JP2017097986A - Battery cooling structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively cool a plurality of batteries in a structure including a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped batteries.SOLUTION: A battery cooling structure includes: a battery group to which a plurality of batteries is arranged in a linearly first direction side by side; an internal flowing path formed between the plurality of batteries; and an air inlet chamber connected to the plurality of internal flowing paths. Each battery includes a positive terminal and a negative terminal arranged at both end parts of a second direction orthogonal to a first direction in a rectangular battery main body. In the battery group, terminals of adjacent batteries are connected with a bus bar. The air inlet chamber includes a concave part which is recessed to a side outer than a part facing to a center part in the part facing to both end parts in the second direction of the battery group in an internal side surface of an end opposite to the battery. A part sandwiched by the concave parts in the air inlet chamber is inclined so as to come closer to the battery group toward the down stream side of a cooling air.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention includes a battery set including a plurality of batteries arranged side by side, an internal flow path formed between the plurality of batteries, and an intake chamber connected to the plurality of internal flow paths and through which cooling air flows. It relates to a cooling structure.

  Conventionally, a vehicle having an electric motor such as an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, or a railway vehicle is equipped with a battery as a power source.

  In Patent Document 1, a plurality of cylindrical batteries are placed side by side and placed on a pedestal, and a heat sink having a plurality of fins is arranged on the lower side thereof, and cooling is performed from an inlet duct in a flow path between adjacent fins. The structure which supplies a wind is described (FIG. 9 etc. of patent document 1). The inlet-side duct is inclined so that the distance to the fins decreases as the inner surface of the end opposite to the battery moves from the upstream side to the downstream side. Patent Document 1 describes that this configuration substantially equalizes the air flow between the fins.

  Patent Document 2 describes a configuration in which a bus bar is connected to adjacent rectangular parallelepiped batteries, and the surface of the bus bar is subjected to at least one of a surface treatment by forming a coating or an anodized film, or a roughening process. Yes. Patent Document 2 describes that this configuration can increase the radiation heat radiation amount of a bus bar that is likely to become high temperature, cool the battery, and suppress the temperature rise.

JP 2011-187275 A JP 2012-22895 A

  In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, in a configuration in which a rectangular parallelepiped battery is disposed instead of a cylindrical battery, bus bars and electrode terminals are disposed at both ends of one end surface of the battery. When the battery is charged or discharged, the bus bar and the electrode terminal generate heat by energization. At this time, if the cooling air flowing under the battery flows in the same way under the both ends and the center of the battery, the bus bar and the electrode terminal cannot be efficiently cooled. As a result, the battery may be deteriorated due to heat received from the bus bar and the electrode terminal to the battery body.

In the configuration described in Patent Document 2, it is necessary to perform special processing or processing on the bus bar in order to suppress heat generation in the bus bar that is likely to become high temperature.

  An object of the present invention is to effectively cool a plurality of batteries in a battery cooling structure including a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped batteries.

  The battery cooling structure according to the present invention includes a battery set in which a plurality of batteries are arranged in a linear first direction, an internal flow path formed between the plurality of batteries, and a plurality of the internal flows. And an intake chamber that is connected to the passage and flows cooling air from one side to the other side in the first direction. Each of the plurality of batteries is arranged at a rectangular parallelepiped battery main body and both ends of the battery main body in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and an input / output current from the battery main body is energized respectively. A positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal. In the battery set, among the adjacent batteries, the positive terminal of one of the batteries and the negative terminal of the other battery are connected by a bus bar. The intake chamber has a concave portion that is recessed outward from a portion facing the central portion in the second direction at a portion facing the both ends in the second direction of the battery set on the inner surface opposite to the battery. . Of the intake chamber, the portion sandwiched between the recesses is inclined so as to approach the battery set toward the downstream side of the cooling air.

  According to the battery cooling structure of the present invention, a plurality of batteries can be effectively cooled in a configuration including a plurality of rectangular parallelepiped batteries.

It is sectional drawing of the battery cooling structure of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is AA sectional drawing of FIG. It is a perspective view which takes out and shows a battery set from FIG. It is the perspective view (a) which takes out and shows the inclination board from FIG. 1, and the figure (b) which looked at the inclination board in the arrow (alpha) direction of (a). It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 2 which shows the battery cooling structure of another example of embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a figure corresponding to FIG. 1 which shows the battery cooling structure of another example of embodiment which concerns on this invention.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The quantities, shapes, materials, and the like described below are illustrative examples, and can be changed according to the specifications of the battery cooling structure. Below, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and demonstrated to the same structure. Hereinafter, a case where the battery cooling structure is mounted on a vehicle will be described. However, the battery cooling structure may be a structure fixed to the ground or the inside of a building.

  Drawing 1 is a sectional view of battery cooling structure 10 of an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 1 is a view showing a BB cross section of FIG. The battery cooling structure 10 includes a battery set 12, a plurality of internal flow paths 20, a set case 30 that houses the battery set 12, an intake duct 50 connected to the set case 30, and a cooling fan 52. The battery cooling structure 10 is disposed in the vicinity of the lower side of the rear seat of an automobile having a traveling electric motor (not shown) such as an electric vehicle or a hybrid vehicle. In FIG. 1, the left-right direction coincides with the left-right direction of the vehicle. In FIG. 2, the left-right direction coincides with the front-rear direction of the vehicle. The vertical direction in FIGS. 1 and 2 is the vertical direction when the battery cooling structure 10 is arranged in the vehicle.

  The battery set 12 is called a battery pack or a battery module, and supplies power to the traveling electric motor by discharging, for example. The traveling electric motor drives a vehicle wheel (not shown) by rotation. The traveling electric motor may function as a generator during braking of the vehicle and charge the battery set 12 with the generated power.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the battery set 12 taken out from FIG. The battery set 12 includes a plurality of batteries 13 electrically connected in series. The plurality of batteries 13 are arranged side by side with a gap in the vertical direction Y, which is the linear first direction. The battery 13 is a nickel metal hydride battery or a lithium ion battery. Each battery 13 includes a battery body 14, a positive terminal 15, and a negative terminal 16. 1 to 3, the horizontal direction of the battery set 12 is indicated by X, the vertical direction is indicated by Y, and the height direction orthogonal to X and Y is indicated by Z. The horizontal direction X, the vertical direction Y, and the height direction Z substantially coincide with the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the vertical direction of the vehicle in a state where the battery set 12 is disposed in the vehicle.

  The battery body 14 includes a flat rectangular battery case 14a formed of a metal such as aluminum or a resin, an electrolyte (not shown) and an electrode body (not shown) accommodated in the battery case 14a. . In the battery case 14a, the upper end opening of the rectangular cylindrical portion is closed with a lid 14b, and the lower end opening is closed with a bottom plate (not shown). In the electrode body, a positive electrode plate and a negative electrode plate are wound in a spiral shape via a separator. A positive electrode terminal 15 and a negative electrode terminal 16 are arranged at both ends in the horizontal direction X on the upper surface of the lid 14b so as to protrude in a columnar shape in the height direction Z. The horizontal direction X is a second direction orthogonal to the vertical direction Y, which is the first direction. The positive electrode terminal 15 and the negative electrode terminal 16 are connected to the positive electrode and the negative electrode of the electrode body, respectively, and an input / output current from the battery body 14 is energized during use.

  The plurality of internal flow paths 20 are formed between adjacent batteries 13. In each internal flow path 20, cooling air described later flows from the lower side to the upper side. An intake chamber 36 (FIGS. 1 and 2), which will be described later, is connected to the upstream ends of the plurality of internal flow paths 20 in the flow direction of the cooling air.

  As shown in FIG. 3, of two adjacent batteries 13, the negative terminal 16 of one battery 13 and the positive terminal 15 of the other battery 13 are connected by a bus bar 22. Further, a negative electrode terminal 16 of the other battery 13 and a positive electrode terminal 15 of another battery 13 adjacent to the other battery 13 on the side opposite to the one battery 13 are connected by another bus bar 22. This is repeated for all the batteries 13, and a plurality of batteries 13 are electrically connected in series. Thereby, the battery set 12 is formed.

  Further, a positive output terminal 23 is connected to the positive terminal 15 of one battery 13 arranged at one end (the left end in FIGS. 1 and 3) of the battery set 12 in the longitudinal direction Y. A negative output terminal (not shown) is connected to the negative terminal of one battery 13 disposed at the other longitudinal end (right end in FIG. 1) of the battery set 12. The positive and negative output terminals 23 are connected to an external device or component in order to charge and discharge the battery set 12.

  Returning to FIGS. 1 and 2, the assembled case 30 is formed by joining an upper case 31 and a lower case 33. The upper case 31 is formed so as to cover the upper surface of the battery set 12 and the side surfaces in the horizontal direction X and the vertical direction Y. An exhaust chamber 32 is formed between the upper surface of the battery set 12 and the top plate portion 31 a that forms the upper end of the upper case 31. The exhaust chamber 32 joins the cooling air that has passed through the plurality of internal flow paths 20 and discharges it to the outside of the assembled case 30. The outlet 32 a of the exhaust chamber 32 is formed at the other end in the longitudinal direction of the upper end portion of the upper case 31 (the right end in FIG. 1), that is, on the side opposite to the air intake fan 42 described later with respect to the battery set 12.

  The lower case 33 has a box shape with a trapezoidal cross section whose lower end is closed by a bottom plate portion 33a. As shown in FIG. 2, a portion extending outward in the lateral direction X at the upper end portion of the lower case 33 and a portion extending outward in the lateral direction X at the lower end portion of the upper case 31 are formed by bolts (not shown) or the like. Combined.

  The battery set 12 is sandwiched between the upper end portion of the lower case 33 and the portion extending outward in the lateral direction X and the upper end portion of the upper case 31.

  An intake duct 50 is connected to one end portion (left end portion in FIG. 1) of the lower case 33 in the vertical direction Y. A cooling fan 52 is connected to the upstream end of the intake duct 50. An inlet (not shown) of the cooling fan 52 is connected to a vehicle interior space of the vehicle. When the cooling fan 52 is driven, cooling air is supplied to the lower case 33 from the cooling fan 52 side through the intake duct 50. The upper case 31 and the lower case 33 are formed of a metal or resin plate material. The upper case 31 and the lower case 33 may be formed of a metal plate material, and an insulating member such as an insulating sheet may be disposed in a portion that contacts the battery set 12.

  An inclined plate 37 is fixed to the bottom surface of the lower case 33. 4 is a perspective view (a) showing the inclined plate 37 taken out from FIG. 1, and a view (b) of the inclined plate 37 viewed in the direction of the arrow α in FIG. The inclined plate 37 is formed by connecting a central plate portion 38 in the center portion in the horizontal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4B) and two outer plate portions 39 at both ends in the horizontal direction by a triangular plate portion 40. The As shown in FIG. 4B, the central plate portion 38 is cooled when viewed from the upper side to the lower side along the direction orthogonal to the central plate portion 38 (the direction of the arrow α in FIG. 4A). It is a trapezoidal plate shape whose width is narrower on the upstream side in the wind flow direction (lower side in FIG. 4B) than on the downstream side (upper side in FIG. 4B). The inclined plate 37 is integrally formed of an insulating resin.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the inclined plate 37 is fixed on the bottom plate portion 33 a of the lower case 33 with the central plate portion 38 inclined with respect to the height direction Z. At this time, the central plate portion 38 is inclined so that the position is lower on the upstream side (left side in FIG. 1) of the cooling air than on the downstream side (right side in FIG. 1). The inclined plate 37 is disposed on the inner side of the lower case 33 from the upstream end in the flow direction of the cooling air or the intermediate portion in the flow direction to the downstream end. And, for example, inside the lower case 33, of the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 33a of the lower case 33, a portion of the upstream side of the cooling air that deviates from the inclined plate 37, the upper surface of the inclined plate 37, and the battery set 12 An intake chamber 36 that is an intake space is formed by a space surrounded by the lower surface. When the inclined plate 37 is arranged from the upstream end to the downstream end in the cooling air flow direction in the lower case 33, the lower case 33 is surrounded by the upper surface of the inclined plate 37 and the lower surface of the battery set 12. An intake chamber 36 is formed by the space to be formed. The intake chamber 36 divides the cooling air into the plurality of internal flow paths 20 when the cooling air is supplied from the cooling fan 52.

  Inside the intake chamber 36, the cooling air flows from one side (left side in FIG. 1) in the vertical direction Y to the other side (right side in FIG. 1). In the illustrated example, the lower surfaces of the two outer plate portions 39 of the inclined plate 37 may be fixed to the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 33 a of the lower case 33. The downstream end of the inclined plate 37 may be fixed to the lower case 33 by fixing a spacer or a rib between the lower side surface of the inclined plate 37 and the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 33a of the lower case 33. . Further, the downstream end of the inclined plate 37 may be fixed to a member that supports the battery set 12 from below. The other end in the Y direction of the intake chamber 36 formed by the lower side of the battery set 12 and the inclined plate 37 may be closed, or may be communicated with the lower space of the inclined plate 37. .

  Since the inclined plate 37 is arranged as described above, the bottom of the intake chamber 36 is located at the opposite end of the intake chamber 36 from the battery 13. In the portion where the inclined plate 37 of the intake chamber 36 is disposed, the portion facing the both ends in the lateral direction X of the battery set 12 is outside the portion facing the central portion in the lateral direction X of the battery set 12 (FIG. 1). , A recess 41 is formed which is recessed in the lower side of FIG. Therefore, the upper surface of the central plate portion 38 of the inclined plate 37 corresponds to a portion of the intake chamber 36 that is sandwiched between the concave portions 41. A gap may be formed between the upper surface of the central plate portion 38 and the lower surface of the battery set 12 at the downstream end.

  In each recess 41, the bottom surface, which is a portion facing the battery set 12, is not inclined with respect to the height direction Z, and is along the upper surface of the bottom plate portion 33 a of the lower case 33.

  According to the battery cooling structure 10 described above, the cooling fan 52 is driven to supply cooling air from the cooling fan 52 to the intake chamber 36, and the cooling air flows to the plurality of internal flow paths 20 of the battery set 12. Then, the cooling air is discharged from the internal flow path 20 through the exhaust chamber 32 to the outside. FIG. 2 shows that the cooling air flows from the front side to the back side of the paper surface due to the portion marked with X inside the circle.

  At this time, since the positive terminal 15, the negative terminal 16, and the bus bar 22 are disposed at the upper ends of both ends in the lateral direction X of each battery 13, when charging or discharging the battery set 12, these terminals 15, 16 and bus bar No. 22 easily rises in temperature due to energization. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, in the intake chamber 36, the channel cross-sectional area at both ends in the lateral direction X of the portion where the inclined plate 37 is disposed is larger than the channel cross-sectional area at the central portion in the lateral direction X. Thereby, more cooling air can be flowed in the both ends of the horizontal direction X than the center part of the horizontal direction X inside the intake chamber 36. The cooling air flowing at both ends of the lateral direction X passes through the internal flow path 20 as shown by arrows in FIG. 1, and cools both ends of the lateral direction X of the battery 13 more than the central portion of the lateral direction X. Thereby, in the structure including the plurality of rectangular parallelepiped batteries 13, even when the terminals 15, 16 and the bus bar 22 of the battery set 12 tend to increase in temperature when energized, the temperature increase can be efficiently suppressed. For this reason, the some battery 13 can be cooled effectively. Therefore, deterioration due to heat reception from the terminals 15 and 16 and the bus bar 22 to the battery body 14 can be suppressed. Further, unlike the configuration described in Patent Document 2, it is not necessary to perform special processing or processing on the bus bar 22 in order to suppress heat generation at the bus bar 22.

  On the other hand, as a comparative example, a configuration in which an inclined plate is not disposed inside the intake chamber 36 is conceivable. In this comparative example, the cooling air supplied to the intake chamber 36 is greater in the internal flow path 20 connected to the downstream side of the intake chamber 36 due to inertia than the internal flow path 20 connected to the upstream side of the intake chamber 36. It tends to flow. And in the some internal flow path 20, the bias of pressure distribution may become large.

  In the above embodiment, the inclined plate 37 is disposed inside the intake chamber 36, and the central plate portion 38 located at the center in the lateral direction X is inclined with respect to the height direction Z. The cooling air can be made to flow almost uniformly or with less flow rate deviation. Thereby, deterioration by the heat | fever of the battery main body 14 can further be suppressed. Therefore, since the pressure distribution generated in the plurality of internal flow paths 20 by driving the cooling fan 52 can be appropriately adjusted so as to be substantially uniform or close to uniform, temperature variations among the plurality of batteries 13 can be reduced.

  In addition, when the vehicle on which the battery cooling structure 10 is mounted is a hybrid vehicle in which an engine and an electric motor are mounted as a vehicle drive source, the intake chamber 36 may be disposed above the exhaust pipe connected to the engine. . According to this configuration, it is possible to suppress the heat of the exhaust pipe from being transmitted to the cooling air in the intake chamber 36 by the resin inclined plate 37 disposed inside the intake chamber 36. Thereby, even when the intake chamber 36 is disposed above the exhaust pipe, the battery 13 can be efficiently cooled. The same effect can be obtained even when the intake chamber 36 is arranged above the heat source other than the exhaust pipe.

  FIG. 1 shows a case where the cooling fan 52 is arranged on the right side of the vehicle with respect to the battery set 12. However, the vehicle cooling device 10 is arranged with the elements of the battery cooling structure 10 reversed to the left and right of the configuration of FIGS. 1 and 2. May be installed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2 illustrating a battery cooling structure 10 according to another example of the embodiment. In the configuration of FIG. 2, an intake chamber 36 is formed inside the upper end portion of the upper case 31. A cooling fan is connected to one end portion of the upper case 31 in the vertical direction Y (the front side end portion in FIG. 5) via a duct (not shown). An exhaust chamber 32 is formed inside the lower case 33.

  An inclined plate 37 is disposed inside the upper end portion of the upper case 31. The configuration of the inclined plate 37 is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 4 in which both ends of the lateral direction X are bent toward the battery set 12 side. The outer plate portion 39 of the inclined plate 37 is fixed to the top plate portion 31 a of the upper case 31. The inclined plate 37 is disposed inside the upper end portion of the upper case 31 at a portion extending from the downstream end in the flow direction of the cooling air to the upstream end in the flow direction, that is, the inlet portion of the intake chamber 36 or the intermediate portion in the flow direction. In addition, the inclined plate 37 is inclined with respect to the height direction Z so that the position of the lower side surface becomes lower as the central plate portion 38 moves toward the downstream side inside the upper end portion of the upper case 31. The lower surface of the central plate portion 38 corresponds to a portion of the intake chamber 36 that is sandwiched between the respective concave portions 41. The intake chamber 36 is surrounded by, for example, the upper portion of the upper plate 31 a on the inner side of the upper case 31, the upstream portion removed from the inclined plate 37, the lower surface of the inclined plate 37, and the upper surface of the battery set 12. It is formed by the space. When the inclined plate 37 is arranged from the upstream end to the downstream end in the cooling air flow direction in the upper case 31, the intake air is taken in by the space surrounded by the lower surface of the inclined plate 37 and the upper surface of the battery set 12 in the upper case 31. A chamber 36 is formed. At this time, the inclined plate 37 is provided over substantially the entire length in the flow direction of the cooling air, that is, substantially the entire length in the longitudinal direction Y, inside the upper end portion of the upper case 31.

  In the configuration described above, the flow direction of the cooling air is directed downward in the plurality of internal flow paths of the battery set 12. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in FIGS. 1 to 4.

  FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 illustrating a battery cooling structure 10 of another example of the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the outlet 32 a of the exhaust chamber 32 is formed at one end of the upper end of the upper case 31 in the vertical direction Y (left end in FIG. 1), that is, on the same side as the cooling fan 52 with respect to the battery set 12. Also good. Other configurations and operations are the same as those in FIGS. 1 to 4.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Battery cooling structure, 12 Battery set, 13 Battery, 14 Battery main body, 14a Battery case, 14b Lid, 15 Positive terminal, 16 Negative terminal, 20 Internal flow path, 22 Busbar, 23 Output terminal, 30 Set case, 31 Upper case 31a Top plate portion, 32 Exhaust chamber, 32a Outlet, 33 Lower case, 33a Bottom plate portion, 36 Intake chamber, 37 Inclined plate, 38 Center plate portion, 39 Outer plate portion, 40 Triangular plate portion, 41 Recessed portion, 50 Intake duct , 52 Cooling fan.

Claims (1)

A battery set in which a plurality of batteries are arranged side by side in a linear first direction, an internal flow path formed between the plurality of batteries, and a plurality of internal flow paths connected to the cooling air to the first An intake chamber that flows from one side to the other in one direction,
Each of the plurality of batteries is arranged at a rectangular parallelepiped battery main body and both ends of the battery main body in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction, and an input / output current from the battery main body is energized respectively. A positive electrode terminal and a negative electrode terminal,
In the battery set, among the adjacent batteries, the positive terminal of one of the batteries and the negative terminal of the other battery are connected by a bus bar,
The intake chamber has a concave portion that is recessed outwardly from a portion facing the central portion in the second direction at a portion facing the both end portions in the second direction of the battery set on an inner surface opposite to the battery. And
A part of the intake chamber that is sandwiched between the recesses is inclined so as to approach the battery set toward the downstream side of the cooling air.

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