of the clip 8 can be reduced.
Moreover, since the large amount of elastic deformation can be obtained in the folded portion, the portion that is folded back in the Z-shape is advantageous in that it can mitigate larger thermal deformation.

Explain the effect.
The vehicle battery cooling system according to the third embodiment has the following effects in addition to the above (1) and (2).
(4) Since the elastic connecting member is a clip 8 having both ends of the belt shape substantially Z-shaped, the cost can be reduced, the larger thermal deformation can be mitigated, and the production efficiency can be further increased while sufficient cooling is performed. A cooling member can be mounted so that
Other functions and effects are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

In the vehicle battery cooling system of the fourth embodiment, a step is provided at the corner along the both ends of the rectangular battery module upper and lower surfaces, the elastic connecting means is extended to the curved portion, and one of the mounting portions is extended to the step. This is an example in which a clip is provided.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the battery structure of the vehicle battery cooling system according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing the battery structure of the vehicle battery cooling system of the fourth embodiment.

The configuration will be described.
In the fourth embodiment, the clip 9 includes a curved portion 91 and an attachment portion 92.
The bending portion 91 holds the upper and lower battery modules 2 while energizing the flange portions 21 in the attracting direction.
The attachment portion 92 has a claw shape that extends from one end of the bending portion 91 to the lateral upper end of the battery module 2 and hooks the tip.

The battery module 2 is provided with stepped portions 22 at the corners of two opposing sides of the upper and lower surfaces.
When assembling the two battery modules 2 and the cold plate 5, the bending portion 91 is attached to the upper and lower flange portions 21, and the attachment portion 92 is attached to the stepped portion 22 of the battery module 2. .
Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

The operation will be described.
[Operation of mounting cooling members to ensure sufficient cooling while improving production efficiency]
In the fourth embodiment, since the clip 9 includes the curved portion 91 and the attachment portion 92, the connection between the battery module 2 and the battery module 2 inverted upside down is not fastened to the two flange portions 21. Installation is very easy.
Therefore, the production efficiency is very good. In addition, the cost of the clip 9 can be reduced.

Explain the effect.
The vehicle battery cooling system of the fourth embodiment has the following effects in addition to the above (1) and (2).
(5) The clip 9 is provided with a step at the corner along the upper and lower ends of the battery module 2, the elastic connecting means being the curved portion 91, and the attachment portion 92 extending one of which is hung on the step. Therefore, it is possible to mount the cooling member so that sufficient cooling can be performed while further improving the production efficiency by making the assembly easy without fastening.

  As mentioned above, although the vehicle battery cooling system of the present invention has been described based on the first to fourth embodiments, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and each claim of the claims Design changes and additions are permitted without departing from the spirit of the invention according to the paragraph.

It is a perspective view which shows the battery structure of the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 1. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the battery structure of the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 1. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the battery of the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 1. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the battery installation position in the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 1. FIG. It is a side view of a cold plate. It is a partially cutaway top view of the cold plate without the upper plate. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the battery structure of the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 2. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the battery structure of the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 2. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the battery structure of the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 3. FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the battery structure of the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 3. It is a perspective view which shows the battery structure of the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 4. It is sectional drawing which shows the battery structure of the battery cooling system for vehicles of Example 4.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Battery apparatus 2 Battery module 21 Gutter part 22 Step part 3 Upper case 4 Lower case 5 Cold plate 51 Inlet side pipe 52 Outlet side pipe 53 Upper plate 54 1st lower plate 55 2nd lower plate 56 Tank 57 Inner fin 6 Clip 61 Plane Part 62 bending part 7 clip 8 clip 9 clip 91 bending part 92 mounting part C vehicle

Claims (2)

A battery module in which a plurality of batteries are integrated;
An engaging portion provided on the upper side of the battery module;
A cooling plate that exchanges heat by flowing a refrigerant inside;
The upper and lower engaging portions in a state of sandwiching the cooling plate are connected with elasticity between the upper surface of the battery module and the lower surface of the battery module that is turned upside down so that the engaging portion is a lower side portion. Elastic coupling means;
A battery cooling system for a vehicle, comprising: The vehicle battery cooling system according to claim 1,
The vehicle battery cooling system according to claim 1, wherein the elastic connecting means is a clip made of a metal member that is connected while having elasticity by applying a force for biasing both engaging portions closer to each other.

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