JP2013193635A - Battery cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery cooling device having a lower manufacturing cost for preventing a battery from receiving heat.SOLUTION: A battery cooling device 20 includes a battery case 21 mounted on the lower part of a floor panel 5 of a cabin. The battery case 21 is doubly-formed with an inner case 22 in which a battery cell 11 is stored, and an outer case 26 which stores the inner case 22. A gap 23 between the battery cell 11 and the inner case 22 and a gap 27 between the inner case 22 and the outer case 26 are formed as an exhaust flow path 27a which extends along an outer face 22b of the inner case 22 from the other end side to one end side of the outer face 22b so that air after cooling a battery flows therein. Air delivered into the inner case 22 flows in a cooling flow path 23a and cools the battery cell 11, and the air after cooling the battery cell flows in the exhaust flow path 27a to be returned into the cabin.

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery cooling device that cools a battery mounted on a vehicle that can travel by receiving driving force of a motor.

  In an electric vehicle that travels only with the driving force of the motor or a hybrid vehicle that travels with the driving force of the engine and the motor, the vehicle travels by driving the motor with the electric power supplied from the battery. This battery generates heat during operation. However, when the temperature of the battery increases, the charge / discharge performance may decrease and the life may be shortened.

  Therefore, a cooling device for cooling the battery has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). The cooling device described in Patent Document 1 includes a vehicle electrical unit that houses a battery with a main air passage formed inside. The vehicle electrical unit is installed between a floor and a seat in a vehicle interior of the vehicle. An intake port through which air in the vehicle compartment can be introduced into the main air passage is provided at one end of the vehicle electrical unit, and the main air passage is circulated at the other end of the vehicle electrical unit. An exhaust port through which air can be discharged out of the electrical unit is provided. A sub air passage communicating with the other end of the main air passage is formed below the vehicle electrical unit. The sub air passage is provided with a first shutter that can be connected to and shut off from one end side of the main air passage. When the first shutter of the auxiliary air passage is opened, it is connected to the main air passage to form a closed circuit. A fan that generates an air flow in the main air passage is provided on the other end side of the main air passage. When the battery is cooled, the air in the vehicle compartment is introduced from the intake port into the main air passage, flows from the battery toward the fan, and is then discharged from the exhaust port.

JP 2005-47489 A

  The auxiliary air passage of the cooling device described in Patent Document 1 does not have a dedicated wall portion surrounding the periphery thereof, the lower side of the auxiliary air passage is partitioned by a floor panel, the upper side is partitioned by a seat cushion, and the front side is The housing is partitioned by a rear end plate, and the rear side is partitioned by a body cross member. For this reason, when the floor panel of the auxiliary air passage receives hot air from the road surface or the engine room, the temperature of the air in the auxiliary air passage rises, and the battery receives heat through the main air passage by this warmed air. The allowable temperature may be exceeded. Then, in order to avoid the heat reception of a battery, when a heat insulating material is provided in a cooling device or it heat-insulates, the problem that manufacturing cost becomes high will arise.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a battery cooling device that prevents heat reception of the battery and reduces the manufacturing cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, a battery cooling device of the present invention is a battery cooling device that cools a battery disposed in a vehicle (hybrid vehicle 1 in the embodiment) including a vehicle compartment, and is attached to the vehicle body of the vehicle. A battery case that accommodates the battery, and the battery case has an inner case that accommodates the battery and an outer case that accommodates the inner case, and is formed in a double layer between the battery and the inner case, A gap is formed between the inner case and the outer case, and the air sent into the inner case flows through the gap between the battery and the inner case to cool the battery, and the air after the battery is cooled. Flows into the outer case, flows through the gap between the inner case and the outer case, flows into the passenger compartment, or is released to the outside of the vehicle ( Motomeko 1).

  In addition, the gap between the battery and the inner case according to the present invention extends from one end side of the outer surface to the other end side along the outer surface of the battery, and serves as a cooling flow path for flowing air sent into the inner case. A gap formed between the inner case and the outer case is formed as a discharge passage that extends from the other end side of the outer surface to the one end side along the outer surface of the inner case, and flows the air after battery cooling. The flow path communicates with the discharge flow path through an opening provided on the other end side of the inner case (claim 2).

  In addition, the air inlet of the cooling channel of the present invention is provided on one end side of the inner case, and the opening of the cooling channel is provided on the other end side of the inner case opposite to the air inlet, The exhaust port is provided on the side opposite to the opening of the cooling channel (claim 3).

  Furthermore, the battery of the present invention includes a plurality of battery cells, and the plurality of battery cells extend substantially parallel to a virtual line in which one side in the longitudinal direction of the battery cell connects the air inlet and the opening. The inlet of the cooling channel is provided on the wall of the inner case facing one end in the longitudinal direction of the battery cell, and the opening of the cooling channel is opposed to the other end in the longitudinal direction of the battery cell. The exhaust port of the discharge channel is provided in the wall of the outer case opposite to the opening of the cooling channel (Claim 4).

  In addition, the battery of the present invention includes a plurality of battery cells, and the plurality of battery cells are arranged in a direction in which one side in the longitudinal direction of the battery cell intersects an imaginary line connecting the air inlet and the opening. The cooling channel air inlet is provided on the wall of the inner case facing one end of the battery cell in the short direction, and the cooling channel opening is the other end in the short direction of the battery cell. The exhaust port of the discharge channel is provided in the wall portion of the outer case opposite to the opening of the cooling channel (Claim 5). ).

  Further, the battery case of the present invention is disposed in the lower part of the vehicle body of the vehicle, and the discharge channel is formed at least on the lower side in the outer case (Claim 6).

  Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that a fan for circulating air is provided in either the cooling flow path or the discharge flow path (Claim 7).

  Further, the outer case of the present invention is supported movably with respect to the vehicle body (claim 8).

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a battery cooling device that can prevent heat reception of the battery and can reduce the manufacturing cost by having the above-described features.

The explanatory view of the side of the hybrid vehicle provided with the battery cooling device concerning one embodiment of the present invention is shown. The internal structure figure of the battery cooling device concerning one embodiment of the present invention is shown, the figure (a) is the internal structure figure in the plane view of the battery cooling apparatus, and the figure (b) is the side view of the battery cooling apparatus. FIG. The internal structure figure in planar view of the battery cooling device concerning other embodiment of this invention is shown.

  Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a battery cooling device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a battery cooling device mounted on a hybrid vehicle (automobile) that can travel by receiving driving forces of an engine and a motor will be described as an example. Note that the battery cooling device of the present invention can be applied to a transport machine or the like in addition to an automobile.

  A hybrid vehicle drives a motor by supplying electric power from a battery or travels by the output of an engine, and stores a part of the output of the engine or the kinetic energy of the vehicle in a battery via the motor. As described above, when the battery receives heat and exceeds the allowable temperature, the charge / discharge performance may be deteriorated, and the battery cooling device of the present application prevents the battery from receiving heat. The battery is disposed below the floor panel of the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 1 (side view), the battery cooling device 20 is between the front wheel 2 and the rear wheel 3 of the hybrid vehicle 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “vehicle 1”) and It is arrange | positioned under the floor panel 5 provided in the lower part. As shown in FIG. 2A (planar side internal structure diagram) and FIG. 2B (side surface side internal structure diagram), the battery cooling device 20 is attached to the lower part of the floor panel 5 and accommodates the battery 10. A battery case 21 is provided.

  First, before describing the battery case 21, the battery 10 accommodated in the battery case 21 will be outlined. The battery 10 includes four battery cells 11. The battery cell 11 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is accommodated in a state where the four battery cells 11 are held in the battery case 21. The shape of the battery cell 11 is not limited to a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the number of the battery cells 11 accommodated in the battery case 21 may be three or less, or five or more.

  The battery case 21 includes an inner case 22 that is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape that accommodates the battery cell 11 and an outer case 26 that is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape that accommodates the inner case 22. The inner case 22 and the outer case 26 are made of a metal material having good thermal conductivity (for example, a sheet metal). The inner case 22 has such a size that two battery cells 11 can be arranged in two upper and lower stages and in the inner case width direction, and between the battery cells 11 and between the inner surface 22a of the inner case 22 and the battery cell 11. The gap 23 can be formed between the outer surface 11a and the outer surface 11a. The gap 23 is formed as a cooling flow path 23 a that extends from one end side of the outer surface 11 a to the other end side along the outer surface 11 a of the battery cell 11 and flows air sent into the inner case 22. In addition, the arrangement | positioning direction with respect to the inner case 22 of the battery cell 11 is mentioned later.

  An intake port 23b of a cooling channel 23a is provided in the center in the width direction of the front wall portion 22c of the inner case 22, and an introduction channel for introducing the air in the vehicle compartment 6 (see FIG. 1) into the intake port 23b. 40 is connected. An opening 23c is provided at the center in the width direction of the rear wall 22d of the inner case 22, and a gap 27 between the inner case 22 and the outer case 26 is formed through the opening 23c. Communicated with the discharge flow path 27a. In other words, the opening 23 c is provided on the opposite side of the inner case 22 from the air inlet 23 b.

  The battery cell 11 is arranged such that one side 11b in the longitudinal direction extends substantially in parallel along a virtual line L that connects the air inlet 23b and the opening 23c. For this reason, since the width W of the battery cooling device 20 depends on the length of the battery cell 11 in the short direction, the width W of the battery cooling device 20 can be reduced.

  The outer case 26 has a size that can accommodate the inner case 22, and has a size that can form a gap 27 between the inner surface 26 a of the outer case 26 and the outer surface 22 b of the inner case 22. The gap 27 is provided around the inner case 22 and extends from the rear end side of the outer surface 22b to the front end side along the outer surface 22b of the inner case 22 so that the air after cooling the battery cell 11 flows. 27a is formed. That is, the discharge flow path 27a is formed on both the upper side, the lower side, the front-rear direction, and the width direction of the inner case 22.

  An exhaust port 27b of the discharge flow path 27a is provided below the central portion in the width direction of the front wall portion 26b of the outer case 26. That is, the exhaust port 27b is provided on the opposite side of the opening 23c of the cooling channel 23a. The exhaust port 27b is connected to a return flow path 30 that communicates with the vehicle interior 6 (see FIG. 1). The opening 23c of the cooling flow path 23a is provided with a fan 32 that discharges air in the cooling flow path 23a to the discharge flow path 27a. If the fan 32 can return the air in the vehicle compartment 6 from the cooling flow passage 23a to the discharge flow passage 27a and return it to the vehicle compartment 6, the inside of the cooling flow passage 23a other than the opening 23 and the discharge flow passage 27a. It may be provided at any of the positions.

  Next, the operation of cooling the battery cell 11 by the battery cooling device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b). First, when the fan 32 is driven, the air in the passenger compartment 6 flows into the introduction passage 40 connected to the inner case 22, and flows into the inner case 22 through the air inlet 23 b of the inner case 22. The air that has flowed into the inner case 22 flows through the cooling flow path 23 a to cool the battery cell 11. In addition, since the cooling flow path 23a is extended along the outer surface around each battery cell 11, the whole battery cell 11 can be cooled efficiently.

  The air after cooling of the battery cell 11 flows into the discharge channel 27a through the opening 23c and flows to the exhaust port 27b side of the discharge channel 27a. Here, the battery cooling device 20 is attached to the lower part of the floor panel 5 of the vehicle 1 and is located near the road surface and near the engine room. For this reason, there exists a possibility that the temperature of the battery cell 11 may become high with the hot air H from a road surface or an engine room.

  However, since the discharge flow path 27a of the battery cooling device 20 is disposed not only on the side or upper side of the inner case 22 but also on the outer surface 22b on the lower side of the inner case 22, the hot air H from the road surface or the vehicle Even if the hot air H in the engine room acts on the lower side surface of the outer case 26, the air flowing in the discharge flow path 27a extending below the inner case 22 absorbs the hot air H from the road surface and the like and returns the flow path Return to the passenger compartment 6 via 30. For this reason, the situation where the hot air H from the road surface or the like acts on the battery cell 11 to increase the temperature of the battery cell 11 can be prevented, and the battery cell 11 can be maintained at an appropriate temperature. Further, the battery cooling device 20 is formed by accommodating the inner case 21 in which the battery 10 is accommodated in the outer case 26, and the structure is easy. For this reason, the manufacturing cost of the battery cooling device 20 can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the battery cell 11 disposed in the inner case 22 has a longitudinal side 11b extending substantially parallel to the imaginary line L that connects the air inlet 23b and the opening 23c. As shown in FIG. 3, one side 11b in the longitudinal direction of the battery cell 11 extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to a virtual line L that connects the air inlet 23b and the opening 23c. You may arrange in. In this way, since the length L in the front-rear direction of the battery cooling device 20 depends on the length in the short direction of the battery cell 11, the length L in the front-rear direction of the battery cooling device 20 can be reduced, and the floor panel The degree of freedom of arrangement of the battery cooling device 20 according to the situation below 5 can be improved.

  In the above-described embodiment, the outer case 26 is fixed to the floor panel 5. However, the outer case 26 may be held movably in the vertical direction with respect to the floor panel 5. . In this way, when the outer case 26 comes into contact with an obstacle or the like when the vehicle 1 is traveling, the outer case 26 moves upward to reduce the possibility of damage to the outer case 26, the inner case 22, and the battery cell 11. Can do.

  In the above-described embodiment, the discharge flow path 27 a flows along the side or upper side of the battery cell 11 in addition to the lower side of the battery cell 11. However, the discharge flow path 27 a extends at least below the battery cell 11. You may make it flow. Furthermore, although the case where the air flowing through the discharge flow path 27a flows through the return flow path 30 and is returned to the vehicle interior 6 is shown, the air flowing through the discharge flow path 27a may be discharged to the outside of the vehicle 1. . Moreover, although the case where the battery cooling device 20 is disposed below the floor panel 5 has been described in the above-described embodiment, the installation position of the battery cooling device 20 is not limited to this, and the vehicle interior, the engine The vehicle body 4 in the room may be used.

1 Hybrid vehicle (vehicle)
4 Car body 6 Car compartment 10 Battery 11 Battery cell 11a, 22b Outer surface 11b One side 20 Battery cooling device 21 Battery case 22 Inner case 22c, 22d, 26b Wall portion 23, 27 Gap 23a Cooling flow path 23b Inlet 23c Opening portion 26 Outer case 27a Discharge flow path 27b Exhaust port 32 Fan L Virtual line

Claims (8)

A battery cooling device for cooling a battery disposed in a vehicle including a passenger compartment,
A battery case attached to the vehicle body for accommodating the battery;
The battery case has an inner case that accommodates the battery and an outer case that accommodates the inner case, and is formed in a double manner.
A gap is formed between the battery and the inner case, and between the inner case and the outer case,
The air sent into the inner case flows through a gap between the battery and the inner case to cool the battery, and the air after the battery cooling flows into the outer case, The battery cooling device, wherein the battery cooling device flows through a gap with the outer case, flows into the vehicle compartment, or is released to the outside of the vehicle. A gap between the battery and the inner case is formed as a cooling flow path that extends from one end side to the other end side of the outer surface along the outer surface of the battery and flows air sent into the inner case. ,
A gap between the inner case and the outer case is formed as a discharge flow path that extends from the other end side of the outer surface to the one end side along the outer surface of the inner case, and flows the air after cooling the battery,
The battery cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the cooling channel communicates with the discharge channel via an opening provided on the other end side of the inner case. The air inlet of the cooling channel is provided on one end side of the inner case,
The opening of the cooling channel is provided on the other end side of the inner case on the side opposite to the intake port,
The battery cooling device according to claim 2, wherein an exhaust port of the discharge channel is provided on a side opposite to the opening of the cooling channel. The battery has a plurality of battery cells,
The plurality of battery cells are arranged such that one side in the longitudinal direction of the battery cells extends substantially parallel to a virtual line connecting the intake port and the opening,
The air inlet of the cooling channel is provided in the wall of the inner case facing the one end side in the longitudinal direction of the battery cell,
The opening of the cooling channel is provided on the wall of the inner case facing the other end in the longitudinal direction of the battery cell,
4. The battery cooling device according to claim 3, wherein the exhaust port of the discharge channel is provided in a wall portion of the outer case opposite to the opening of the cooling channel. The battery has a plurality of battery cells,
The plurality of battery cells are arranged so that one side in the longitudinal direction of the battery cells extends in a direction intersecting with an imaginary line connecting the intake port and the opening,
An inlet of the cooling channel is provided in a wall portion of the inner case facing one end side in the short direction of the battery cell,
The opening of the cooling channel is provided in the wall of the inner case facing the other end in the short direction of the battery cell,
The battery cooling device according to claim 3, wherein an exhaust port of the discharge channel is provided in a wall portion of the outer case opposite to the opening of the cooling channel. The battery case is disposed at a lower portion of the vehicle body of the vehicle,
The battery cooling device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the discharge channel is formed at least on a lower side in the outer case. The battery cooling device according to claim 2, wherein a fan that circulates air is provided in any one of the cooling flow path and the discharge flow path. The battery cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the outer case is supported movably with respect to the vehicle body.

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