JP5253711B2 - Battery cooling structure - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling structure for a battery that includes a cooling passage connected in a U shape in an internal space of a battery box that houses a battery, and cools the battery with cooling air flowing through the cooling passage.

Patent Document 1 listed below is one in which a U-shaped cooling passage is formed inside a battery frame that houses a battery of an electric vehicle, and an intake duct and an exhaust duct are respectively connected to an intake port and an exhaust port at both ends of the cooling passage. Is known.
JP-A-8-310256

  By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional one, since the cooling passage of the battery frame is formed in a U shape, the intake and exhaust ports of the cooling passage are arranged adjacent to both ends of the small side surface of the battery frame. There has been a problem that the degree of freedom of the layout of the intake duct and exhaust duct connected to the intake and exhaust openings is greatly limited.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object thereof is to increase the degree of freedom in the layout of intake and exhaust ducts for supplying and discharging cooling air to and from a battery box having a U-shaped cooling passage. .

To achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a cooling passage connected in a U-shape is provided in the internal space of the battery box that houses the battery, and the cooling air flowing through the cooling passage is used. In the battery cooling structure for cooling the battery, the battery box includes a cooling air guide portion integrally provided with a battery storage portion in which the cooling passage is formed, and the cooling passage is provided on the upstream side. A cooling air introduction passage including a cooling passage and a downstream second cooling passage. The cooling air guide section includes a cooling air introduction passage and a cooling air discharge passage which are vertically divided by a partition wall extending in a horizontal direction. The cooling air inlet at the upstream end of the passage is connected to the intake duct, and the first communication port at the downstream end is connected to the upstream end of the first cooling passage below the partition, Cooling air outlet of the downstream end of the discharge passage and the second communication port of the upstream end is connected to an exhaust duct connected to the downstream end of the second cooling passage above the said partition wall, said first communication port, the first The two communication ports and the cooling air introduction port are opened in a direction parallel to the second cooling passage, and the cooling air discharge port is opened in a direction intersecting the second cooling passage, and the first air passage is viewed in the vertical direction. The communication port and the second communication port are disposed at positions that do not overlap, the cooling air discharge port is disposed at a position closer to the first communication port than the second communication port, and the cooling air introduction passage and the cooling air discharge A battery cooling structure is proposed in which the passages intersect each other when viewed in the vertical direction, and the flow passage cross-sectional area of the second cooling passage is smaller than the flow passage cross-sectional area of the first cooling passage .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the electrical component supported by the partition wall is cooled by the cooling air flowing through the cooling air discharge passage. A structure is proposed.

  The battery module 23 of the embodiment corresponds to the battery of the present invention, the first cooling passage 36 and the second cooling passage 37 of the embodiment correspond to the cooling passage of the present invention, and the downverter 46 of the embodiment corresponds to the present invention. Corresponding to the electrical parts.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cooling air introduction passage and the cooling air discharge passage, which are partitioned vertically by the partition wall extending in the horizontal direction, are formed in the cooling air guide portion provided integrally with the battery storage portion of the battery box. The cooling air inlet at the upstream end of the cooling air introduction passage is connected to the intake duct, the first communication port at the downstream end is connected to the upstream end of the first cooling passage on the upstream side below the partition wall, and the cooling air Since the cooling air discharge port at the downstream end of the discharge passage is connected to the exhaust duct and the second communication port at the upstream end is connected to the downstream end of the second cooling passage on the downstream side above the partition wall, the first of the battery housing portion The positions of the cooling air introduction port and the cooling air discharge port of the cooling air guide can be set without being restricted by the positions of the first communication port and the second communication port respectively connected to the cooling channel and the second cooling channel. Nina , It is possible to increase the freedom of the air intake duct and exhaust duct layout.

In addition, relatively low-temperature cooling air before heat exchange with the battery module flows through the first cooling passage on the upstream side, whereas relatively low after heat exchange with the battery module flows through the second cooling passage on the downstream side. However, there is a problem that the cooling effect of the battery module by the second cooling passage is lowered, but the flow of the second cooling passage on the downstream side of the flow passage cross-sectional area of the first cooling passage on the upstream side is low. By configuring the road cross-sectional area to be small, it is possible to enhance the cooling effect by increasing the flow velocity of the cooling air flowing through the second cooling passage, and to uniformly cool all the battery modules. In addition, since the cooling air introduction passage and the cooling air discharge passage intersect each other when viewed in the vertical direction, the degree of freedom in the positions of the cooling air introduction port and the cooling air discharge port is further increased, and the layout of the intake duct and the exhaust duct is further increased. Can be facilitated.

According to the configuration of the second aspect , since the electrical component supported by the partition wall is cooled by the cooling air flowing through the cooling air discharge passage, the electrical component can be cooled using the cooling air after cooling the battery.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 11 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a rear part of a vehicle body, FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of part 4 of FIG. 2, FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the power supply system, FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the battery box, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the battery support frame, FIG. 9 is a view in the direction of arrow 9 in FIG. 2, FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the battery cover, and FIG. 11 is a schematic view of the battery box.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, a hybrid vehicle including an engine and a motor / generator as a driving power source includes a pair of side frames 11 and 11 arranged in the longitudinal direction on both left and right sides of the vehicle body. The left and right side frames 11 and 11 are connected by a cross member 13 on the lower surface of the front portion of the seat cushion 12 a of the rear seat 12. A fuel tank 14 is disposed in a space surrounded by the lower surfaces of the left and right side frames 11, 11, the cross member 13, and the seat cushion 12 a. A mouth 16 is provided. The left and right side frames 11, 11 are provided with curved portions 11 a, 11 a that are curved upward at positions corresponding to the wheel houses 17, 17. Between the apexes of the curved portions 11 a, 11 a, a power source for the motor / generator The left and right ends of the battery box 18 of the power system are connected. An intake duct 19 is connected from the front of the right side of the battery box 18 toward the front of the vehicle body, and an exhaust duct 20 is connected from the rear of the right side of the battery box 18 toward the rear of the vehicle. A fan 21 and a silencer 22 are provided at an intermediate portion of the exhaust duct 20.
Connected.

  As apparent from FIGS. 5 to 9, a pair of lower battery support frames are obtained by integrally bundling 36 rod-shaped battery modules 23... In which a plurality of battery cells are connected in series with a plurality of module holders 24. 25, 25 and a pair of upper battery support frames 26, 26. Both ends of a pair of lower battery support frames 25, 25 whose intermediate portions are curved downward to support the lower surfaces of the battery modules 23 are integrally coupled by fixing brackets 27, 27. The pair of upper battery support frames 26, 26 that are curved upward to support the upper surfaces of the battery modules 23,... Are fixed to the upper surfaces of the lower battery support frames 25, 25 with bolts 28 at their left and right ends.

  Fixing brackets 27, 27 at both ends of the lower battery support frames 25, 25 are coupled to the upper surfaces of the curved portions 11a, 11a of the side frames 11, 11 by bolts 29. Since the curved portions 11a and 11a of the side frames 11 and 11 are provided at positions corresponding to the wheel houses 17 and 17, the upper ends of the dampers of a suspension device (not shown) are connected to input a large load from the wheels. However, by connecting the portions with the strong lower battery support frames 25 and 25 that function as cross members, the rigidity of the vehicle body can be increased by reinforcing the parts without requiring a special reinforcing member. As a result, it is possible to cope with an increase in weight due to the mounting of the battery box 18 without significantly changing the conventional vehicle body structure.

  Further, by supporting the heavy battery box 18 on the side frames 11, 11, the support can be strengthened. Moreover, the rod-shaped battery modules 23 are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body, and by supporting these battery modules 23 with lower battery support frames 25, 25 and upper battery support frames 26, 26 extending in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, The support can be performed easily and reliably.

  The plurality of battery modules 23... Bundled by the lower battery support frames 25 and 25 and the upper battery support frames 26 and 26 are covered by a lower battery cover 30 and an upper battery cover 31 formed of foaming synthetic resin. Further, their upper surfaces are covered with a metal battery case 32 whose lower part is open. The left and right ends of the lower battery support frames 25, 25 extend through the upper battery cover 31 to the outside. By covering the lower battery cover 30 and the upper battery cover 31 made of foaming synthetic resin with a metal battery case 32, the lower battery cover 30, the upper battery cover 31, and the internal battery modules 23 are protected. be able to.

  Next, the structure of the lower battery cover 30 and the upper battery cover 31 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram corresponding to FIG.

  The lower battery cover 30 and the upper battery cover 31 are composed of a battery housing part A located on the left side of the vehicle body and a cooling air guide part B located on the right side of the vehicle body. The battery storage portion A includes a rectangular upper wall 33U and a lower wall 33L, a pair of first side walls 34L and 34R extending in the front-rear direction, and a pair of second side walls 35f and 35r extending in the left-right direction. It is formed in a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape.

  In the battery storage part A, the two partition walls 33Ua and 33Ua formed in the left and right direction on the lower surface of the upper wall 33U and the two partition walls 33La and 33La formed in the left and right direction on the upper surface of the lower wall 33L , The lower battery support frames 25, 25 and the upper battery support frames 26, 26 are in contact with the partition walls 33Ua, 33Ua; two first cooling passages 36, 36 positioned rearward by 33La, 33La; One second cooling passage 37 located in the area is defined. A connecting passage 38 extending in the front-rear direction along the left first side wall 34L is formed. The left end (end) of the first cooling passages 36, 36 communicates with the rear end (start) of the connection passage 38, and the front end (end) of the connection passage 38 communicates with the left end (start) of the second cooling passage 37. The first cooling passages 36, 36, the connecting passage 38, and the second cooling passage 37 are disposed in a U shape as a whole.

In the cooling air guide B of the upper battery cover 31, a partition wall 39 is formed in a horizontal direction that is continuous with the right side of the first side wall 34 </ b> R on the right side, and a cooling air introduction passage 40 is formed between the partition wall 39 and the lower battery cover 30. It is formed. The lower battery cover 30 has a cooling air inlet 41 connected to the cooling air introduction passage 40 at the front right end of the lower battery cover 30. The first cooling is performed at the rear of the first side wall 34 </ b> R on the right side of the lower battery cover 30 and below the partition wall 39. A first communication port 42 connected to the start ends of the passages 36 and 36 is formed. A second communication port 43 connected to the end of the second cooling passage 37 is formed at the front of the first side wall 34R on the right side of the upper battery cover 31 and above the partition wall 39. The partition wall 39 of the upper battery cover 31 and the battery case A cooling air discharge passage 44 is formed between the cooling air discharge passage 44 and the cooling air discharge passage 44. A start end of the cooling air discharge passage 44 is connected to the second communication port 43, and the end is cooled by the partition wall 39 of the upper battery cover 31 and the battery case 32. An air outlet 45 is formed. On the upper surface of the partition wall 39 of the upper battery cover 31, a downverter 46 that steps down the high voltage of the battery modules 23 is disposed in the cooling air discharge passage 44.

  The intake duct 19 connected to the cooling air introduction port 41 of the battery box 18 is arranged along the right side surface of the seat cushion 12a from the right side surface of the seat back 12b of the rear seat 12, and to the right end of the right side surface of the seat cushion 12a. The suction port 19a that opens to the front faces the rear right door with a gap. Therefore, while preventing the seating performance of the rear seat 12 from being hindered by the intake duct 19, it is possible to supply the battery box 18 with air that has been air-conditioned to an appropriate temperature in the passenger compartment, particularly in summer. Moreover, it is possible to improve the appearance by making it difficult to see the inlet 19a of the intake duct 19 with the rear right door closed. Further, the passage cross-sectional area of the intake duct 19 is set to be larger than the cross-sectional area of the intake port 19a at any part thereof, thereby minimizing the flow resistance of the cooling air flowing through the intake duct 19 ( (See FIG. 6).

  On the floor in front of the rear seat 12, an air outlet 48 that blows out air for heating is provided. The intake port 19a of the intake duct 19 is shifted upward and to the right with respect to the extended line of the air outlet 48 that opens rearward, so that hot air blown from the air outlet 48 directly enters the air intake duct 19. It is possible to prevent inhalation and prevent the cooling performance of the battery modules 23.

  The exhaust duct 20 connected to the cooling air discharge port 45 of the battery box 18 is disposed in a space between the interior material 49 of the trunk room and the vehicle body outer plate 50 together with the fan 21 and the silencer 22 provided on the exhaust duct 20 (see FIG. 2). . By covering the fan 21 with the interior material 49, noise leaking into the vehicle interior can be reduced, and by providing the silencer 22, noise accompanying the flow of cooling air can be reduced.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

  When the fan 21 provided in the exhaust duct 20 is driven to cool the battery modules 23 that have generated heat by driving the motor / generator, the air in the passenger compartment is introduced into the battery box 18 from the intake port 19a of the intake duct 19. It is introduced into the mouth 41. The cooling air introduced into the cooling air introduction port 41 flows from the front to the rear through the cooling air introduction passage 40 provided below the partition wall 39 of the cooling air guide B of the battery box 18, and then the battery storage portion of the battery box 18. It flows into the two first cooling passages 36, 36 from the first communication port 42 provided in the first side wall 34R on the right side of A.

  The cooling air that has flowed from the right to the left through the first cooling passages 36, 36 along the rear second side wall 35r flows from the rear to the front through the connecting passage 38 along the left first side wall 34L. After flowing from the left to the right through the second cooling passage 37 along the side wall 35f, the second cooling passage 37 is discharged from the second communication port 43 provided in the first side wall 34R on the right side to the cooling air discharge passage 44 provided above the partition wall 39.

  While the cooling air flows through the first cooling passages 36 and 36 and the second cooling passage 37, the battery modules 23 arranged there are cooled. At this time, the cooling air in the two upstream-side first cooling passages 36 and 36 is relatively low in temperature, but the flow velocity of the cooling air is reduced due to the large cross-sectional area of the flow path. The cooling air in the second cooling passage 37 on the downstream side that is provided only at a relatively high temperature is relatively high temperature, but the flow rate of the cooling air is increased because the flow passage cross-sectional area is small, so that all the battery modules 23. Can be cooled to.

  Further, the downverter 46 is arranged in the cooling air discharge passage 44 through which the cooling air after cooling the battery modules 23... Is used to cool the downverter 46 using the cooling air that has cooled the battery modules 23. Can do. The cooling air discharged from the cooling air discharge port 45 to the exhaust duct 19 passes through the fan 21, is silenced by the silencer 22, and is then discharged into a space between the trunk room interior material 49 and the vehicle body outer plate 50. The

  The center line L1 of the battery storage part A of the battery box 18 is shifted to the left side of the vehicle body with respect to the vehicle body center line L2, and as a result, the cooling air guide B, the intake duct 19 and the exhaust duct are formed in the space formed on the right side of the vehicle body. Since 20 is disposed, the battery box 18 can be compactly disposed in a limited space between the rear seat 12 and the trunk room. In addition, since the filler tube 15 of the fuel tank 14 is disposed on the left side of the vehicle body, which is opposite to the intake duct 19 and the exhaust duct 20, the filler tube 15 is prevented from interfering with the intake duct 19 and the exhaust duct 20 and the layout is free. The degree can be increased.

  Further, the cooling air guide B is integrally provided adjacent to the battery storage part A of the battery box 18, and the cooling air introduction passage 40 and the cooling air discharge passage 44 are crossed inside the cooling air guide B, so that the cooling The cooling air introduction port 41 and the cooling air discharge port 45 can be provided on the right side surface and the rear surface of the air guide portion B, respectively, and the degree of freedom in layout of the intake duct 19 and the exhaust duct 20 is improved. Further, since the cooling air introduction passage 40 and the cooling air discharge passage 44 are separated vertically with the partition wall 39 in between, the cooling air introduction passage 40 and the cooling air discharge passage 44 are crossed without difficulty so as to minimize an increase in the flow resistance of the cooling air. To the limit.

  In the embodiment, the cooling air introduction port 41 and the cooling air discharge port 45 are provided on the right side surface and the rear surface of the cooling air guide part B, respectively. However, according to the layout requirements of the intake duct 19 and the exhaust duct 20, Can be provided at an arbitrary position of the cooling air guide B, whereby interference between the intake duct 19 and the exhaust duct 20 can be avoided and the degree of freedom in layout can be increased.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various design changes can be made without departing from the present invention described in the claims. It is.

  For example, the power supply system for a hybrid vehicle has been described in the embodiment, but the present invention can also be applied to a power supply system for an electric vehicle.

  The electrical component of the present invention is not limited to the downverter 46 of the embodiment.

Perspective view of the rear of the car body 2 direction view of FIG. 3-3 sectional view of FIG. 4 enlarged view of FIG. Sectional view along line 5-5 in FIG. Exploded perspective view of the power supply system Battery box exploded perspective view Battery support frame perspective view 9 direction arrow view of FIG. Disassembled perspective view of battery cover Schematic diagram of the battery box

18 Battery box 19 Intake duct 20 Exhaust duct 23 Battery module (battery)
36 First cooling passage (cooling passage)
37 Second cooling passage (cooling passage)
39 Partition 40 Cooling air introduction passage 41 Cooling air introduction port 42 First communication port 43 Second communication port 44 Cooling air discharge passage 45 Cooling air discharge port 46 Downverter (electrical component)
A Battery compartment B Cooling air guide

Claims (2)

A cooling passage (36, 37) connected in a U-shape is provided in the internal space of the battery box (18) that houses the battery (23), and the battery (23) is supplied by cooling air flowing through the cooling passage (36, 37). In the battery cooling structure that cools
The battery box (18) includes a cooling air guide part (B) integrally connected to a battery storage part (A) in which the cooling passages (36, 37) are formed,
The cooling passages (36, 37) include a first cooling passage (36) on the upstream side and a second cooling passage (37) on the downstream side, and the cooling air guide (B) has a partition wall extending in the horizontal direction. A cooling air introduction passage (40) and a cooling air discharge passage (44) which are vertically divided by (39) are formed, and the cooling air introduction port (41) at the upstream end of the cooling air introduction passage (40) is an intake duct ( 19) is connected to the upstream end of the first cooling passage (36) below the partition wall (39) and is connected to the downstream end of the cooling air discharge passage (44). The cooling air discharge port (45) is connected to the exhaust duct (20), and the second communication port (43) at the upstream end is connected to the downstream end of the second cooling passage (37) above the partition wall (39). is, the first communication port (42), the second communication port (4 ) And the cooling air introduction port (41) open in a direction parallel to the second cooling passage (37), and the cooling air discharge port (45) opens in a direction intersecting the second cooling passage (37). The first communication port (42) and the second communication port (43) are arranged so as not to overlap each other when viewed in the vertical direction, and the cooling air discharge port (45) is connected to the second communication port (43). Is disposed at a position close to the first communication port (42), the cooling air introduction passage (40) and the cooling air discharge passage (44) cross each other when viewed in the vertical direction, and the second cooling passage (37 ) Is smaller than the flow passage cross-sectional area of the first cooling passage (36) . Characterized by cooling the pre-Symbol electrical components which is supported on the partition walls (39) (46) in the cooling air the flowing cooling air discharge passage (44), battery cooling structure according to claim 1.

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