JP2009227121A - Battery unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cool a battery device without utilizing an air conditioner of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: This battery unit 10 is provided with a battery device 12 for feeding power to a motor 4 for driving the vehicle integrally with a cooling and heating device 13 comprising a compressor 50 to be driven by power fed from the battery device 12, a cooling and heating device side heat exchanger 54 for performing heat exchange with outside air, an expansion valve 56 as a pressure reducing device, and a cooling and heating plate 22 as a heat exchanger for cooling or heating the battery device 12. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery unit suitable for being mounted on a hybrid vehicle or an electric vehicle.

Conventionally, in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles that use an electric motor as a drive source, a high-voltage battery device for driving the electric motor is mounted on the vehicle, and the following technologies have been proposed for cooling the battery device. Yes. That is, by installing a battery device in the refrigeration cycle of an air conditioner provided in advance in the vehicle, a technique for introducing and cooling the refrigerant of the refrigeration cycle into the battery device (for example, see Patent Document 1), Techniques have been proposed in which cooling refrigerant is cooled using cooling air from an air conditioner of a vehicle, and the cooling refrigerant is introduced into a battery device and cooled (for example, see Patent Document 2).
JP-A-5-344606 JP 2002-191104 A

However, in the configuration in which the battery device is cooled using an air conditioner provided in advance in the vehicle, the vehicle side control system is used to operate the air conditioner of the vehicle when the battery device is cooled. The system needs to be activated.
In addition, when the air temperature is relatively high, such as in summer, air conditioning in the vehicle interior is required in addition to cooling the battery device, so there is a contention for the cooling capacity of the air conditioner of the vehicle.
Furthermore, a vehicle air conditioner usually has a cooling output commensurate with cooling the passenger compartment, and this cooling output is too large compared to the cooling capacity required for cooling the battery device. If the air conditioner is controlled only for the purpose of cooling the battery device without accompanying the control, the control becomes complicated and the air conditioning efficiency deteriorates.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the situation mentioned above, and it aims at providing the battery unit which can cool a battery apparatus, without utilizing the air conditioner of a vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a battery device that supplies power to a vehicle drive motor, a compressor that is driven by power supplied from the battery device, a first heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the outside air, and a decompression device. Provided is a battery unit comprising a device and a cooling and heating device including a second heat exchanger for cooling or heating the battery device.

  According to the present invention, in the battery unit described above, the first heat exchanger is provided so as to be installed in a path for exhausting vehicle interior air of the vehicle to the outside of the vehicle interior.

  According to the present invention, in the battery unit described above, when the temperature of the battery device is lower than the minimum temperature required for maintaining the quality of the battery device or exceeds the maximum temperature, the power supply from the battery device is performed. And a control means for driving the cooling and heating device to cool or warm the battery device.

  According to the present invention, the battery unit is integrally provided with the battery device that supplies power to the vehicle drive motor and the cooling and heating device that includes the second heat exchanger that cools or heats the battery device. Since it comprised, cooling or heating of a battery apparatus can be performed without using the air conditioner of a vehicle. Furthermore, since the compressor of the cooling and heating device is driven by power supply from the battery device, the cooling and heating device can be driven independently of the power supply system on the vehicle side.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a four-wheeled electric vehicle 1 equipped with a battery unit 10 according to the present embodiment. The electric vehicle 1 includes a front wheel 2 and a rear wheel 3, and a vehicle driving motor 4 provided on each of the front wheel 2 and the rear wheel 3 or both (the illustrated example is only the front wheel 2). Yes. The vehicle drive motor 4 constitutes a drive source for moving the vehicle. In addition, a driver's seat 6 and a rear seat 7 are disposed in the front and rear of the passenger compartment 5 of the electric vehicle 1, and a handle 8 and a meter panel (not shown) are disposed in front of the driver's seat 6.
A trunk 9 is provided behind the rear seat 7, and a high-voltage battery unit 10 is disposed in the trunk 9. The battery unit 10 is driven by supplying power to the vehicle drive motor 4, and power is transmitted to the vehicle drive motor 4 through a high electric wire 11 as a power supply line drawn from the battery unit 10.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the battery unit 10, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the configuration of the battery unit 10. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the battery device 12.
As shown in these drawings, the battery unit 10 includes a battery device 12 that stores electric power to be supplied to the vehicle drive motor 4 and a cooling and heating device 13 that cools or heats the battery device 12. Both are mounted on the base plate 14 and fixed to form an assembly.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the battery device 12 includes an assembled battery 21 in which a plurality of unit cells (cells) 20 are assembled, a cooling / heating plate 22 that cools the assembled battery 21, a battery device 12, and a cooling heater. The controller 23 which controls the temperature apparatus 13 and the airtight container 24 which accommodates these are provided.

  The unit cell 20 is configured by housing a nonaqueous electrolyte secondary battery including a power generation element in which a positive electrode and a negative electrode are wound via a separator in a rectangular flat plate case made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy. Is. As the non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery, for example, a lithium ion secondary battery is preferably used. As shown in FIG. 5, the assembled battery 21 is configured by arranging a plurality of unit cells 20 side by side, sandwiching them with a pair of clamping plates 25, and binding them with a binding metal fitting 26. A plurality of such assembled batteries 21 are arranged side by side on the cooling and heating plate 22. In FIG. 3, only one assembled battery 21 is shown in order to avoid the figure from becoming complicated.

  The cooling and heating plate 22 is configured as a long plate made of aluminum or an aluminum alloy, and functions as a heat exchanger (second heat exchanger) that exchanges heat with the assembled battery 21 to cool or heat, and from one end thereof. A liquid pipe 34A and a gas pipe 34B are drawn out as refrigerant pipes.

As shown in FIG. 4, the sealed container 24 has a structure in which a box-shaped container body 40 whose upper surface is opened is sealed with a cover plate 42, and is bent over the entire circumference of the opening edge 41 </ b> A of the container body 40. A piece 43 is provided. When sealing with the lid plate 42, the lid plate 42 is in close contact with the bent piece 43 with a sealing material (not shown) interposed therebetween, thereby improving the sealing performance.
In addition, the cooling and heating plate 22 on which the assembled battery 21 is placed is attached so as to be sandwiched between the two frame pipes 38 that are bent in a U-shape. The frame pipe 38 is fixed by penetrating both ends of the frame pipe 38 to the back side of the lid plate 42, whereby the cooling and heating plate 22 and the assembled battery 21 are suspended on the back side of the lid plate 42. Thereby, since the load of the cover plate 42 increases, the airtightness between the cover plate 42 and the container body 40 is improved.

  On the back side of the lid plate 42, the box-shaped controller 23 is disposed in the gap between the lid plate 42 and the assembled battery 21. The controller 23 is driven by power supplied from the assembled battery 21 or power supplied from a separately provided battery, and is configured to be operable independently of the control system on the vehicle side. Control and drive control of the cooling and heating device 13 are performed. Needless to say, the controller 23 may be provided separately from the controller that controls the charging of the battery device 12.

From the lid plate 42, the liquid pipe 34A and the gas pipe 34B of the cooling and heating plate 22 penetrate from the back side and are drawn out to the outside. Further, the lid plate 42 has a vehicle communication line plug 44 and a pair of high pressures. A line connection plug 46 and an exhaust safety valve 48 are provided.
The vehicle communication line plug 44 is a connection plug for connecting a communication line connecting the control system on the vehicle side that performs control related to the running of the vehicle and the controller 23, and the pair of high-voltage line connection plugs 46 are A plug for connecting each of the two power transmission lines included in the high electric wire 11 to the assembled battery 21.

When the internal pressure of the sealed container 24 reaches a predetermined internal pressure, the exhaust safety valve 48 pushes and opens the plug by the internal pressure, and allows the gas inside the sealed container 24 to be released to the outside.
More specifically, secondary batteries such as lithium ion secondary batteries, when overcharged or short-circuited inside the battery in a charged state, have an internal pressure that suddenly generates heat and generates gas due to abnormal reactions. May rise. In such a case, in order to prevent the internal pressure of the sealed container 24 from rising and bursting, the exhaust safety valve 48 is opened, and the internal gas is released to the outside.

The cooling and heating device 13 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 is provided exclusively for the battery device 12, and is provided with a cooling unit that exchanges heat with the case body 60, the compressor 50, the four-way valve 52, and the outside air. A heating device side heat exchanger (first heat exchanger) 54, a cooling fan / heating device side heat exchanger 54, and a blower fan 55 for blowing outside air, and an expansion valve 56 as a decompression device, A refrigeration circuit (refrigeration cycle) is configured by connecting the cooling and heating plate 22.
The compressor 50 is a small compressor having a capacity sufficient to cool the battery device 12, and the cooling and heating device 13 is configured compactly.

  Further, the heat exchange with the outside air of the cooling and heating device side heat exchanger 54 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 1, the electric vehicle 1 has a duct 65 that connects the passenger compartment 5 and the outside of the vehicle. Is provided. The duct 65 is disposed, for example, from behind the rear seat 7 of the passenger compartment 5 directly below the trunk 9 or through the side to reach the outside of the vehicle, and exhausts the air in the passenger compartment 5 to the outside. Configure the route to be The cooling and heating device side heat exchanger 54 and the blower fan 55 are disposed in the middle of the duct 65.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the cooling and heating device 13 of the battery unit 10 is disposed so as to enter the duct 65 from below when the battery unit 10 is installed in the vehicle. A protrusion 62 protruding toward the duct 65 is provided. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, a cooling and heating device-side heat exchanger 54 and a blower fan 55 are installed in the projecting portion 62, whereby the battery unit 10 is installed in the vehicle. The cooling and heating device side heat exchanger 54 and the blower fan 55 are disposed in the duct 65. The protruding portion 62 may be arranged to enter the duct 65 from the side.

  When the cooling and heating device 13 is driven, heat exchange is performed between the air in the duct 65 and the cooling and heating device-side heat exchanger 54 as the blower fan 55 rotates. At this time, the blower fan 55 is installed in the duct 65 so as to form an air flow that flows from the passenger compartment 5 side to the outside of the vehicle, and the air in the passenger compartment 5 is heated with the cooling and heating device-side heat exchanger 54. After replacement, it is discharged outside the vehicle.

Thereby, it is prevented that the air heated or cooled by exchanging heat with the cooling / heating device side heat exchanger 54 is blown into the passenger compartment 5.
Further, when the interior of the passenger compartment 5 is air conditioned by an existing air conditioner (car air conditioner) in the electric vehicle 1, the conditioned air is guided to the duct 65 and the heat exchanger 54 and the heat exchanger 54 are heated. The exchange has the following effects.
That is, when the outside air temperature is high in summer or the like, the temperature of the battery device 12 is also higher than usual. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the cooling capacity by the cooling and heating device 13, and in this case, the passenger compartment 5 is cooled by the existing air conditioner, and heat is pumped from the cooled air by the heat exchange between the cooling air by the cooling and the cooling / heating device side heat exchanger 54, so that energy-saving operation is possible. Become.

  The drive control of the cooling and heating device 13 is performed by the controller 23 of the battery device 12, and the controller 23 switches the four-way valve 52 according to the cooling and heating of the battery device 12, thereby changing the cooling and heating plate 22. It functions as an evaporator or a condenser. More specifically, the assembled battery 21 is provided with a temperature sensor 58, and the controller 23 drives and controls the cooling and heating device 13 based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 58. This drive control will be described in detail later.

Here, in this embodiment, it is set as the structure which obtains the drive electric power of the cooling heating apparatus 13 from the battery apparatus 12, not from the existing battery mounted in the vehicle side.
More specifically, the high electric wire 11 drawn out from the battery device 12 is connected to the high electric wire 11A for driving the vehicle and the high electric wire 11B for driving the cooling and heating device 13 by the branch unit 70 in the middle of the path. The high electric wire 11 </ b> B is connected to the cooling and heating device 13. Further, the cooling and heating device 13 includes an inverter 72 that converts high-voltage DC power fed from the battery device 12 via the high electric wire 11B into AC power of predetermined power, and the compressor 50 is converted by the AC power of the inverter 72. Is driven.

  In this way, by adopting a configuration in which the cooling and heating device 13 is driven by power feeding from the battery device 12, the cooling and heating device 13 can be driven and controlled independently of the power supply system on the vehicle side. Thereby, even when the power supply on the vehicle side is off, the cooling and heating device 13 can be driven to cool or warm the battery device 12.

Next, as an operation of the battery unit 10 of the present embodiment, a cooling or heating operation of the battery unit 10 by the cooling and heating device 13 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the battery protection operation process.
The battery protection operation processing is performed, for example, when the electric vehicle 1 is in a non-driving state and power is not supplied from the battery device 12 to the vehicle driving motor 4. A process for preventing deterioration of the quality of the battery device 12 by monitoring the temperature and operating the cooling and heating device 13 so as to maintain the temperature of each unit cell 20 within the temperature range required for quality maintenance. It is.

  Specifically, for example, the controller 23 of the battery unit 10 determines that the electric vehicle 1 is in a non-driven state when the vehicle-side system is keyed off, and starts the battery protection operation process. In the battery protection operation process, as shown in FIG. 6, the controller 23 intermittently detects the temperature of the unit cell 20 with the temperature sensor 58, and the detected battery temperature and the temperature required for quality maintenance. The range is compared (step Sa1), and the cooling and heating device 13 is operated according to the comparison result (step Sa2).

That is, when the detected battery temperature is higher than the maximum battery maintenance temperature that defines the maximum temperature in the temperature range required for quality maintenance (CASE 1), the controller 23 performs cooling so that the cooling and heating plate 22 functions as an evaporator. On the contrary, when the detection battery temperature is lower than the minimum battery maintenance temperature that defines the minimum temperature in the temperature range required for quality maintenance (CASE 2), the cooling operation for driving the heating device 13 is started. Then, the heating operation for driving the cooling and heating device 13 is started so that the cooling and heating plate 22 functions as a condenser. Further, when the detected battery temperature is within the above temperature range (CASE 3), it is not necessary to cool or warm the battery device 12, and therefore the cooling and heating device 13 is stopped.
Thereafter, the controller 23 determines whether or not to stop the battery protection operation based on whether or not the control system is activated by the key-on on the vehicle side of the electric vehicle 1 and communication is started (step Sa3). Until the protection operation is stopped, the temperature of the unit cell 20 is maintained within the temperature range required for quality maintenance by repeatedly executing the steps Sa1 and Sa2. Note that the remaining amount of the battery device 12 may be monitored, and the battery protection operation may be stopped even when overdischarge occurs.

  By performing such battery protection operation, the temperature of the unit cell 20 is the temperature required for maintaining the quality even if the outside air temperature decreases or increases during the night, for example, when the electric vehicle 1 is not driven. Since the range is maintained, deterioration of the unit cell 20 is prevented.

Further, while the control system on the vehicle side of the electric vehicle 1 is activated, that is, while power is supplied from the battery device 12 to the vehicle driving motor 4 of the electric vehicle 1, the controller 23 performs battery cooling shown in FIG.・ Execute the heating process. The battery cooling / heating process is a process for maintaining the unit cell 20 at an appropriate temperature suitable for the power supply operation of the battery device 12.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, when the vehicle-side control system is activated (step Sb1: YES), the controller 23 determines that the battery temperature detected by the temperature sensor 58 defines the temperature that requires cooling. It is determined whether or not the target cooling temperature is exceeded (step Sb2).

When the detected battery temperature exceeds the battery target cooling temperature (step Sb2: YES), the controller 23 switches the refrigeration cycle of the cooling and heating device 13 to a cooling circuit in which the cooling and heating plate 22 functions as an evaporator. (Step Sb3), the cooling operation is started (Step Sb4). Thereafter, until the control system on the vehicle side of the electric vehicle 1 is stopped and the electric vehicle 1 is in a non-driven state (step Sb5: NO), in order to continue the battery cooling / heating process, the processing procedure is performed. Return to step Sb2.
Thereby, even when the unit cell 20 generates heat due to the power supply to the vehicle drive motor 4, the temperature can be appropriately maintained by the cooling by the cooling and heating device 13.

When the detected battery temperature does not exceed the battery target cooling temperature (step Sb2: NO), the controller 23 determines whether or not the detected battery temperature is lower than the battery target heating temperature that defines the temperature that requires heating. Judgment is made (step Sb6).
When the detected battery temperature exceeds the battery target heating temperature (step Sb6: NO), there is no need to heat the battery device 12, and therefore the controller 23 returns the processing procedure to step Sb5, and the vehicle side The battery cooling / heating process is continued until the control system stops.

  On the other hand, when the detected battery temperature is lower than the battery target heating temperature (step Sb6: YES), the controller 23 changes the refrigeration cycle of the cooling and heating device 13 to a heating circuit in which the cooling and heating plate 22 functions as a condenser. It switches (step Sb7) and a heating operation is started (step Sb8). Thereafter, until the control system on the vehicle side of the electric vehicle 1 stops (step Sb5: NO), the processing procedure is returned to step Sb2 in order to continue the battery cooling / heating process. Thereby, when the unit cell 20 supplies power, even when the temperature is too low, the temperature can be raised to an appropriate temperature by heating by the cooling and heating device 13.

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the battery device 12 that supplies power to the vehicle drive motor 4 and the cooling and heating plate 22 as a heat exchanger that cools or heats the battery device 12 are configured. Since the battery unit 10 is configured by integrally including the cooling and heating device 13, the battery device 12 can be cooled or heated independently without using the air conditioner of the vehicle.
Further, even when the passenger compartment 5 needs to be cooled, the battery device 12 can be cooled independently of the air conditioner of the vehicle. Operation is possible.
In addition, the cooling and heating device 13 only needs to have an air conditioning capability necessary and sufficient for cooling and heating the battery device 12, so that the cooling and heating device 13 can be made compact and can be operated efficiently.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, the cooling and heating device 13 includes the four-way valve 52 and is configured to be capable of both the cooling operation and the heating operation. It can be carried out.

  In addition to this, according to the present embodiment, the cooling and heating device 13 is driven by the power supply from the battery device 12, so that the cooling and heating device 13 can be driven independently of the power supply system on the vehicle side. Become. As a result, even when the control system on the vehicle side of the electric vehicle 1 is stopped and in a non-driven state, the battery unit 10 drives the cooling / heating device 13 alone to cool or warm the battery device 12. The battery protection operation and the battery preheating operation can be performed.

  In particular, in this embodiment, since the temperature of the unit cell 20 of the battery device 12 is suppressed to a temperature range required for quality maintenance by the battery protection operation, the deterioration of the battery device 12 is prevented and the life is extended. It is done.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the cooling and heating device side heat exchanger 54 that exchanges heat with the outside air is provided on the path of the duct 65 that exhausts the air in the vehicle compartment 5 to the outside of the vehicle compartment, When the battery device 12 is cooled, heat is pumped from the cooled air in the passenger compartment 5 and energy saving operation is possible.

  The above-described embodiment is merely an aspect of the present invention, and can be arbitrarily modified and applied within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, like the battery unit 100 illustrated in FIG. 8, the cooling and heating device 13 does not necessarily include the case body 30. Further, as shown in the figure, the cooling and heating device side heat exchanger 54 and the blower fan 55 are modularized by being housed in a module case 74, and the refrigerant piping is configured by using a flexible tube, thereby cooling. The heating device side heat exchanger 54 and the blower fan 55 can be integrally handled, and the cooling and heating device side heat exchanger 54, and The blower fan 55 can be easily disposed in the duct 65.

Further, for example, the cooling and heating plate 22 included in the cooling and heating device 13 is not limited to the configuration in which the cooling and heating plate 22 is disposed inside the sealed container 24 of the battery device 12. It is good also as a structure which arrange | positions it closely_contact | adhering from the outside and cools or heats the internal unit cell 20 via this airtight container 24.
Further, as shown in the figure, the controller 23 is not limited to the configuration provided inside the sealed container 24 of the battery device 12 but may be provided outside. Further, the controller 23 may be provided separately from the controller provided for the battery device 12 to control the charging of the assembled battery 21.

  Although the battery unit mounted on the electric vehicle 1 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is applicable to any vehicle such as a hybrid vehicle, a two-wheeled vehicle, a train, an airplane, etc., as long as the vehicle requires a high voltage. The battery unit can be used. Furthermore, the battery unit of the present invention can be used not only for vehicles but also for any device that requires a high voltage.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the four-wheeled electric vehicle carrying the battery unit which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a battery unit. It is a schematic diagram of a structure of a battery unit. It is a disassembled perspective view of a battery apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of an assembled battery and a cooling heating plate. It is a flowchart of a battery protection driving process. It is a flowchart of a battery cooling and heating operation process. It is a schematic diagram which shows the modification of a battery unit. It is a schematic diagram which shows the other modification of a battery unit.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric vehicle 4 Vehicle drive motor 10, 100, 200 Battery unit 11, 11A, 11B High electric wire 12 Battery device 13 Cooling and heating device 14 Base plate 20 Unit cell 21 Battery assembly 22 Cooling and heating plate (second heat exchanger )
23 Controller 50 Compressor 52 Four-way valve 54 Cooling and heating device side heat exchanger (first heat exchanger)
55 Blower fan 56 Expansion valve (pressure reduction device)
65 Duct 70 Branch unit 72 Inverter

Claims (3)

A battery device for supplying power to the vehicle drive motor;
A compressor driven by electric power supplied from the battery device, a first heat exchanger that exchanges heat with the outside air, a decompression device, and a second heat exchanger that cools or heats the battery device. A battery unit comprising a cooling and heating device integrally. The battery unit according to claim 1,
The battery unit is characterized in that the first heat exchanger is installed in a path for exhausting the air in the passenger compartment of the vehicle to the outside of the passenger compartment. The battery unit according to claim 1 or 2,
When the temperature of the battery device is lower than the minimum temperature required for maintaining the quality of the battery device or exceeds the maximum temperature, the cooling and heating device is driven by power supply from the battery device, and the battery device A battery unit comprising control means for cooling or heating the battery.

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