JP2017016977A - Battery temperature control structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a battery temperature control structure capable of effectively controlling a temperature of a battery by sufficiently absorbing a clearance even in the case where the clearance between constitutive members is varied.SOLUTION: The battery temperature control structure comprises: a battery module M including one or two or more battery cells C; a housing 60 in which the battery module is accommodated; a thermoelectric element 30 which is disposed between the battery module and an inner peripheral surface of the housing and includes a heat absorption surface 30a and a heat radiation surface 30b; and heat transfer members 50A and 50B which are disposed at least between the battery module and the thermoelectric element and perform heat transfer by circulating a heat medium 200 of which the phase changes into a gas phase G and a liquid phase L. The heat transfer member itself includes clearance absorption means 100 (100A and 100B) for absorbing a clearance between the battery module and the heat transfer member or between the heat transfer member and the thermoelectric element.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a battery temperature control structure that cools or heats a battery module including battery cells.

  A battery for supplying electricity to an electric motor or the like is mounted on an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. As the battery, a secondary battery such as a nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) battery, a nickel-hydrogen battery, or a lithium ion battery that can be repeatedly charged and discharged is used.

  Conventionally, there is a temperature control structure that improves the battery characteristics by cooling or heating such a battery using a thermoelectric element such as a Peltier element according to the environmental temperature.

  By the way, in order to efficiently cool and heat the battery, there may be no gap between the heat transfer surface on the heat generating part side of the battery and the heat transfer surface on the cooling and heating part side of the thermoelectric element or the like. desirable.

  Therefore, a technique relating to a temperature control structure that reduces the gap between the heat transfer surfaces using an elastic body has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2008-66061 A

  Here, in the prior art, the clearance gap between a some battery and a storage case is reduced using elastic bodies, such as an elastic sheet.

  However, due to errors in manufacturing components such as batteries and storage cases, the gaps between the members also vary. Therefore, even if a standardized elastic sheet or the like is interposed between the members, the gaps are sufficient. May not be absorbed.

  Therefore, in the temperature control structure that cools and heats with a Peltier element interposed between the battery and the housing case, if the gap cannot be sufficiently absorbed by an elastic sheet or the like, the heat absorbing surface and heat radiating surface of each battery and Peltier element As a result, there is a problem that a gap is generated between the battery and the battery, and the battery cannot be effectively temperature-controlled.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and even when there are variations in the gaps between the constituent members, the gaps can be sufficiently absorbed to effectively regulate the battery temperature. It aims at providing the battery temperature control structure which can be performed.

  In order to achieve the above object, a battery temperature control structure according to the present invention includes a battery module including one or more battery cells, a housing that houses the battery module, the battery module, and the housing. Circulation of a heat medium that is arranged between the peripheral surface and has a heat absorption surface and a heat dissipation surface, and a heat medium that is arranged at least between the battery module and the thermoelectric element and changes phase between a gas phase and a liquid phase A heat transport member that performs heat transport by a gap between the heat transport member itself, the battery module and the heat transport member, or between the heat transport member and the thermoelectric element. The gist is that a gap absorbing means for absorbing is provided.

  According to the battery temperature control structure of the present invention, the gap absorbing means for absorbing the gap is provided either in the heat transport member itself, between the battery module and the heat transport member, or between the heat transport member and the thermoelectric element. Since it is provided, even if there are variations in the gaps between the constituent members, the gaps can be sufficiently absorbed to effect effective temperature control of the battery.

It is a partial cross section figure which shows the structural example of the battery temperature control structure which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a front view which shows the principal part of the battery temperature control structure which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a partial cross section figure which shows the structural example of the battery temperature control structure which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the heat transport member applied to the battery temperature control structure which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a partial cross section figure which shows the structural example of the battery temperature control structure which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a partial cross section figure which shows the structural example of the battery temperature control structure which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment as an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, in the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same members, and duplicate descriptions are omitted. In addition, since description here is the best form by which this invention is implemented, this invention is not limited to the said form.

[Battery temperature control structure according to the first embodiment]
With reference to FIGS. 1-4, battery temperature control structure B1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment is demonstrated.

  Here, FIG. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the battery temperature control structure B1 according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a front view showing the main part of the battery temperature control structure B1, and FIG. It is a partial cross section figure which shows the structural example of temperature control structure B1.

  Moreover, FIG. 4 is explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of 50 A of heat transport members applied to battery temperature control structure B1.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the battery temperature adjustment structure B <b> 1 according to the first embodiment includes a battery module M including a plurality of battery cells C stacked in the depth direction in the figure, and the battery module M. A housing 60 made of a metal such as aluminum to be accommodated, and a Peltier element or the like provided between the battery module M and the inner peripheral surface of the housing 60 and having a heat absorbing surface 30a and a heat radiating surface 30b. The thermoelectric element 30 is provided.

  In addition, a heat transport member 50A that is disposed between the battery module M and the thermoelectric element 30 and transports heat by circulation of the heat medium 200 that changes phase between the gas phase G and the liquid phase L is provided. The configuration of the heat transport member 50A will be described later with reference to FIG.

  In the present embodiment, the heat transport member 50A itself includes the gap absorbing means 100A that absorbs the gap.

  Further, a bonding material 100B is provided as another gap absorbing means between the first heat transfer portion H1 on the one end 50Aa side of the heat transport member 50A and the thermoelectric element 30.

  In FIG. 1 and the like, the pair of left and right heat transport members 50A are fixed to the left and right side walls of the battery module M with screws 11.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 1 etc., the housing | casing 60 is comprised from the lower container part 60a and the cover part 60b which seals the upper part of the container part 60a.

  Further, a bracket 10 that protrudes to the left and right is provided on the upper end side of each heat transport member 50A. A heat transport member fixing portion 20 is provided at a predetermined portion of the inner wall upper portion of the container portion 60a, and is fixed via the bracket 10 and the bolt 21 of each heat transport member 50A.

  Further, the thermoelectric element 30 is fixed in advance to the bottom surface of the container portion 60a. In FIG. 1 and the like, the upper surface side of the thermoelectric element 30 is shown as the heat absorbing surface 30a and the lower surface side is shown as the heat radiating surface 30b. Can be changed. By performing such control of the energization direction, the battery module M can be cooled or heated via the heat transport member 50A, and the temperature control of the battery module M can be realized according to the environmental temperature.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 2, the gap absorbing means 100A is provided between the first heat transfer portion H1 on the one end 50Aa side of the heat transport member 50A and the second heat transfer portion H2 on the other end 50Ab side. The elastic deformation portion 100A is elastically deformable.

  That is, the copper plate or the like constituting the heat transport member 50A is bent in advance so that the end on the second heat transfer portion H2 side is inclined at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal plane as shown in FIG. Deformation has been added.

  Thereby, as shown in FIG. 1, when the battery module M or the like is accommodated in the container portion 60 a and the bracket 10 and the fixing portion 20 of each heat transport member 50 </ b> A are fixed via the bolts 21, The end portion on the second heat transfer portion H2 side is pressed and brought into contact with the thermoelectric element 30 and the bonding material 100B arranged on the bottom surface side of the housing 60. At this time, the elastically deforming portion 100A is elastically deformed, and the end portion on the second heat transfer portion H2 side of the heat transport member 50A is urged toward the thermoelectric element 30 and the bonding material 100B side, and the two are in close contact with each other without a gap. .

  Further, the bonding material 100B is made of a phase change material that changes in phase between a liquid phase L and a solid phase S due to a temperature change, and is applied to the surface of the endothermic surface 30a of the thermoelectric element 30 (for example, when the bonding material 100B is a paste) ) Or placed (for example, when the bonding material 100B is a sheet).

  More specifically, as the bonding material 100B, silicone, polymer resin, or the like can be used as the phase change material. Further, these materials may be mixed with a heat conductive filler to increase the heat conductivity.

  Further, for example, a material obtained by processing a phase change material in which wax is filled with 10 to 80% by mass of boron nitride or alumina particles having an average particle diameter of 2 to 100 μm may be used.

  Further, phase change in which 15 to 60% by volume of a resin softened by heating such as ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer is filled with 40 to 85% by volume of aluminum nitride powder having an average particle size of about 1.5 μm and a dispersant is added. What processed the material into the sheet form can also be used.

  The bonding material 100B made of such a phase change material has a property of changing from a liquid phase L to a solid phase S and solidifying by heating, for example. Therefore, when the thermoelectric element 30 generates heat by energization, the bonding material 100B changes from the liquid phase L to the solid phase S and solidifies (the bonding material 100Ba in FIG. 3 shows a state in which the bonding material 100B in FIG. 2 is solidified. Then, the end of the heat transport member 50A on the second heat transfer portion H2 side and the thermoelectric element 30 are fixed in a tight contact state by the bonding material 100B without any gap.

  According to the battery temperature control structure B1 according to the first embodiment having such a configuration, even when the gaps between the constituent members such as the battery module M and the heat transport member 50A have variation, the gap Can be sufficiently absorbed by the elastic deformation portion 100A and the bonding material 100B to improve the thermal conductivity and to effectively regulate the temperature of the battery module M.

(Configuration of heat transport member applied to battery temperature control structure)
Here, with reference to FIG. 4, 50 A of heat transport members applied to battery temperature control structure B1 which concerns on embodiment are demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the heat transport member 50 </ b> A includes a flow path 51 made of aluminum or the like through which the heat medium 200 can circulate in the directions D <b> 1 and D <b> 2. Note that the heat transport member 50A shown in FIG. 4 is formed in a plate shape or a sheet shape having a rectangular shape in which the horizontal direction is the longitudinal direction.

  The heat medium 200 is composed of chlorofluorocarbon, butane, water, alcohol, or the like that can change into a gas phase G and a liquid phase L.

  And when one end (A end) side in the longitudinal direction of the heat transport member 50A becomes a heat radiating part, the other end (B end) functions as a cooling part, and conversely when one end (A end) side becomes a cooling part. The other end (B end) functions as a heat radiating part.

  Such a heat transport effect of the heat transport member 50A is obtained by the movement of the gas phase G in the directions D1 and D2 of the heat medium 200 and the self-excited vibration of the liquid phase L.

  That is, the heat medium 200 changes phase by heat absorption, and latent heat is transported by movement of the gas phase (steam) G. Further, the liquid phase L vibrates due to nucleate boiling of the heating medium 200 (a form of boiling that occurs when the surface temperature is lower than the boiling point of the liquid but the heat flux is below the critical heat flux), and this vibration transports sensible heat. Applying the principle of being.

  Here, the effective thermal conductivity of the heat transport member 50A applied in the present embodiment reaches about 10,000 to 30000 W / m ° C. On the other hand, the thermal conductivity of iron applied to a general heat pipe or the like is 84 W / m ° C., the thermal conductivity of aluminum is 236 W / m ° C., and the thermal conductivity of copper is 398 W / m ° C., It can be seen that the heat conductivity of the heat transport member 50 is very high.

  By using the heat transport member 50A having such characteristics, it is possible to efficiently transport the heat and cool the battery module M effectively.

  In addition, by making the heat transport member 50A into a flexible sheet shape, the heat transport member 50A can be disposed in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the battery module M and the like.

[Battery Temperature Control Structure According to Second Embodiment]
With reference to FIG. 5, a battery temperature control structure B2 according to the second embodiment will be described.

  Here, FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the battery temperature control structure B2 according to the second embodiment.

  In addition, about the structure similar to battery temperature control structure B1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the battery temperature control structure B2 according to the second embodiment, instead of the elastic deformation portion 100A as the gap absorbing means, the first heat transfer portion H1 on the one end 50Ba side of the heat transport member 50B and the first heat transfer portion H1 on the other end 50Bb side. 2 It is comprised with the flexible deformation | transformation part 151 which has the flexibility provided between the heat-transfer parts H2.

  The flexible deformation portion 151 is configured by processing a corresponding portion of the heat transport member 50B made of a metal such as aluminum into a bellows shape, or forming the corresponding portion with rubber or a flexible resin. .

  In the configuration example shown in FIG. 5, the end 50 </ b> Bb of the heat transport member 50 </ b> B is fixed to the heat absorbing surface 30 a of the thermoelectric element 30.

  Further, the heat radiation surface 30b of the thermoelectric element 30 and the container portion 60a are connected to each other through the joining material 100C composed of a phase change material, similarly to the joining material 100B described in the battery temperature control structure B1 according to the first embodiment. The bottom is joined.

  As described in the description of the battery temperature control structure B1 according to the first embodiment, the heat absorption surface and the heat dissipation surface can be easily changed by changing the energization direction to the thermoelectric element 30.

  Then, the bonding material 100C is applied to the surface of the heat dissipation surface 30b of the thermoelectric element 30 (for example, when the bonding material 100C is a paste) or arranged (for example, when the bonding material 100C is a sheet), as shown in FIG. In addition, the battery module M and the like are accommodated in the container portion 60a, and the bracket 10 and the fixing portion 20 of each heat transport member 50A are fixed via the bolts 21.

  Thereby, the heat dissipation surface 30b of the thermoelectric element 30 and the bottom surface of the container portion 60a are held in contact with each other.

  At this time, even if the gaps between the constituent members such as the battery module M and the heat transport member 50B have variations, the gaps are sufficiently absorbed by the flexible deformation portion 151 and the bonding material 100C.

  Also, the bonding material 100C made of a phase change material is solidified by changing from the liquid phase L to the solid phase S when the thermoelectric element 30 generates heat by energization, and the heat dissipation surface 30b of the thermoelectric element 30 and the container portion 60a. The bottom surface is fixed in close contact with the bonding material 100C without any gap.

  Thereby, heat conductivity can be improved and the effective temperature control of the battery module M can be performed.

[Battery Temperature Control Structure According to Third Embodiment]
With reference to FIG. 6, a battery temperature control structure B3 according to a third embodiment will be described.

  Here, FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of the battery temperature control structure B3 according to the third embodiment.

  In addition, about the structure similar to battery temperature control structure B1 which concerns on 1st Embodiment, and battery temperature control structure B2 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  In the battery temperature control structure B3 according to the third embodiment, the bonding material 100C is bonded to the heat radiation surface 30b of the thermoelectric element 30 and the bottom surface of the container portion 60a as in the battery temperature control structure B2 according to the second embodiment. Instead of fixing via a fixing tool 70, fixing is performed via a fixing tool 70.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the fixture 70 is made of a metal such as copper having a receiving portion 70a for the thermoelectric element 30 at the center, and is fixed by a bolt 71 screwed from the bottom side of the container portion 60a. It is configured.

  Further, the upper surface 70b of the fixture 70 is fixed to the end portion 50Bb of the heat transport member 50B.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the battery module M and the like are accommodated in the container part 60 a and the bracket 10 and the fixing part 20 of each heat transport member 50 </ b> A are fixed via the bolts 21.

  Thereby, the fixing tool 70 is hold | maintained in the state which contact | connected the thermal radiation surface 30b of the thermoelectric element 30 with the bottom face of the container part 60a.

  At this time, even when the gaps between the constituent members such as the battery module M and the heat transport member 50 </ b> B have variations, the gaps are sufficiently absorbed by the flexible deformation portion 151.

  Next, the bolt 71 is inserted through the insertion hole formed in the bottom surface of the container 60 a and screwed into the fixture 70.

  Thereby, the fixing tool 70 is fixed in the state which contact | connected the bottom face of the container part 60a.

  According to the battery temperature adjustment structure B3 having such a configuration, the thermal conductivity can be improved and the battery module M can be effectively adjusted in temperature.

  Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed herein are illustrative in all respects and are not limited to the disclosed technology. Should not be considered. That is, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed restrictively based on the description in the above embodiment, but should be construed according to the description of the scope of claims. All the modifications within the scope of the claims and the equivalent technique to the described technique are included.

B1-B3 ... Battery temperature control structure C ... Battery cell H1 ... 1st heat transfer surface H2 ... 2nd heat transfer surface M ... Battery module 10 ... Bracket 20 ... Fixed part 30 ... Thermoelectric element (Peltier element)
30a ... endothermic surface 30b ... heat dissipation surface 50 (50A, 50B) ... heat transport member 51 ... flow path 60 ... casing 60a ... container part 60b ... lid part 70 ... fixture 100 ... gap absorbing means 100A ... elastic deformation part (gap) Absorption means)
100B: Bonding material (gap absorbing means)
100C ... Joint (gap absorbing means)
151: Flexible deformation part (gap absorbing means)
200 ... heat medium G ... gas phase L ... liquid phase

Claims (4)

A battery module (M) comprising one or more battery cells (C);
A housing (60) for housing the battery module;
A thermoelectric element (30) disposed between the battery module and the inner peripheral surface of the housing, and having a heat absorption surface (30a) and a heat dissipation surface (30b);
Heat transport members (50A, 50B) that are disposed between at least the battery module and the thermoelectric element and perform heat transport by circulation of a heat medium (200) that changes phase between a gas phase (G) and a liquid phase (L). ) And
A gap absorbing means (100) for absorbing a gap is provided either in the heat transport member itself, between the battery module and the heat transport member, or between the heat transport member and the thermoelectric element. Battery temperature control structure.   The gap absorbing means is an elastic deformation provided between the first heat transfer portion (H1) on one end (50Aa) side of the heat transport member and the second heat transfer portion (H2) on the other end (50Ab) side. The battery temperature control structure according to claim 1, wherein the battery temperature control structure is configured by a possible elastic deformation portion (100 </ b> A).   The gap absorbing means includes a first heat transfer part (H1) on one end (50Aa) side of the heat transport member or a second heat transfer part (H2) on the other end (50Ab) side and the thermoelectric element, or The battery temperature control structure according to claim 1, wherein the battery temperature control structure is configured by a bonding material provided between the thermoelectric element and an inner peripheral surface of the casing.   The battery temperature control structure according to claim 3, wherein the bonding material is made of a phase change material that changes phase between a liquid phase (L) and a solid phase (S) according to a temperature change.

Images